Cardiac Arrhythmias - Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the electrical activity of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. Cardiac arrhythmias comprise any abnormality or pertubation in the normal activation sequence of the myocardium. Arrhythmias stem from several causes. The heart’s natural timekeeper—a small mass of special cells called the sinus node—can malfunction and develop an abnormal electrical impulse rate. CPR can prolong the survival of the brain in the lack of a normal pulse, but defibrillation is the intervention which is most likely to restore a more healthy heart rhythm. A slow rhythm, known as bradycardia (less than 60 beats/min), is usually not life threatening, but may cause symptoms. When it causes symptoms implantation of a permanent pacemaker may be needed. Either dysrhythmia requires medical attention to evaluate the risks associated with the arrhythmia. The signs and symptoms of cardiac arrhythmias can range from completely asymptomatic to loss of consciousness or sudden cardiac death.
Complaints such as lightheadedness, dizziness, quivering, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, heart fluttering or pounding, and forceful or painful extra beats are commonly reported with a variety of arrhythmias. Beats are generated by electrical impulses in the atria (top chambers of the heart) and are then conducted to the ventricles, where they produce the powerful muscle contraction that pumps blood. People may have allergies or idiosyncratic reactions to many other foods and beverages that cause transitory arrhythmias. Long-term nicotine exposure and any cocaine exposure can cause much more serious arrhythmias. Oxidative stress is a common feature of ischemic-reperfusion injuries, which occur when the heart is temporarily deprived of oxygenated blood (a state known as ischemia), followed by the reintroduction of oxygenated blood (reperfusion). The development of arrhythmias include congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure (hypertension).
Advances in medicine and technology have created new treatment options for cardiac arrhythmia (commonly known as heart rhythm disturbances). Cardioversion is the application of electrical current across the chest wall to the heart and it is used for treatment of supraventricular or pulsed ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and more electricity is delivered with defibrillation than with cardioversion. Arrhythmias may involve medications (anti-arrhythmic therapy), catheter ablations, and implantation of pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD). Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) or CRT-D (CRT with defibrillator therapy) is an innovative therapeutic option for patients with refractory HF. Defibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and more electricity is delivered with defibrillation than with cardioversion. Antiarrhythmic medications help to change the electrical signals within the heart to suppress or prevent the arrhythmia.
Treatment for Cardiac Arrhythmias Tips
1. Using a small, battery-powered generator to deliver timed, electrical impulses to the heart muscle through tiny wire leads.
2. The treatment for some patients is a technique called cardiac ablation.
3. Magnetic Guidance in the Heart While transcatheter ablation is very effective, it can be difficult.
4. Stereotaxis Niobe Magnetic Navigation System uses two superconductive magnets, a magnetic-tipped guide wire and advanced computer imaging techniques.
5. Atrial fibrillation can also be treated through a procedure, e.g. pulmonary vein isolation.
6. Fibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
Juliet Cohen writes article sfor http://www.healthatoz.info/ and http://www.health-disease.org/
Parkinson's Disease - Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Parkinson's disease occurs when nerve cells, or neurons, in an area of the brain known as the substantia nigra die or become impaired. Normally, these neurons produce an important brain chemical known as dopamine. At least 500,000 people in the United States currently have PD. Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. Parkinson's disease is progressive, meaning the signs and symptoms become worse over time. But although Parkinson's disease may eventually be disabling, the disease often progresses gradually. Parkinson disease affects movement (motor symptoms). Typical other symptoms include disorders of mood, behavior, thinking, and sensation (non-motor symptoms). Individual patients' symptoms may be quite dissimilar and progression of the disease is also distinctly individual. Parkinson's usually begins around age 60. It is more common in men than in women. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease often start on one side of the body first and then affect both sides.
There are many secondary symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease patients may notice that they are weaker or more tired. Symptoms include disorders of mood, behavior, thinking, and sensation. Poor balance is due to the impairment or loss of the reflexes that adjust posture in order to maintain balance. Falls are common in people with Parkinson's. Shaking (muscle tremor). This is one of the first symptoms in three-quarters of people, and affects most people with Parkinson's disease. Bradykinesia is the phenomenon of a person experiencing slow movements. In addition to slow movements, a person with bradykinesia will probably also have incomplete movement, difficulty initiating movements and sudden stopping of ongoing movement. The progressive loss of voluntary and involuntary muscle control produces a number of secondary symptoms associated with Parkinson's. Postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination, causes patients to develop a forward or backward lean and to fall easily.
Parkinson's disease requires broad-based management including patient and family education, support group services, general wellness maintenance, exercise, and nutrition. Medications can help manage problems with walking, movement and tremor by increasing the brain's supply of dopamine. Amantadine may also be added to carbidopa-levodopa therapy for people in the latter stages of Parkinson's disease. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors drugs prolong the effect of carbidopa-levodopa therapy by blocking an enzyme that breaks down dopamine. Tolcapone (Tasmar) is a potent COMT inhibitor that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier. A medicine called levodopa is often given to people who have Parkinson's disease. Called "L-dopa," this medicine increases the amount of dopamine in the body and has been shown to improve a person's ability to walk and move around. Thalamotomy involves the destruction of small amounts of tissue in the thalamus — a major brain center for relaying messages and transmitting sensations.
Parkinson's Disease for Treatment Tips
1. Carbidopa and benserazide are dopa decarboxylase inhibitors.
2. Tolcapone inhibits the COMT enzyme, thereby prolonging the effects of L-dopa, and so has been used to complement L-dopa.
3. Selegiline and rasagiline reduce the symptoms by inhibiting monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B).
4. An antiviral drug, amantadine, can help reduce symptoms of PD and levodopa-induced dyskinesia.
5. COMT (catechol O-methyl transferase) inhibitors are a new class of drugs that stop the breakdown of dopamine.
6. Other therapies that are important for managing and coping with Parkinson's disease include physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy.
7. Amantadine acts like a dopamine replacement drug but works on different sites in the brain.
Juliet Cohen writes article sfor http://www.healthatoz.info/ and http://www.health-disease.org/
Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) - Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Guillain-Barré Syndrome called is acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and Landry's ascending paralysis. It is a an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves and autoimmune disorder. Its frequency is about 1 to 2 cases in every 100,000 people per year in the United States. Men and women, but it occurs most often in young and the elderly.Guillain-Barre syndrome may be an autoimmune disorder in which the body produces antibodies that damage the myelin sheath that surrounds peripheral nerves. The myelin sheath is a fatty substance that surrounds axons. It increases the speed at which signals travel along the nerves. The disorder is characterised by progressive symmetrical paralysis and loss of reflexes, usually beginning in the legs. Perhaps 50% of cases occur shortly after a microbial (viral or bacterial) infection such as a sore throat or diarrhea. An autoimmune mechanism, in which the patient's defense system of antibodies and white blood cells are triggered into damaging the nerve covering or insulation, leading to weakness and abnormal sensation.
GBS commences with progressive muscular weakness of extremities that may lead to paralysis. It spreads rapidly, ascending to involve the cranial nerves. Guillain-Barre syndrome may occur in association with viral infections like glandular fever, AIDS, and herpes simplex or after infections with bacteria. Most people with Guillain-Barre syndrome experience their most significant weakness within three weeks after symptoms begin. The symptoms are not always the same in every person, but typically reflexes will be lost and the paralysis or loss of feeling will occur on both sides of the body rather than just one side or the other. About one quarter of the time, the paralysis continues up the chest and freezes the breathing muscles, leaving the patient dependent on a ventilator. If the swallowing muscles are also affected, a feeding tube may be needed. In some cases, signs and symptoms may progress very rapidly with complete paralysis of legs, arms and breathing muscles over the course of a few hours.
Symptoms of this phase, causing only mild difficulty in walking, requiring crutches or a walking stick. Supportive care with monitoring of all vital functions is the cornerstone of successful management in the acute patient. Plasmapheresis. This treatment — also known as plasma exchange — is a type of "blood cleansing" in which damaging antibodies are removed from your blood. Plasmapheresis consists of removing the liquid portion of your blood (plasma) and separating it from the actual blood cells. Additional treatments are directed at prevention of complications such as choking during feeding (through positioning or use of a nasogastric feeding tube), blood clots (through mobilising the patient and sometimes the use of drugs to thin the blood ), intermittent bladder catheterization, and effective treatment of pain. Intravenous immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulin contains healthy antibodies from blood donors. High doses of immunoglobulin can block the damaging antibodies that may contribute to Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Treatment for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) Tips
1. Plasmapheresis and high-dose immunoglobulin therapy are used.
2. Supportive care with monitoring of all vital functions is the cornerstone of successful management in the acute patient.
3. Immunoglobulin contains healthy antibodies from blood donors.
4. Intravenous immune globulin (IVIg) is equally effective in reducing the severity and duration of the symptoms.
5. Use of steroid hormones has also been tried as a way to reduce the severity of Guillain-Barre.
Juliet Cohen writes article sfor http://www.healthatoz.info/ and http://www.health-disease.org/
