Cardiac Arrhythmias, All You Need To Know
Cardiac arrhythmias are a fairly common disorder. For this reason we have often talked about it, however there are some aspects that you may still ignore. Arrhythmia is a disturbance or alteration of the heart rhythm: the heart beats too fast, too slowly or irregularly. Let’s see some important data.
Discovering cardiac arrhythmias
ECG – an effective examination
The electrocardiogram allows you to determine the type of arrhythmia, the severity, the exact point in which it occurs and its consequences for the person’s heart.
It is an important test and allows you to make some changes to your therapy to avoid wasting time on unnecessary tests. This technique undoubtedly offers great results.
The risk of sudden cardiac arrhythmia death is high
Sudden death is an event sometimes attributable to a cardiac arrhythmia; this is the case of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.
This type of cardiac arrhythmias are often referred to as “malignant” due to the high risk of sudden cardiac arrest. In this case, the use of the ventricular defibrillator should be started as soon as possible.
Not all cardiac arrhythmias are equally risky
While there is a risk of sudden death for some cardiac arrhythmias, this does not mean that they are all dangerous. In this lies the importance of the ECG, a diagnostic test that allows us to assess the severity of the alteration.
- Extrasystole : Also known as premature ventricular contraction. The beat, out of time, is ahead of the heart rate. It is usually not a serious condition, but it needs to be monitored. A change in diet and lifestyle is typically recommended.
- Sinus bradycardia : Heart rate lowers, is erratic, and can sometimes stop. In some cases it may not require any treatment, but if it worsens, a pacemaker may be required.
- Ventricular fibrillation : life-threatening the patient as it can cause a sudden stop of the heart.
There are many other types of heart arrhythmias, such as heart block or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The important thing is to be aware that not all of them have the same severity and do not always require treatment; in some cases, periodic monitoring and some precautions are sufficient.
A treatment for each arrhythmia
Just as all arrhythmias are different, the same happens with treatments. As we have already said, in some cases the treatment ends with a series of periodic checks. In others, however, it will be necessary to abandon risky habits such as smoking or alcohol consumption, or to improve the diet.
It is true, however, that arrhythmias often need to be treated with medication, but treatment will vary according to the type of arrhythmia and the severity. There is also a treatment known as radiofrequency ablation, typically performed after electrophysiological analysis.
The aim is to correct the arrhythmia through a small burn that destroys the tract of heart tissue that causes it. Excellent results are currently being obtained.
Were you aware of these data on cardiac arrhythmias? Although I have dealt with this topic on more than one occasion, there are always data that are worth investigating.
At the same time, research on new methods of intervention continues. It is therefore possible that some other news will arise soon that we will certainly share with you.
