It is a type of rapid cardiac arrhythmia generated in the upper part of the heart, above the ventricles. When it occurs in children, the pulsations are higher than 180 beats per minute (more than 220 beats/min in infants).
It can be triggered by multiple causes, among them: structural alterations of the heart, anomalies of the electrical conduction, drugs, ionic alterations and other diseases.
It appears suddenly in the form of episodes that can last from a few minutes to hours. It manifests mainly with palpitations, restlessness and rapid pulse. It may be accompanied by chest pain in the form of tightness, a feeling of suffocation or sudden loss of consciousness.
The diagnosis is clinical, confirmed by recording the arrhythmia on an electrocardiogram.
If the child is stable, with few and well-tolerated symptoms, treatment may not even be necessary. On the other hand, if this arrhythmia causes cardiovascular collapse, the treatment will be electrical cardioversion (reversing the arrhythmia with electroshock).
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