The word “ventricular” refers to the lower chambers of your
ticker, whereas tachycardia is the medical term for a fast heart rate, and
that’s what ventricular tachycardia is in a nutshell- an abnormally rapid
heartbeat.
How Does
The Ticker Function?
Your ticker is a muscular pump made of four chambers- the two
upper chambers are called the atria and the two lower ones are called the
ventricles. They work together to pump nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood
throughout the body. A healthy heart beats about 100,000 times every day.
Electrical signals control your heartbeat, which follow a specific pattern,
beginning in the sinoatrial, or SA, node, which is in your heart’s upper
chamber, or atrium. Your atria contracts because of this signal, it then moves
down to another part of your heart called the atrioventricular, or AV, node,
which tells your ventricles to contract.
Ventricular
Tachycardia- What happens with ventricular
tachycardia (V-tach) is that the electrical signals in your ventricles fire
off the wrong way with the pulses coming from the SA node, often referred to as
the heart’s natural pacemaker, also being affected. Most normal
heart rates are in the range of 60 to 100 beats a minute whereas V-tach can
result in rates as high as 170 beats a minute or even more. The upper chambers
of your ticker don’t have time to refill and then send that blood to the
ventricles, which means your blood is not getting pumped properly throughout
your body.
This condition, in some instances can lead to what’s called
ventricular fibrillation- very rapid and erratic heartbeats of 300 or more a
minute. This is life-threatening (most cardiac arrests occur due to this
abnormal rhythm), and you would need emergency treatment.
Symptoms:
You may not have any symptom, especially if your ticker beats
extra fast for only a few seconds, but most episodes last longer, and you might
then feel lightheaded or dizzy with chest pain, shortness of breath and heart
palpitations being other common symptoms. It can cause fainting and
unconsciousness as well.
How Likely
Are You To Get This?
It usually shows up in individuals with other types of heart conditions,
such as coronary artery disease, which can interfere with the flow of blood.
You have a greater chance of ventricular tachycardia, if you have a condition
called cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart muscle to become enlarged, thick,
or rigid. Heart surgery and myocardial infarction can also increase your
chances.
Diagnosis:
Your doctor will review your medical history and symptoms, as
well as results of heart-related tests with the first one you probably would
get being an electrocardiogram, which records the electrical activity of your
ticker. He or she may also want you to get what’s called electrophysiology
testing, which pinpoints problem areas in your ticker.
Treatment
Options:
If your symptoms are mild and happen rarely, you may not need
to do anything, but if that isn’t the case, the type and length of treatments
you get will depend on what’s causing the problem. If there’s an underlying
condition, such as an electrolyte imbalance, your doctor will treat that first
to see whether your heart rate becomes normal. Otherwise, your doctor may
choose from several options like
1. placing a
small device, called an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or ICD, under
the skin right below your collarbone, that helps your ticker beat normally;
2. cardiac
ablation
3. you might
get medications to slow your heartbeat.
Supraventricular
tachycardia, or SVT- It starts in the upper chambers, called the atria with
SVT having several forms, and is the most common type of rapid-heartbeat
problem in children, as well as adults who drink too much coffee or alcohol,
smoke heavily, are under stress, are not sleeping well, or are getting
inadequate fluids. Although this condition isn’t as urgent as V-tach, but you
should still see a doctor.
Comments
Post a Comment