Arrhythmia Management Specialist

What is arrhythmia?

Arrhythmia is a problem with your heartbeat. It could be too slow (bradycardia), too fast (tachycardia), irregular, or have a combination of problems. You might have brief periods where your heart races or pounds (palpitations) and experience symptoms like fainting (syncope).

The team at Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington sees and treats many kinds of arrhythmias, including:

• Atrial fibrillation
• Atrial flutter
• Premature atrial contraction
• Premature ventricular contraction
• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
• Ventricular tachycardia (VT)
• Ventricular fibrillation
• Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
  
  

Electrical signals control your heartbeat. These signals are sent by the sinus node in your heart. If something affects these signals, it can cause arrhythmia.

Why is arrhythmia management important?

If your heartbeat isn’t regular, it affects blood flow through your body. Your essential organs might then lack the oxygen they need to function normally.

Some arrhythmias aren’t a cause for concern and just require monitoring. Others are potentially life-threatening. Arrhythmia management is vital to ensure that you avoid problems like heart attacks and cardiac arrest.

What does arrhythmia management involve?

Arrhythmia management is an ongoing partnership between you and the team at Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington. First, they need to examine your arrhythmia and its cause, then come up with the proper treatment.

In many cases, heart problems that cause arrhythmias are caused by being overweight or obese, smoking, drinking too much alcohol, and living with constant stress.

Your arrhythmia management plan highlights things like these so that you can make necessary changes. You might also need to take antiarrhythmic medication or drugs to lower your blood pressure and/or cholesterol levels.

What procedures might arrhythmia management include?

When diagnosing your arrhythmia, the Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington team uses procedures like electrocardiography (EKG) and echocardiography (echo). These procedures enable them to look at the electrical activity in your heart and see how your heart is beating.

For longer-term monitoring or to examine symptoms that don’t show up on routine tests, you might need to wear either a Holter or event monitor. A Holter monitor is a portable EKG device that you wear for several days to record all the electrical activity in your heart. An event monitor is one you activate when you’re experiencing symptoms.

Some patients need to undergo minimally invasive procedures like cardiac ablation or defibrillator implantation. Ablation destroys the cells causing faulty electrical signals, while a defibrillator produces impulses that regulate your heartbeat.

For expert management of your arrhythmia, call Comprehensive Internal Medicine & Cardiology Associates of Huntington today or book an appointment online.