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Heart Rhythm Disorders
What
are heart rhythm disorders? Heart rhythm
disorders fall under the category of arrhythmias. Arrhythmias may cause the
heart to beat too slow (less than 60 beats per
minute is bradycardia) or too fast (greater than 100
beats per minute is tachycardia). Arrhythmias may occur from the upper two
chambers of the heart, called atrial arrhythmias or
supraventricular arrhythmias or may originate from
the lower chambers of the heart, called the ventricles. Some arrhythmias are
benign, and have little, if any, clinical significance. Other arrhythmias are
malignant, and may be life-threatening. A given arrhythmia may have different
clinical significance in different individuals, primarily depending upon
whether or not the individual has structural heart disease, or most
importantly, diminished cardiac performance (congestive heart failure).
What
are the warning signs and symptoms of heart rhythm disorders? An individual's
response to any particular arrhythmia may be varied. Individuals may have no
symptoms whatsoever, or may present with sudden, catastrophic collapse with
either loss of consciousness or sudden death. In between these two extremes,
is an entire gamut of symptoms including insignificant palpitations to marked
fluttering in one's chest associated with shortness of breath, chest pain,
sweating, and lightheadedness. These are important symptoms to recognize and
should not be ignored. These should be discussed with your physician to help
determine their significance How are heart rhythm disorders detected? Your doctor
has several ways of evaluating heart rhythm disorders. The electrocardiogram
(ECG) is a common, noninvasive, quickly performed test that allows your
physician to assess exactly what rhythm your heart is in. This test, however,
does not provide any information as to what heart rhythm you may have had at
any time in the past, particularly associated with one or more symptoms. To
help evaluate rhythm disturbances that may occur while you are not at the
doctor's office, you may have a 24 hour ambulatory electrocardiographic
monitoring test (24 hour Holter monitor recording)
or a long term ECG analysis called an event monitor which may allow for
recording of abnormal heart rhythms for 14 days or 1 month. Other adjunctive
tests that may be helpful include treadmill testing, or electrophysiology
testing which is an invasive procedure involving placement of catheters into
the vascular system. What
are the treatment options for heart rhythm disorders? What
treatment is provided to a given patient depends entirely on the severity of
the heart rhythm problem. Many heart rhythm problems do not require any
treatment at all, other than reassurance. Other heart rhythm problems may be
easily treated with various anti-arrhythmic medications. Some rapid heart
rhythm problems may be treated with catheter ablation or implantation of a
pacemaker-type device known as an implantable cardioversion
defibrillator. Finally, and rarely, one may require an open-heart surgical
procedure to eliminate the source of heart rhythm problems. |
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