Arrhythmia

Heart: Cardiac PET/MR measures up to PET/CT

Just a few years ago, integrated positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging was found only in research institutes, but little by little the technology has expanded into clinical practice. This is ...

Jun 10, 2013
popularity not rated yet | comments 0

When less is more: New protocol limits use of SPECT MPI

A new stress test protocol that investigates reducing the use of perfusion imaging in low risk patients undergoing SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for possible angina symptoms was found to be diagnostically safe, revealed ...

May 05, 2013
popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cardiac dysrhythmia (also known as arrhythmia and irregular heartbeat) is any of a large and heterogeneous group of conditions in which there is abnormal electrical activity in the heart. The heart beat may be too fast or too slow, and may be regular or irregular.

Some arrhythmias are life-threatening medical emergencies that can result in cardiac arrest. Others cause symptoms such as an abnormal awareness of heart beat (palpitations), and may be merely annoying. These palpitations have also been known to be caused by atrial/ventricular fibrillation, wire faults, and other technical or mechanical issues in cardiac pacemakers/defibrillators. Still others may not be associated with any symptoms at all, but may predispose the patient to potentially life threatening stroke or embolism.

Some arrhythmias are very minor and can be regarded as normal variants. In fact, most people will on occasion feel their heart skip a beat, or give an occasional extra strong beat; neither of these is usually a cause for alarm.

Proarrhythmia is a new or more frequent occurrence of pre-existing arrhythmias, paradoxically precipitated by antiarrhythmic therapy, which means it is a side effect associated with the administration of some existing antiarrhythmic drugs, as well as drugs for other indications. In other words, it is a tendency of antiarrhythmic drugs to facilitate emergence of new arrhythmias.

The term sinus arrhythmia refers to a normal phenomenon of mild acceleration and slowing of the heart rate that occurs with breathing in and out. It is usually quite pronounced in children, and steadily decreases with age. This can also be present during meditation breathing exercises that involve deep inhaling and breath holding patterns.

This text uses material from Wikipedia licensed under CC BY-SA

Latest Spotlight News

Validating maps of the brain's resting state

Kick back and shut your eyes. Now stop thinking. You have just put your brain into what neuroscientists call its resting state. What the brain is doing when an individual is not focused on the outside world ...

Scientists create way to see structures that store memories in living brain

Oscar Wilde called memory "the diary that we all carry about with us." Now a team of scientists has developed a way to see where and how that diary is written.

Antioxidant shows promise in Parkinson's disease

Diapocynin, a synthetic molecule derived from a naturally occurring compound (apocynin), has been found to protect neurobehavioral function in mice with Parkinson's Disease symptoms by preventing deficits in motor coordination.

Wireless subretinal prostheses allows blind mice to see light

(Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers from the U.S. and Scotland has developed a new type of retinal prostheses designed to restore sight to blind patients. In their paper published in the journal Nature Co ...

Distracted walking: Injuries soar for pedestrians on phones

More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.

Laughing gas does not increase heart attacks

(Medical Xpress)—Nitrous oxide—best known as laughing gas—is one of the world's oldest and most widely used anesthetics. Despite its popularity, however, experts have questioned its impact on the risk ...

Researchers pinpoint how smoking causes osteoporosis

(Medical Xpress)—Human bone breaks down and regenerates naturally all the time, in a perfectly balanced dance that maintains skeletal integrity.

Model recreates wear and tear of osteoarthritis

(Medical Xpress)—There's a reason osteoarthritis is often called wear-and-tear arthritis: Repeated stress on joints over time results in degeneration of the soft cartilage that normally distributes loads ...

Review of research calls into question sex differences in face-to-face mate preferences

Women say they place a priority on a potential partner's earning prospects, and men claim to value a potential partner's physical attractiveness; these sex differences have been widely studied by psychologists for decades.

Study of vocal impersonations reveals how we manipulate our voices

A study of vocal impersonations has shown for the first time how speech production and voice perception systems in the brain interact to influence the way our voices sound. The research, supported by the ...