Heart Rhythm Disorders
Turn to an Adventist HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute cardiologist for a diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmia—unusual heart rhythm.
Signs of a Heart Rhythm Disorder
If your heart doesn’t beat steadily or at the right pace, you may experience:
- Chest discomfort
- Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
- Fast heartbeat
- Fatigue or weakness
- Feeling like your heart skips a beat
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
Diagnosing Arrhythmia
To determine if you have arrythmia, your doctor may start by performing an electrocardiogram (EKG). This test applies sticky patches to your chest to capture your heart’s electrical signals over a few minutes.
Wearable EKG Device
To learn about your heart’s electrical activity over a longer period, your doctor may ask you to wear a portable EKG device for one or two days. Sometimes called a Holter monitor, this device records your heartbeat the entire time you wear it.
Cardiac Event Recorder
If your unusual heartbeats don’t happen every day, a cardiac event recorder may be the best way for your doctor to review them. You can wear this tiny device on your chest for several weeks. When your heartbeat changes or you feel dizzy or faint, you
press a button to record your heart’s electrical signals. The device saves the information and transmits it to your healthcare team.
Electrophysiology (EP) Study
To find the source of your arrhythmia, your doctor may recommend an electrophysiology (EP) study. An electrophysiologist—a doctor who specializes in heart rhythm conditions—will perform the procedure. You lie on a table while the physician inserts a tiny tube with an electrode into an artery and guides it up to your heart. The electrode sends out tiny pulses to make your heart beat at different speeds. Your doctor maps the path of electrical signals as this happens.
Medications for Abnormal Heart Rhythms
After a diagnosis of arrhythmia, you may receive a prescription for one or more of these types of medications to manage your symptoms:
- Beta blocker – Decreases your heart rate
- Blood thinner/anticoagulant – Reduces the risk of stroke-causing blood clots if you have atrial fibrillation (Afib)
- Calcium channel blocker – Lowers blood pressure by stopping calcium from moving into the heart and blood vessels
See your doctor as often as recommended to make sure your medication works well and talk about ways to reduce any side effects. We want to help you get the most benefit from your medicine over the long term.
Procedures to Treat Arrhythmia
Sometimes, a procedure is the best treatment option for arrhythmia. Your cardiologist will explore your options.
Electrical Cardioversion
Cardioversion delivers a brief electrical shock to your heart to reset its rhythm. You’ll receive a sedative before the procedure, so you’ll be relaxed and will not feel pain. Nurses will place sticky electrode patches on your skin, and a doctor will send the shock through the electrodes. You can usually go home the same day.
Cardiac Ablation
Ablation uses targeted heat to destroy a tiny amount of tissue that transmits abnormal heart signals. Destroying the tissue restores a normal heartbeat.
For this procedure, you lie on a table while a doctor inserts a tiny tube with an electrode into an artery and guides it up to your heart. There, the electrode sends out a tiny pulse of radiofrequency (heat) energy to the abnormal cells. This won’t cause any pain, and you may be able to return home the same day.
Implantable Cardiac Devices
Cardiac devices have tiny generators that send electrical pulses to your heart to make it beat normally. These devices include:
- Pacemaker – Detects and corrects heartbeats that are too slow, too fast or irregular
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) – Does the job of a pacemaker but also delivers lifesaving shocks when your heartbeat becomes much too fast or chaotic
A surgeon at Adventist HealthCare Heart & Vascular Institute can place either of these devices under the skin of your chest.
Maze Procedure
During the Maze procedure, your surgeon treats Afib by creating a maze of scar tissue in the heart. The tissue helps block the abnormal electrical patterns that cause an irregular heartbeat. Your surgeon may take a:
- Minimally invasive approach, which uses three tiny incisions on the side of the chest
- Traditional open-heart approach, which uses one larger incision in the middle of the chest
