Arrhythmia is a pathological condition that is associated with a violation of the heart rhythm. If a person is in a calm state, then his heart rate should be 60-80 beats per minute, sometimes the number of these beats decreases or, conversely, increases.
Why does arrhythmia occur
Arrhythmia can occur for a variety of reasons. Here are the main ones:
- Abuse of bad habits, including alcohol and smoking.
- Drinking drinks that are high in caffeine.
- A state of constant stress.
- Excessive exercise.
- Thyroid disease.
- Diabetes and brain disease.
- Obesity and menopause.
Of course, these are not all reasons, but they are considered the main ones. 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.
Which symptoms to look out for
Sometimes it happens that the sicka person cannot feel absolutely no symptoms, but most often patients just need to listen to their body and pay attention to such signs of pathology:
- speedy or, conversely, slow heartbeat;
- palpable chest pain;
- severe shortness of breath;
- dizziness;
- loss of consciousness.
It is impossible not to treat the named disease, as this can lead to serious complications.
Types of arrhythmia and doctors' reviews
In medicine, there are several types of arrhythmias, and each of them should be considered separately:
- The most common sinus tachycardia. With it, if the patient measures the pulse in a calm state, he can count more than 90 beats per minute. In this case, the patient usually does not feel too bad, but at the same time he feels a rapid heartbeat.
- Sinus arrhythmia is different in that the rhythm of contraction of the heart muscle is disturbed. That is, the heart beats slower, but, on the contrary, faster. The risk group is mainly children and adolescents.
- Sinus bradycardia is accompanied by a decrease in heart rate, so less than 55 beats per minute can be noted when measuring the pulse.
- Atrial fibrillation - rapid heartbeat with the correct rhythm. According to experts who left reviews about the course of this disease, atrial fibrillation is sometimes accompanied by seizures. At this time, the heart begins to beat at a frequency of up to 250 beats per minute. This usually results in the patient losing consciousness.
- Sometimes a patient may experience paroxysmal tachycardia. The rhythm of the heart 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, its sudden fading.
Treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor after careful examination of all symptoms.
How to diagnose an 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 be under their supervision for some time.
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, while in other cases, surgical intervention may be required.
Treatment of such a patient is usually done by a cardiologist. To quickly get rid of your illness, the patient should definitely contact a specialist. It should be borne in mind that sometimes a disease such as arrhythmia turns out to be only an accompanying one, so you have to look for the main causehe alth problems.
When ablation is used
Often performed in atrial fibrillation ablation. Reviews of this type of surgical intervention, as a rule, emphasize its positive aspects. Experts note that the procedure itself is not long, and the patient will be able to recover very quickly after it.
The operation is very fast and does not require any special preparation from the patient. As a rule, during it, the surgeon cauterizes the sources that allow you to give false impulses to the heart, thereby restoring the heartbeat.
According to reviews, cauterization for arrhythmias makes it possible for almost 90% of patients to fully recover and never again encounter this disease.
Indications and contraindications for ablation
It is worth considering that ablation can become one of the most effective ways to deal with 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 find out if they have them contraindications.
Consider when ablation of the heart is performed for arrhythmia. Reviews of experts emphasize that it is prescribed for specific cases:
- If medical treatment is not achieved up to standard.
- If drugs cause side effects.
- In situations where a patient develops side effects with medication that threaten himlife.
- When there are all the prerequisites to attribute the disease to a congenital anomaly.
But as the reviews say, ablation of the heart with atrial fibrillation may not always be prescribed. This method is invalid in some situations:
- When the patient has a high fever.
- If he doesn't stop bleeding well.
- There are respiratory problems.
- There is an individual intolerance to iodine.
- Diagnosed with kidney disease.
In this case, the ablation may be delayed until the patient recovers his he alth and prepares for the operation.
Why 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 cite specific benefits of this procedure:
- Radiofrequency ablation is well tolerated by the patient and there is no long recovery required after the procedure.
- As a rule, the patient stays in the hospital for only 4 days after it under the supervision of a doctor, after which he is discharged home.
- The patient does not experience severe pain, since the incision is made in the thigh area, which means that there will be no scar. If it is a surgical intervention, then a part of the chest is cut.
- If there are reasons to suspect that a patient has an arrhythmia, the opinion of all specialists boils down to the fact that there is no better means than ablation to combat this disease. And patients asThe advantages emphasize that the operation is painless. No pain medication is required afterwards.
Before ablation is performed, the patient will definitely need to pass the tests that the doctor will prescribe, this is the main preparation for the operation.
What is the point of ablation?
Ablation for arrhythmias, 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 takes place under anesthesia. The specialist should carefully read all the tests, examine the patient's medical record to find out whether there are contraindications for anesthesia or not.
- Before the operation, the patient is given an intravenous anesthetic, and the incision site is treated with a special analgesic.
- The incision is made in the thigh area, and a special catheter is inserted into the femoral vein, which advances through the vein to the heart muscle. This catheter is a thin tube with a sensor at the end.
- A current is conducted through the sensor, which begins to stimulate the patient's heart. Those parts of the muscle that do not respond to discharges remain intact and he althy.
- As soon as the damaged area is identified, it is destroyed by cauterization. It may take 6 hours to find the damaged area.
- As soon as the doctor is convinced that there are no false lesions left, the catheter will be removed, and a pressure bandage will be applied at the incision site.
- Bduring the day the patient must comply with bed rest.
Despite positive forecasts and reviews, arrhythmia is a disease that requires constant monitoring by a cardiologist. And the patient, even after complete recovery, will need to undergo an examination at least once a year to prevent relapse.
Can there be complications after ablation?
It should be noted that ablation is essentially a non-hazardous type of surgery, so the risk that complications may occur is minimal. If we talk about the percentage, then it will not exceed 1%. Undesirable consequences may appear in such cases:
- If the patient has poor blood clotting.
- When the patient has diabetes.
- Heavy surgery can be tolerated by people over 75.
Complications may not appear immediately after surgery, but after a few days:
- the patient will have blood or ichor at the puncture site for a long time;
- new failures will appear in the heart.
- vein thrombosis may occur.
- Pulmonary vein stenosis develops.
But, despite this, doctors note a high percentage of recovery. According to their reviews, atrial fibrillation is completely treated, but the patient should be attentive to his he alth and after the operation, be sure to follow all the recommendations from specialists.
In conclusion
So, experts unanimously say that the chances ofrecovery after ablation in the patient is really high. But the desired result can only be achieved if both the doctor and the patient pay great attention to he alth and start the right treatment.
It is worth remembering that any delay in the operation can lead to death. But even after the patient's he alth improves, he will have to adhere to the correct rhythm of life, in no case should he abuse bad habits. If the patient does not take care of his he alth, 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 treated, and you can get rid of it forever, just be attentive to your he alth.
