Atrial flutters, or heart flutters, cause an uncomfortable fluttering sensation in the chest. Atrial flutter occurs when a single electrical signal circulates rapidly in one of the heart's chambers. This causes the heart to beat at a very fast rate and disrupts the normal flow of blood.
Atrial flutters often occur in people who have heart disease, or who have had a heart attack or chest trauma. Although they are not life-threatening, the flutters need to be treated to help stop their progression to more serious types of arrhythmia, like atrial fibrillation.
One available treatment for atrial flutter is cardiac ablation. A cardiologist that specializes in the treatment of arrhythmias, an electrophysiologist, performs this noninvasive procedure. It has been extremely successful in helping patients find relief from their symptoms.
More information on the different types of arrhythmias can be found on the following pages: