Why does arrhythmia cause chest pain?

Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
Updated on September 19, 2024
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The causes of chest pain due to arrhythmias primarily involve all kinds of arrhythmias reducing the blood flow in the coronary arteries. Although various arrhythmias can decrease coronary blood flow, they rarely cause myocardial ischemia. However, severe arrhythmias that cause significant myocardial ischemia can result in chest pain. For patients with coronary heart disease, various arrhythmias can induce or exacerbate myocardial ischemia, which may also manifest as chest pain and shortness of breath, and in severe cases, lead to acute heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and persistent, unbearable chest pain and tightness.

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Written by Li Hai Wen
Cardiology
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Arrhythmias include:

Arrhythmia is a very common disease in our daily life. What does arrhythmia include? Generally speaking, arrhythmia often includes the following aspects: First, irregular heartbeat, such as sinus arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, and frequent premature beats. Second, tachycardia, such as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and so on. Third, bradycardia diseases, such as sinus bradycardia, severe atrioventricular block, and sick sinus syndrome, etc.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Can arrhythmia be cured?

There are many types of arrhythmia, some of which, like sinus tachycardia, sinus bradycardia, occasional premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions, and premature junctional contractions, can also occur in healthy individuals and usually do not require treatment. Another category requires treatment, such as supraventricular tachycardia, including atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, which can be cured by radiofrequency ablation. Additionally, conditions like atrial fibrillation can be treated with radiofrequency ablation; many patients may be cured, but some may not respond to this treatment and require medication instead. There are also patients with intrinsic structural heart disease presenting various arrhythmias that can only be managed with medication, not cured.

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Written by Chen Ya
Geriatrics
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How to treat arrhythmia?

The treatment of arrhythmias should be based on the symptoms of the patients with arrhythmias, the type of arrhythmias, and their impact on hemodynamics. Control of arrhythmias during episodes involves removing the cause and focus of the disease and preventing recurrence, which can be divided into non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments. Non-pharmacological treatments include methods such as eyeball compression, carotid sinus massage, pinching the nose to exhale forcefully and hold breath to reflexively excite the vagus nerve, along with electrical treatments like electrical cardioversion, defibrillation, pacemaker implantation, and ablation surgery. There are mainly four types of drugs used: sodium channel blockers; beta-adrenergic blockers; drugs selectively prolonging the repolarization process, such as amiodarone; and calcium channel blockers. However, long-term use of these antiarrhythmic drugs can have varying degrees of side effects, and severe cases can cause ventricular arrhythmias or cardiac conduction block which can be fatal. Therefore, in clinical application, it is essential to strictly control the indications, monitor for adverse reactions, and rigorously follow the doctor's orders.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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What medicine to buy for arrhythmia?

Arrhythmia encompasses a large category of diseases, including sinus tachycardia, bradycardia, sick sinus syndrome, as well as atrial fibrillation, flutter, premature atrial contractions, supraventricular tachycardia, premature ventricular contractions, and atrioventricular block, among others. Due to the various types of arrhythmias, the medications used also differ. It is necessary to go to a hospital for a clear diagnosis to determine the specific type of arrhythmia before using appropriate anti-arrhythmic drugs. Some arrhythmias cannot be resolved just by medication; for instance, in cases like pacemaker syndrome, a pacemaker needs to be installed. Additionally, patients with atrial fibrillation who have tachy-brady syndrome also require a pacemaker. Therefore, the decision on what medication to purchase for arrhythmia should be made by a doctor.

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Written by Wang Li Bing
Intensive Care Medicine Department
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How to alleviate arrhythmia

Arrhythmia is very common in clinical settings, and its treatment mainly includes etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment. If a patient experiences occasional premature beats without significant hemodynamic effects, special treatment may not be necessary at this time. However, if a patient repeatedly experiences supraventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, and other arrhythmias, cardiac electrophysiological examination and dynamic heart rate monitoring should be conducted. Antiarrhythmic drugs or even radiofrequency ablation may be administered for symptomatic treatment, as uncontrolled arrhythmias can easily lead to sudden death in patients.