Don’t skip a beat this Heart Rhythm week
This year's theme for Heart Rhythm Week is Hearts and Goals that aims to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest.
IRREGULAR heart beat or arrhythmia is quite common among South Africans, and can be very dangerous, causing a sudden, cardiac event. Despite this many people do not know about the condition and many individuals who suffer from it go un-diagnosed.
For this reason Netcare Umhlanga Hospital is conducting a community awareness campaign this World Heart Rhythm Week, 3 to 9 June 2014. The facility’s general manager Dr Burton Shinners explains that a heart rhythm disorder or cardiac arrhythmia is when the heart goes through periods when it beats either too quickly (i.e. ‘racing’), too slowly or irregularly.
“Netcare Umhlanga Hospital aims to improve awareness about medical conditions such as irregular heart beat disorder so that people can understand what it is and when they should seek treatment. This condition affects many individual’s quality of life and can even be life threatening.”
Dr YT Singh, a cardiologist who practices at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital says that heart rhythm disorders are caused by a fault in the electrical circuitry of the heart. They can affect individuals of all ages but is especially common among older individuals with some 25% of adults over the age of 40 developing some form of the condition.
Dr Singh says that heart rhythm disorders may result in a range of possible symptoms such as dizziness and fainting. As we tend to think of the conditions such as dizziness and fainting as being associated with the brain, the link to a heart arrhythmia is often not considered. Other conditions that may indicate a heart rhythm disorder are palpitations, which may include missed or extra heartbeats and/or racing heartbeat; shortness of breath; chest discomfort and chest pains. While such symptoms may not necessarily be linked to arrhythmia, they should be investigated by a medical professional.
Netcare Umhlanga Hospital has a highly specialised cardio-vascular unit for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of cardiac conditions including heart rhythm disorders.
The unit’s cardiac catheterisation laboratory has state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging equipment which is used to visualise the arteries and heart in order to identify and treat abnormalities. The unit also has a dedicated cardio-thoracic intensive care unit (ICU), cardio-thoracic theatre and cardio-thoracic ward. It is supported by a team of highly experienced cardiologists, cardio-thoracic surgeons and a vascular surgeon.
One way each of us can keep an eye on our general health and help establish whether we may have a heart problem or heart rhythm disorder is to learn how to take our own pulse.
You can either simply take your pulse using your fingers, or use one of the many relatively inexpensive heart rate monitors that are available on the market today. There are also cell phone apps that can assist you to measure your heart rate.
It is also recommended that you take your pulse at different times of the day. You should check your heart rate when you are at rest and following strenuous activities such as exercise.
This will help you to ascertain what your average pulse is and whether you suffer from any irregular heart beat patterns. A normal pulse is in the range of between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Dr Singh advises people to consult their medical practitioner if their pulse is often erratic, weak, slow or if it races.
