You And Your Arrhythmia A Guide To Heart Rhythm Problems For Patients And Their Families

Cardiac arrhythmias produce rapid, slow, or irregular heart beats and are extremely common and range in severity from benign to sudden, life-threatening emergencies. Some patients may be acutely conscious while others may be unaware. Whether you or a loved one suffers from heart rhythm disorders, You and Your Arrhythmia: A Guide to Heart Rhythm Problems for Patients and Their Families offers help. This book includes cases with simple explanations to provide patients and their families with a better understanding of heart rhythm disorders, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care.

A Library Journal Best Consumer Health Book of 2010 Heart rhythm problems can be a matter of life or death. In this easy-to-read guide, Dr. Todd Cohen provides comprehensive information to help people with heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Dr. Cohen tells readers what they need to know about palpitations, rapid heart rhythms (tachycardias), slow heart rhythms (bradycardias), cardiac arrest, and other conditions related to irregular heartbeats. With the goal of informing and empowering heart patients, Dr. Cohen describes the heart's basic function, the various conditions associated with arrhythmia, and recommended courses of treatment. He discusses such procedures as tilt table testing, electrophysiology studies, catheter ablation, and device implantation (including cardiac monitors, pacemakers, defibrillators, and biventricular devices); explains the essentials of CPR and the use of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs); and presents the latest guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Heart Rhythm Society. A Patient's Guide to Heart Rhythm Problems will help readers understand • how the heart works and what can go wrong • the tests and other diagnostic procedures they may undergo • how their doctor reaches a diagnosis • what their diagnosis means • how their doctor might treat the problem • when medication alone is sufficient treatment • when pacemaker, defibrillator, or biventricular therapy is appropriate • how to get the best possible medical care—in and out of the hospital Endorsed by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, this essential resource features tables highlighting key information, as well as patient narratives that provide personal insight into arrhythmia tests, treatments, and technologies.

Thousands of patients every year are admitted to hospitals because of irregular, fast, or strong heartbeats. For the portion that will eventually be diagnosed with a heart condition, there are important choices to make moving forward. But there is rarely time in a short doctor's visit to go over all the details. This comprehensive overview fills that information gap by imparting everything there is to know about abnormal heart rhythms through all stages of care. Dr. Jeffrey L. Williams, MD, MS, FACC, FHRS, CPE, has worked to provide patients with complete information. There are various types of arrhythmias, and the benefits and risks of treatments for each will vary for each individual patient. Patients, as well as their families, need a thorough understanding to make a fully informed decision. Along with types of treatments, Dr. Williams discusses what is happening on a physiological level and explains the full evaluation process that doctors use. His knowledge, gained over years of study and practice, offers the what, why, and how of this medical issue, so anyone can make the best decisions for the health of his or her family.

…The cardiac unit is a jungle, inhabited by fierce nurses, killer intensivists, marauding attendings, various flesh-eating specialists, sick patients, and lots of arrhythmias. –from the Preface Can you recognize the call of the normal sinus rhythm? Name the natural habitat of Multifocal Atrial Tachycardia or Ventricular Fibrillation? Are you well-versed in the proper care and feeding of Asystole and Atrial Flutter? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, then you need this trusty guide to help you identify and respond to arrhythmias in the veritable wilderness of the busy hospital ward. Created by a seasoned physician educator at a major urban medical center and inspired by the “field guides” used by birders, botanists and the like to identify flora or fauna in the wild, this new book offers a unique – and uniquely humorous -- approach to mastering the ever-vexing challenge of arrhythmia identification. Each arrhythmia is covered beginning with a sample ECG strip, followed by brief text describing its significant characteristics; where and when it is likely to be encountered (its “Habitat”); comments, questions and queries likely to be heard from physicians and other colleagues on the ward (the “Call”); and finally what steps the reader needs to take upon identifying the arrhythmia in a patient (“Care and Feeding”). Dr. Lader’s approach brings the sights and sounds of a modern hospital to life, enabling you to understand arrhythmia diagnosis and clinical response in context, and his offbeat, sometimes irreverent humor makes each detail memorable. Fifty self-assessment questions are included to help you master arrhythmia essentials and test your knowledge.

Heart disease affects millions of people every year. The MLA Guide to Finding Out About Heart Disease organizes and offers evaluated print and online resources to help readers develop a collection or research specific medical options, incorporating important data and key concepts about risk factors and symptoms of heart disease.

Heart rhythm problems, whether slow, fast, or irregular, are very common. Some are benign while some may lead to sudden death. If you or a loved one has a heart rhythm issue or you just want to learn more about this growing field, Live Better Electrically is your guide.

In the United States alone, more than 850,000 people are hospitalized each year for cardiac rhythm disturbances and thousands more are seen in outpatient settings and Emergency Rooms. Hundreds of thousands of patients die from arrhythmias, making it one of the most common causes of death, but even more people are adversely effected by arrhythmia-related debilitating symptoms. Arrhythmia Essentials is a current, concise, and detailed guide to heart rhythm disturbances. This pocket-sized reference is packed with vital information and includes specific examples of each arrhythmia, numerous algorithms to facilitate an approach to arrhythmia diagnosis and management, and indications for implantable rhythm management devices and ablation.Written by leading experts in the field of cardiac arrhythmias, Arrhythmia Essentials provides a unique and contemporary review of rhythm management that is unrivaled by similar books and is a must-have resource for physicians, nurses, students and other healthcare providers caring for patients with cardiac rhythm disturbances.

One of the most time-consuming tasks in clinical medicine is seeking the opinions of specialist colleagues. There is a pressure not only to make referrals appropriate but also to summarize the case in the language of the specialist. This book explains basic physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in a straightforward manner, gives guidelines as to when referral is appropriate, and, uniquely, explains what the specialist is likely to do. It is ideal for any hospital doctor, generalist, or even senior medical student who may need a cardiology opinion, or for that ma.