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 to control arrhythmias
Medicines are often used, for the short- and long-term, to treat an excessively fast heart beat (tachycardia). Several kinds of medicines such as anti-arrhythmic drugs and beta-blockers are available to slow down a heart that's beating too fast. Medicines are also used to treat a variety of other arrhythmias.

Artificial pacemakers
The most common reason a person needs an artificial pacemaker is because their heart beat is too slow (bradycardia). Like the normal heart's electrical system, the artificial pacemaker uses small electrical currents to stimulate the heart muscle and cause it to contract (pump) at a normal pace.

 More about artificial pacemakers.

Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs)
People who are at risk of some dangerous heart arrhythmias can sometimes benefit from an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). A defibrillator is a piece of equipment that can override an arrhythmia by pacing the heart. In more serious situations, it can also deliver a controlled electric shock or series of shocks to the heart to try to return it to its normal rhythm.

 More about implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs).

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.