Not Dr Chang <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:"Dr" Chung scribbled:
Quoted message said:Prolonged in terms of several weeks.
Annia said:That's more like it. 😉
Unfortunately, things are not bound to conform to the wishes of the ignorant.
Merck Manual:
Quoted message said:Ventricular tachycardia that lasts more than 30 seconds is called sustained ventricular
tachycardia.
Quoted message said:Sustained ventricular tachycardia can be dangerous because the ventricles cannot fill adequately
or pump blood normally. Blood pressure tends to fall, and heart failure follows. Sustained
ventricular tachycardia is also dangerous because it can worsen until it becomes ventricular
fibrillation --a form of cardiac arrest. Sometimes ventricular tachycardia causes few symptoms,
even at rates of up to 200 beats per minute, but it may still be extremely dangerous.
As I said, Annia should consult ER urgently when she gets an episode instead of "consulting"
conceited little quacks on the internet.
I'm not consulting quacks on the internet. I am consulting a cardiologist. Below I have included
what I think is a better article on Ventricular Tachycardia. I got this article from the Health
Resource Centre at which I volunteer, so I know it's valid. They have very strict guidelines as to
where they get their information from.
Ventricular tachycardia Source Citation: "Ventricular tachycardia." Dorothy Elinor Stonely,
MD.The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Second Edition. Jacqueline L. Longe, Editor. 5 vols.
Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2001.
Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach) is a rapid heart beat that originates in one of the lower chambers
(the ventricles) of the heart. To be classified as tachycardia, the heart rate is usually at least
100 beats per minute.
Description
A rapid heart rate can originate in either the left or right ventricle. Ventricular tachycardia
which lasts more than 30 seconds is referred to as sustained ventricular tachycardia. A period of
three to five rapid beats is called a salvo, and six beats or more lasting less than 30 seconds is
called nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. Rapid ventricular rhythms are more serious than rapid
atrial rhythms because they make the heart extremely inefficient. They also tend to cause more
severe symptoms, and have a much greater tendency to result in death.
Although generally considered to be among the life-threatening abnormal rhythms, harmless forms of
sustained V-tach do exist. These occur in people without any structural heart disease.
Causes and symptoms
Most ventricular tachycardias are associated with serious heart disease such as coronary artery
blockage, cardiomyopathy, or valvular heart disease. V-tach is often triggered by an extra beat
originating in either the right or left ventricle. It also occurs frequently in connection with a
heart attack. V-tach commonly occurs within 24 hours of the start of the attack. It must be treated
quickly to prevent fibrillation. After 48 to 72 hours of the heart attack, the risk of ventricular
tachycardia is small. However, people who have suffered severe damage to the larger anterior wall of
the heart have a second danger period, because V-tach often occurs during convalescence from this
type of heart attack.
Sustained ventricular tachycardia prevents the ventricles from filling adequately so the heart can
not pump normally. This results in loss of blood pressure, and can lead to a loss of consciousness
and to heart failure.
The individual with V-tach almost always experiences palpitation, though some episodes cause no
symptoms at all.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is easily made with an electrocardiogram.
Treatment
Any episode of ventricular tachycardia that causes symptoms needs to be treated. An episode that
lasts more than 30 seconds, even without symptoms, also needs to be treated. Drug therapy can be
given intravenously to suppress episodes of V-tach. If blood pressure falls below normal, a person
will need electric cardioversion ("shock"😉 immediately. Prognosis
With appropriate drug or surgical treatment, ventricular tachycardia can be controlled in
most people.
Prevention
A person susceptible to sustained ventricular tachycardia often has a small abnormal area in the
ventricles that is the source of the trigger event. This area can sometimes be surgically removed.
If surgery is not an option, and drug therapy is not effective, a device called an automatic cardioverter-
defibrillator may be implanted.
This information is not a tool for self-diagnosis or a substitute for professional care.
An electrocardiographic image indicating a rapid heart beat. (Custom Medical Stock Photo. Reproduced
by permission.) For More Information Books *
McGoon, Michael D., ed. Mayo Clinic Heart Book: The Ultimate Guide to Heart Health. New York:
William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1993. Organizations *
American Heart Association. 7320 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231.
(214)373-6300. americanheart.orgamericanheart.orgOpen ↗ Key Terms
TermDefinition Atrial
Having to do with the upper chambers of the heart. Cardiomyopathy
A disease of the heart muscle.
Cardioversion
A electrical shock delivered to the heart to restore a normal rhythm.
Coronary artery
The artery that supplies blood to the heart muscle itself. Electrocardiogram
A visual representation of the heart beat. Fibrillation
Rapid, uncoordinated, quivering of the heart. Palpitations
Uncomfortable feeling of the heart beat in the chest. Valvular
Having to do with the valves inside the heart. Record Number: DU2601001451
Copyright (c) 2003 by Gale Group . All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
