If your doctor has recently told you that you have a bundle branch block, then you have a serious heart condition. A bundle branch block is an obstruction or a delay in the pathway that delivers electrical impulses to your heart to make it beat. It can occur in either side of the heart and it will make your heart work harder to get blood through your body.
Bundle Branch Block
While you may not show any symptoms of having a heart problem, bundle branch blocks could cause complications if it is not taken care of. There is no treatment for a bundle branch block, but they are usually caused by some other problem that can be treated. Heart disease is one of the problems that cause bundle branch blocks. Because this condition doesn’t usually cause any symptoms, you could have a block and not even know it.
If you do experience the following symptoms, see a doctor as soon as possible: fainting; slow heart rate; and feeling as if you are going to faint. These three symptoms may not be due to a bundle branch block, but it is better to be safe than sorry. If you have been diagnosed with this condition, carry a medical alert card stating that you have a bundle branch block. This will help you if you are ever seen in an ER by someone who does not know your particular medical history.
Anyone who has suffered a heart attack may develop a bundle branch block. They also have a higher risk of complications or death due to the condition. It will make diagnosing other heart problems more difficult for your physician. If your doctor is unsure what is causing your heart problems, they may request an ECG text to find out what is going on. The test will show any abnormalities in the way your heart is functioning and it will pinpoint which side of your heart the block is on.
Heart conditions that cause a bundle branch block can be treated using medication and procedures such as a coronary angioplasty. In some cases, a pacemaker may be required to regulate your heartbeat and keep your body functioning at its optimal pace. Depending on the severity of the bundle branch block, a stent may be needed to help open the blockage in an effort to keep your heart working normally without requiring more invasive procedures.
If you think you are having heart problems or have been diagnosed with a bundle branch block, make sure you see your doctor regularly to treat the underlying condition that has caused it. A healthy person can live with this condition for years; they can even be born with it. However, if it is left untreated complications will arise. Work with your doctor to care for your heart so that you can avoid heart attacks and other types of heart disease. With the right treatment, medication and a healthy diet, you can continue to live with a bundle branch block for many years to come.
Occasionally your doctor will order complicated ECG tests for you so that they can help you determine what is currently ailing you. If you have a heart problem, they may order an ECG. An ECG is an electrocardiogram, a test that measures the electrical impulses of the heart over a specific period of time. The doctor will place electrodes on certain areas of your body and they will help measure how well your heart is working.
Ecg test
There are twelve electrodes that are attached to your body to measure your heart beats. These electrodes are called leads and they help the doctor ‘see’ your heart from a variety of different angles. The ECG will show them what part of the heart is affected by the condition you are suffering from and which way the depolarization of your heart is travelling. These leads measure the cardiac axis of your heart and each lead measures something different so that it makes a wave on the tape showing how your heart is working.
The leads that are attached to your body for the ECG each record a different perspective of your heart’s electrical workings. The leads correspond to a different spot on the heart so that the doctor can identify things such as heart injury or other acute coronary conditions. If the leads measure areas of the heart that are next to each other, they are called contiguous. This is done to help see if there is truly a heart problem occurring or if the ECG is seeing something that is a one-time incident. Some leads measure the ventricles of the heart; some measure the heart’s surface.
If the doctor needs to look for a specific signal from your heart, he or she can program the ECG machine for that particular electrical pulse. It can monitor regular cardiac rhythm as well as any inconsistencies. This helps pinpoint where low signals are originating from.
Once your doctor has performed the ECG he will read the results from a ‘rhythm strip’ that prints out a graph of your heart rhythm. Each of the twelve leads is represented on the strip. The strip also contains a time stamp and the graph shows the doctor exactly when in the ECG the reading occurred. It is not unusual for the rhythm of the heart to change based on what the leads report.
If you have heart problems or think you are having a heart problem, contact your physician immediately. They may order an ECG to find out what is going on. It is a highly sophisticated way of learning how your heart is functioning and the best way to pinpoint what is wrong. Your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist who will read the rhythm strip and suggest a course of medical care.
ECG’s have helped millions of people avoid major heart problems. It is a well-used tool that helps you and your doctor make educated decisions about your healthcare. If your doctor orders an ECG for you, take it seriously and find out what is going on with your heart.
ECG Test
Deciphering ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ecg)
An Ecg Test is one of the many diagnostic tools used to measure and record a human heart’s electrical activity when the heart muscle’s cells in both the atria and the ventricles contract. This is useful in deriving diagnoses once the results are ready for interpretation.
The results of the Ecg Test will appear in a roll of paper as a series of waves and frequencies where physicians base their interpretations. The following are waves that one normally sees in a typical electrocardiogram result, but these waves vary depending on the heart’s condition of a patient.
The electrical voltages being generated by the heart through Ecg Test are recorded as P, Q, R, S and T waves. The causes for these waves are as follows.
• P-wave is caused by the spread of depolarization over the left atria, the atria contracts right after. This contraction causes a minimal rise in the atrial pressure curve right after the P wave.
• From the start of the P-wave, 0.16 second later, QRS waves appear resulting from the depolarization of the ventricles, which causes the ventricles to start their contraction which is followed by a rise in the ventricular pressure curve. The QRS complex begins a little before the start of ventricular contraction.
• The ventricular T-wave depicts the stage of repolarization of the ventricles wherein the muscles of the ventricles begin to relax. T waves appear before ventricular contraction ends.
