Cardiac arrhythmia
| Cardiac arrhythmia | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Ventricular Fibrillation or V-Fib, an example of cardiac arrhythmia. | |
| ICD-10 | I47 - I49 |
| ICD-9 | 427 |
| DiseasesDB | 15206 |
| MedlinePlus | 001101 |
| MeSH | D001145 |
Template:Cardiac arrhythmia Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]
Overview
Fibrillation
A serious variety of arrhythmia is known as fibrillation. The muscle cells of the heart normally function together, creating a single contraction when stimulated. Fibrillation occurs when the heart muscle begins a quivering motion due to a disunity in contractile cell function. Fibrillation can affect the atrium (atrial fibrillation) or the ventricle (ventricular fibrillation); ventricular fibrillation is imminently life-threatening.
Atrial fibrillation is the quivering, chaotic motion in the upper chambers of the heart, known as the atria. Atrial fibrillation is often due to serious underlying medical conditions, and should be evaluated by a physician. It is not typically a medical emergency.
Ventricular fibrillation occurs in the ventricles (lower chambers) of the heart; it is always a medical emergency. If left untreated, ventricular fibrillation (VF, or V-fib) can lead to death within minutes. When a heart goes into V-fib, effective pumping of the blood stops. V-fib is considered a form of cardiac arrest, and an individual suffering from it will not survive unless cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation are provided immediately.
CPR can prolong the survival of the brain in the lack of a normal pulse, but defibrillation is the intervention which is most likely to restore a more healthy heart rhythm. It does this by applying an electric shock to the heart, after which sometimes the heart will revert to a rhythm that can once again pump blood.
Almost every person goes into ventricular fibrillation in the last few minutes of life as the heart muscle reacts to diminished oxygen or general blood flow, trauma, irritants, or depression of electrical impulses themselves from the brain.
SADS
SADS, or sudden arrhythmia death syndrome, is a term used to describe sudden death due to cardiac arrest brought on by an arrhythmia. The most common cause of sudden death in the US is coronary artery disease. Approximately 300,000 people die suddenly of this cause every year in the US.
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS) can also occur from other causes. Also, there are many inherited conditions and heart diseases that can affect young people that can cause sudden death. Many of these victims have no symptoms before dying suddenly.
Causes of SADS in young people are long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia ("arrythmia"-causing, "right ventricle"-involving, pre-cancerous malformation).
List of common cardiac arrhythmias
- Atrial Rhythms
- Ventricular Rhythms
- Atrial Ventricular Arrythmias
- Junctional Arrhythmias
- Junctional rhythm
- Junctional tachycardia
- Premature junctional complex
- Heart Blocks, also known as AV blocks
- First degree heart block, also known as PR prolongation
- Second degree heart block
- Type 1 Second degree heart block, also known as Mobitz I or Wenckebach
- Type 2 Second degree heart block, also known as Mobitz II
- Third degree heart block, also known as complete heart block
References
Related Chapters
- Clinical cardiac electrophysiology
- Antiarrhythmic agents
- Artificial pacemaker
- Electrical conduction system of the heart
- Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.
de:Herzrhythmusstörung ko:부정맥 hr:Aritmija it:Aritmia he:הפרעת קצב nl:Hartritmestoornis new:कार्डियाक अरिदमिया no:Arytmi fi:Rytmihäiriö sv:Arytmier uk:Аритмії серця