In people with atrial flutter, the heart's electrical signal gets stuck repeating in the right atrium, causing the atria to contract rapidly (about 300 times per minute). It then passes through the ventricles, causing those chambers to pump blood to the rest of the body.Ī normal resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. The signal then travels to the atrioventricular node, near the center of the heart, where it is slowed down briefly (or pauses) to allow the ventricles to fill with blood. This signal travels from the right atrium to the left atrium and tells both of these chambers to pump blood into the lower heart chambers (right and left ventricles). Normally, your heartbeat begins with an electrical signal that's sent out by the sinus node (or sinoatrial node), a group of cells located in the upper right heart chamber (right atrium).

The condition is similar to atrial fibrillation (afib) - the most common type of arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat) - and it can cause similar symptoms and complications.Ītrial flutter is much less common than afib, and people with atrial flutter can also have episodes of afib. Atrial flutter is an abnormal, rapid heartbeat that produces a 'sawtooth' pattern on an electrocardiogram.Ītrial flutter is a heart disorder in which the heart beats much faster than normal.

Afib vs a flutter