Heart Disease Risk Factors at Emory

As people seek healthier lifestyles, heart health has become an increasingly important topic. The heart is one of the most important muscles in our body. To keep your heart healthy moderate physical activity and a healthy diet is encouraged. Factors that lead to heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excessive stress, inactivity, smoking, and excessive drinking. Making life style changes in these areas can greatly reduce one’s risks of heart disease.

The heart muscle is made up of four chambers. AT the bottom are two ventricles, and at the top are two atrials. A heart beat occurs when the heart contracts do to the natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial, that is found in our heart. A glitch in this wiring cuases an irregular heart beat and this is what we term an arrythmia.

An arrythmia cuases the heart to pump blood in a less effective manner and refers to any irregularity from the hearts normal sequence. Although they can be serious, arrythmias are not always a reason to worry, and often healthy individuals can feel an irregularity in their heartbeat due to certain medications, too much caffiene or exercise.

Most heart rhythm disturbances are transitory and a doctor does not need to be seen about them. For example, exercise can speed up your heart rate as can too much caffeine and certain medications. Your heart rate may also speed up during times of fear or excitement. An arrhythmia becomes dangerous when it is frequent or chronic. The seriousness of an arrythmia depends not just on symptoms, like faintness or dizziness, but have more to do with the presence of important abnormal structural conditions of the heart and/or heart disease.

The two type of Arrythmia that patients experience is either ventricle firbrilation or atrial fibrilation. Ventricular fibrillation is extremely serious because it usually occurs in people who have a damaged heart, such as those who have had a heart attack. Because ventricular fibrillation is so rapid and is occurring in a damaged heart, the heart may not function properly or efficiently and this arrhythmia can be fatal. Atrial fibrilation is when beats rapidly causing symptoms like chest discomfort, shortness of breath, palpitations, rapid heart beat,and dizziness and tends ot be less serious.

Besides lifestyle changes medication can also help with these abnormal heart rhythms. Medications called beta blockers or drugs to reduce the risk of blood clots in patients as well as pacemakers to monitor and regulate the rhythm of the heart may also be used.

Cardiology specialists, specifically electrophysiologists help to detect , diagnose and treat arrythmias. If an arrythmia cannot be corrected by behavior changes or medication, patinets have the option of a minimally invasive procedire called cardiac ablation.

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