Throughout the first seven weeks of Medical Terminology we have learned a lot about numerous different systems of the body. This included systems such as the gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, blood and lymphatic, integumentary, skeletal, and muscular systems. When learning about those systems, we have learned the anatomy and physiology along with diseases. The disease called fibrillation was the topic of interest. The anatomy of this disease, signs and symptoms, and treatments were studied and learned about. Fibrillation or also known as Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that happens in most Americans. In a normal heart, the chambers contract accordingly to each other. They pump the blood into the lower part of the …show more content…
This is based on how long you have had it, and what your symptoms are. The first goal of the physician is to get the heart back to beating normal again. Most of the time the doctor can do this by using the procedure called cardioversion. Cardioversion can be done in two ways. Electrical cardioversion is the first way, and this is when the heart gets shock with electrical waves through paddles or patches on the chest. This stops the heart for a few seconds, before restoring to normal rhythm. People are typically under sedation during this time so that they don’t feel the shock actually happening. Another cardioversion method would be with drugs. During this method there are anti-arrhythmic drug to return the heart to normal. The medications can be take intravenously or orally dependent on the condition that the patient is …show more content…
People who don’t respond well to medications, catheter methods don’t work, or are not a good candidate for other procedures are qualified for this one. It includes using a catheter to destroy a small area of tissue by applying radiofrequency energy to the area connecting the upper and lower chambers. Then after that step is finished, a pacemaker gets inserted to keep the ventricles beating in the normal rhythm. This procedure requires you to take blood thinners so that you have a lower risk of a stroke. That is because the heart would still be in atrial fibrillation. A lot of the time physicians prescribe blood thinners to reduce the risk of a stroke, since while in fibrillation you run the risk of developing blood clots. Warfarin is a common blood thinner, but you have to have regular blood tests since it is such a powerful drug and the side effects need to be monitored. There have also been some other newer medications used to prevent blood clots. Most of these though are said not to be used if you have a mechanical heart value. Dabigatran is the first one, and it is as powerful the Warfarin, but doesn’t require you to have routine blood testing. Rivaroxaban or Xarelto is another one that is used. It is take once a day and doesn’t require blood testing. The third option for a blood thinner that won’t require routine blood testing would be Apixaban or commonly
In this lab, I took two recordings of my heart using an electrocardiogram. An electrocardiogram, EKG pg. 628 Y and pg. 688 D, is a recording of the heart's electrical impulses, action potentials, going through the heart. The different phases of the EKG are referred to as waves; the P wave, QRS Complex, and the T wave. These waves each signify the different things that are occurring in the heart. For example, the P wave occurs when the sinoatrial (SA) node, aka the pacemaker, fires an action potential. This causes the atria, which is currently full of blood, to depolarize and to contract, aka atrial systole. The signal travels from the SA node to the atrioventricular (AV) node during the P-Q segment of the EKG. The AV node purposefully delays
There are four different categories of treatment: lifestyle changes, surgical procedures, non-surgical procedures, and medications. Lifestyle changes include having a healthy diet; increasing physical activity; eliminating cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and illicit drugs; and getting enough rest and sleep; losing excess weight. These lifestyle changes are to lower the patient’s blood pressure, cholesterol, and reducing any other future medical conditions. There are also surgical options to help cure, prevent, or control cardiomyopathy. Surgical method include a septal myectomy, surgically implanted devices, and a heart transplant. A septal myectomy is used to specifically treat hypertrophy cardiomyopathy which is where the heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles to thicken. The thickening of the walls may not affect the size of the ventricles but instead may affect the blood flow out of the ventricle. Usually along with the ventricles swelling, the septum in between the ventricles can become enlarged and block the blood flow causing a heart attack. When medication is not working well to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a surgeon will open the chest cavity and remove part of the septum that is blocking blood flow. Surgically implanted devices include a pacemaker, a cardiac resynchronization therapy device, a left ventricular assist device, and an implantable
The structures responsible for these sounds are: pulmonary, aortic and atrioventricular valves. These sounds are results of vibration caused by closure of these valves. Other sounds known as "heart murmurs" are sometimes a sign of heart disease. "Murmurs can be produced by blood flowing rapidly in the usual directions through an abnormally narrowed valve" (Vander, Sherman and Luciano, 1985, p.326) and in some cases, as mitral valve prolapse, the individual does not show any symptoms.
In a healthy individual receiving a general anaesthetic, the anaesthetist must be aware of the causes and treatment of acute onset AF, both intra-operatively and peri-operatively. Patients with AF often develop a decline in left ventricular performance and other hemodynamic instabilities including reduced diastolic filling and tachycardia mediated cardiomyopathy1, all of which can reduce cardiac output and pose difficulties for the anaesthetist.
...lood Vessel Stents.” 1-3). Bypass surgery is another option; a blood vessel from somewhere in the body is used to go around the blocked artery. This completely bypasses the blocked artery, so it no longer becomes an issue. Thrombolytic therapy is a method that involves injecting a medication into the artery that will dissolve the clot and allow blood to pass freely through the artery (“Peripheral Artery Disease.” 3).
Statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or low-dose aspirin), as well as treatment for angina and myocardial ischemia (with β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, nitrates, or Ranolazine). Additional symptom management techniques may include tricyclic medication, enhanced external counter pulsation, hypnosis, and spinal cord stimulation.
Abnormalities that are being examined includes some arrhythmias, such as premature ventricular contraction or atrial fibrillation.
...le the patient is sleeping. Other treatments similar to electrical cardioversion are used to treat AF. The treatment needed again depends on the severity and what a medical practitioner feels can most appropriately fits the situation (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014).
When your heart beats, the first beat represents the AV valves closing to prevent the backflow of blood into the atrium. The second beat is the semilunar valves opening to allow blood into the aorta or pulmonary trunk.
The heart serves as a powerful function in the human body through two main jobs. It pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body and “blood vessels called coronary arteries that carry oxygenated blood straight into the heart muscle” (Katzenstein and Pinã, 2). There are four chambers and valves inside the heart that “help regulate the flow of blood as it travels through the heart’s chambers and out to the lungs and body” (Katzenstein Pinã, 2). Within the heart there is the upper chamber known as the atrium (atria) and the lower chamber known as the ventricles. “The atrium receive blood from the lu...
When you have Tachycardis your heart rate is above 100 beats per minute. Tachycardis is caused by heart injuries from past times. Tachycardis usually occurs months or years after a heart attack. A treatment for Tachycardis can be inserting a device called a defibrillator. A defibrillator will detect and treat abnormally fast heart rhythms.
Pharmacologic management of PAD typically involves statins, which help manage cholesterol, and antihypertensives to decrease blood pressure. Anti-platelets including aspirin (for later stages) and clopidogrel (Plavix) can be used to reduce the risk of vascular accidents in patients with PAD.4
Typically, you are given a shot, an infusion of Heparin for a few days and may be followed by medications such Lovenox, fragmin, or Arixtra others may be given a pill Coumadin, Lantoven or Xarelto. You may be required to take blood thinners for a minimum of 3 months or longer. It is extremely important to take this medicine as it is prescribed. You may also have to do a bleeding time test used to determine how quickly your blood is clotting. This test involves small superficial cuts on the skin, like scratches. (mayo
Cardiac dysrhythmias come in different degrees of severity. There are heart conditions that you are able to live with and manage on a daily basis and those that require immediate attention. Atrial Fibrillation is one of the more frequently seen types of dysrhythmias (NIH, 2011). The best way to diagnosis a heart condition is by reading a cardiac strip (Ignatavicius &Workman, 2013). Cardiac strips play an chief part in the nursing world allowing the nurse and other trained medical professionals to interpret what the heart is doing. In a normal strip, one can clearly identify a P wave before every QRS complex, which is then followed by a T wave; in Atrial Fibrillation, the Sinoatrial node fires irregularly causing there to be no clear P wave and an irregular QRS complex (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). Basically, it means that the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, are contracting too quickly and no clear P wave is identified because of this ‘fibrillation’ (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013).
They can keep a clot from growing or breaking off, and from they prevent new clots from forming. But they can’t thin your blood, despite their name or dissolve and existing clot. There are several medications or blood thinners you can take to for thrombosis. In the hospital, your doctor may give you heparin at first by needle into your vein or as a shot. You may also take warfarin (Coumadin) by pill once a day starting while you’re still on heparin, and then usually for 3-6 months or more. Newer anti-clotting medicines known as Xa inhibitors, work as well as warfarin for most people.