Symptoms And Arrhythmias

In this section we will try to explain some of the reasons why your doctor prescribed you the use of Nuubo.

Palpitations, dizziness, syncope, chest pain, loss of consciousness are some of the possible symptoms of arrhythmias although these may also go unnoticed.

What is an arrhythmia?

An arrhythmia is an alteration of the heart rhythm. But to better understand what an arrhythmia exactly is, first we must understand how and why the heart beats. Heart beats occur as a result of electrical impulses that cause the atria and ventricles to contract properly, synchronously and rhythmically. Normal heart rate usually ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm), and responds to the following sequence: 

• The electrical impulse of the heart begins at the sinus node, located in the right atrium.
• From there, it passes through the atria to the AV node, located at the junction of the atria and the ventricles, and reaches the ventricles through the His.
• Finally, this stimulus is driven through the ventricles by the Purkinje system.

Now we are ready to go into more detail about arrhythmias.

Cardiac arrhythmias appear because of one of the three following reasons 

• The electrical impulse is not generated adequately
• The electrical impulse is generated in a wrong place.
• The pathways for electrical conduction are altered

Arrhythmias can be classified in different ways: 

By origin

Supraventricular: these arrhythmias are originated before the His, that is, in the atria or in the AV node

Ventricular: originated in the ventricles

By Heart rate

Rapid arrhythmias or tachycardia: rate above 100 bpm

Slow arrhythmias or bradycardia: rate below 60 bpm

By its mode of appearance

Chronic: permanent arrhythmia

Paroxysmal: arrhythmia that occur on specific occasions

Symptoms

Arrhythmias can cause symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, syncope, chest pain, or loss of consciousness, but they can also go unnoticed and be detected by coincidence when diagnostic tests are performed 

Diagnosis

To make the diagnosis it is necessary to proof that there is an alteration in the heart’s electrical activity. 

The diagnostic test of reference is the electrocardiogram, but its disadvantage is that it only registers the cardiac electrical activity at the moment in which it is performed, so only arrhythmias occurring at that moment will be shown. Occasionally other tests are performed, such as the Holter, which records cardiac electrical activity for a longer period of time (one or two days).

Nuubo offers the possibility of recording your heart rate for more days, offering thus the possibility of finding your arrhythmia . 

Prognosis

The prognosis depends on the type of arrhythmia and the basic condition of the patient. Generally speaking, bradyarrhythmias have a good prognosis after being treated; when speaking about tachyarrhythmias, the supraventricular ones have a more favorable prognosis than the ventricular ones. 

Treatment

The treatment depends on the type of arrhythmia, its cause and the patient’s conditions