Overview

What is a heart arrhythmia?

Heart arrhythmia is irregular heartbeats, which might result from the heart beating too fast or too slow. The heart can experience this in any location.

A healthy heart beats steadily and musically. However, various heart conditions or concerns about blood can interrupt its everyday mood. Every part of your body gets oxygen and nutrients from the blood that your heart pumps, so it is vital to maintain standard heart function.

What types of heart arrhythmias are there?

Arrhythmias can be classified in many ways. However, two main elements are often considered: the pulse and the beginning of inappropriate electrical signals. The main categories of arrhythmias in adults include the following:

According to heart rate:

Tachycardia is a heartbeat above 100 beats per minute. Structures of common tachycardia include:

Supraventricular Tachycardia: A group of abnormal electrical activity located in the atria or upper chambers of the heart. When SVT strikes, a pulse may be unpredictably fast.
(VT) Ventricular tachycardia is a fast, dangerous rhythm because the electrical signals originate in the ventricles. AF, atrial fibrillation, results in a fast and irregular heartbeat because the atria quiver rather than contract normally.

Bradycardia is a pulse slower than 60 beats per minute called bradycardia. Among them are:

The slowing of the pulse is sinus bradycardia, often encountered at rest or while running.
Heart block: The ventricles do not receive electrical signals in heart block. As a result, these beat at a slow pace or do not beat at all.
Irregular beats: An infrequent extrasystolic beat may lead to a transient wave-like sensation. These can be
Termed as precocious chamber contractions because they start from the atria.

Precocious contractions are termed depending on when they begin as atrial or ventricular contractions. The initial stages of the electrical activity will indicate:

Supraventricular rhythm refers to a start in the higher chambers of the heart, which form the atria. Some examples include SVT, atrial fibrillation, and PACs.
Ventricular rhythm refers to the starting point from the ventricles, which consist of the lower chambers of the heart. Its examples include VT and PVC.
Bradyarrhythmia: These can occur at any site in the heart's conduction system and typically result in a slow heart rate

What are the symptoms of cardiac arrhythmias?

Heart arrhythmias can cause many symptoms, including:

The sensation of a racing, jumping, or fluttering in your chest is known as pulsation.
Dizziness or fainting.
Loss of consciousness.
Low blood pressure.
Chest pain.
Shortness of breath.
Fatigue.

What are the causes of cardiac arrhythmias?

The causes of cardiac arrhythmias include:

Coronary artery disease
Abnormal tissue in your heart (from birth or acquired).
Problems in the muscle of your heart (cardiomyopathy).
Disease of your heart valves.
Electrolyte imbalance in your blood.
Damage from a heart attack.
Post-operative heart surgery recovery.

What are the diagnoses and tests for cardiac arrhythmias?

A doctor can recognize abnormal rhythms of your heartbeat during an examination by listening to your heartbeat and your heartbeat.

To assist in determining if you have an arrhythmia, they may need certain tests after reviewing your symptoms and general physical examination. This can also help identify what might be causing the condition.

Electrophysiologists are cardiologists who have recently been trained specifically to diagnose and treat cardiac arrhythmia problems. You may also want to see one of these physicians.

Some of the tests that can be applied to diagnose conditions linked with irregular heartbeats are-

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG).
Blood tests to test your electrolyte conditions or determine any hereditary problems.
Stress tests.
Catheterization of the heart.
CT scan
Acoustic echo imaging (X-ray) of the heart.

How are cardiac arrhythmias treated?

Adults with cardiac arrhythmias may get different treatments depending on their particular type, severity, and general health. Doctors may offer the following diverse approaches:

Changing your lifestyle might mean quitting smoking, reducing the fat intake in your diet, or becoming a walker.

Medicines:

If lifestyle modification alone proves ineffective, your family physician might also opt to prescribe some medicine to improve your heart's health. There are two or three common categories:

Anti-arrhythmic medicines: Such drugs influence the electrical functioning of the heart and prompt it to return to its normal rhythmic pulsation through several mechanisms.
Beta-blockers: These medications reduce the heartbeats and are part of the treatment plan in arrhythmias that cause tachycardia.
Calcium channel blockers: These drugs improve blood flow and help regulate the heartbeat.
Blood thinners: In case your arrhythmia causes you to have more blood clots, warfarin or ibuprofen will be prescribed to prevent you from having a stroke or suffering other complications

Surgery or Procedures-

Catheters can be used to treat the cause of arrhythmia. Here are a few things that are going to be done next:

Catheter extraction: Slender catheters are inserted into veins to administer radiofrequency energy or other techniques to destroy tiny parts of heart tissue that trigger abnormal electrical conduction.
Pacemakers: These implanted devices are installed with a sense to know exactly when the heartbeat must be synchronized and then offer electrical impulses to synchronize it.

Surgery:

Alternative treatments are sometimes not accessible or difficult, and the only option might be surgery. Possible surgical interventions include the reconstruction of the mitral valve, which can form scar tissue and block abnormal electrical pathways (if the arrhythmia is due to a malfunctioning heart valve).

What can I expect if I have an arrhythmia?

Depending on the nature of the heart arrhythmia, the secondary effects can be mild, severe, or insignificant. Some people will probably not need medication and treatment.

Most people with heart arrhythmias can generally live if they undergo proper treatment. Some patients with more critical arrhythmias suffer from heart attacks; they may or may not survive those.

Living With

What should I not eat/drink with this disease?

If you have an arrhythmia, limit alcohol and caffeine as both can trigger arrhythmias.

How often should I visit my physician?

Call them when you notice your symptoms worsening or occurring more frequently.

Routine follow-up with your doctor.
Look at how well you're being treated for an arrhythmia.
Modified medicine.
Confirm if the device implanted is easy to use.
Confirm that you have no infection.

Why Tender Palm Super-Speciality Hospital for Heart Arrhythmias?

Tender Palm Hospital has the most experienced team of Cardiologists, Cardiac Surgeons, and diagnostics with the latest and International standard infection control measures in Lucknow, India. The Cardiac Science Centre team has decades of experience in successfully treating Heart Arrhythmia.