Arrhythmia is a pathological condition that is associated with a violation of the heart rhythm. If a person is in a calm state, then the frequency of heart rhythms should be 60-80 beats per minute, sometimes the number of these beats decreases or, conversely, increases.
Why arrhythmia occurs
Arrhythmia can occur for a variety of reasons. Here are the main ones:
- Abuse of bad habits, including alcohol and smoking.
- Drinking drinks that contain a lot of caffeine.
- A state of constant stress.
- Excessive exercise.
- Thyroid disease.
- Diabetes and brain disease.
- Obesity and menopause.
Naturally, these are far from all reasons, but they are considered basic. If a person is diagnosed with arrhythmia, reviews about the course of this disease will be very diverse, since the causes and symptoms of the pathology also differ.
What symptoms should you pay attention to
Sometimes it happens that a sick person cannot feel absolutely no symptoms on himself, but most often patients should only listen to their body and pay attention to such signs of pathology:
- rapid or, conversely, slow heartbeat;
- palpable chest pain;
- severe shortness of breath;
- dizziness;
- loss of consciousness.
It is impossible not to treat the named disease, since serious complications can occur because of this.
Types of arrhythmias and reviews of doctors
In medicine, there are several types of arrhythmias, and each of them should be considered separately:
- Most often, sinus tachycardia is found. With her, if the patient measures the pulse in a calm state, he can count more than 90 beats per minute. In this case, the patient feels, as a rule, not too bad, but at the same time feels a frequent heartbeat.
- Sinus arrhythmia is characterized in that the rhythm of contraction of the heart muscle is disrupted. That is, the heart beats then slowly, but, on the contrary, more often. At risk are mainly children and adolescents.
- Sinus bradycardia is accompanied by a decrease in heart rate, therefore, when measuring the pulse, less than 55 beats per minute can be noted.
- Atrial fibrillation is a rapid heartbeat with the right rhythm. According to experts who have left feedback about the course of this disease, atrial fibrillation is sometimes accompanied by seizures. At this time, the heart begins to beat with a frequency of up to 250 beats per minute. As a rule, as a result of this, the patient loses consciousness.
- Sometimes a patient may experience paroxysmal tachycardia. The rhythm of the heart at the same time is correct, but very fast. Symptoms can develop very quickly and disappear just as quickly.
- Extrasystole is accompanied by strong tremors in the region of the heart or, conversely, by its sudden fading.
Treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor after careful examination of all the symptoms.
How to diagnose arrhythmia
To determine the exact diagnosis, it is necessary to undergo a special examination. It includes:
- electrocardiography;
- echocardiography;
- monitoring ECG;
- Ultrasound
By the way, according to doctors, it is most difficult to determine arrhythmia, if it manifests itself in attacks. In this case, the patient should spend some time under their supervision.
How to treat arrhythmia
The doctor will be able to start treatment when the exact cause of the disease is finally established. As a rule, if the disease has just begun to develop, then it can be cured with the help of medications, in other cases, surgery may be required.
The treatment of such a patient is usually done by a cardiologist. In order to quickly get rid of his ailment, the patient should definitely consult a specialist. It should be borne in mind that sometimes a disease such as arrhythmia is only accompanying, so you have to look for the main cause of the health disorder.
When ablation is applied
Often performed with atrial fibrillation ablation. Reviews about this type of surgical intervention, as a rule, emphasize its positive aspects. Experts note that the procedure itself is not long, and the patient after it will be able to recover very quickly.
The operation is very fast and does not require any special preparation from the patient himself. As a rule, the surgeon cauterizes sources during it, which allow giving false impulses to the heart, thereby restoring the heartbeat.
If you believe the reviews, cauterization with arrhythmia makes it possible for almost 90% of patients to fully recover and never again to encounter this disease again.
Indications and contraindications for ablation
It is worth considering that it is ablation that can become one of the most effective ways to combat arrhythmia, so patients should carefully listen to the doctor’s advice and take into account not only all the indications for this particular treatment method, but also to find out if they have contraindications.
Consider when cardiac ablation is performed during arrhythmia. Reviews of experts emphasize that it is prescribed for in specific cases:
- If treatment with medications is not achieved at the proper level.
- If medications cause side effects.
- In situations where, with the help of drugs, the patient has developed side effects that threaten his life.
- When there are all prerequisites to attribute the disease to a congenital anomaly.
But as the reviews say, heart ablation with atrial fibrillation may not always be prescribed. In some situations, this method is not valid:
- When the patient has a high fever.
- If his blood stops badly.
- There are problems with the respiratory system.
- Individual iodine intolerance is observed.
- Diagnosed with kidney disease.
In this case, ablation may be delayed until the patient regains his health and prepares for surgery.
Why do many doctors choose ablation
Given all the available reviews of doctors, arrhythmia can be attributed to diseases that are treated. And ablation is especially effective in this. Specialists give specific advantages of this procedure:
- Radiofrequency ablation is easily tolerated by the patient, and after the procedure does not require a long recovery.
- As a rule, the patient, after she stays in the hospital for only 4 days under the supervision of a doctor, after which he is discharged home.
- The patient does not experience severe pain, as an incision is made in the hip area, which means that the scar will not remain. If we are talking about surgical intervention, then part of the chest is cut.
- If there are prerequisites to suspect that the patient has an arrhythmia, the reviews of all specialists come down to the fact that there is no better tool than ablation to combat this disease. And patients, as an advantage, emphasize that the operation is painless. No painkillers are subsequently required.
Before ablation is performed, the patient will definitely need to pass tests that the doctor will prescribe, this is the main preparation for the operation.
What is the essence of ablation?
Ablation for arrhythmia, reviews of which are given in our article, takes place in several stages:
- The patient must be consulted by an anesthesiologist, since the procedure itself is performed under general anesthesia. The specialist should carefully read all the tests, examine the patient’s medical records in order to find out whether or not there are contraindications for anesthesia.
- Before the operation, the patient is given an analgesic agent intravenously, and the incision site is treated with a special analgesic.
- An incision is made in the thigh area, and a special catheter is inserted into the femoral vein, which moves through the vein to the heart muscle. This catheter is a thin tube with a sensor at the end.
- A current is passed through the sensor, which begins to stimulate the patient's heart. Those areas of the muscle that do not respond to discharges remain intact and healthy.
- As soon as a damaged area is detected, it is destroyed by cauterization. It may take 6 hours to find the damaged area.
- As soon as the doctor makes sure that there are no false foci left, the catheter will be removed, and a pressure bandage will be applied at the incision site.
- During the day, the patient must comply with bed rest.
Despite the positive forecasts and reviews, arrhythmia is a disease that requires constant monitoring by a cardiologist. And the patient, even after a full recovery, will need to be examined at least once a year to prevent relapse.
Can there be complications after ablation?
It should be noted that ablation is, in fact, a non-dangerous type of surgical intervention, therefore, the risk that complications may arise is minimal. If we talk about the percentage, it will not exceed 1%. Undesirable consequences may occur in such cases:
- If the patient has poor blood coagulation.
- When a patient has diabetes.
- Severe surgery can be tolerated by people over 75 years old.
Complications may not occur immediately after surgery, but after a few days:
- the patient at the puncture site will have a long time to show blood or a blood flow
- new failures will appear in the heart.
- vein thrombosis may occur.
- pulmonary vein stenosis develops.
But, despite this, doctors note a large percentage of recovery. According to their reviews, atrial cardiac arrhythmia is completely treated, but the patient should be attentive to his health and after the operation, be sure to adhere to all recommendations from specialists.
Finally
So, experts unanimously argue that the patient's chances of recovery after ablation are really high. But the desired result can be achieved only if both the doctor and the patient will react with great attention to health and begin proper treatment.
It is worth remembering that any delay in the operation can be fatal. But even after the patient’s health improves, he will have to adhere to the correct rhythm of life, and in no case should he abuse bad habits. If the patient does not monitor his health, then there is a risk that a relapse will occur, and in this case a serious surgical intervention will be required.
As a rule, patients who have undergone ablation leave positive feedback about it. Arrhythmia, according to them, is a disease that is being treated, and you can get rid of it forever, it’s enough to be careful about your health.