Name : vincent joshua B.

pangilinan
BSN - IV

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT):

also called paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, is defined as an abnormally fast heartbeat. It's a
broad term that includes many forms of heart rhythm problems (heart arrhythmias) that originates above
the ventricles (supraventricular) in the atria or AV node.

A normal heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. A heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute is called
tachycardia. This occurs when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don't work properly.
It may feel like a fluttering or racing heart.

Signs and symptoms:

● A fluttering in your chest
● Rapid heartbeat (palpitations)
● Shortness of breath
● Lightheadedness or dizziness
● Sweating
● A pounding sensation in the neck
● Fainting (syncope) or near fainting

Causes;

● Heart failure
● Thyroid disease
● Heart disease
● Chronic lung disease
● Smoking
● Drinking too much alcohol
● Consuming too much caffeine
● Drug use, such as cocaine and methamphetamines
● Certain medications, including asthma medications and over-the-counter cold and allergy drugs
● Surgery
● Pregnancy
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV
Types of supraventricular tachycardia:

● Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). This is the most common type of
supraventricular tachycardia in both males and females of any age, although it tends to occur
more often in young women.
● Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT). AVRT is the second most-common type
of supraventricular tachycardia. It's most commonly diagnosed in younger people.
● Atrial tachycardia. This type of supraventricular tachycardia is more commonly diagnosed in
people with coexisting heart disease. Unlike AVNRT and AVRT, which always involve the AV
node as part of the faulty connection, atrial tachycardia doesn't involve the AV node.

Diagnosis:

● Electrocardiogram (ECG). During an ECG, sensors (electrodes) that can detect the electrical
activity of your heart are attached to your chest and sometimes to your limbs. An ECG measures
the timing and duration of each electrical phase in your heartbeat.
● Holter monitor. This portable ECG device can be worn for a day or more to record your heart's
activity as you go about your routine.
● Echocardiogram. In this noninvasive test, a hand-held device (transducer) placed on your chest
uses sound waves to produce images of your heart's size, structure and motion.
● Implantable loop recorder. This device detects abnormal heart rhythms and is implanted under
the skin in the chest area.
● Tilt table test. Your doctor may recommend this test if you've had fainting spells. Your heart rate
and blood pressure are monitored as you lie flat on a table. The table is then tilted as if you were
standing up. Your doctor observes how your heart and the nervous system that controls it respond
to the change in angle.
● Electrophysiological testing and mapping. In this test, doctors thread thin tubes (catheters)
tipped with electrodes through your blood vessels to a variety of spots within your heart. Once in
place, the electrodes can map the spread of electrical impulses through your heart.
In addition, your cardiologist can use the electrodes to stimulate your heart to beat at rates that
may trigger — or halt — an arrhythmia. This allows your doctor to see the location of the
arrhythmia and what may be causing it.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

Treatment:

● Vagal maneuvers. You may be able to stop an episode of SVT by using particular maneuvers
that include holding your breath and straining, dunking your face in ice water, or coughing.
These maneuvers affect the nervous system that controls your heartbeat (vagus nerves), often
causing your heart rate to slow.
● Cardioversion. If you're unable to stop an episode of SVT on your own using vagal maneuvers,
your doctor may use cardioversion, which can be conducted as a procedure or by using
medications.
In the procedure, a shock is delivered to your heart through paddles or patches on your chest. The
current affects the electrical impulses in your heart and can restore a normal rhythm.
● Medications. If you experience frequent episodes of SVT, your doctor may prescribe medication
to control your heart rate or restore a normal heart rhythm. It's very important to take any anti-
arrhythmic medication exactly as directed by your doctor in order to minimize complications.
● Catheter ablation. In this procedure, your doctor threads one or more catheters through your
blood vessels to your heart. Electrodes at the catheter tips can use heat, extreme cold or
radiofrequency energy to damage (ablate) a small spot of heart tissue and create an electrical
block along the pathway that's causing your arrhythmia.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

Ventricular tachycardia;
is a heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia) caused by abnormal electrical signals in the lower chambers of the
heart (ventricles). In ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT), abnormal electrical signals in the ventricles
cause the heart to beat faster than normal, usually 100 or more beats per minute, out of sync with the
upper chambers.

When that happens, your heart may not be able to pump enough blood to your body and lungs because the
chambers are beating so fast or out of sync with each other that they don't have time to fill properly.
Ventricular tachycardia may be brief, lasting for only a few seconds, and perhaps not cause any
symptoms. Or it can last for much longer and cause symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness,
palpitations or even loss of consciousness.

Signs and symptoms;

Brief episodes of ventricular tachycardia may not cause any symptoms in some people. Others may
experience:

● Dizziness
● Shortness of breath
● Lightheadedness
● Feeling as if your heart is racing (palpitations)
● Chest pain (angina)
● Seizures

Sustained or more serious episodes of ventricular tachycardia may cause:

● Loss of consciousness or fainting

● Cardiac arrest (sudden death)

Causes;

V-tach is caused by a disruption in the normal electrical impulses that control the rate of your ventricles'
pumping action.
● Lack of oxygen to the heart due to tissue damage from heart disease
● Abnormal electrical pathways in the heart present at birth (congenital heart conditions,
including long QT syndrome)
● Structural heart disease (cardiomyopathy)
● Medication side effects
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV
Diagnosis:

● An electrocardiogram, also called an ECG or EKG, is the most common tool used to diagnose
ventricular tachycardia. It's a painless test that detects and records your heart's electrical activity
using small sensors (electrodes) attached to your chest and arms
● Holter monitor. This portable ECG device is carried in your pocket or worn on a belt or shoulder
strap. It records your heart's activity for an entire 24-72 hour period, which provides your doctor
with a prolonged look at your heart rhythms.
● Event monitor. This portable ECG device is intended to monitor your heart activity over a few
weeks to a few months. You wear it all day, but it records only at certain times for a few minutes
at a time.
● Transtelephonic monitor. This device provides continuous heart rhythm monitoring but must be
worn continuously. It may or may not include wires.
● Implantable loop recorder. This is an implantable device that has no wires and can sit
underneath your skin for up to three years to continuously monitor your heart rhythm.

Cardiac imaging:

● Echocardiogram (echo). An echocardiogram creates a moving picture of your heart using

sound waves via a transducer placed on the chest that emits and detects these waves. An
echo can identify abnormalities in the heart valves and heart muscle that contribute to poor
blood flow.
● Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A cardiac MRI provides still or moving pictures of
how the blood is flowing through the heart and detects irregularities. It is often used to
evaluate potential causes of ventricular tachycardia.
● Computerized tomography (CT). CT scans combine several X-ray images to provide a
more detailed cross-sectional view of the heart.
● Coronary angiogram. This may be used to study the flow of blood through your heart and
blood vessels. Your doctor may use a coronary angiogram to reveal potential blockages or
abnormalities. It uses a dye and special X-rays to show the inside of your coronary arteries.
● Chest X-ray. This painless test is used to take still pictures of your heart and lungs and can
detect if your heart is enlarged.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

V-tach treatment:

● Catheter ablation. This procedure is often used when a discrete electrical pathway is responsible
for an increased heart rate.
In this procedure, a doctor inserts catheters into your groin or neck and guides them through the
blood vessels to your heart. Electrodes at the catheter tips can use heat, extreme cold or
radiofrequency energy to damage (ablate) the extra electrical pathway and prevent it from
sending electrical signals.
● Medications. Anti-arrhythmic medications may prevent a fast heart rate when taken regularly.
● Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. If you're at risk of having a life-threatening ventricular
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV
Ventricular fibrillation:
is when the heart quivers instead of pumping due to disorganized electrical activity in the ventricles. It is
a type of cardiac arrhythmia. Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness
and no pulse. This is followed by death in the absence of treatment. Ventricular fibrillation is found
initially in about 10% of people in cardiac arrest. Ventricular fibrillation can occur due to coronary heart
disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, Brugada syndrome, long QT syndrome, electric shock, or
intracranial hemorrhage. Diagnosis is by an electrocardiogram (ECG) showing irregular unformed QRS
complexe swithout any clear P waves. An important differential diagnosis is torsades de pointes.

Early signs and symptoms

A condition in which the lower chambers of your heart beat too rapidly (ventricular tachycardia, or VT)
can lead to ventricular fibrillation. Signs and symptoms of VT include:

● Chest pain
● Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
● Dizziness
● Nausea
● Shortness of breath
● Loss of consciousness

Causes;

The cause of ventricular fibrillation isn't always known. The most common cause is a problem in the
electrical impulses traveling through your heart after a first heart attack or problems resulting from a scar
in your heart's muscle tissue from a previous heart attack.

Some cases of ventricular fibrillation begin as a rapid heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia (VT). This
rapid but regular beating of the heart is caused by abnormal electrical impulses that start in the ventricles.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV
Diagnosis

● Heart monitoring. A heart monitor that will read the electrical impulses that make your heart
beat will show that your heart is beating erratically or not at all.
● Pulse check. In ventricular fibrillation, there will be no pulse.
● Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to produce an image of your heart. During an
echocardiogram, sound waves are directed at your heart from a transducer, a wandlike device,
held on your chest. Processed electronically, the sound waves provide video images of your heart.
● Coronary catheterization (angiogram). To determine if your coronary arteries are narrowed or
blocked, a liquid dye is injected through a long, thin tube (catheter) that's fed through an artery,
usually in your leg, to the arteries in your heart. The dye makes your arteries become visible on
X-ray, revealing areas of blockage.

Emergency treatments

● Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This treatment can help maintain blood flow through
the body by mimicking the pumping motion your heart makes. CPR can be performed by anyone,
including family members.
In a medical emergency, first call for emergency medical help, then start CPR by pushing hard
and fast on the person's chest — about 100 to 120 compressions a minute. Allow the chest to rise
completely between compressions.
Unless you're trained in CPR, don't worry about breathing into the person's mouth. Keep up chest
compressions until a portable defibrillator is available or emergency personnel arrive.
● Defibrillation. The delivery of an electrical shock through the chest wall to the heart
momentarily stops the heart and the chaotic rhythm. This often allows the normal heart rhythm to
resume.
If a public-use automated external defibrillator (AED) is available, anyone can administer it.
Most public-use AEDs voice instructions as you use them. Public-use AEDs are programmed to
recognize ventricular fibrillation and send a shock only when needed.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV
Treatment:
● Medications. Doctors use various anti-arrhythmic drugs for emergency or long-term treatment of
ventricular fibrillation. A class of medications called beta blockers are commonly used in people
at risk of ventricular fibrillation or sudden cardiac arrest.
● Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). After your condition stabilizes, your doctor is
likely to recommend implantation of an ICD. An ICD is a battery-powered unit that's implanted
near your left collarbone. One or more flexible, insulated wires (leads) from the ICD run through
veins to your heart
● Coronary angioplasty and stent placement. This procedure is for the treatment of severe
coronary artery disease. It opens blocked coronary arteries, letting blood flow more freely to your
heart. If your ventricular fibrillation was caused by a heart attack, this procedure may reduce your
risk of future episodes of ventricular fibrillation.
● Coronary bypass surgery. Another procedure to improve blood flow is coronary bypass surgery.
Bypass surgery involves sewing veins or arteries in place at a site beyond a blocked or narrowed
coronary artery (bypassing the narrowed section), restoring blood flow to your heart.
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

Types

● First-degree heart block involves minor heartbeat disruptions, such as skipped beats. It is the
least serious type of heart block, and it does not generally require treatment.
● Second-degree heart block occurs when some electrical signals never reach the heart, causing
dropped or skipped beats. The patient may feel dizzy, and they may need a pacemaker. The
ventricle may not contract, as the atrial impulse did not reach the ventricles.
● Third-degree or complete heart block is when electrical signals do not travel between the upper
and lower chambers of the heart. It is more common in patients with heart disease. Without a
pacemaker, there is a serious risk of heart attack.

If you have heart block that you weren’t born with, doctors call it “acquired” heart block. It’s the most
common type. Causes include:

● Certain types of surgery that affect the heart’s electrical system

● Changes in your genes

● Damage from a heart attack

● Heart issues like clogged arteries, inflammation of the heart muscle, and heart failure

● Muscle disorders or other diseases

● Some medicine

Symptoms

Your symptoms depend on the type of heart block you have. If you have a first degree, you may not have
any at all.

Second-degree symptoms may include:

● Chest pain
● Dizziness
● Fainting
● Fatigue
● Nausea
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

● Shortness of breath

Third-degree heart block needs immediate medical attention.

● Cardiac arrest
● Dizziness
● Fainting
● New, severe tiredness
● Irregular heartbeat or new palpitations
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

Atrial fibrillation (AF)

is a common abnormal heart rhythm that happens when electrical impulses fire off from different places
in the atria (the top chambers of the heart) in a disorganised way. This causes the atria to twitch, and is
felt as an irregular heartbeat or pulse. Atrial fibrillation is a major cause of stroke.

Atrial fibrillation happens because, as well as the sinus node sending out regular electrical impulses,
different places in and around the atria (the upper chambers of the heart) also produce electrical messages,
in an uncoordinated way. These multiple, irregular messages make the atria quiver or twitch, which is
known as fibrillation. This is felt as an irregular and sometimes fast heartbeat, or pulse.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

● palpitations (being aware of your heart beat)

● tiredness
● shortness of breath
● dizziness or feeling faint

An irregular pulse could be a sign that you have atrial fibrillation. However, some people only have mild
symptoms, while other people have no symptoms at all.
Causes

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that occurs when the two upper chambers of
your heart experience chaotic electrical signals. The result is a fast and irregular heart rhythm. The heart
rate in atrial fibrillation may range from 100 to 175 beats per minute. The normal range for a heart rate is
60 to 100 beats per minute.

Possible causes of atrial fibrillation

Abnormalities or damage to the heart's structure are the most common cause of atrial fibrillation. Possible
causes of atrial fibrillation include:

● High blood pressure

● Heart attack
● Coronary artery disease
● Abnormal heart valves
● Heart defects you're born with (congenital)
● An overactive thyroid gland or other metabolic imbalance
● Exposure to stimulants, such as medications, caffeine, tobacco or alcohol
● Sick sinus syndrome — improper functioning of the heart's natural pacemaker
● Lung diseases
● Previous heart surgery
● Viral infections
● Stress due to surgery, pneumonia or other illnesses
Name : vincent joshua B. pangilinan
BSN - IV

Treatment

The atrial fibrillation treatment that is most appropriate for you will depend on how long you've had atrial
fibrillation, how bothersome your symptoms are and the underlying cause of your atrial fibrillation.
Generally, the treatment goals for atrial fibrillation are to:

● Reset the rhythm or control the rate

● Prevent blood clots, which may decrease the risk of a stroke
● Electrical cardioversion. In this brief procedure, an electrical shock is delivered to your heart
through paddles or patches placed on your chest. The shock stops your heart's electrical activity
for a short moment. The goal is to reset your heart's normal rhythm.
You will be given a sedative before the procedure, so you shouldn't feel the electric shock. You
may also receive medications to help restore a normal heartbeat (anti-arrhythmics) before the
procedure.
● Cardioversion with drugs. This form of cardioversion uses medications called anti-arrhythmics
to help restore normal sinus rhythm. Depending on your heart condition, you may receive
medications through an IV or by mouth to help return your heart to normal rhythm.
● Catheter ablation. During this procedure, a doctor inserts a long, thin tubes (catheters) into your
groin and guides them through blood vessels to your heart. The catheter's tip produces
radiofrequency energy, extreme cold (cryotherapy) or heat to destroy areas of heart tissue that are
causing rapid and irregular heartbeats.
● Atrioventricular (AV) node ablation. If medications or other forms of catheter ablation don't
work or cause side effects, or if you're not a good candidate for these therapies, AV node ablation
may be an option. The procedure involves using a catheter to deliver radiofrequency energy to the
pathway (AV node) connecting the upper and lower heart chambers.