Cardiac Arrhythmia

ARRHYTHMIAS

EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEM IN A NUTSHELL

“My heart beats fast and irregular or skips a beat or two, I can feel it in my stomach, in my jaw and in my head and sometimes I get dizzy for no reason at all” – the typical description from many affected patients.

WORDS DR. MANUELA REISBECK PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CARDIOCARE MARBELLA

ECG PICTURE

Arrhythmias are simple errors in the electrical impulse and conduction within the cardiac electric circuit. There are many different types of arrhythmias causing palpitations – mostly signifying that the patient can feel their heart beating which usually is not the case. Although most of them are harmless, caused by stress, age and other medications taken for completely different conditions, on some occasions arrhythmias can be of great importance and danger. This is why cardiologists always advocate a thorough investigation once a patient complains of anything suggesting a heart arrhythmia. The most common condition is that of atrial fibrillation, especially with age, causing a fast and irregular heartbeat. Some patients are not aware of it, others feel immediately unwell, tired, short of breath with exertion or simply dizzy. Atrial fibrillation is an important diagnosis because it can cause heart weakness and strokes if left untreated. Other important arrhythmias are slow heartbeats, so called heart blocks, causing long pauses between heart beats. These are dangerous because the blood supply to the body, especially to the brain is reduced. Symptoms here include dizziness, fatigue and quite often the sudden loss of consciousness, which may only last for seconds, but nevertheless is a very worrisome event. Most patients attribute these spells to stress and dehydration, and the significance often remains underestimated until severe accidents happen or even the worst-case scenario, the sudden cardiac death. Consulting a cardiologist is the most important step to take: the investigations performed like ECG's, Holter-ECG's and heart ultrasound examinations will determine the fundamental problem and determine the severity of the situation. At times, there are underlying reasons causing the arrhythmias, like coronary artery disease or a dilated weak heart.

Treating the cause and not just the symptoms is key to avoid heart attacks and other severe conditions. The treatment for all sorts of arrhythmias has changed in recent years. Rather than using medication, we perform Electrophysiology Studies and Ablation Therapy which are highly effective and minimally invasive interventions. To ruleout coronary artery disease, we perform coronary angiograms and place stents, if necessary, this way terminating the induced arrhythmia. In the case of heart blocks, pacemakers must be implanted to avoid further episodes of loss of consciousness, the result of a short flat line in your ECG! As for stroke risk reduction, a minimally invasive intervention in indicated cases can be performed, closing off the unnecessary cavity in the heart's left atrium, where usually blood clots are being produced. This procedure is particularly important for patients who must take blood thinning medication to reduce the risk of a stroke, but have a high risk of spontaneous bleeding as well. CardioCare Marbella is fully equipped to diagnose all arrhythmias and cardiac conditions. Our team of highly experienced specialists will perform all treatment modalities involved with Arrhythmias. Many things can prevent you from seeing a cardiologist in time, you may be busy, you may be scared, but when it comes to the heart, we insist that it must be placed on top of your health priority list – especially when you receive the first signals of alarm. So please do not hesitate to make an appointment for a cardiac evaluation and have a specialist explain your individual options in detail.

i Please visit our website for more medical information. www.cardiocaremarbella.com