Implantable loop recorder. This small device is implanted just under the skin of your chest and is used for continuous, long-term monitoring of your heart's electrical activity.This allows your health care provider to see your heart rhythm at the time of your symptoms, which can help pinpoint sick sinus syndrome. You might be asked to use this device to use for up to a month.When you feel symptoms, you push a button, and a brief ECG recording is saved. Event recorder. This portable electrocardiogram device can also be carried in your pocket or worn on a belt or shoulder strap for home monitoring of your heart's activity.It automatically records your heart's activity for 24 to 72 hours, which provides your health care provider with an extended look at your heart rhythms. Holter monitor. This portable device is carried in your pocket or in a pouch on a belt or shoulder strap.The test might show patterns that indicate sick sinus syndrome, including fast heart rate, slow heart rate or a long pause in the heartbeat (asystole) after a fast heart rate. Electrocardiogram (ECG). During this test, sensors (electrodes) are attached to your chest and limbs to create a record of the electrical signals traveling through your heart.In most cases, the sinus node doesn't work properly because of age-related wear and tear to the heart muscle.ĭiagnosing for sick sinus syndrome might include: Sick sinus syndrome can be unmasked by medications, such as calcium channel blockers or beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure, or by other conditions causing the heartbeat to be slower or faster than normal. Scar tissue from a previous heart surgery also can be the cause, particularly in children. Bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome. The heart rate alternates between abnormally fast and slow rhythms, usually with a long pause (asystole) between heartbeats.ĭiseases and conditions that cause scarring or damage to your heart's electrical system can be the reason.Sinus arrest. The sinus node activity pauses, causing skipped beats.Sinoatrial block. Electrical signals move too slowly through the sinus node, causing an abnormally slow heart rate.Types of sick sinus syndrome and their causes include: If you have sick sinus syndrome, your sinus node isn't functioning properly, causing your heart rate to be too slow (bradycardia), too fast (tachycardia) or irregular. From the sinus node, electrical impulses travel across the atria to the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood to your lungs and body. This natural pacemaker produces the electrical impulses that trigger each heartbeat. The rhythm of your heart is normally controlled by the sinus node, an area of specialized cells in the right atrium. Your heart is made up of four chambers - two upper (atria) and two lower (ventricles). A sensation of rapid, fluttering heartbeats (palpitations).In some cases, symptoms come and go. When they occur, sick sinus syndrome signs and symptoms might include: Most people with sick sinus syndrome initially have few or no symptoms. Many people with sick sinus syndrome eventually need a pacemaker to keep the heart in a regular rhythm. The syndrome is relatively uncommon, but the risk of developing it increases with age. The heart rhythms of a person with sick sinus syndrome can be too fast, too slow, punctuated by long pauses - or an alternating combination of these rhythm problems. In sick sinus syndrome, these signals are abnormally paced. Normally, the sinus node produces a steady pace of regular electrical impulses. The sinus node is an area of specialized cells in the upper right chamber of the heart that controls the rhythm of your heart. Sick sinus syndrome - also known as sinus node disease or sinus node dysfunction - is a group of heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) in which the heart's natural pacemaker (sinus node) doesn't work properly.
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