tachycardia

noun tachy·car·dia \ ˌta-ki-ˈkär-dē-ə \

Definition of tachycardia

: relatively rapid heart action whether physiological (as after exercise) or pathological — compare bradycardia

Recent Examples of tachycardia from the Web

But Hannah suffers from postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic disorder of the involuntary nervous system, which regulates things like blood pressure and heart rate.

— veronica webb, The Root, "It’s OK Not to Be OK: 2 Black Teens Use Tech to Prevent Suicide," 10 May 2018
Sinus tachycardia — runs of rapid-fire heartbeats — suggests the vessel has gone from partially blocked to completely blocked.

— melissa healy, latimes.com, "DIY or die: How an Australian outback nurse diagnosed his own heart attack and saved his life," 8 Mar. 2018
Other potential causes of palpitations include paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, or PSVT, an extra-fast heart rate that can suddenly come and go, as well as genetic conditions such as Long QT syndrome and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

— emily sohn, Washington Post, "Everyone has heart palpitations, but for some it can be serious," 7 Mar. 2018
The Medical Examiner's Office said Jones died of sudden cardiac death in association with postural tachycardia syndrome and obesity with amphetamine therapy.

— eric heisig, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Heights will pay $200,000 to family of woman who died in jail," 23 Feb. 2018
Her heart went into ventricular tachycardia, which is a condition in which the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) beat very quickly.

— vagney bradley, Houston Chronicle, "Association stresses dangers of heart disease," 22 Feb. 2018
Underwood, who has a pre-existing condition called supraventricular tachycardia, which keeps her heart from maintaining a normal rhythm, then went a step further.

— charlotte alter, Time, "A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office," 18 Jan. 2018
If too much of the chemical gets into their systems, the result can be seizures, tachycardia (an abnormally fast heart rate), vomiting or other problems.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Risk of chocolate poisoning peaks for pets at Christmas," 24 Dec. 2017
When too much of the chemical gets into their canine systems, the result can be seizures, tachycardia (an abnormally fast heart rate), vomiting or other problems.

— karen kaplan, latimes.com, "It's Christmastime, and that means dogs are now at peak risk of chocolate poisoning," 21 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tachycardia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tachycardia

New Latin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1889

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

tachycardia

noun tachy·car·dia \ ˌtak-i-ˈkärd-ē-ə \

medical Definition of tachycardia

: relatively rapid heart action whether physiological (as after exercise) or pathological — see junctional tachycardia, paroxysmal tachycardia, sinus tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia — compare bradycardia