Irregular heartbeats bring an uneasy feeling.It can be due to anxiety or can be due to some heart beat/rhythm related issues. It can occur during rest but most of the times occur during activities.

Etiology of irregular heartbeats

  • Anxiety
  • Less fluid intake
  • Cold, allergy and asthma medications

Rarely, child may have serious medical condition, such as:

  • Severe anemia, hyperthyroidism
  • Arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat etc

Diagnosis of irregular heartbeats
Diagnosis needs a detailed medical history, good physical examination along with few tests such as:

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG):It is useful for diagnosing abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias or dysrhythmias).
  • Echocardiography:for diagnosing cardiac structure and cardiac function. It is a non-invasive test like ultrasonography.
  • Exercise electrocardiogram: It assesses the heart's response to stress or exercise, while the child exercises on a treadmill.

Cardiac catheterization (Radiofrequency Ablations):

This is an invasive procedure. It is done under sedation from the groin vessels by using catheters and wires. This is generally done now-a-days for catheter ablation of focus in the heart that is responsible for abnormal heart beat and rhythm.

Sometimes, Holter analysis is advised that records ECG continuously for 24 hours. Child can perform his/her usual daily activities. It is done as sometimes resting ECG alone cannot detect arrhythmia always.

Management
It includes:

  • Treating the underlying causes that is increasing stress & anxiety
  • Medications
  • RF ablation
  • Implantable pacemakers
  • Defibrillators