Supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs), which originate somewhere above the ventricles, are caused by abnormal circuitry in the heart,

usually present at birth, that creates a loop of overlapping signals. Episodes may last only a few seconds or several hours.

In one form of SVT, an abnormality in the AV node may "split" an electrical signal into two, sending one signal to the ventricles and another back to the atria. Another common abnormality is the presence of an extra electrical pathway from the atria to the ventricles that bypasses the AV node. This may result in a signal going down one pathway and up the other. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is the most common disorder featuring an extra pathway. In tachycardia, the heart does not beat efficiently. The heart may not be able to pump enough blood out to the body with each heartbeat, causing a drop in blood pressure and depriving organs and tissues of oxygen. Tachycardia is a faster than normal heart rate. A healthy adult heart beats 60 to 100 times a minute when a person is at rest. If you have tachycardia (tak-ih-KAHR-de-uh), the rate in the upper chambers or lower chambers of the heart, or both, are increased significantly. Heart rate is controlled by electrical signals sent across heart tissues. Tachycardia occurs when an abnormality in the heart produces rapid electrical signals. In some cases, tachycardias may cause no symptoms or complications. However, tachycardias can seriously disrupt normal heart function, increase the risk of stroke, or cause sudden cardiac arrest or death. Treatments may help control a rapid heartbeat or manage diseases contributing to tachycardia.