There are no two ways about your heart being the most crucial
organ and arrhythmia causes your heart to beat too quickly, too
slowly or erratically. You just cannot overlook arrhythmia as your ticker’s
vital rhythm and pumping function getting hijacked can have serious
consequences so arrhythmia matters. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is caused by an
abnormal heart rhythm (e.g. ventricular tachycardia) with there hardly being a
warning and the patient always loses consciousness.
You cannot predict the occurrence of a cardiac arrest and a
victim would require immediate treatment for survival. The most appropriate
form of treatment in out-of-hospital cardiac emergencies is proper application
of the CPR procedure that increases the survival chances of a cardiac arrest
victim. For a CPR class Palm Harbor,
don’t look beyond the AHA certified CPR Tampa in Florida. CPR courses are
conducted through a series of audio and video lectures and hands-on practice.
There are courses for both healthcare and non-healthcare providers.
Here’s information about two scenarios resulting from
arrhythmia:
Heart
Beating too Fast- The heart beating too fast is termed tachycardia. It’s
generally more than 100 beats per minute in adults and can last just seconds or
for minutes or hours. Although some ventricular tachycardias can be
tolerated without serious results, but if the ventricles (the heart’s lower
chambers) quiver during tachycardia, that can interfere with the ticker’s blood
pumping ability which can result in an abrupt loss of heart function, or sudden
cardiac arrest. These are life-threatening medical emergencies and without
immediate treatment, organ damage, organ failure and even death are likely.
Heart
Beating Irregularly- It is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) that causes your
ticker to beat irregularly. An abnormal electrical signal keeps the heart’s
chambers from pumping in a synchronized way when one has an AFib which causes blood
to pool in the atria (the heart’s upper chambers) resulting in formation of
clots. If one of these blood clots leaves the ticker and travels toward the
brain, it can block a vital artery that prevents oxygen from reaching the brain
through the bloodstream causing a stroke. The affected brain tissue starts to
die because of being deprived of nourishment. There are two types of strokes- ischemic
stroke that is caused by a blocked blood vessel to the brain and hemorrhagic
stroke, caused by a ruptured blood vessel, which allows blood to escape into
the brain tissue. Fortunately, there are many treatment options for AFib that can
reduce your risk of stroke. It is advisable that you discuss your treatment goals
with your doctor if you have Afib and be aware of other stroke risk factors that
you may have.
The bottom line is it’s very important that you understand
your risk as any type of arrhythmia matters.
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