Heart Rhythm Institute
Posted on April 1st, 2019
Pacemakers and defibrillators are both implantable devices that help treat irregular heart rhythms and improve quality of life for patients. But what’s the difference between the two devices?
A pacemaker keeps your heart beating steadily
If you get fatigued or short of breath easily when doing strenuous things, you may have a slow or irregular heartbeat. Usually when you do any sort of... Read More
Posted on March 1st, 2019
An abnormal heart rhythm, also called an arrhythmia, occurs when the heart beats too fast, too slow or irregularly. Some people with abnormal heart rhythms don’t experience any symptoms at all. Others may feel a fluttering or pounding in their chest when an abnormal rhythm occurs.
There are several tests that may be used to diagnose irregular heart rhythms.
Electrocardiogram (... Read More
Posted on February 5th, 2019
An abnormal heart rhythm is when your heart beats too fast or too slow or when the beats are irregular. If you’ve been diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm or suspect you have one, you may be wondering what impact exercise could have on your heart. Should you exercise if you have an abnormal heart rhythm? Could it make it better or worse?
In general, exercise is good for your heart and is... Read More
Posted on January 1st, 2019
Tachycardia is a general term used to describe a heart that beats too fast, which is typically classified as beating more than 100 beats per minute. Ventricular tachycardia is a specific type where the issue originates with abnormal electrical signals in the lower chambers, or ventricles, of the heart.
Overview of ventricular tachycardia
When a heart is functioning normally, the heartbeat... Read More
Posted on December 1st, 2018
Cardioversion is a treatment used to restore a normal heart rhythm for patients who have an irregular rhythm, also called an arrhythmia. Cardioversion is primarily used to treat atrial fibrillation, or AFib, which is the most common heart rhythm issue. It can also be used to treat other irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial flutter, atrial tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia.
What is... Read More
Posted on November 1st, 2018
Technology continues to advance to give both patients and their physicians more health data. One such advancement is the addition of an electrocardiogram, or ECG, feature in some smart watches.
Many smart watches include a basic heart rate monitor, which on its own can be helpful in alerting the user to an abnormally high heart rate. Having an unusually high heart rate, especially when at rest,... Read More
Posted on October 1st, 2018
An abnormal heart rhythm, also called an arrhythmia, occurs when your beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
The heart is a complex organ involving valves, electrical nodes, and chambers that help blood move through your body. When it’s working properly, it’s a pretty impressive and powerful organ. But if something within your heart gets damaged or disrupted, it can change how your heart beats... Read More
Posted on September 15th, 2018
Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to open a narrowed or blocked blood vessel, which could be an artery that carries blood from the heart to the body or a vein that carries blood back to the heart.
The procedure may be used to treat patients with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, carotid artery stenosis, and... Read More
Posted on September 1st, 2018
A coronary angiogram is the most common type of cardiac catheterization used to diagnose heart conditions. Specifically, a coronary angiogram uses dye and an x-ray machine to look closely at the blood vessels in your heart to see if blood flow is restricted in any way.
Your doctor will likely perform several other diagnostic tests before recommending a coronary angiogram. Other tests may include... Read More
Posted on August 13th, 2018
Heart failure is a chronic condition where the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. It affects six million Americans, and more than 900,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. It’s not a sudden stoppage of the heart like cardiac arrest or blocked blood flow like a heart attack, but rather something that gets worse over time.
The heart tries to keep up in several ways,... Read More