Bradycardia

What Is It?

Bradycardia is an abnormally slow heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute. A normal heartbeat is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.

Here's what happens during a normal heartbeat: The electrical signal that starts a heartbeat comes from the heart's sinus node, the natural pacemaker located in the upper portion of the right atrium. From the sinus node, the heartbeat signal travels to the atrioventricular (A-V) node, located between the atria, and then through the bundle of His (pronounced "hiss") -- a series of modified heart-muscle fibers located between the ventricles -- to the muscles of the ventricles. This triggers a contraction of the ventricles and produces a heartbeat.