The heart is one of the most important organs in the body of an organism, no matter whether it is aquatic, amphibian or mammalian. This super organ works automatically, capable of pumping huge amounts of oxygen-rich blood through the body using electrical impulses and the opening and closing of valves within its many layers. It is what keeps us and every other creature on this earth alive; so it's natural to fear when there might be a problem with your heart. A heart arrhythmia can happen to anyone, regardless of age, race or gender, and therefore, doctors and scientists have spent years trying to better understand the heart and how it works so they can try to prevent these problems and save millions of lives. A normal heartbeat is maintained and depends on the correct movement of sodium, calcium and potassium ions into and out of different areas of the heart. This flow of ions mediates the action potential, resulting in an electrical impulse that travels through the heart and is what you see when someone is hooked up to a heart rate monitor (Wilde and Bezzina 1352–1358). A cardiac arrhythmia, also known as cardiac arrhythmia arrhythmia, is any disorder or abnormality in the activation sequence of the myocardium, or rather, any disorder that alters the rhythm of the heart (Jaeger). Heart failures are quite common in our world, some harmless and some not, with estimates showing that around 600,000 people die every year due to some form of heart disease, and around 50% of these people die immediately after a cardiac episode ( Jaeger.) There are many different types of cardiac arrhythmias, all of which have to do with the heart and its automatic ability to depolarize and send electrical impulses through… middle of paper… acting experiments. to improve their knowledge of this powerful organ so we can prevent even more deaths. Although heart arrhythmias are common, not all are harmless and patients should get tested immediately if they believe something is wrong; because you never know when your heart might stop. Works Cited Jaeger, Fredrick. "Cardiac arrhythmias". Disease Management Project (2010): Web. March 22, 2011. http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/cardiology/cardiac-arrhythmias/Thompson, A and J. Basler. "Perioperative cardiac arrhythmias". British Journal of Anesthesia 93.1 (2004): 86-94. Network. March 23, 2011.Wilde, Arthur and Connie Bezzina. "Genetics of cardiac arrhythmias". Heart 91.10 (2005): 1352–1358. Network. March 24, 2011. “Arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death” American Heart Association. 1995. Network. March 24 2011.