Flutter Health Dictionary

The term applied to a form of abnormal cardiac rhythm, in which the atria contract at a rate of 200–400 beats a minute, and the ventricles more slowly. The abnormal rhythm is the result

of a diseased heart. (See HEART, DISEASES OF; FIBRILLATION.)

n. a disturbance of normal heart rhythm that – like *fibrillation – may affect the atria or ventricles. However, the arrhythmia is less rapid and less chaotic. The causes and treatment are similar to those of fibrillation. See also cardiac arrest; defibrillation.