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| Arrhythmia, Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention, Complications |
Arrhythmias are disorders that occur in the rhythm of the heart. People with arrhythmias may feel their heart rhythm is too fast, too slow, or irregular. In fact, normal arrhythmias occur in a healthy heart. However, if it occurs continuously or repeatedly, an arrhythmia can indicate a problem with the heart organ.
Types of Arrhythmia
The most common types of arrhythmias are:
- Atrial fibrillation, which is a condition when the heart beats faster and irregularly
- AV block, which is a condition when the heart beats slower
- Supraventricular tachycardia, which is a condition when the heart rate is too fast
- Extra systole ventricle, which is a condition when there is another beat outside the normal beat
- Ventricular fibrillation, which is a condition when the heart only vibrates
Causes of Arrhythmia
Arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses that regulate the heartbeat don't work properly. This condition can be caused by a number of conditions below:
- Take cold medicine or allergy medicine
- Sleep apnea
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Electrolyte disturbances, such as potassium excess or deficiency and hypomagnesaemia
- Thyroid disorders, eg hyperthyroidism
- Heart valve disorders
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary heart disease
- Heart attack
- Cardiomyopathy
Apart from medical conditions, arrhythmias can also be triggered by an unhealthy lifestyle, such as:
- Unable to manage stress well
- Lack of sleep
- Smoking
- Excessive consumption of alcoholic or caffeinated beverages
- Abusing drugs
Arrhythmia Symptoms
Arrhythmias can occur without causing symptoms, so sometimes the sufferer is not aware of it. Symptoms of arrhythmias that can appear include:
- Heart beating faster than normal (tachycardia)
- Heart beating slower than normal (bradycardia)
- Dizzy
- Faint
- Tired quickly
- Hard to breathe
- Chest pain
Please note, someone who experiences the above symptoms does not necessarily experience an arrhythmia. Therefore, an examination by a doctor is necessary in order to find out what triggers these symptoms.
When to go to the doctor
Have regular medical check-ups with a cardiologist, especially if you suffer from hypertension, thyroid disorders, diabetes, heart disease, or have had heart surgery.
Immediately see a doctor if you often experience chest pain, shortness of breath, and palpitations, especially if these complaints appear suddenly.
If someone around you faints after previously complaining of the above symptoms, immediately take him to the emergency room at the nearest hospital.
Arrhythmia Diagnosis
To determine if the patient is suffering from an arrhythmia, the doctor will ask about the symptoms that appear and listen to the patient's heartbeat. After that, the doctor will perform the following examinations:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG), to record the electrical activity of the heart while lying down
- Holter monitoring, to record the electrical activity of the heart when the patient is active during the day
- Cardiac exercise test, to measure cardiac activity when the patient does physical exercise, such as pedaling a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill
- Heart echo, to see the structure and function of the heart with the help of sound waves
Doctors can also run other tests to see if there is an underlying disease for the arrhythmia, namely:
- Electrolyte level measurement
- Measurement of blood sugar levels
- Scan
- Cardiac catheterization
- Biopsy
Arrhythmia Treatment
Treatment of arrhythmias aims to treat irregular heart rhythms. The method used depends on the type of heart rhythm disorder experienced, whether it is too fast or too slow.
Treatment methods include:
Drugs
The drugs that doctors prescribe to treat arrhythmias are antiarrhythmic drugs. Doctors will also prescribe warfarin to reduce the risk of blood clots.
Ablation
The doctor will perform cardiac ablation with a cardiac catheterization procedure. This procedure is done by placing one or more catheters in the blood vessels leading to the heart.
The electrodes located at the end of the catheter will destroy a small piece of tissue in the heart that causes heart rhythm disturbances, so that the heart rhythm returns to normal.
Pacemaker
The doctor will place a pacemaker under the skin, just below the collarbone. The pacemaker functions to return a heart rhythm that is too slow to normal.
ICD
An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a small device that is placed in the chest. This device is used in patients who are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. This implant will detect signs of cardiac arrest and automatically apply electricity to overcome it.
Arrhythmia Complications
In some cases, the arrhythmia can get worse and lead to serious complications, such as:
- Dementia
- Alzheimer's disease
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Sudden cardiac arrest
- Sudden infant death (SIDS)
Arrhythmia Prevention
As explained above, many factors can cause arrhythmias. Therefore, prevention depends on the cause of the arrhythmia.
In general, arrhythmias can be prevented by maintaining a healthy heart, namely by:
- Quit smoking
- Eat healthy food
- Maintain ideal body weight
- Exercise regularly
- Limit consumption of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages
- Avoid taking medication without a doctor's instructions
People with heart disease need to have regular check-ups with the doctor so that their condition doesn't get worse and cause arrhythmias. Patients also need to take medication regularly as recommended by a doctor and immediately see a doctor as soon as symptoms worsen.
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