Arrhythmia refers to what?

Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
Updated on September 23, 2024
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Arrhythmia refers to the abnormal origination or conduction of impulses in the heart due to abnormal activation of the sinoatrial node, slow conduction, blockages, or passage through abnormal pathways, leading to abnormalities in the frequency and/or rhythm of the heartbeat. Arrhythmias are a significant group of cardiovascular diseases. They can occur alone or in conjunction with other cardiovascular diseases. The prognosis of arrhythmias depends on their causes, triggers, trends in progression, and whether they lead to severe hemodynamic disturbances, potentially causing sudden death or continuous impairment of heart function leading to heart failure.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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How to relieve arrhythmia

The relief of arrhythmia mainly involves removing any triggers if they exist, as well as using non-pharmacological methods, including ocular compression, carotid sinus massage, pinching the nose and forcefully exhaling, and breath-holding, which are methods to reflexively stimulate the vagus nerve. If relief is unachievable and the episodes are accompanied by hypotension, fainting or near-fainting, seizures, angina, or heart failure, it is crucial to seek medical attention promptly for pharmacological interventions against arrhythmias, or even consider electrical treatments such as cardioversion, defibrillation, pacemaker implantation, and ablation, as well as surgical options.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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How to treat arrhythmia?

The treatment of arrhythmias should be based on the symptoms of the patients with arrhythmias, the type of arrhythmias, and their impact on hemodynamics. Control of arrhythmias during episodes involves removing the cause and focus of the disease and preventing recurrence, which can be divided into non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments. Non-pharmacological treatments include methods such as eyeball compression, carotid sinus massage, pinching the nose to exhale forcefully and hold breath to reflexively excite the vagus nerve, along with electrical treatments like electrical cardioversion, defibrillation, pacemaker implantation, and ablation surgery. There are mainly four types of drugs used: sodium channel blockers; beta-adrenergic blockers; drugs selectively prolonging the repolarization process, such as amiodarone; and calcium channel blockers. However, long-term use of these antiarrhythmic drugs can have varying degrees of side effects, and severe cases can cause ventricular arrhythmias or cardiac conduction block which can be fatal. Therefore, in clinical application, it is essential to strictly control the indications, monitor for adverse reactions, and rigorously follow the doctor's orders.

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Written by Wang Li Bing
Intensive Care Medicine Department
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What department should I go to for arrhythmia?

Arrhythmia is generally treated in the department of cardiovascular medicine. What is arrhythmia? It mainly refers to abnormalities in the frequency, rhythm, origin, conduction speed, or excitation sequence of the heart's impulses. Based on the principles of arrhythmia occurrences, it can be divided into two major categories: abnormalities in impulse formation and abnormalities in impulse conduction. Abnormalities in impulse formation include sinus arrhythmias and ectopic rhythms, while abnormalities in impulse conduction include interference atrioventricular dissociation, sinoatrial conduction block, intra-atrial conduction block, atrioventricular conduction block, and bundle branch block, among others.

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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.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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What medicine is used for arrhythmia?

There is still no consensus on the drugs commonly used for arrhythmia. The main classes used clinically are as follows: The first class is sodium channel blockers, which include three subclasses: moderate, mild, and significant sodium channel blockers, respectively comprising quinidine, lidocaine, and propafenone. The second class mainly consists of adrenergic receptor blockers, with propranolol being a representative drug. The third class of drugs selectively prolongs the repolarization process, among which amiodarone is commonly used clinically. The fourth class is calcium channel blockers, which mainly block calcium channels and inhibit the inflow of calcium, with verapamil being the main representative drug. Long-term use of anti-arrhythmia drugs can cause varying degrees of side effects, with severe cases possibly leading to ventricular arrhythmia or fatal cardiac conduction block. Therefore, when using these drugs clinically, it is essential to strictly control the indications, monitor adverse reactions, and strictly follow the doctor's prescription for rational medication.