Atrial tachycardia is a fast heart rhythm coming from one or more foci in the atria. If there are several foci, it is often called multifocal atrial tachycardia, and there is a gradual transition between this and atrial fibrillation.
Who gets it, and what does it feel like?
Atrial tachycardia gradually becomes more common with age. When we record the heart rhythm over long periods in the oldest patients, it is a common finding. Some feel that the heart is beating fast and irregularly. Others notice nothing, and then treatment may not be necessary. Episodes can last from a few seconds to the arrhythmia being present all the time.
The arrhythmia is caused by one or more areas in the atria sending out rapid impulses. These suppress the normal sinus rhythm and take over control of the heart rhythm.
It is very important to record an ECG during an episode. If this succeeds, abrupt changes in heart rate can often be seen.
Treatment
If the arrhythmia is troublesome, treatment may be necessary. Many respond well to medication.
If medication does not give enough relief, or cannot be used, it may be possible to ablate the arrhythmia. This is done at the heart rhythm units of some of Norway’s regional hospitals. You lie on an operating table with a number of leads attached to your chest. Local anaesthesia is given around the large blood vessels in the groin, and catheters are passed through them up to the inside of the heart.
To find the focus, we depend on the arrhythmia lasting during the examination, so that we can track down the site it comes from. Using the catheters and advanced computer technology, we create a three-dimensional model of the atrium, which we use to find and treat the focus. These are often lengthy procedures, and the arrhythmia sometimes stops before we have found the focus. The procedure must then be ended without a treatment attempt, and sometimes we make a new attempt later.
No procedure is without risk. Some of the complications are described on the page about atrial fibrillation. Atrial tachycardia often comes from the right atrium, and the risk is then somewhat lower than if the focus is in the left atrium.