Skip to main content

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Arrhythmias And Palm Harbor ACLS Classes

An arrhythmia, also called an irregular heartbeat occurs when electrical impulses in the heart don’t work properly. There may be no symptoms, alternatively, symptoms may include a fluttering in the chest, chest pain, fainting or dizziness. There are many types of arrhythmias including

1.      Premature atrial contractions,
2.      Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs),
3.      Atrial fibrillation,
4.      Atrial flutter,
5.      Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT),
6.      Accessory pathway tachycardias,
7.      Ventricular tachycardia,
8.      Ventricular fibrillation,
9.      Long QT syndrome,
10.  Bradyarrhythmias
11.  Sinus node dysfunction,
12.  AV nodal reentrant tachycardia.

Ventricular fibrillation happens when the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) quiver and cannot contract or pump blood to the body. This is a medical emergency as VFib is the leading reason behind occurrence of a cardiac arrest. A victim would require immediate treatment for survival. The most appropriate treatments being CPR and defibrillation. CPR comprises chest compressions and rescue breaths. Proper application of the procedure can revive the life of a cardiac arrest victim. CPR helps to pump blood around the person’s body when their heart cannot.


Select a certified training site for acquiring training, such as the AHA certified CPR Tampa in Palm Harbor. Courses for both healthcare and non-healthcare providers are offered. Here’s information on an ACLS class Palm Harbor:

Advanced Cardiac Life Support Classes- This American Heart Association program is for anyone working in an emergency or a critical care type environment, such as paramedics, critical care nurses, surgeons, emergency department staff, etc. Become certified at the end of the training classes after successfully passing a skills test and written exam.

Diagnosis of Arrhythmias:
Doctors use tests including the following to diagnose an arrhythmia or find its cause:

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) - This test records the electrical activity of your ticker.

Holter Monitor- This is a portable EKG that one will use for 1 to 2 days where the person will have electrodes taped to their skin.

Stress Test- The goal of the test is to check how much stress your heart can manage before having a heart rhythm problem or not getting enough blood flow to the ticker.

Echocardiogram- The test uses ultrasound to evaluate heart valves and heart muscle.

Other tests include cardiac catheterization, head-up tilt table test and electrophysiology study.
Treatment of Arrhythmias:

Electrical Cardioversion- You might need cardioversion if drugs can't control a persistent irregular heart rhythm (such as atrial fibrillation). Doctors, after giving a short-acting anesthesia, deliver an electrical shock to the chest wall to allow the normal rhythm to restart.

Pacemaker- Pacemaker sends small electrical impulses to the heart muscle to keep a safe heart rate.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) – It is to treat ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation that ICDs are mainly used. The device constantly tracks the heart rhythm. It delivers an electric shock to the heart muscle when it detects a very fast, abnormal heart rhythm to cause the heart to beat in a normal rhythm again. There are several ways the ICD can be used to restore normal heart rhythm including Anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP), Cardioversion, Defibrillation and Anti-bradycardia pacing.

Catheter Ablation- You can take this procedure to be a rewiring to fix an electrical problem within the ticker where the doctor inserts a catheter through the leg that delivers high-frequency electrical energy to a small area inside the ticker that causes the abnormal heart rhythm. What the energy does is it “disconnects” the pathway of the abnormal rhythm. This procedure is used by doctors to treat most PSVTs, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and some atrial and ventricular tachycardias.

Heart Surgery- The Maze procedure is a type of surgery used by doctors to correct Atrial Fibrillation, during which the surgeon makes a series, or “maze” of cuts in the ticker’s upper chambers. The main goal of this treatment is to keep the heart's electrical impulses only on certain pathways.

For a CPR class at CPR Tampa, either register online or call on 727-240-9404 to sign up for a course. If you cannot find the class day/time that fits your schedule, check out our Tampa location- 5396 Primrose Lake Circle, Conference Room, Tampa, FL- 33647.
Labels:
Location: Palm Harbor, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ways to Handle Heart Emergencies and Tampa CPR Classes

Some of the heart emergencies include heart attack or myocardial infarction, a sudden cardiac arrest or SCA (sometimes called out-of-hospital cardiac arrest - or OCHA) and an angina attack or unstable angina. These are life-threatening emergencies and a victim would require proper and immediate treatment for survival. Joining a CPR class Tampa and learning the valuable life-saving procedures is one of the best ways that can help you to handle heart-related emergencies. Always select an accredited training center for acquiring training such as the AHA certified CPR Tampa. Experienced instructors conduct the classes through a series of audio and video lectures and hands-on practice. There are courses for both healthcare and non-healthcare providers.  Symptoms of Heart Attack : Chest pain is the most vital symptom which often starts in the middle of the chest and moves to the neck, jaw, ears, arms and wrists. It can travel between shoulder blades, back or stomach ar...
3 comments
Read more

Risks, Types and Causes of Atrial Flutter and CPR Classes in Palm Harbor

Atrial flutter is a problem when the atria of the ticker beats rapidly and regularly due to an anomaly of the ticker’s electrical system that usually results in a tachycardia (an abnormally fast heart rate). An individual with the condition may get feelings like near-fainting, rapid heartbeats (palpitations), mild shortness of breath and fatigue. During atrial flutter, the ticker beats extra fast about 250-400 beats per minute. This type of arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) can be dangerous because complications can easily develop, and a normal heartbeat is 60-100 beats per minute. Atrial fibrillation is another arrhythmia that atrial flutter is closely related to. Atrial Flutter Types : 1.       Persistent atrial flutter which is more or less permanent. 2.       Paroxysmal atrial flutter which can come and go. An atrial flutter episode usually lasts hours or days. Risks: The main danger is that your ticker doesn’t p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Facts About Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

The aortic valve is a one-way valve between the heart and the aorta, regulating blood flow from the heart into the aorta. It is the main artery from the ticker/the major blood vessel that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body, and also prevents the blood from flowing back from the aorta into the ticker when the pumping chamber relaxes. Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease (BAVD) is one of the most common congenital heart conditions that can go unrecognized for years without incident. Surgery is the only fix once it starts to cause problems. Normally, the aortic valve has three small flaps or leaflets that open widely and close securely to send oxygenated blood on a one-way route from the heart to the aorta. But in bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAVD), the valve has only two leaflets, which can cause life-threatening problems. This congenital heart condition affects about 1-2 percent of the population, and it is twice as likely to develop in men, might go unrecognized for years i...
2 comments
Read more