Irregular heartbeat care in South Texas
Your heart works harder than any other muscle in the body. We work to restore your heart's rhythm, so that it can keep working for you.
Heart arrhythmias, or, irregular heartbeats, are a type of heart disease, and can increase your risk of having a stroke. At Methodist Healthcare, we offer complete cardiac care, so no matter what type of arrhythmia you may be experiencing, our specialists are here with answers to get you on the right track.
What is a heart arrhythmia
A heart arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. Your heart may beat too quickly, too slowly or erratically. Arrhythmias are common, and even children can have them. The abnormal rhythms may be harmless or life-threatening, depending on whether the upper or lower part of the heart is affected and how well the heart is able to continue pumping blood.
Atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), is the most common type of heart arrhythmia and often occurs in people 65 years old and older, however, patients as young as 13 years old have been diagnosed with A-Fib.
What causes a heart arrhythmia?
Even though there are more than a dozen forms of arrhythmias, only a handful of reasons typically cause them. Common causes include a “short circuit”—or malfunction—in the heart’s electrical system, coronary artery disease (the most common type of heart disease that affects adults), damage from a heart attack or changes in your heart muscle.
Types of arrhythmias we treat
At Methodist Healthcare, we are helping people throughout South Texas overcome arrhythmias every day. We diagnose the full spectrum of heart rhythm abnormalities, including but not limited to:
- Adult congenital heart disease arrhythmias
- Arrhythmic myocarditis
- Atrial fibrillation (Afib or AF)
- Atrial flutter
- Bradycardia (sinus node dysfunction, heart block)
- Heart failure
- Inherited/congenital cardiac arrhythmias
- Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)
- Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)
- Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
- Syncope
- Ventricular tachycardia
- Ventricular fibrillation
Heart arrhythmia risk factors
Heart arrhythmias occur when the heart beats at an abnormal or irregular rhythm- either too fast or too slow. This condition can indicate that the electrical signals that regulate your heartbeat don't work properly. You may be at a heightened risk of developing an arrhythmia if you have a chronic health condition, family history of arrhythmia or underlying heart disease, like AFib — the most common type of heart arrhythmia.
There can be additional contributing factors to developing heart arrythmias well, such as:
- Aging
- Binge drinking
- Family history
- High blood pressure
Heart arrhythmia symptoms
Some irregular heartbeats can be caused by stress or too much caffeine and are usually harmless. However, others might be a symptom of heart disease and can even become life-threatening.
Common symptoms of heart arrhythmia conditions can include:
- A fast or slow heartbeat
- A fluttering in your chest
- Anxiety
- Chest pain
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Fainting or nearly fainting
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
Heart arrhythmia treatment
Many treatment options are offered for heart arrhythmias, including heart and vascular surgical options, and will depend upon the type of arrhythmia you are experiencing. We offer:
- Catheter, or radiofrequency, ablation — A minimally invasive procedure involving a series of catheters (small flexible wires) that are put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin (upper thigh) or neck. A special machine sends energy to your heart through one of the catheters. The energy destroys small areas of heart tissue where abnormal heartbeats may cause an arrhythmia to start.
- Implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) — Used to treat abnormally fast heart rates, ICDs monitor and notice abnormal rhythms. When detected, they send a message to the heart to regulate the heart beat.
- Laser lead extractions
- Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) procedure — A procedure to implant a device to reduce a patient's risk of stroke and blood clots.
- Loop Recorders — These devices are implanted into the front part of the patients chest to allow for long-term monitoring of dysrhythmias. This allows the electrophysiologist to ‘see’ what the heart activity has been for a period of time, up to 6 months. These can be implanted under the skin with a small incision, or implanted via a syringe type of delivery system. Generally, these are removed once the electrophysiologist obtains the data they need.
- Pacemakers and biventricular pacemaker — A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device that monitors the heart rate and sends electrical impulses to adjust the heart rate. It is typically used to treat patients with heart rates that are too slow.
- Pulse Field Ablation (PFA) — Using a minimally invasive technique, Pulse Field Ablation uses steady, electrical pulses to selectively target the cells that cause arrythmia.
Methodist Heart also performs heart imaging services to identify heart rhythm issues, including interactive Echocardiogram 3D Imaging. Echocardiography is a major diagnostic tool for imaging the structure and function of the heart. Three-dimensional echocardiography is a cutting-edge imaging technique used to obtain a detailed look at a patient’s heart in motion. These high definition images allow our provider to detect holes in the heart walls, problems with heart muscle contractions, and structural issues with heart valves.