New technology helps keep the heart’s electronic system humming in rhythm
You may not ever have to plug it in or recharge it, but your heart is an electronic device.
Your body generates an electrical signal that tells the heart when to beat. When something interferes with that signal or causes it to malfunction, the result can be an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, says Layth Saleh, MD, a Longmont United Hospital cardiologist who specializes in electrophysiology, the study of the heart’s electrical system. Some arrhythmias, Saleh says, put patients at high risk of stroke.
Although life-threatening, many arrhythmias go undiagnosed and untreated, either because they don’t cause any symptoms or patients chalk up the symptoms to something else. Symptoms of irregular heartbeat often include:
- Fatigue
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed
- Chest pain of discomfort
- Fainting
- Palpitations
New tools for tickers
Saleh has a large arsenal of tools to identify and treat irregular heart rhythms, including,
Electrocardiogram (EKG): a noninvasive procedure in which electrodes are attached to the chest to detect the heart’s electrical activity.
Echocardiogram: A noninvasive procedure, like a sonogram, in which a transducer sound waves, which are converted into moving pictures of the heart’s activity.
Event monitor: Patients can wear this device for several weeks to record the heart’s activity.
Holter monitor: A small, portable device that can be worn for several days to record the heart’s activity over time. It helps physicians identify intermittent irregular rhythms. In some cases, Saleh says, “We can implant a device that can monitor your heart for up to three years, and episodes of irregular heart rhythm generate a report that gets back to me within a few days.
Plotting a treatment
These and other tests give cardiologists a detailed picture of the heart’s rhythm and help them plot a course of treatment, Saleh says.
Sometimes, treating arrhythmias is as simple as changing a patient’s medication, as many drugs can contribute to an irregular heartbeat.
In other cases, patients may benefit from procedures, including the following:
Pacemaker: This implanted device regulates the heart rhythm of patients with severe bradycardia, or slow heart rate. Recently, tiny leadless pacemakers have been approved, Saleh says. These are implanted through a vein in the leg which eliminates the need for chest incision. “This means less risk of complications such as valve disease.”
Ablation: This minimally invasive procedure delivers heat or extreme cold to precise locations in the heart, scarring or destroy in the tissue that triggers abnormal rhythms.
WATCHMAN device: The irregular, often rapid heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation increases stroke risk. This newly approved device, which is implanted, reduces, stroke risk and eliminates the need for blood-thinning drugs in certain patients who are not candidates for blood-thinning medications.
