Why does arrhythmia cause chest pain?

Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
Updated on September 19, 2024
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The causes of chest pain due to arrhythmias primarily involve all kinds of arrhythmias reducing the blood flow in the coronary arteries. Although various arrhythmias can decrease coronary blood flow, they rarely cause myocardial ischemia. However, severe arrhythmias that cause significant myocardial ischemia can result in chest pain. For patients with coronary heart disease, various arrhythmias can induce or exacerbate myocardial ischemia, which may also manifest as chest pain and shortness of breath, and in severe cases, lead to acute heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and persistent, unbearable chest pain and tightness.

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Written by Wei Shi Liang
Intensive Care Unit
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Ventricular arrhythmias include the following types.

Common ventricular arrhythmias mainly include premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter, and ventricular fibrillation. Premature ventricular contractions appear on the electrocardiogram as prematurely occurring wide and abnormal QRS complexes. If asymptomatic, no treatment is needed; if symptomatic, receptor blockers can be used for treatment. Ventricular tachycardia is clearly indicated on the electrocardiogram by wide and abnormal QRS complexes, with heart rates ranging from 140 bpm to 200 bpm. The primary treatment is to remove the cause, and electrical cardioversion can be used when hemodynamics are unstable. Ventricular flutter and fibrillation, their ventricular rates are generally above 250 bpm, and treatment is crucial.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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Is sinus arrhythmia serious?

Sinus arrhythmia is a relatively common type of arrhythmia in clinical practice. It is typically identified through electrocardiogram testing. If no other specific symptoms are present other than sinus arrhythmia, sinus bradycardia, or sinus tachycardia, and if there is no structural heart disease, generally, there are no serious concerns. Often, these kinds of arrhythmias are caused by autonomic nervous system dysfunction, leading to an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. To address this irregular heartbeat, it is advisable to rest adequately in daily life and to include some aerobic exercise. Exercise can enhance cardiac contractility and strengthen regular heart function, which can help correct the arrhythmia.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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Does arrhythmia require hospitalization?

Arrhythmia treatment should be determined based on the patient's symptoms, type of arrhythmia, and its impact on hemodynamics. For instance, minor conditions like slight sinus bradycardia, irregular sinus rhythm, occasional atrial premature contractions, and first-degree atrioventricular block, which have minimal impact on hemodynamics and no significant clinical manifestation or structural heart disease, do not necessitate hospitalization. However, more severe arrhythmias such as sick sinus syndrome, rapid atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, and sustained ventricular tachycardia, which can cause symptoms like palpitations, chest tightness, dizziness, low blood pressure, sweating, and in severe cases, fainting, Adam-Stokes syndrome, and even sudden cardiac death, require prompt medical attention and hospitalization for treatment.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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Arrhythmia is what kind of disease

Arrhythmia is caused by abnormal excitation of the sinoatrial node or excitation originating outside the sinoatrial node, where the propagation of excitation is slow, blocked, or conducted through abnormal channels, leading to abnormalities in the frequency and/or rhythm of heartbeats due to origins and (or) conduction disorders of cardiac activity. Arrhythmia is an important group of diseases within cardiovascular diseases. It can occur independently or in conjunction with other cardiovascular diseases. Its prognosis is related to the causes, inducing factors, and evolutionary trends of the arrhythmia, and whether it leads to severe hemodynamic disturbances. It can cause sudden death or continuously affect the heart leading to its failure.

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Written by Wang Li Bing
Intensive Care Medicine Department
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How to alleviate arrhythmia

Arrhythmia is very common in clinical settings, and its treatment mainly includes etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment. If a patient experiences occasional premature beats without significant hemodynamic effects, special treatment may not be necessary at this time. However, if a patient repeatedly experiences supraventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, and other arrhythmias, cardiac electrophysiological examination and dynamic heart rate monitoring should be conducted. Antiarrhythmic drugs or even radiofrequency ablation may be administered for symptomatic treatment, as uncontrolled arrhythmias can easily lead to sudden death in patients.