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What exactly is heart arrhythmia?

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An arrhythmia refers to a problem with the rhythm or rate of heartbeat. Either the heart beats too slowly, too quickly, or has an irregular beat pattern. Heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulse which controls the heartbeat isn’t working properly, explains cardiac electrophysiologist Ian Weisberg, M.D. Image source: azheartrhythmcenter.com Image source: medlife.com A heartbeat that’s beating faster than normal is called tachycardia (more than 100 beats per minute, while one that’s slower than normal is called bradycardia (less than 60 beats per minute). Types of heart arrhythmia are also determined based on their regularity and where they originate (that is, either the lower or upper chambers of the heart). The most common type of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, in which the heartbeat is fast and irregular. A lot of factors affect the rhythm of one’s heart, from smoking, stress, and certain drugs to congenital heart defects and a past heart attack. He...
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The treatments for tachycardia

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Tachycardia is a medical condition in which one’s heart rate speeds up to over 100 beats per minute when a person is at rest, affecting either or both the upper and lower chambers of the heart. As such, tachycardia is a potentially dangerous condition, says cardiac electrophysiologist Ian Weisberg, MD. Image source: wikihow.com While an episode may just be a one-time event and could cause no harm or complications, recurrence of the condition could be a sign of an abnormal heart function or systemic disease. Moreover, chronic episodes of tachycardia significantly increase risks for stroke or heart attack. There are a variety of ways to deal with an episode but note that chronic tachycardia requires medication. One way to deal with the condition is to both allow oneself to periodically rest and follow some relaxation techniques after strenuous activities. Stress and anxiety can trigger tachycardia, so it’s best to prevent it by managing responses to stressful situations. Y...
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Heart talk: What is a cardioversion?

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A cardioversion is a procedure to treat irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias. It’s a brief operation in which an electrical current is brought to one’s heart to normalize the rhythm, explains cardiac electrophysiologist Ian Weisberg, MD. Image source: svhhearthealth.com.au A heart beating too fast won’t be able to pump enough blood needed by the various organs of the body. It can therefore lead to exhaustion, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and even blackouts. People suffering from arrhythmias are first given medication, and often this alone is enough. There are two types of arrhythmias: atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation. In both cases, the upper chambers of the heart called the atria are beating very fast. It can also be that the lower chambers or ventricles are doing the same or quivering. Cardioversion electrically resets this abnormal beat. Image source: Wikimedia commons Cardioversions are generally safe, and patients won’t feel any pa...
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How does the human heart beat?

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It’s a question that’s not often asked because the process itself seems as natural as breathing: How does the heart beat? Part of the answer to this question is it’s made possible by the heart’s electrical system, which is critical to the function of the organ in that it determines the heart rate and coordinates the beating of heart muscles, according to cardiac electrophysiologist Ian Weisberg, M.D. Image source: Pixabay.com        The electrical system of the heart is composed of three parts, namely the sinoatrial (SA) node, or nature’s pacemaker; the atrioventricular (AV) node, or a gate-like barrier that slows the electrical signal before entering the ventricles; and the His-Purkinje Network, a pathway of fibers sending the impulse to the ventricles’ muscular walls and leading them to contract. At rest, you can expect the heart to beat some 50 to 100 times per minute. Several factors can cause your heart to beat faster, including exercising, extrem...
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More breathtaking activities that will strengthen the heart

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While we’ve already shared a few activities that hold numerous benefits for the heart, here’s a follow up blog on a few more challenging, fun, and quite effective exercises. Get your gear ready, and steady your nerves because these exercises will pump up your heart like nobody’s business. Image source: chicagonow.com Boxing The huge misconception about boxing is that it only involves punching, thus only tones the upper body. The truth is people who go to boxing gyms will make use of their legs so much more than they originally thought. Using legs in an aerobic exercise such as boxing burns tons of calories and keeps the blood pumping for well over an hour. Since the heart is a muscle, having it pump faster for a period of time strengthens it. And the blood pumping also does well for the arteries and veins, as well as the liver. Image source: kutv.com HIIT High intensity interval training, or HIIT for short, is not for the faint of heart (pun intend-ed). ...
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A hearty meal: Recommended foods for optimum cardiac health

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Nutrition plays the biggest part in keeping the cardiovascular system healthy. What one eats has a great, direct impact on heart health. While it may be good to enjoy fried and high-sodium food or sugar-rich drinks once in a blue moon, for the most part, a well-balanced diet is always recommended. Image source: pixabay.com On that note, below are some of the foods that will have the heart at its healthiest: Fish Fish is generally good for the heart. The best ones are salmon and mackerel since they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that promote healthy circulation in and around the heart. Fish are also a much healthier source of protein compared to beef or pork. A regular diet of fish (steamed rather than fried) is especially good for the heart. Oats Oats have always been good for the heart. With beta-glucan, a soluble fiber, oats have been proven to decrease harmful levels of fat in the blood. This functioning, in turn, low-ers the chances of heart diseas...
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Digital healthcare trends to watch in 2019

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Healthcare trends in recent decades have been largely driven by innovations and disrup-tions in digital technology. And while health professionals, manufacturers, and physicians alike are always wary of readily adopting advancements so as not to risk patient health, there’s no denying that the future of health care is tied up with the advent of new tech-nologies. Come 2019, there would be more widespread deployment of the Internet of Medical Things of IoMT, allowing for interconnected medical devices like wearables to link to the internet and provide key patient health information to specialists for processes such as ECG and EKG monitoring, blood pressure readings, and heart rate testing for cardiolo-gists. Before they grew by leaps and bounds this year, IoT and IoMT systems had already been adopted in almost 60 percent of healthcare operations in 2017. Image source: blog-idcuk.com AI or artificial intelligence will likewise figure more actively in healthcare this yea...
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