Treatments for palpitations and arrhythmias can vary depending on the cause and the extent to which your health or lifestyle is affected.

Appropriate palpitation treatments include simple lifestyle modifications, medicines, implantable medical devices and surgical or other procedures.

Medicines

Medicines are often used for the short- and long-term to treat different types of arrhythmias. If you have a fast heartbeat (tachycardia), your doctor might prescribe anti-arrhythmic drugs and beta-blockers to slow it down.

Artificial Pacemakers

Artificial pacemakers are usually given to people with a slow heartbeat (bradycardia).

Like a normal heart's electrical system, an artificial pacemaker uses small electrical currents to stimulate your heart muscle and make it contract (pump) at a normal pace.

 More about artificial pacemakers

Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs)

Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) are sometimes given to people who are at risk of dangerous heart arrhythmias.

An ICD can override an arrhythmia by pacing your heart. In more serious situations, it can also deliver a controlled electric shock or series of shocks to your heart to try to return it to its normal rhythm.

 More about implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD)

Cardioversion

For people with a prolonged or particularly serious episode of atrial fibrillation, 'cardioversion' may be used to return the heart to a normal rhythm. In electrical cardioversion, an 'electric shock' is given to the heart (while the person is anaesthetised) to help to restore a normal rhythm and thus reduce the long-term risks associated with atrial fibrillation. In pharmacological cardioversion, medicines are used to achieve a similar effect.

Catheter Ablation

In catheter ablation procedures, a long, thin tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in the leg and threaded through the vessel until the tip reaches the heart. At the tip of the catheter is an electrode, which can emit radiofrequency waves to 'burn' and inactivate the area(s) of the heart responsible for creating or passing abnormal signals.

Surgery

In some cases, arrhythmias can be treated by surgically removing the sections of the heart muscle that are malfunctioning. Although not commonly used, surgery can be very effective in treating certain kinds of arrhythmias.