Symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia

  Have you ever experienced a heartbeat that is often fast or slow, or a heart that feels like it’s thumping from time to time, or a missed pulse when you feel it yourself, which usually reveals an arrhythmia with an ECG or ambulatory ECG? Since most patients do not know about arrhythmias, they are often very nervous and do not know what to do. So, what kind of disease is an arrhythmia? Is an arrhythmia a heart attack? What should I do to cope with it?  A normal heart rhythm originates in the sinus node and has a frequency of 60 beats to 100 beats/min (adults). Arrhythmia refers to abnormalities in the origin of the heart rhythm, the frequency and rhythm of the heartbeat, and the conduction of impulses. Common arrhythmias include premature beats, atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, tachycardia, and conduction block. Patients with arrhythmias should go to cardiovascular specialists for relevant examinations, first to identify functional arrhythmias or organic arrhythmias, and those with related diseases (such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, mitral valve disease, hyperthyroidism) should be treated mainly for these underlying diseases. If no organic heart disease is found, some arrhythmias (e.g. premature beats) can be left untreated, and one should try to alleviate ideological concerns and avoid some triggering factors such as emotional excitement, drinking alcohol or stimulating beverages such as strong tea and coffee; if the symptoms are obvious, medication can be considered.  Chinese medicine believes that arrhythmia is located in the heart and is related to the liver, gallbladder, kidney, spleen and other organs. It is mostly due to the imbalance of qi, blood, yin and yang in the body and the loss of nourishment of the heart and mind, resulting in palpitations and panic. The treatment of arrhythmia in TCM has the advantage of “treating the root of the disease”, and the clinical evidence can use tonics, granules, Chinese medicine, tea drink or auricular pressure dou, especially for patients with premature beats, bradycardia and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, with less side effects. Patients with severe bradycardia may need a pacemaker, which should be judged by a cardiovascular specialist. For patients who do not need a pacemaker for the time being or cannot be fitted with a pacemaker for various reasons, the addition and subtraction of Wintong Fuxue Tang created by Academician Chen Keji has better results, but a course of treatment of at least 3-6 months is usually required. Due to the long course of treatment, the soup can be processed into granules for the convenience of taking the medicine, or intermittently with proprietary Chinese medicine, or drink it as a tea substitute, or with ear acupressing beans, and most patients will have different degrees of heart rate increase.