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Heart Arrhythmia Treatment

Heart arrhythmias are abnormalities of the heart's electrical impulses. Normal heart impulses keep the beat at a regular pace, but if an electrical impulse interruption occurs, the heart rate varies significantly. While some arrhythmias are harmless, some are extremely dangerous, which can cause fainting, shortness of breath or cardiac arrest. The treatment for heart arrhythmia varies depending on the cause of the abnormality.

  1. Types

    • Several types of abnormalities lead to heart arrhythmias, including abnormal heart tissue, blockage of electrical passage, reduction in heart function and electrical activity imbalance. To correct each issue, doctors use a variety of techniques.

    Considerations

    • Doctors usually try the least invasive interventions first. The least invasive intervention is medication, followed by non-surgical intervention, and the most invasive is surgical intervention. In some cases, there is no choice but to do surgery, but in many cases medication may prevent the need for a surgical procedure.

    Medicine

    • There are four classes of anti-arrhythmic medication. The first class includes sodium-channel blockers such as mexiletine, procainamide, flecainide, propafenone, disopyramide, tocainide and quinidine. The second class of medication is beta-blockers including propranolol, atenolol and metoprolol. The third class blocks potassium channels in the heart. Examples of class three medications include dofetilide, amiodarone and sotalol. The fourth class of medications blocks the calcium channels within the heart. Fourth class anti-arrhythmic medications include diltiazem and verapamil. By blocking the specific chemicals, it is possible to some heart arrhythmias.

    Non-Surgical

    • Catheter ablation is a non-surgical method that corrects arrhythmias due to abnormal heart tissue. The procedure entails weaving a catheter through blood vessels until it reaches the heart. The doctor uses radiofrequency or a small cutter to remove the abnormal heart tissue. In cases of atrial fibrillation, the doctor may recommend cardioversion. Cardioversion resets the heart's rhythm via an electrical shock using paddles or patches on the chest. Both procedures require some anesthesia.

    Surgical

    • The open-heart maze procedure involves cutting muscles in the atria and stitching them back together. Another surgical procedure is minimally invasive heart surgery where two surgical procedures insert an implant to regulate the heart. The pacemaker is a small, matchbox-sized device that detects an abnormally slow heartrate (bradycardia) or no heart rate. The pacemaker responds by sending an impulse to the heart through a wire to activate it again. The Internal Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) regulates heart rates that are too high (bradycardia) or heart quivers (fibrillates).

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