Bradycardia

If you have bradycardia, we’re here to help you get the expert care you need to regain a healthy heart rhythm, your energy and the life you love. As a center of excellence for treating complex arrhythmias, our specialists are among the most experienced – experience that includes performing more pacemaker implants than most other providers in the Midwest.

What is bradycardia?

Bradycardia by definition is an abnormally slow heartbeat. Normally, an adult heart at rest beats 60 to 100 times per minute. If you have bradycardia, the electrical signals in your heart are slowed or blocked and your heart beats less than 60 beats per minute.

Often, bradycardia starts in the sinus node of your heart, called sinus bradycardia. The sinus node is your heart’s pacemaker and generates the electrical impulses that makes your heart beat. Sometimes, bradycardia occurs when electrical signals transmitted through the atria aren't transmitted to the ventricles. This is called heart block.

For some people like highly trained athletes, a low resting heart rate doesn't cause any problems. But for others, bradycardia can be serious because when your heart beats too slow, your brain, organs and the rest of your body may not get enough oxygen-rich blood.

Symptoms of bradycardia

If you have bradycardia, your slow heart beat may not be pumping enough blood to your brain and other organs. This may cause you to experience bradycardia symptoms such as:

Risk factors & causes of bradycardia

There are several reasons you may have an abnormally slow heart rhythm. Causes of bradycardia include:

Risk factors for bradycardia

Because bradycardia is often linked to heart disease, it shares some of the same risk factors. Age is a primary risk factor and bradycardia is more common as you get older. Other risk factors include:

Diagnosing bradycardia

To precisely diagnose bradycardia, your doctor may refer you to an electrophysiologist, a doctor who specializes in the electrical system of the heart and treating arrhythmias. The first step is determining what is causing your slow heart rate.

We’ll begin with a thorough physical exam and listen to your heart with a stethoscope to check for an irregular heartbeat. We may order tests for you, such as:

• Lab testing to check your electrolyte, thyroid hormone or other levels
• Electrocardiogram (EKG) to record the electrical activity of your heart and check your heart rhythm

• Stress test to see if your heart gets enough blood while you exercise, where we first create images of your blood flow to your heart while you rest, then again as you exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike
• Portable monitoring such as:

• Holter monitoring, which uses a small, battery-powered EKG that continuously records your heart rate and rhythm over a 24-hour period
• Transtelephonic monitoring, which monitors and records your heart rate and rhythm over a longer period

Find out more about our heart and vascular testing and diagnosis.

Treating bradycardia

We believe in tailoring a bradycardia treatment plan just for you – one that protects your heart. We’ll look at your medical history and the specific cause and severity of your slow heart rate to get you back to a healthy rhythm.

If the cause of your bradycardia symptoms is an underlying condition, we’ll focus treatment on that condition, which may correct your slow heart rate. Sometimes, we may change your medications if we find they’re causing your irregular heartbeat.

Other times, we may recommend a pacemaker implant such as:

• Pacemaker, a small device that generates electrical signals similar to your heart's own natural impulses to help you keep a steady rhythm
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy, a minor surgical procedure in which we place a special type of pacemaker under your skin to return your heart to a normal rhythm