proarrhythmic
|pro-ar-rhyth-mic|
🇺🇸
/ˌproʊəˈrɪðmɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌprəʊəˈrɪðmɪk/
causing abnormal heart rhythm
Etymology
'proarrhythmic' originates from the prefix 'pro-' (Latin 'pro', meaning 'for' or 'forward') combined with 'arrhythmic', which comes from Greek 'arrhythmia' ('a-' meaning 'not' + 'rhythmos' meaning 'rhythm').
'arrhythmia' entered New Latin from Greek 'arrhythmia', then passed into English as 'arrhythmia' with the adjective form 'arrhythmic'; in modern medical English the prefix 'pro-' was attached to form 'proarrhythmic'.
The element 'arrhythmia' originally denoted 'lack of rhythm' in Greek, and over time its medical sense became 'abnormal heart rhythm'; 'proarrhythmic' is a modern formation meaning 'promoting or causing abnormal heart rhythms'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
tending to cause, provoke, or aggravate cardiac arrhythmias; used especially of drugs or interventions that increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.
The drug was withdrawn after being found to be proarrhythmic in some patients.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/16 01:10