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arrhythmia vs. dysrhythmia

arrhythmia vs. dysrhythmia: What's the difference?

Arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm—a disturbance in the regular heartbeat rhythm. The term dysrhythmia is more general—it can refer to an abnormality in any rhythmic pattern, such as brainwaves or speech. Dysrhythmia is also sometimes used in the context of a heartbeat rhythm.

arrhythmia

[ uh-rith-mee-uh, ey-rith- ]
noun
  1. any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat.

dysrhythmia

[ dis-rith-mee-uh ]
noun
  1. a disturbance of rhythm, as of speech or of brain waves recorded by an electroencephalograph.