Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the world: more people die annually from these diseases than from any other cause. In Brazil, there are more than 1100 deaths per day, about 46 per hour, 1 death every 1.5 minutes (90 seconds). Many of these deaths could be avoided or postponed with preventive care and therapeutic measures. Alert, prevention, and adequate treatment of risk factors and cardiovascular diseases can reverse this serious situation.
Among the most common CVDs in Brazilians is cardiac arrhythmia. It is a change that occurs in the generation or conduction of the electrical stimulus of the heart and can cause changes in the heart rhythm. It can be benign or malignant. Individuals diagnosed with tachycardia, bradycardia, or who already have heart problems, such as heart attack and heart failure, are in the highest risk group. When not diagnosed and treated correctly, arrhythmias can cause complications and the so-called sudden cardiogenic death.
The most common symptom of cardiac arrhythmia is a palpitation of the heart, which may only last a few seconds but can also last for weeks. Other symptoms include a drop in blood pressure, fatigue, shortness of breath, fainting, feeling sick, and vertigo. At its normal rate, the heart beats at 50 to 90 bpm (beats per minute). When the heart beats at a slow rate (below 50 bpm), we have bradycardia. When the heart beats at an accelerated rate (above 100 bpm at rest), we have tachycardia.
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diagnosis and treatment
To establish a diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia, a thorough clinical evaluation is necessary; various tests such as electrocardiogram, Holter, exercise stress test, and an electrophysiological study. The treatment can be done with the use of specific drugs, implantation of pacemakers, and radiofrequency ablation (which can definitively treat cardiac arrhythmia). There is still one type of treatment that has achieved excellent results: the implantation of a cardiac device.
Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) monitor severe changes in the heart's rhythm that can cause cardiac arrest. When there is a change in heart rhythm that can bring more risk to the patient's health, the device automatically detects and within 10 seconds it triggers an electric shock, which will reverse this arrhythmia. Upon recognizing a less serious disturbance in the heart rhythm, the device can emit small electrical impulses to regulate the heart rhythm.
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Among the latest technologies are state-of-the-art devices such as cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) that feature compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and Bluetooth® communication for a more meaningful connection between patients. And their doctors. Through apps, physicians can remotely monitor their patients on an ongoing basis, allowing the identification of asymptomatic episodes or patient-triggered transmissions, which can lead to early intervention.
Devices such as CRT-Ds can help patients with heart failure or in situations where the heart beats out of sync, restoring the heart's natural pattern of beating. Or, in the case of ICDs, even reverse severe, life-threatening arrhythmias.
