Ventricular paroxysmal tachycardia

Ventricular tachycardia occupies one of the first places in the list of causes of sudden lethality.

Few people think about why a therapist sends all people after forty years to an ECG. Almost half of the people who die from heart disease die suddenly. This pathology, like many other diseases, has become much younger in recent years. The low standard of living of the population, overcrowding with stress and shocks, untimely seeking professional medical help, bad habits significantly increase the number of people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system.

general characteristics

Ventricular tachycardia is accelerated ventricular impulses that successively replace each other three or more times. They are characterized by a frequency of one hundred or more beats per minute. This attack begins and ends unexpectedly.

Establish this violation using an ECG. If the arrhythmia has an increased number of beats, but less than 100 beats. per minute, it is called slow ventricular tachycardia. This condition is not treated, but patients with such a deviation are monitored.

The causes of the disease are as follows:

1. Anomalies in the development of the heart or blood vessels, as well as insufficient intake of certain trace elements, such as K and Mg, lead to the occurrence of this pathology.
2. This kind of arrhythmia can be caused by acidosis, hypoxia, and some medicinal substances.

Ventricular tachycardia is poly- or monomorphic. It is unstable and stable. Often this condition is complicated by ventricular fibrillation, which can lead to sudden death of the patient.

Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular paroxysmal tachycardia is characterized by the presence of paroxysms. Paroxysms are understood as an increased number of heart beats, which, however, do not increase more than 180. This condition is the result of ectopic impulses that replace the normal rhythm. To confirm the diagnosis, the patient is given an ECG.

The duration of the attack varies. At the same time, the constancy of the rhythm is preserved.

This type of arrhythmia, for reasons of occurrence and pathogenesis, is similar to extrasystole. Often extrasystoles, successively replacing each other, are considered a short attack of tachycardia. In this condition, the movement of blood through the heart is inefficient.

Therefore, these attacks lead to insufficiency of blood circulation. If in this state an ECG is made to a person, then in a quarter a paroxysmal form of ventricular arrhythmia is detected.

This type of arrhythmia can be localized:

• in the atria;
• in the ventricles;
• in all the named parts of the heart at once.

It has three forms:

• chronic;
• acute;
• recurrent.

The latter form can lead to circulatory disorders or arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.

Before an attack of such an arrhythmia, there is always an extrasystole. Disorders such as sclerosis, inflammation, necrosis, and dystrophy lead to this pathology. More often occurs in men over sixty with a history of hypertension, heart defects, myocarditis, coronary heart disease.

Why does ventricular tachycardia occur?

Ventricular tachycardia occurs in the elderly mainly on the background of myocardial infarction. It is detected on the ECG or during surgical interventions in the chest area.

Often, poisoning with chloroform, cyclopropane leads to this violation. Some drugs (Adrenaline and Norepinephrine, Alupet, Novocainamide) can lead to the development of this type of arrhythmia. Hypokalemia, which has a negative effect on the heart, plays an important role in the development of this disorder.

They can also provoke attacks of ventricular tachycardia:

• excessive physical activity;
• psycho-emotional stress;
• smoking;
• alcohol abuse;
• oxygen starvation;
• imbalance in the acid and alkaline state of the body.

Clinical manifestations

Symptoms of this pathology can be expressed in different ways. Some attacks seriously worsen the patient's well-being, and some can only be detected on an ECG.

The attack usually begins abruptly with a feeling of rapid heartbeat. It ends as abruptly as it begins. In some cases, the attack begins with a sudden, unjustified general weakness, respiratory failure, a feeling of heaviness or pain behind the sternum.

Sometimes the onset of an attack of this tachycardia resembles the symptoms of cerebrovascular accident:

• fainting;
• visual disturbances;
• aphasia;
• paresis;
• dizziness.

Such attacks can be complicated by cardiogenic shock, pulmonary edema.

The heart rate during an attack is one hundred or two hundred beats. per minute, there are cases when the heart rate reached 300.

The ECG during an attack may be normal, but longer follow-up usually reveals an abnormal heart rhythm.

During auscultation, a "cannon" first tone is heard. It can be determined in the interval between atrial and ventricular systoles. If the patient has low blood pressure, the second tone may be heard weakly or not heard at all.

Cardiac output is impaired, which can lead to collapse. The pulse of the veins in the neck during this period is felt worse than in the arteries. This symptom is of great diagnostic value. The underlying pathology of the patient also affects the symptoms.

Treatment of ventricular tachycardia

All treatment is aimed at normalizing the heart rhythm and reducing the frequency of heart contractions.

It is important to prevent possible complications. All activities are carried out under the control of the ECG. Serious therapy is necessary only for malignant arrhythmias. Antiarrhythmic drugs are needed with an unfavorable prognosis for this arrhythmia, as well as its negative effect on blood circulation, and when a person does not tolerate this disorder.

In order for ventricular tachycardia to stop, it is necessary to eliminate the factor (exercise or intoxication) that caused it.

If the patient does not have serious heart pathologies and is difficult to tolerate this disorder, psychotropic substances may be prescribed to him.

Also shown:

1. Patients with non-coronary disorders in the myocardium are prescribed antiarrhythmic drugs.
2. Often, adrenergic blockers are used to stop this type of arrhythmia. They reduce the risk of sudden death and also reduce mortality after myocardial infarction.
3. Potassium channel blockers are often used for this arrhythmia.

Prevention of ventricular arrhythmias

There are no special preventive measures that a person can take without the participation of health workers.

But there are general rules that should be followed by those who want to keep their heart healthy and not face such a disease as ventricular tachycardia:

• A healthy lifestyle is the main rule. Tobacco, alcohol, drugs should be abandoned. It is important to adhere to the correct sleep formula, sleep at least eight hours a day. More outdoor activities, exercise.

• Proper nutrition will also help keep your heart healthy for longer. It is necessary to reduce the intake of salty, fatty and too spicy. Food should include all the necessary trace elements and vitamins.
• Avoid unnecessary worries and stress. Physical labor should not be too hard, moderate exercise is good for the heart, but overload is harmful.

If there are symptoms indicating a cardiac pathology, it is better to seek qualified advice from a medical institution. Those who have heart disorders, as well as people over forty, should have an ECG done once a year.