Symptoms and ECG-signs of ventricular tachycardia, features of treatment and prognosis of the disease

Ventricular tachycardia is a heart rhythm disturbance that is usually caused by severe damage of the heart muscle. Tachycardia is diagnosed when the heart rate of the person exceeds 80.

There are several varieties of the disease which combine symptoms, causes and the nature of the flow. But if one form of tachycardia requires immediate medical assistance, when the manifestation of symptoms occurs lethal danger.

Revealed ventricular tachycardia on the ECG. It is important to diagnose cardiac functions, and take action to avoid the development of serious complications.

What is paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia?

In order to understand what constitutes V-tach, you need to understand the overall principle functioning of the heart.

During normal activities of the heart electric excitation is generated in the sinus node. It affects the natural contraction of the heart muscle. Then the impulse reaches the Atria and ventricles. Between them is the atrioventricular node, which transmits a pulse approximately 40-80 beats per minute. A normal pulse is also within these limits.

When the myocardium is affected, not the entire impulse passes on. Part of them returned, moving in the same hearth. The heart begins to beat faster with great frequency to 300 beats per minute. The person feels palpitations, it’s like your heart is trying to “escape” outside.

The condition is dangerous because it can begin the process of damage to the tissues of the ventricles, when they no longer cope with the resulting workload. Paroxysms of ventricular tachycardia often arise suddenly. In the absence of timely medical aid is not excluded fatal.

Classification of the disease

In medical science there are several varieties of ventricular tachycardia. The classification is based on different criteria: time of occurrence of the attack, form of the disease, the nature of the clinical course. These categories are taken into account in the diagnosis and therapeutic measures.

Paroxysmal

Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia is diagnosed in case of a sudden beginning of the attack, when the heart rate exceeds 150 beats per minute. Need urgent help to stabilize the condition.

Neparoxizmale

Neparoxizmale ventricular tachycardia suggests the absence of acute symptoms, the patient feels unwell. Deteriorating General condition of the body.

Monomorphic

Monomorphic ventricular tachycardia is formed as a result of other heart diseases and pathological processes. There is one source of destruction. This is one of the most dangerous forms of the disease characterized by specific symptoms. The patient may lose consciousness. During the state of acute heart failure there is a risk of pulmonary edema and cardiogenic shock. Ventricular fibrillation leads to sudden cessation of blood circulation.

Polymorphic

Polymorphic ventricular tachycardia imply multiple sources of pathological cardiac impulse. Among the common causes – the genetic disease, when a child is born with heart defects and other disabilities, as well as excessive use of drugs.

Type pirouette

A special form of polymorphic varieties of the disease is ventricular tachycardia type pirouette. Characterized by a longer interval. The number of cuts reaches 250 beats. We cannot predict what the outcome of another bout of illness. Therefore, in a medical emergency. Outcomes are two: spontaneous cessation of seizure on a background of bright symptoms or ventricular fibrillation. Occurs on the background of genetic diseases or taking certain medications: anti-arrhythmic, antidepressants, antifungal, antiviral.

Unstable

Unstable form of pathology has virtually no effect on hemodynamics – the process of movement of blood through the vessels, but significantly increases the risk of sudden death. Changes on the cardiogram last half a minute.

Sustainable

In steady form, the flash duration of the attack increases to 1 minute at a heart rate of 200-250 beats. Altered hemodynamics and of the pressure data.

Chronic

Chronic (recurrent) ventricular tachycardia painful condition persists for several months, appearing short bouts. When this pathological process is growing slowly, the patient’s condition gradually deteriorates.

Idiopathic

Idiopathic ventricular tachycardia has its own characteristics. The pathological process occurs on the background of complete health. In the health of the heart not of the identified violations, there is no pathology in the structure of the body. In medical practice this type of disease is rare and is primarily associated with the development of mental disorders. Heredity also plays a special role in the diagnosis of disease in children.

Symptoms

Ventricular tachycardia can manifest itself in different ways. The man complains about an unpleasant feeling that is associated with frequent irregular heartbeat. The pathology revealed only when an ECG of the heart.

In other cases the attack is accompanied by deterioration of the patient, shortness of breath, pain in the chest. To predict how it will manifest tachycardia in humans, is very difficult.

In the first stage, is formed when only ventricular tachycardia, symptoms are virtually absent. The disease is diagnosed during the survey by the halter, when the heart see during the day.

The beginning of the attack is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• the heartbeat quickens. The patient physically feels as it beats;
• there is a feeling of a lump in my throat, shortness of breath;
• feel the weight and pain in the chest;
• head is so turned that the person loses lightheadedness or even lose consciousness;
• the skin turns pale, acts cold sweat;
• the person sharply loses power;
• deteriorating eyesight, there are black spots before the eyes, objects blur and lose its shape;
• the patient overcomes an unconscious sense of fear.

If you encounter these signs can not to defer the visit to the doctor. If abnormal condition occurs regularly, needs urgent treatment. The reduced activity of the ventricles leads to malfunction of the body that may lead to the development of heart failure.

Signs on ECG

For an accurate diagnosis are hardware methods of research. As additional sources of information used data of laboratory tests – a blood test results on different indicators. It gives comprehensive information about the nature of the disease.

Changing the functions of the ventricles is established when an ECG. This is the main method of research is focused on abnormalities of cardiac activity. This not only revealed the presence of deviations, but define the reason for their appearance.

Ventricular tachycardia, ECG signs which have their own characteristics, diagnosed by several parameters:

• frequent heart rate from 100 to 300 beats per minute;
• electric axis of the heart deviates to the left;
• the modified strain QRST complexes, reflecting ventricular contraction. This criterion allows to determine the type of disease.

If polymorphic tachycardia these changes are significant. The complexes differ from each other in size and shape. This is due to the fact that in the tissues of the ventricles is multiple foci of excitation.

Bi-directional form describes not only the change of the complex, but the deviation of the electric axis of the heart.

Form of disease by type pirouette on the monitor shows a decrease and an increase of the amplitude of the complexes, which occur in waves. The heart rate is 300 beats per minute.

In some cases, requires daily supervision of the ventricles is monitored by the halter. Sets the number of attacks, their duration and the place of the hearth.

The procedure ultrasound of the heart completes the picture of the disease, assessing the degree of contraction of the ventricles.

Treatment

When the diagnosis of “ventricular tachycardia” treatment should be immediate. Get rid of the disease completely impossible. Therapeutic action aimed at restoring normal heart rhythm after an attack and reduce the frequency of their manifestation. In addition, you need treatment of the underlying disease, against which there is dysfunction of the ventricles.

In identifying the pathology, the doctor will prescribe drug therapy. If paroxysmal tachycardia resistant type, urgently needs to be treated.

The patient is assigned drugs of the following groups:

If the process of fibrillation is already started, is carried out defibrillation using an electric charge.

In cases where medical treatment has the desired effect, applied surgical intervention:

• the implantation of a cardioverter (defibrillator) which controls the heart rate;
• implantation of a pacemaker device, makes a heart beat in the correct rhythm;
• the operation with application of the RF pulse, which destroys the lesion incorrectly specified rhythm.

Forecast

If you leave the disease without attention, there is a risk of developing serious complications. The most dangerous condition associated with ventricular fibrillation which could cause death associated with heart failure. Developing state of acute heart failure when the heart muscle gradually loses its ability to contract.

Abnormal heart rhythm affects the functioning of the circulatory system. Start the process of thrombus formation in cardiac cavities and major vessels. Suffer arteries of the lungs and brain.

If at the initial stage of development of the disease the attacks stoped and there is no impact of pathology testing, patients can lead normal way of life under constant supervision of a doctor.

Other types of tachycardia

In the diagnosis of tachycardia, a situation may arise when an electrical impulse is localized outside the ventricles in the Atria, the sinus–atrial and atrioventricular (atrioventricular) parts of the heart. In these cases we are talking about such kinds of tachycardia as supraventricular and sinus neparoxizmale.

Supraventricular

Supraventricular tachycardia is less dangerous to humans. But under certain circumstances can lead to serious complications. It occurs in children and patients older than 60 years. There have also been instances of damage to the heart in young people under the age of 30 years. The disease is diagnosed in 2 times more often in the female population. The main difference of this kind of tachycardia is the point of excitation is not in the ventricle and in the atrium or atrioventricular node. Usually accompanied by other cardiac diseases.

Sinus neparoxizmale

Neparoxizmale tachycardia can have a sinus shape. This is one of the most common forms of the disease, resulting from a wide range of diseases of the cardiovascular system of the body. The pacemaker acts of the sinus node. On electrocardiogram sinus tachycardia appears regular heart rate with preservation of the melodies of the heart, and heart palpitations. The attack ends with a gradual slow rhythmic contractions, when the heart function at the time of recovering.

Conclusion

1. Tachycardia is a type of arrhythmia, which is a serious disruption of the heart, which greatly increases the heart rate.
2. Change the pass of the electric pulse can have deadly consequences for humans.
3. If the diagnosis “ventricular tachycardia”, the symptoms and treatment of which depend on the root causes of its formation, it is necessary to immediately consult a doctor and undergo the necessary treatment.