Fletcher Allen, a Vermont university hospital and medical center, serves all of
Vermont and the northern New York region. Located in Burlington, Fletcher Allen is a regional, academic healthcare center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
Heart Rhythm Conditions
At Fletcher Allen, we provide a high level of expertise to treat the full spectrum of heart rhythm conditions.
Heart Rhythm abnormalities fall under the three categories of arrhythmias: fast heart rhythms, slow heart rhythms and uncoordinated rhythms. Arrhythmias may cause the heart to beat too slow (less than 60 beats per minute is bradycardia) or too fast (greater than 100 beats per minute is tachycardia). Arrhythmias may occur from the upper two chambers of the heart, called atrial arrhythmias or supraventricular arrhythmias or may originate from the lower chambers of the heart, called the ventricles. Some arrhythmias are benign, and have little, if any, clinical significance. 
Animation of the Heart's Electrical System
Other arrhythmias are malignant, and may be life-threatening. A given arrhythmia may have different clinical significance in different individuals, primarily depending upon whether or not the individual has structural heart disease, or most importantly, diminished cardiac performance (congestive heart failure).
