Heart Arrhythmia Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

What is heart arrhythmia?

The condition is characterized as problems related heart rhythms which tend to occur when electrical impulses responsible for coordinating our heartbeats fails to work properly, leading the heart to beat irregularly, very slow or very fast. Furthermore, heart arrhythmias may cause no harm in some cases, though in few cases, it may cause serious symptoms and complications in the long run.  Its treatment can manage or control irregular or fast heartbeats. A healthy lifestyle can help preventing heart arrhythmia.

What are the symptoms of heart arrhythmia?

Few obvious signs of heart arrhythmia are:

• Dizziness,
• Lightheadedness.
• Breathing difficulties.
• Syncope.
• Chest pain.
• Bradycardia– slow heartbeat.
• Tachycardia- rapid heartbeat.
• Fluttering in the chest.

What causes heart arrhythmia?

Certain factors can cause arrhythmia, such as:

• Drug abuse.
• Excessive consumption of caffeine or alcohol.
• Diabetes.
• High blood pressure.
• Stress.
• Smoking.
• Air pollution.
• Hypothyroidism.
• Changes to the structure of the heart, for example from cardiomyopathy.
• Hyperthyroidism.
• Coronary artery disease.
• A heart attack in the past that has lead to scarring of your heart tissues.
• Heart attack which is about to occur.
• Electrical shock.
• Some prescribed drugs.
• Some herbal treatments and dietary supplements.

What are the risk factors of heart arrhythmia?

Few factors known to increase the chances of heart arrhythmia are:

• Diabetes.
• Supplements and drugs.
• Thyroid problems.
• High blood pressure.
• Coronary artery disease.
• Nicotine or caffeine use.
• Other heart problems.
• Obstructive sleep apnea.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol.
• Previous heart surgery.
• Electrolyte imbalance.
• Congenital heart disease.

What are the possible complications of heart arrhythmia?

Certain complications linked with heart arrhythmia are:

• Heart failure.
• Stroke.

How is heart arrhythmia?

In order to diagnose the condition, the doctor will need the medical history and complete details about the symptoms of the patient. Moreover, he will also carry out a thorough physical examination. Furthermore, he or she will conduct heart-monitoring tests for ruling out the condition. Such tests can include:

• Holter monitor.
• Echocardiogram.
• Even monitor.
• Electrocardiogram (ECG).

In case he or she fails to determine heart arrhythmia, then the doctor can recommend the following tests:

• Tilt table test.
• Stress test.
• Electrophysiological mapping and testing.

How is heart arrhythmia treated?

Treatment of heart arrhythmia is not necessary for some cases. However, in case it is causing serious symptoms or making you more likely to develop its serious form or complications, then treatment becomes a necessity.

• Treating bradycardias- slow heartbeats:

1. Pacemaker.

• Treating tachycardias-rapid heartbeats:
  1. Medications.
  2. Catheter ablation.
  3. Cardioversion.
  4. Vagal maneuvers.

In addition to this, the treatment of the condition tends to involve the usage of implantable device such as implantable cardioverter defibrillator or pacemaker. Moreover, in certain cases, the doctor can recommend the option of surgery which includes coronary artery bypass and maze procedure.

By : Natural Health News