Cardiac Arrhythmia: Symptoms and Treatment

Cardiac Arrhythmia is a medical condition that is the result of increased or greatly reduced heart beats and electrical activity in the heart muscle and cavity. The abnormal heart rhythms or palpitations can cause a lot of anxiety and discomfort. The condition is predisposed towards embolus or a paralytic stroke. While some types of palpitations are minor, some postulate an alarm.

Irregular heart rhythm does not refer to any one heart problem. The term is commonly used to relate to a large number of conditions that take a toll on heart health. Among the various signs and symptoms, the most common one is the sudden, abnormal development of increased or reduced heartbeat.

The resultant palpitations could be frequent, infrequent, or consistent. Although, most of the time it is harmless, it could herald adverse outcomes, if ignored. There are many types of abnormal heart beats that don't even manifest in the form of symptoms.

Though they are not credited with increased mortality when they do not manifest, they do expose the patient to a higher risk of blood clotting and inevitably, a weakened heart. Other fatalities include, stroke, heart attack, and cardiac death. The symptoms include low blood pressure and weakness.

Cardiac arrhythmia is commonly detected through stethoscope auscultation for peripheral pulses or electrocardiogram or ECG. The treatment option is chosen after careful diagnosis of the condition.

While some palpitations require no treatment at all, quite a few demand medical emergency treatment to escape a complete heart failure. The common treatment options include:

There are a number of physical exercises that increase parasympathetic nervous supply. The resultant blockage of electrical conduction slows down an arrhythmia. The vagal maneuvers manage the heart's parasympathetic nervous supply, and support heart health.

There are a number of antiarrhythmic medications now available, each with its unique mechanism of action. However, it is very important for this drug to be carefully selected and administered under medical supervision.

The drugs are administered to slow down the electrical abnormality, and induce 'rate control', to make the condition physically tolerable. Anticoagulant medications like, heparin and warfarin help to reduce blood clotting.

This method involves shock therapy via implanted electrodes. The shock is delivered across the heart, either externally or internally. Cardioversion to the underlying heartbeat helps in the treatment of irregular heart beats.

In the elective cardioversion, the patient is sedated, while in case of defibrillation via an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, the recipient is unconscious most of the time and hence, there is no need for sedation.

Cardiac pacing is used to induce reversible heartbeats or bradycardia, while a pacemaker addresses bradycardia, when clinically declared irrecoverable.

This treatment method is conducted with the help of fine probes. The probes are inserted to map electrical activity, through the surrounding blood vessels. Once the abnormal conduction areas are identified, they are treated via heat, cold, laser, or electrical probes.

Common arrhythmias are classified according to the recorded rate, which could be either normal, tachycardia, or bradycardia. Another classification criterion is the mechanism, which could be either automaticity, fibrillation, or reentry. If neglected, it can culminate into a condition known as SADS or the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.

This syndrome refers to the sudden death brought on by cardiac arrest, triggered by neglected palpitations. The most common outcome of the condition on record remains coronary artery disease. Today, research reveals that there are a number of inherited heart conditions and diseases that cause sudden death, irrespective of the age.