Although heart arrhythmia can be fatal, early detection and receiving treatment from a specialist can reduce its severity with a chance of permanent cure.
While medications are used to control abnormal heart rhythms, ablation procedures can cure some types of arrhythmia completely. Once treated, whether through ablation or ongoing medications, most patients with a heart rhythm issue can return to their normal activity levels.
If you have paroxysmal Afib, your symptoms may go away on their own without treatment. However, paroxysmal Afib can progress to persistent Afib depending on your risk factors. And both persistent Afib and long-standing persistent Afib require treatment to avoid serious complications.
The good news is that although AF is a long-term condition, if managed correctly, you can continue to lead a long and active life. There are a number of steps you can take that will help you manage your condition, lower your risk of stroke and relieve any worries you may have.
Untreated AFib can raise your risk for problems like a heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, which could shorten your life expectancy. But treatments and lifestyle changes can help prevent these problems and manage your risks.
Exercise regularly
Exercise can improve overall cardiovascular health and help restore the heart's natural rhythm. It can also help reduce stress and anxiety. Cardiovascular exercise helps strengthen the heart, which can prevent or reduce palpitations.
The burden of arrhythmia can be reduced by physical exercise.
Arrhythmias can be associated with serious symptoms that can affect your ability to function. Lack of blood flow can damage the brain, heart and other organs. If irregular heartbeats are frequent or chronic, they can be very serious.
Although heart arrhythmia can be fatal, early detection and receiving treatment from a specialist can reduce its severity with a chance of permanent cure.
"While most arrhythmias are harmless, some may be a sign of a more serious heart condition or require treatment," says Dr. Rajesh Venkataraman, cardiac electrophysiologist at Houston Methodist.
Permanent. In this type of atrial fibrillation, the irregular heart rhythm can't be restored. Medications are needed to control the heart rate and to prevent blood clots.
Common triggers for an arrhythmia are viral illnesses, alcohol, tobacco, changes in posture, exercise, drinks containing caffeine, certain over-the-counter and prescribed medicines, and illegal recreational drugs.
If not treated, arrhythmias can damage the heart, brain, or other organs. This can lead to life-threatening stroke, heart failure, or cardiac arrest. During cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, causing death if it is not treated within minutes.
Can anxiety contribute to arrhythmias? Yes. As described above, when we are stressed or anxious our heart perceives this as an impending threat, triggering our fight or flight response in which adrenaline is released, which can trigger arrhythmia, in turn triggering an additional release of adrenaline.
Yes. Your risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder, increases as you become older.
Try relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga or deep breathing. Avoid stimulants. Caffeine, nicotine, some cold medicines and energy drinks can make the heart beat too fast or irregularly. Avoid illegal drugs.
Most arrhythmias are temporary and non-life threatening.
This type of arrhythmia occurs when rapid, chaotic electrical signals cause the lower heart chambers (ventricles) to quiver instead of contacting in a coordinated way that pumps blood to the rest of the body. This serious problem can lead to death if a normal heart rhythm isn't restored within minutes.
In general, the consensus seems to be that sleeping on your left side is better for most people. It may reduce GERD and sleep apnea more than sleeping on your right side. The only exception is that people with congestive heart failure or heart palpitations might benefit from sleeping on their right sides.
Heart arrhythmias are caused by electrical problems. Sometimes, it's just a single skipped beat, but arrhythmias can last minutes, hours, days and possibly years. Occasionally, the heart's electrical signals get caught in a little short-circuit loop.