Missed one heartbeat too many? You must see a doc

Missed one heartbeat too many? You must see a doc

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:24.09.2021

Heart palpitations are one of the common health concerns. But, in the majority of cases, we ignore them because they are known to occur when we are stressed or anxious.

However, cardiologists say, if the palpitations continue for a longer period and even when a person is not under stress, it may be a sign of some abnormality that needs medical attention.

Recently, doctors at Delhi PSRI hospital said they came across a 58-year-old man who had been having heart palpitations for three to four years. “The patient came to the hospital only when he started having breathing difficulty also,” Dr Amitabh Yaduvanshi, head of invasive cardiology and electrophysiology at PSRI hospital, said.

Imaging tests showed that instead of the heart beats arising from the upper right chamber and following a certain trajectory to spread to the heart (as is in a healthy person), in this case, there was additional heart beats to the extent that every third of his heartbeat was arising from an abnormal site, the Left Ventricular (LV) Summit.

It is rare, occurring in about four per cent of the cases of Ventricular Premature Complexes in which extra heart beats arise from one of the heart’s two lower pumping chambers.

“The extra heartbeat was putting pressure on the heart. If the patient had delayed visiting the hospital any further, it may have led to heart failure,” Dr Yaduvanshi said.

The doctors conducted a procedure in which radiofrequency energy (similar to microwave heat) is used to destroy a small area of heart tissue that is causing rapid and irregular heartbeats. An advanced electro-anatomical mapping system was used to identify the site of origin of the abnormal beat, Dr Yaduvanshi said.

“The palpitations or missed beats are common symptoms, but in some cases, it may be due to abnormalities in the heart. Abnormal heart beating should not be ignored.”

DOCTOR SAYS

The extra heartbeat was putting pressure on the heart. If the patient had delayed visiting the hospital, it may have led to heart failure