What is Heart block?
[[File: ConductionsystemoftheheartwithouttheHeart-en.svg|thumb|280px|The yellow parts of this drawing show the heart's electrical pathways. Normally, electricity travels down these pathways to make the heart beat. With heart block, there is a block in one of these pathways, so electricity cannot travel normally through the heart]] '''Heart block''' is a type of [[heart disease]]. The human [[heart]] uses [[Electricity|electrical]] signals to [[Heart#Heart's pacemaker|make the heart beat]]. Electricity travels down pathways in the heart to make each part of the heart beat at the right time. When a person has a heart block, there is a “block” in one of these electrical pathways. This blocks electricity from travelling normally through the heart. This makes the heart [[Bradycardia|beat more slowly]]. In the most serious cases, the heart’s electrical pathways are blocked so badly that electricity cannot travel through the heart. This means the heart’s electrical signals cannot control how the heart beats, or cannot make the heart beat at all. == Symptoms == Many people with heart block have no [[symptom]]s at all.<ref name=nih>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hb |title=What is Heart Block? |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=July 9, 2012 |website=National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute |publisher=National Institutes of Health of the United States |access-date=September 6, 2016 }}</ref> Other people only have symptoms every once in a while. Sometimes, their heart might skip a beat. This can make the person feel dizzy; [[Syncope|faint]]; or have palpitations (feel their heart pounding).<ref name=nih/> In the most serious cases of heart block, a person's heart cannot control their heart beats. These cases can be treated with an [[Pacemaker|artificial pacemaker]]. This is a medical device that is placed into the heart. It sends electrical signals to make the heart beat regularly.<ref name=nih/> ==Causes== Some people are born with heart block. This