An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm. We treat many children who experience a wide range of abnormal heart rhythms. Our pediatric cardiologists have the depth of expertise to offer your child the most up-to-date and appropriate care options.

One treatment for arrhythmia in children is cardiac ablation, a nonsurgical procedure that uses heat or cold to safely destroy the heart tissue causing the arrhythmia. We perform ablations in our high-tech electrophysiology lab.

What Causes Arrhythmia in Children?

An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm usually caused by an electrical "short circuit" in the heart. Normally, a child’s heart beats in a consistent pattern. With an arrhythmia, it can beat too slowly (bradycardia), too quickly (tachycardia) or irregularly. These abnormal rhythms can interfere with the heart’s ability to pump blood.

Here's what parents should know about arrhythmias in children:

• Some children with arrhythmias have no symptoms. Others may experience fatigue, dizziness and chest pain.
• Most children who have arrhythmias are born with them. Your pediatrician may detect it right away. Often, a routine physical or school screening catches the abnormality later.
• Some arrhythmia conditions are hereditary. If we suspect this is the case for your child, we can quickly test everyone in the family.

Types of Arrhythmias in Children

How We Care for Arrhythmia in Children

Heart arrhythmias are very treatable. For many children, just one procedure permanently gets rid of the abnormal rhythm. We offer:

• Expertise in cardiac ablation: Cardiac ablation is the main treatment for arrhythmias, and it has a 95 percent success rate. We have extensive experience performing ablations, even for complex arrhythmias.
• Pacemakers and ICDs: When children have types of arrhythmias that can’t be treated with ablation, we treat them with medication. If their condition is life-threatening, a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) can control their heart rhythm and ease the irregular heartbeats.
• Sophisticated electrophysiology (EP) lab: Using the latest technology, we diagnose and treat children (and sometimes adults) for arrhythmias. Performing a high volume of procedures means we have measurable experience and see a variety of cases.
• Experienced, compassionate team: Although much of what we do in the EP lab is familiar to us, we know that it is not familiar to parents. We understand that parents have worries and questions. Our team of doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists and Child Life specialists will answer all your questions honestly. We treat your children as we would our own. Learn more about our team.