There are special cells in the heart that act as a natural pacemaker, sending electrical signals through their fibers to the heart muscle and regulating the heartbeat. An electrocardiogram reproduces these electrical patterns as a tracing. When there is a disturbance in any part of this conduction system, the heart may beat irregularly, or the rate may become either very slow or very fast. Irregular heartbeats can be life threatening in some cases, because the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently.

Besides of having looked at "in-bulit" factors that may increase the risk of heart disease, there are also aspects of health or lifestyle which have in many studies been linked with heart disease. One of the most positive measures you can take is to look at your own lifestyle and work out ways in which you can change it for the better.

Knowing your personal risk factors for heart disease and working out ways in which you can moderate them can not only increase the fitness of your heart and blood vessels but can also help you to make more sense of your condition and give you a feeling of being more in control.

One of the most positive things that you can do - and must do if you have been told you should have coronary surgery - is to give up smoking. A smoker under fifty, whether a man or woman, is five times at risk from developing heart disease. Not just that, but if you smoke you are more likely to die from heart disease. In the UK alone just under a quarter of the men who die of coronary heart disease and just over a tenth of women do so because they smoke. In fact, it is estimated about half the 100,000 smoking-linked deaths each year are a result of arterial disease.

Women who have diabetes, high blood cholesterol or who take the contraceptive diabetes, high blood cholesterol or who take the contraceptive pill are all more likely to develop heart disease if they smoke too. The good news is that if you stop smoking, no matter how long you have been a smoker, your risk of heart disease starts to go down. Within three years of giving up, your risk of dying is almost the same as for someone who has never smoked.

Increased heart rate, abnormal heart rhythm, shortness of breath, cough, fluid buildup in the body leading to swelling of the feet and ankles or abdomen, weakness, nad fatigue are some of the signs of heart failure. These vary, depending on the severity of the failure and the part of the heart affected. A variety of drugs can be prescribed to widen blood vessels, prevent the buildup of fluids, and strengthen heart contractions. In heart failure, the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. This may be due to heart muscle being weakened by conditions such as high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, or a mechanical failure in the valves. Heart failure does not mean that the heart stops pumping-that's called cardiac arrest-but rather that the heart is not working efficiently.