What is cardiac arrhythmia?
Heart arrhythmia is a pathological abnormality of the heart rate. An irregular heartbeat occurs when the electrical impulses that trigger a heartbeat don’t work correctly, causing the heart to beat too fast or slow, or irregularly.
Arrhythmia causes
As a rule, heart arrhythmia symptoms develop due to cardiovascular or other disorders, such as:
- Hypertension. It’s a condition due to which a person’s blood pressure is higher than normal. High blood pressure needs regular arrhythmia treatment. Besides taking medications, the therapy also involves changing the lifestyle. The most important blood pressure regulators are physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day and a salt intake of no more than 5 grams per day.
- Structural heart disease — a condition characterized by the damage in a heart muscle (coronary artery disease, previous heart attack) or in the internal structure of the heart (valves and/or openings, septum). Various health disorders associated with valves can be congenital or develop throughout life. In case of having different types of arrhythmias, the blood supply to the heart muscle is disrupted, and it begins to die in this area.
- Diabetes — a disorder with too high blood sugar levels. There are various forms of diabetes, but the most common type is type II diabetes. Age, heredity, overweight, physical inactivity and prolonged stress contribute to the development of cardiac arrhythmia.
- Sleep apnea. An obstructive episode of sleep apnea is a cessation of air movement due to compression of the upper apnea, lasting more than 10 seconds. Obstructive sleep apnea can present with snoring, frequent waking, or choking at night.
- Hyperthyroidism — the thyroid gland produces and releases too much thyroid hormone, developing a severe illness. Anxiety, sweating, weight loss, heart palpitations or heart arrhythmia, and high blood pressure may also be heart arrhythmia symptoms. To diagnose hyperthyroidism, the patient will first undergo a blood test and, if necessary, additional tests.
According to the statistics, at a young and working age, men more often need arrhythmia treatment. In women the condition manifests itself at a more mature age against the background of disharmonious disorders of the postmenopausal period.
Heart arrhythmia symptoms
Signs of cardiac arrhythmia may not appear. The disease can be detected by our specialists or during ordinary dispensary examination. However, the following symptoms are mainly the result of a violation of the heart rhythm:
- ache in the chest;
- increased sense of palpitations;
- abnormal heart rhythm;
- slow heartbeat;
- dyspnea;
- loss of consciousness or fainting.
Some types of arrhythmias are initially asymptomatic or have few symptoms. Contrary to this, other kinds of heart arrhythmia are manifested in pronounced symptoms, but can’t end up with serious consequences.
Arrhythmia treatment
Due to the fact that arrhythmia cases can negatively affect the patient and seriously influence the work of the heart (disrupt the functioning of the valve apparatus, deplete the heart muscle, lead to an increase in the size of the heart cavities), the risk of arrhythmia can be reduced by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that implies proper nutrition and physical activity.
In our clinic, experienced doctors carry out medical treatment of arrhythmias. Depending on arrhythmia causes and the stage of the illness, your cardiologist can prescribe a shock therapy, taking various medicines or surgery. By making an appointment, you will receive expert advice and assistance.
