Heart arrhythmia can occur at any age
The heart, that yeoman of all organs, usually works extremely hard and very evenly. Its owners rarely, if ever, muse much about its operation, unless the individuals are suffering from arrhythmia, a condition characterized by abnormal heartbeats. Then it can drive the person mad, or worse.
Arrhythmia affects approximately 4 million Americans each year and, and as an equal opportunity condition, touches all age groups. Even the young who live a healthy lifestyle and exercise can suffer from electrical changes of the heart.
Mike Perry hadn’t even hit the 4-0 milestone when he began noticing his ticker wasn’t working properly.
“My heart would race and it affected my energy level,” Perry said. “I would have full energy one minute and the next I would feel really tired. I would also feel really flushed.”
Perry couldn’t understand why he would actually feel better while exercising, only to suffer such extreme fatigue when he was sitting down, but the Merritt Island resident was exhibiting classic symptoms for premature ventricular contractions, or PVCs, one of the many iterations of arrhythmia.
“PVCs are abnormal extra heartbeats that arise from the bottom pumping chambers of the heart and cause the heart to contract in an inefficient manner,” said Dr. Ajit Janardhan, a specialist in cardiac electrophysiology with Health First. “PVCs can be benign, but if frequent enough, they can cause congestive heart failure and be a trigger for life-threatening heart rhythms such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.”
Premature ventricular contractions are only one form of arrhythmia.
“There are many, many different types of arrhythmias,” said Dr. Nancy Johnson of Heart Rhythm Associates of Brevard and a specialist associated with Wuesthoff Health System.
Because arrhythmia is so common, Wuesthoff-Rockledge recently expanded its electrophysiology lab, which provides diagnostic services, cardiac device implantation, arrhythmia mapping and catheter ablations.
How dangerous are these abnormal heartbeats?
“There is an entire spectrum of seriousness,” Johnson said. “Some arrhythmias on one end of the spectrum are potentially very dangerous while other on the other end of the spectrum are only mildly bothersome or even asymptomatic. There are about 300,000 sudden deaths in the U.S. each year due to ventricular arrhythmias.”
A normal heart beats 115,000 times daily or 42 million times in a year. Arrhythmias define a heartbeat rate that is uneven, too fast or too slow. The causes behind the disorder are many. Congenital abnormalities in cell membrane ion channels and other proteins that affect conduction or other structures that alter cellular electrical function can cause arrhythmias, as can disease and trauma. Toxins, poisons or drugs may also alter the cellular electrical function. The issues may be genetic in nature or develop as the individual ages.
Treatment depends on the severity of the disorder.
“They range from simple reassurance to prescription drugs to cardiac device implantation (insertion of pacemaker or defibrillator) or catheter ablation,” Johnson said.
In Perry’s case, treatment at first took the form of a prescription calcium channel-blocking drug that corrected the irregularities in the heartbeat, but left Perry in a somnambular stage, not a good shape to be in if you have a demanding job and four young kids.
“It was hard for me to get through the day,” Perry said.
Health First cardiologist Dr. Ross Goodfellow suggested catheter ablation and referred Perry to Janardhan for the procedure.
“If medication fails, an electrophysiology study with catheter ablation is usually the next step,” Janardhan said.
Catheter ablation involves the insertion of thin, flexible wires into the blood vessels from the groin up into the heart, where radio waves are used to destroy the small area of heart tissue that is responsible for the abnormal heartbeat. Though scary-sounding and not completely risk-free, catheter ablation is considered effective and safe.
The procedure proved highly successful for Perry, who sailed through it without any complications.
“I had zero pain,” he said.
After an overnight hospital stay for observation, Perry went home with only the admonishment to refrain from running for a week after the procedure. His heart now beats strong and regular and the recently-turned-40 Perry now feels much better than he did during his 20s and 30s.
“I didn’t know how easy it was going to be, or I would have had it done sooner,” he said.
Dr. Nancy Johnson is one of the guest speakers at “Paint the Night Red for Heart Health” from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25, at Wuesthoff Medical Center-Melbourne, 250 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne. The event, sponsored by Wuesthoff Health System and the American Heart Association, features lectures, forums, health screenings, hors d’oeuvres, giveaways and more.
Admission is free, but registration is requested. Call 321-255-8067.
Dr. Thomas Swain, a cardiologist with Health First Medical Group, will present “Heart Can’t Keep Pace. Devices for Treating Arrhythmia” at noon, Friday, Feb. 26, at the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place, 200 Rialto Place, Melbourne.
The lecture is free; a light lunch will be provided.
Call 321-434-4335 to reserve space.