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Heart Flutter - Causes, Therapy and Symptoms
contents
symptoms
Causes of heart flutter
Cardiac arrhythmia (arrhythmia)
ventricular flutter
atrial flutter
diagnosis
treatment options
Naturopathy
symptoms
A "fluttering" heart can feel very different for those affected. It is often said that there is a feeling that the heart is "wrong", sometimes accompanied by problems breathing, dizziness or sweating. In other cases, a type of heart pain or vibration in the area of the heart is reported, which feels like you've been terribly frightened. It can also happen that sufferers feel as if something is fluttering in the trachea or below the larynx. How long the heart fluttering stops is also individual, in many cases it only lasts for a few seconds per push, but occurs again and again throughout the day. Sometimes chest pain and / or anxiety is added. This could be evidence of a heart attack.
Causes of heart flutter
When the heart flutters during stress, anxiety, panic, or meeting with the new girlfriend, it is a completely normal reaction of the body, because the feeling of excitement and infatuation biochemically represents a stress situation for the body. In the process, the body becomes in both cases "alert", which leads to a rapid release of the hormone adrenaline by the so-called "sympathetic", a part of the autonomic nervous system. Adrenaline, which releases glucose and free fatty acids from the energy stores of the liver, muscles and adipose tissue, increases blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate. In addition, there are other symptoms such as increased sweating or increased muscle tension. In order for this natural and harmless form of heartbeat not to be harmful to the organism, sufferers should find a way to relax. Then, the "resting nerve" parasympathetic nerve is activated, acting as a sort of "opponent" of the sympathetic, by ensuring that the energy supply is shut down, whereby a feeling of relaxation occurs and the heartbeat subsides.
Cardiac arrhythmia (arrhythmia)
In addition to excitement or being in love, however, a cardiac arrhythmia (arrhythmia) can be the cause of the heart flutter. Under this an irregular sequence of the normal heartbeat is understood, which is normally at rest about 60 to 80 times per minute. Cardiac arrhythmias are very common, and these are often not noticed in mild or occasional cases. An arrhythmia may be due to external causes such as excessive consumption of caffeine or alcohol, side effects of some medications (eg antidepressants), feverish infections or a bloated stomach (meteorism). Also, an irritation of the so-called "carotid sinus node" (receptor on the main artery on the neck) - for example, by a too narrow scarf or a blow - may possibly lead to a cardiac arrhythmia, as slowed by the irritation of the heartbeat, which is up to a Can lead to powerlessness. In addition to the external causes, a number of organic causes may be responsible for an arrhythmia, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), a heart attack, heart muscle disease or myocarditis. In addition, thyroid hyperfunction (hyperthyroidism) or hypothyroidism (hyporthyroidism), hypertension or electrolyte disturbances (eg potassium deficiency) may be considered here.
There are many forms of cardiac arrhythmias, such as the so-called "irritation disorders", in which the formation of the electrical impulses is disturbed or the "conduction disturbances", which refers to a disturbed transmission of cardiac excitation. Arrhythmias are also classified according to whether they originated in the area of the atria (supraventricular) or in the ventricles (ventricles). In addition, a distinction is made between a slowed heart rate (bradycardia) with less than 60 beats per minute and a beating too fast heart with over 100 beats per minute (tachycardia). Another form of cardiac arrhythmia is extra heart beats (extrasystoles), also known as "heart stumbling".
All in all, cardiac arrhythmias are quite common and can be completely harmless both in healthy persons and in the form of a pathological or even life-threatening complication of diseases of the heart and other organs. Therefore, a frequent or prolonged cardiac flutter should always be examined by a doctor.
ventricular flutter
The term "heart flutter" is often synonymous with the so-called "chamber flutter" used, which is no longer primarily a perceived "fluttering" of the heart, but a very dangerous form of cardiac arrhythmia, without immediate Treatment quickly leads to death. Chamber flutter is characterized by a frequency of 250 to 300 beats per minute, which means that the heart is completely out of rhythm and instead works without discernible tact and at very high speed. As a result, the blood can no longer be pumped from the ventricle into the circulation due to the uneven contraction of the individual muscle fibers, but only moves back and forth in the heart - corresponding to the actual function of the heart of the situation of a cardiac arrest.
The cause of a ventricular flutter is in most cases a myocardial infarction or other severe heart disease, which has led to a structural change of the heart or a functional restriction. Examples include coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (heart failure), dilation (over-stretching) or aneurysm, heart attacks and heart inflammation (e.g., myocarditis). In addition to the direct diseases of the heart, changes in the electrolyte balance may favor the occurrence of ventricular flutter, in particular hypokalemia (potassium deficiency) or hypomagnesaemia (magnesium deficiency) as risk factors. In rare cases, electrical accidents, strokes or cardiac trauma (for example due to traffic accidents) can also be the cause of a chamber flutter. Frequently, a chamber flutter can cause unconsciousness within a short time, and possible pre-symptoms may be pain and tightness in the chest, palpitations, dizziness, and acute respiratory distress.
In most cases, a ventricular flutter rapidly turns into a so-called "ventricular fibrillation," which means a heart rate of over 300 beats per minute, causing cardiovascular failure with respiratory and cardiac arrest. Since the brain is no longer adequately supplied with blood due to the extremely high rate of beating, it quickly becomes unconscious, as a result the patient is no longer responsive and no longer responds to pain and light stimuli, which means that the pupils are dilated and rigid , Accordingly, ventricular flutter or ventricular fibrillation are extremely threatening conditions that are fatal if not treated correctly immediately.
atrial flutter
In addition to the chamber flutter, the so-called "atrial flutter" colloquially is often referred to as "heart flutter", which is also a sometimes more severe form of cardiac arrhythmia. In this disorder, the so-called "sinus node" located in the right atrium of the heart has lost its primary function as an "electrical clock" of cardiac action, resulting in a rapid but regular heart rhythm in the atrium with an atrial rate of about 240 to 350 heart actions per minute is coming. Atrial flutter can be life threatening in rare cases, as the atria of the heart no longer pump properly but actually only "flutter" and thereby form clots in the heart cavities. In the event of an emergency, these can be released and flushed into the brain with the bloodstream, which can lead to a stroke with symptoms of paralysis, speech disorders or even death.
In many cases, atrial flutter leads to seizure-like tachycardia and / or heart palpitations or stumbling, or the feeling that the heart is "up to the neck". These symptoms are sometimes accompanied by other symptoms such as dizziness, chest tightness, shortness of breath, rapid fatigue and general physical weakness. Atrial flutter often occurs as a result of stretching of the atria and / or other damage to the heart. In many cases, however, other diseases are the cause of atrial flutter, these include, for example, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, valvular heart disease, diseases of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) such. As myocarditis (myocarditis) or an overactive thyroid. In rare cases, atrial flutter can also occur in otherwise healthy patients. This can be helped, among other things, by emotional stress, excessive alcohol and coffee consumption, nicotine and drug use as well as opulent meals and mineral deficiencies (especially potassium and magnesium). Nevertheless, most patients have organic heart disease.
With regard to diagnosis and treatment, atrial flutter differs only insignificantly from the much more frequent cardiac arrhythmia atrial fibrillation, which affects about 300,000 people in Germany alone. Characteristic of atrial fibrillation is a persistently irregular, usually much accelerated heartbeat as well as other symptoms such as sudden weakness, shortness of breath or heartache. Although this form of arrhythmia is not life-threatening, atrial fibrillation also carries serious risks, as clots can lead to complications such as a stroke or heart failure. Also for the atrial fibrillation many causes come into consideration, such as an already existing high blood pressure, old age, myocardial insufficiency, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus (diabetes mellitus), valvular heart failure or myocarditis.
diagnosis
If a cardiac arrhythmia is the cause of the fluttering of the heart, it can first be recognized by the altered pulse. In most cases, the doctor can tell whether the heart beats too slowly (bradycardia), too fast (tachycardia) or irregularly (arrhythmia). In addition, the medical examination usually in the context of the history of ingested drugs asked, as some drugs (for example, thyroid hormones) can cause cardiac arrhythmia in the wrong dosage.
However, the most important study for suspected cardiac arrhythmias is electrocardiography (ECG), which measures the electrical currents in the heart. The heart activity is shown as a curve, which provides the physician with clues as to what type of arrhythmia it is. As part of the diagnosis, this ECG is then initially performed under rest conditions (resting ECG). If necessary, the examination is then supplemented by a stress ECG (ergometry). In this cardiac activity is measured under stress conditions (for example when cycling or running on the treadmill), since some arrhythmias occur only under stress. In addition, a long-term ECG can give you 24 to 48 hours of information, as many cardiac arrhythmias occur only occasionally. Such sporadic cardiac arrhythmias can also be recorded using an event recorder, which is used, for example, when a long-term ECG has not produced sufficient results.
In most cases, these tests are sufficient to diagnose a cardiac arrhythmia, in special cases, however, an "electrophysiological examination" is performed. This is a special cardiac catheterization, in which, if possible, artificially triggered cardiac arrhythmias in order to draw conclusions about the nature and the place of origin. In addition, for special questions further tests are possible, such as an ultrasound examination of the heart (echocardiography), which can provide evidence of heart valve defects and heart failure, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by which a coronary heart disease (abnormal change of the coronary arteries) can be revealed.
The main hallmark of a chamber flutter is pulseless unconsciousness, so only an electrocardiogram (ECG) is required for diagnosis. Characteristic of the chamber flutter are 250 - 300 excitations a minute, the ECG lines look like hairpins. With ventricular fibrillation, there are more than 300 excitations per minute - here the ECG lines are more reminiscent of smaller and larger disordered waves.
If there is an atrial flutter, the diagnosis is made by a detailed medical history and clinical examination as well as an ECG, long-term ECG or, if required, exercise ECG. Atrial flutter is easy to diagnose because of its characteristic electrocardiographic appearance, because the ECG zero line is deformed "like a saw blade". Since atrial flutter has an increased risk of stroke, a so-called TEE examination (trans-oesophageal echocardiography) is usually performed first. An ultrasound head is guided in the esophagus up to the level of the atria in order to exclude blood clots in the heart.
Not infrequently a doctor can not find any organic causes for the heart problems. Therefore, often the diagnosis is "Functional Heart Discomfort" or Cardiac Neurosis. Causes are unprocessed fears, worries or stress. In such a case, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy can help.
treatment options
If a cardiac arrhythmia could be diagnosed as the cause of cardiac flutter, the treatment depends on the causative factors or diseases. Accordingly, in the first step, the underlying disease (for example, coronary heart disease or thyroid dysfunction) must be treated and risk factors (such as obesity, drug use, hypertension) minimized or eliminated. There are very different approaches in therapy, which in the individual case is the right one, depends primarily on the type of arrhythmia, but also on the possible consequences of the treatment. On the one hand, medicines for cardiac arrhythmias (antiarrhythmics) may be used, such as the so-called "sodium channel blockers" or "beta-receptor blockers". These affect the cardiac conduction system and thereby affect the heart rhythm, in addition, in some types of cardiac arrhythmias (for example, atrial fibrillation) additional special anticoagulant drugs are necessary to prevent the formation of blood clots. As an emergency therapy for life-threatening arrhythmia defibrillation and cardioversion are used in which strong shocks normal cardiac activity is to be restored.
If the drug therapy in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia without success, there are other proven and safe treatment methods such as the catheter ablation - this is the area responsible for the arrhythmia with the help of high frequency current and the cause off targeted.
In addition, in certain forms of cardiac arrhythmias (for example, atrial fibrillation), the implantation of a pacemaker replaces or bypasses the defective pacing system, particularly if the heart beats too slowly. The flat pacemaker, a few centimeters in size, is implanted at the level of the clavicle, giving off a weak current impulse whenever the heart beats too slowly or irregularly.
If there is a ventricular flutter, treatment depends on the severity of the cardiac arrhythmia. If the patient is responsive and can still feel his pulse, the therapy is usually medicated. In many cases, however, chamber flutter is an absolute emergency, as it quickly results in ventricular fibrillation, which can end fatally in a few minutes. Since the patient is usually very quickly unconscious due to the undersupply of the brain with blood in ventricular flutter, the ambulance immediately in this case with the resuscitation (resuscitation) by electroshock (defibrillation), its success or failure immediately recognizable on the ECG and the patient's response is. After successful resuscitation, the heart rhythm is stabilized by medication (usually with beta-blockers) to prevent renewed ventricular flutter / fibrillation.
In the case of atrial flutter, in many cases, a drug therapy is set, and will decide here depending on the case, whether the reduction in the rate of cardiac actions ("frequency control") or the regulation of atrial flutter or the conversion into a normal, regular heartbeat, the so-called "sinus rhythm" is in the foreground ("rhythm control"). In view of the increased risk of stroke, in most patients an additional dilution of the blood is necessary. If the atrial flutter occurs only rarely, but it persists for a long time, the normal rhythm can be restored with an electric cardioversion ("electroshock") - however, since this therapy merely serves to end the acute tachycardia, the cardiac arrhythmia becomes more pronounced most cases again. For this reason, the desquamation of specific cardiac muscle cells in the right anterior chamber is now regarded as an established and safe procedure for permanently eliminating atrial flutter (catheter ablation). The procedure is performed under local anesthesia or general anesthesia, the scars that develop during catheter ablation heal in about two to four months, during which time the electrical properties of the heart also return to normal. After a successful sclerotherapy atrial flutter can in principle no longer occur, the chances of success are about 90-95%, the complication rates, however, very low.
However, cardiac arrhythmias are not always in need of treatment, but instead, patients suffering from atrial fibrillation have many opportunities to influence themselves by avoiding or minimizing the factors that can trigger or exacerbate the disorder. These include smoking, alcohol, caffeine and lack of sleep. In addition, care should be taken to absorb sufficient electrolytes (especially potassium, magnesium), especially in cases of fever, heavy sweating or treatment with diuretics. Here, however, should not be readily resorted to dietary supplements, but the natural way is about potassium suppliers such as bananas, dried fruit, potatoes and fennel. A lot of magnesium is also contained in legumes, cereals and nuts.
In addition to the principle should be tried to avoid stress in any form as far as possible, because this is not considered a cause of cardiac arrhythmia, but this can trigger and enhance - which is especially true for the common atrial fibrillation. Accordingly, in moments when the heart flies unpleasantly, attempts should be made to achieve relaxation. Especially suitable for this are breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques such as autogenic training or tai chi, through which the physical arousal can be reduced quickly.
Naturopathy with heart flutter
If serious illnesses have been ruled out for the heartbeat, the targeted use of naturopathic methods offers a sensible alternative to alleviate the symptoms. In many cases relaxing baths and rubbings with lavender, spruce oil or copper ointment have proven effective in relaxing and strengthening the cardiovascular system. Often, a lavender pad is also helpful. Anke Görgner to use a mixture of jojoba or almond oil and lavender oil in the ratio 1:10 (for example, mix 100 ml of almond oil and 10 ml of lavender oil). In the oil mixture a gauze compress is soaked and then placed on the heart area, while the compress should remain on the body for about an hour. According to Dr. It is therefore best for Anke Görgner to use this method during nap time or before falling asleep.
In addition, homeopathy can also help with mild forms of heart palate, whereby it should be noted here that homeopathic remedies for heart problems may under no circumstances be used on their own, but only in agreement or under the supervision of a physician or experienced alternative practitioner. Among other things, Aconitum napellus (the blue monkshood), which is one of the strongest remedies in homeopathy and has, among other things, a particularly strong relationship to the cardiovascular system. If not diluted homeopathically, Aconitum is highly toxic, therefore, the drug in Germany up to and including D3 is a prescription and must therefore be made in no case even or taken without supervision. In addition, Crataegus, for example, is used for general cardiac strengthening, digitalis purpurea is often used, which is one of the most popular homeopathic remedies in the treatment of mild cardiac arrhythmias, as it can be taken both as a precaution and for the treatment of an existing cardiac arrhythmia.
Schüssler's salts are also suitable for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. For example, Manganum sulfuricum D6 (# 17) or Potassium phosphoricum D6 (# 5) is used for restlessness and nervousness, palpitations or tumbling. In addition, there are magnesium phosphoricum D6 (No. 7) or potassium phosphoricum D6 (No. 5), which are often used in alternative medicine in case of tachycardia under stress and stress.
The field of phytotherapy (herbal medicine) offers a variety of applications in cardiac arrhythmia. If the heartbeat occurs especially in anxiety or nervousness, often medicinal plants such as passion flower, valerian, St. John's wort, melissa or hops are used. In addition, for example, hawthorn (Crataegi folia) is used in various heart conditions, which should contribute to the improvement of cardiac output and enlargement of the coronary vessels. In addition, this can contribute to a stabilization of the heart rhythm and reduce blood pressure, with an optimal effect usually only after four to six weeks. For mild arrhythmia, broom cress (Spartium scoparium) is also suitable for treatment, especially in cases of increased irritability and excitability, because the spartium scoparium slows the conduction of the stimulus and thus reduces the accelerated cardiac excitation. (No)
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