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Atrial fibrillation etiology & pathophysiology
Atrial fibrillation etiology & pathophysiology
Case studies atrial fibrillation
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“Extreme high heart rate, ‘cold’ sweat, and dizziness,” is what Kevin Olinger, a person living with atrial fibrillation (afib), experiences during an afib episode (1). Atrial fibrillation, a very serious heart arrhythmia, is found in over two million people living in the United States (2 What is 1). According to Gary Riddle, doctor at Memorial Hospital Health Care Center, he cares for roughly 40 patients diagnosed with afib each year in Ferdinand, Indiana (Riddle 1). People the age of 40 and over have a one in four chance of getting atrial fibrillation (2 What is). Knowing the risk factors, causes, symptoms, and treatment options for atrial fibrillation may help save one’s life in the future.
Atrial fibrillation, also known as afib, can cause the heart to beat up to 400 beats per minute (Cohen 32). Afib occurs whenever
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If there are no blood clots, then electrical mapping will be performed to see where the false signals are coming from. Small wires are then stuck in blood vessels and thread to the heart. Once to the heart, the wires will target the area where the false signals are being sent and diminish it. (Treatment 3) If the AV node is the area sending out false signals, a pacemaker must be put in the AV node’s place (3). A pacemaker is an electrical device that sends out electrical signals telling the heart to beat (5). A more serious procedure done to treat atrial fibrillation is called the maze procedure. The maze procedure, an open heart surgery, is done in the superior part of the heart (5). Small cuts will be done creating a maze-like appearance (Cohen 36). These small cuts will create scar tissues. Once scar tissue is formed, it hampers with the electrical signals in the heart in hopes that the scar tissue will stop the false electrical signals. (Treatment 5) The type of treatment one receives all depends on the type of atrial fibrillation he/she
There are several different heart problems that show up as an abnormal EKG reading. For example, a heart block can occur when there is a delay in the signals coming from the SA node, AV node, or the Purkinje fibers. However, clinically the term heart block is used to refer to an AV block. This delays or completely stops communication between the atria and the ventricles. AV block is shown on the EKG as a delayed or prolonged PR interval. The P wave represents the activity in the atria, and the QRS complex represents ventricular activity. This is why the PR interval shows the signal delay from the AV node. There are three degrees of severity, and if the delay is greater than .2 seconds it is classified as first degree. Second degree is classified by several regularly spaced P waves before each QRS complex. Third degree can be shown by P waves that have no spacing relationship to the QRS complex. Another type of blockage is bundle branch block. This is caused by a blockage in the bundle of His, creating a delay in the electrical signals traveling down the bundle branches to reach the ventricles. This results in a slowed heart beat, or brachycardia. On an EKG reading this is shown as a prolonged QRS complex. A normal QRS is about .8-.12 seconds, and anything longer is considered bundle branch block. Another type of abnormal EKG reading is atrial fibrillation, when the atria contracts very quickly. On the EKG this is shown by no clear P waves, only many small fibrillating waves, and no PR interval to measure. This results in a rapid and irregular heartbeat. On the other hand, ventricular fibrillation is much more serious and can cause sudden death if not treated by electrical defibrillation.
In this lab, I took two recordings of my heart using an electrocardiogram. An electrocardiogram, EKG pg. 628 Y and pg. 688 D, is a recording of the heart's electrical impulses, action potentials, going through the heart. The different phases of the EKG are referred to as waves; the P wave, QRS Complex, and the T wave. These waves each signify the different things that are occurring in the heart. For example, the P wave occurs when the sinoatrial (SA) node, aka the pacemaker, fires an action potential. This causes the atria, which is currently full of blood, to depolarize and to contract, aka atrial systole. The signal travels from the SA node to the atrioventricular (AV) node during the P-Q segment of the EKG. The AV node purposefully delays
to determine why athletes suffer sudden cardiac arrest, and although there have been a fair amount of conclusions, none have been clear and strong enough to determine why exactly they occ...
It occurs because of repetitive electrical activity. This can occur in a patient with early or late heart failure, because there is damage to the heart tissue and the heart beats faster to try to supply the body with blood. Recommended treatment is elective cardioversion. Drugs used include an antidysrhythmic such as Mexitil or Sotalol (Ignatavicius &Workman, p. 728-729).
There are four different categories of treatment: lifestyle changes, surgical procedures, non-surgical procedures, and medications. Lifestyle changes include having a healthy diet; increasing physical activity; eliminating cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and illicit drugs; and getting enough rest and sleep; losing excess weight. These lifestyle changes are to lower the patient’s blood pressure, cholesterol, and reducing any other future medical conditions. There are also surgical options to help cure, prevent, or control cardiomyopathy. Surgical method include a septal myectomy, surgically implanted devices, and a heart transplant. A septal myectomy is used to specifically treat hypertrophy cardiomyopathy which is where the heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles to thicken. The thickening of the walls may not affect the size of the ventricles but instead may affect the blood flow out of the ventricle. Usually along with the ventricles swelling, the septum in between the ventricles can become enlarged and block the blood flow causing a heart attack. When medication is not working well to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a surgeon will open the chest cavity and remove part of the septum that is blocking blood flow. Surgically implanted devices include a pacemaker, a cardiac resynchronization therapy device, a left ventricular assist device, and an implantable
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac arrhythmia. It is the most common arrhythmia and it has implications for patients and anaesthetists alike. The anaesthetist must take into consideration the physiological and pharmacological implications of this common arrhythmia.
Fibrillations are caused by rapid, irregular contractions and may be useless for pumping blood. A defective in the SA node may result in ectopic focus causes abnormal pacemaker takes over. If the AV node takes over the junctional rhythm the heart will run at a pace of 40 to 60 beats per minute. If a defective AV node occurs, it may result in partial or total heart block and few or no impulses from the SA node reach the
When a person has Atrial Fibrillation, the sinoatrial node releases multiple quick impulses at a rate of 350 -600 times per minute. When this happens, the ventricles respond by beating around 120- 200 beats per minute, making it tough to identify an accurate heart rate. This arrhythmia can be the result of various things. During a normal heart beat, the electrical impulse begins at the sinoatrial node and travels down the conduction pathway until the ventricles contract. Once that happens, the SA node fires again and the process keeps on cycling (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013).
Cardiovascular disease has become an increasingly significant issue in many countries as it is the leading cause of death for the whole human population. According to World Health Organization, ischemic heart disease had caused about 7 million people to lose their life in 2011. One of the most common cardiovascular illnesses is myocardial infarction. It is defined as the death of cardiac myocytes due to complete blockage of a coronary artery. t-PA is a thrombolytic drug that used to treat myocardial infarction by dissolving the thrombus that causes the occlusion.
One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease. “Approximately every 29 seconds one American will have a heart attack, and once a minute one American will die from a heart attack” (Ford-Martin and Odle, 915). According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are considered at risk for heart disease. Heart disease is a major cause of death. It is beneficial to individuals who seek to prevent heart disease to recognize the risks leading to heart attacks as they are one of the primary indications of developing heart disease; especially those that fall into the at risk age groups. These risks consist of some that cannot be changed such as heredity risks, or those that can change such as smoking habits. It is very important to know these specific risks for prevention and to understand the symptoms of heart attacks, such as sweating or the feeling of weakness so if these or other symptoms occur people are aware. Finally heart disease treatment is of vital importance if you experience a heart attack so you can learn how to prevent another one from occurring.
Introduction: In year 10, biology, we have been studying the heart: the functions of the heart, the parts of the heart (ventricle, atrium) and heart problems. We have also been studying the heart rate of humans. We were asked to create an experiment to see what affects heart rate. We discovered that diet, stress, cholesterol levels, excitement, mass, age, temperature and exercise affect the heart.
When you have Tachycardis your heart rate is above 100 beats per minute. Tachycardis is caused by heart injuries from past times. Tachycardis usually occurs months or years after a heart attack. A treatment for Tachycardis can be inserting a device called a defibrillator. A defibrillator will detect and treat abnormally fast heart rhythms.
So, what really is cardiovascular drift and is it something to be worried about? Cardiovascular drift is an increase in heart rate that occurs when an athlete is doing the same amount of work and the same exact exercise. This is usually an occurrence when an athlete sweats. Sweating decreases the amount of plasma which means the heart must work harder to pump the oxygen rich blood throughout the body to the working muscles. On a day that’s hot, sweating is more common. Part of that sweat coming out of your body is to cool you off so that your core temperature, or the temperature of the inner part of your body, stays stable. This comes from the liquid portion of the blood, plasma.
The heart beats when electrical signals move through it. Ventricular fibrillation is a condition in which the heart's electrical activity becomes disordered. When this happens, the heart's lower (pumping) chambers contract in a rapid, unsynchronized way. (The ventricles "flutter" rather than beat.) The heart pumps little or no blood therefore the probability of death is high.
There were a lot of patients that came into the emergency room on Friday November 20, 2015 that had heart problems. The first patient I observed was only thirty and she had been having tachycardia since two o’clock Thursday afternoon. She stated that she has had this problem before but it never lasted this long. She was said to have SVT prior to arriving to the emergency room by the ambulance crew. Upon arriving in the ER her heartrate got up to 220 beats per minutes. The next patient that I saw was brought in because his wife said that he was shaking more than usual, he had Parkinson’s. There was a young lady that came in who had hit her head almost three weeks ago and was diagnosed with a concussion at that time. She was now having neck and head pain and numbness in the back of her head. There was another assumed SVT patient. Her heartrate was around 170. There was also a homeless man that was brought in complaining of pain all over and all he kept asking for was morphine