Heart block
Overview
Heart block is a condition where your heart beats too slowly or your heartbeat is not steady. It can happen if the electrical impulses in your heart are blocked or delayed. You usually only need treatment if it's causing symptoms.
Symptoms
Symptoms of heart block may include: dizzinessfainting or feeling like you're about to faintchest paintirednessshortness of breath These symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the type of heart block you have and how it's affecting you. You may have no symptoms and only find out you have heart block during tests for something else.
Causes
Heart block is most often caused by a heart condition such as coronary heart disease, or a heart attack. Sometimes babies are born with heart block, known as congenital heart block. Other possible causes of AV heart block include: taking some types of medicineinfection and inflammation of the heart, caused by another conditionhaving heart surgery Sometimes there's no obvious cause.
Treatment
The treatment for heart block depends on what's causing it and whether you have any symptoms. If you have heart block that is not causing any symptoms, you will not usually need any treatment. If you have severe symptoms, you may need apacemaker, which keeps your heart beating regularly and not too slowly. You may need a pacemaker for a short time or permanently, depending on what's causing your heart block.