arrhythmia
[uh-rith -mee-uh, ey-rith -]
- any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat.
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Also arhythmia.
Origin of arrhythmia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for arrhythmic
Contemporary Examples
His shot choices are haphazard and arrhythmic, always cutting against any recognizable beat.
arrhythmia
- any variation from the normal rhythm in the heartbeat
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Word Origin
C19: New Latin, from Greek arrhuthmia, from a- 1 + rhuthmos rhythm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for arrhythmic
adj.
1853, "without rhythm," in relation to musical sensibility, Modern Latin, from Greek arrhythmos "irregular, unrhythmical, without measure," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + rhythmos (see rhythm). Medical arrhythmia "irregularity of pulse" is attested from 1888, from Greek noun of action from arrhythmos. Related: Arrhythmically.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
arrhythmic
(ə-rĭð′mĭk)- Lacking rhythm or regularity of rhythm.
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arrhythmia
(ə-rĭð′mē-ə)- An irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
arrhythmia
[ə-rĭð′mē-ə]
- An abnormal rhythm of the heart, often detectable on an electrocardiogram. Electrical impulses in the heart normally originate in the sinoatrial node of the right atrium during diastole and are transmitted through the atrioventricular node to the ventricles, causing the muscle contraction that usually occurs during systole. However, abnormalities of electrical conduction during diastole or systole can result in various alterations of the heartbeat, such as changes in heart rate, skipped or irregular beats, and fibrillation of the heart muscle, which can be life threatening. These electrical disturbances can be caused by metabolic abnormalities, inadequate blood supply (as in coronary artery disease), drug effects, chronic disease, and other factors. Arrhythmias are sometimes treated with the implantation of a pacemaker.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.