Understanding the Causes of Bradycardia
A heart who has a rather slow rhythm is a candidate for the condition called bradycardia. This heart disease is also referred to as slow arrhythmia wherein the signals of the heart do not fire well as it should. And so it causes the heart rhythm to recede down.
Bradycardia may appear to be caused by a preexisting heart disease or it may be due to the natural process of aging. It can also be the cause of the condition called myocardial ischemia, which is characterized by a reduced flow of blood to the muscles of the heart. Conduction disorders may also cause it. These disorders are observed when the impulses that travel to the heart perform their job in a different way. Aside from all these, substances such as tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, and diet pills may all cause bradycardia. Medicines for coughs and colds and even stress are also the known culprits of the disease.
A specific type of this disease is called heart block. In a heart block, the electrical impulses coming from the heart’s top chamber or the atria are delayed in their travel to the heart’s lower chambers, which are the ventricles. The signals can be delayed or may even be stopped completely.
The most common indication if a person has bradycardia is when they feel that their heart is skipping a beat or two. When this happens, the person may feel suddenly dizzy and could even faint. They may also seem to be very tired all of a sudden. There are also cases when they feel nauseous of has shortness of breath.
When any of these symptoms shows up, patients are advised to check with their respective doctors. It is important that they inform their health professional as to when the symptoms began and which of them they felt more continually. It is also going to be helpful if there is any information or a previous diagnosis of any of the disease that can be presented.
Once bradycardia is diagnosed, it is a must that people with the disease undergo monitoring and medical treatment. This is all in the aim of keeping their heartbeats within the normal range. If the disease is ignored, it can worsen and may even become life threatening.
Treating bradycardia is possible, especially if it is still in its early stages. Diagnosis and treatment start with the physical examination and history evaluation executed by the doctor. After that, an EKG, or an electrocardiograph test is performed. This test will provide the doctor all the important information and the condition of the patient’s heart.
Other tests like electro physiology study are ordered. These studies are used to appraise the changes in the patient’s heart rhythm that were failed to improve by the current medications. This disease can also assess the fainting as caused by the changes in the heart rhythm.
One of the treatments prescribed to people with bradycardia is the fitting of pacemakers. These devices have the capability to detect the slowness or the misses in the beats of their heart. Once a beat is missed, the device will then send an electrical impulse so that the heart rate is corrected as necessary.
People with bradycardia should start to be wary of the things that they feel. They have to be on the lookout for the changes in their bodies even more because this disease, although treatable may prove to be fatal if taken for granted. Some people who have bradycardia may not feel any change in their body, but their medical examinations showed it. For them, the condition is more delicate, because they are the patients that need utmost care and guidance.
