Treatment of cardiac arrhythmias

Cardiac arrhythmia is also called arrhythmia. It is a disturbance of the normal heartbeat sequence, caused by abnormal processes in the formation and conduction of excitation in the heart muscle. The patient’s heart does not beat regularly.

Cardiac arrhythmias can be life-threatening and can occur as a result of heart disease or other conditions. However, they also occur in healthy people and have no disease value. The generic term “cardiac dysrhythmia” covers many diseases.

The following rhythm disturbances are treated with the help of beta blockers: The too fast beating of the heart is also called tachycardia. If the heart beats not only quickly but also irregularly, this is called tachy arrhythmia, i.e. a coupled disorder. Other forms in which beta-blocker therapy can be helpful are atrial fibrillation and additional heartbeats, the so-called extrasystoles.

The effect of beta-blockers is to reduce the excitability of the heart. The drugs cause the heart to be stimulated too frequently to beat. This reduces the heart rate (heart beats per minute). The heart is thus relieved by the beta-blockers, the heartbeat is slowed down and occurs in a regular sequence. You can find more information on this topic at: Arrhythmia

Treatment of overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)

An overactive thyroid gland leads to various symptoms due to the excess of thyroid hormones in the body: Patients are often nervous and restless. They notice a trembling of their fingers and report sleep disturbances. The heart rate (heart rate) is increased and patients notice a strong palpitations.

There may be extra beats of the heart (=extrasystoles) or cardiac arrhythmia, which patients usually report as “heart stumbling”. Blood pressure is often elevated in patients with hyperthyroidism. The first priority is the treatment of the underlying disease, hyperthyroidism, with appropriate procedures. Beta-blockers can be given as additional medication to lower the patient’s heart rate and high blood pressure and to alleviate the unpleasant feeling of heart stumbling and strong palpitations. You can find more information on this topic at: Hyperthyroidism ̈berfunktion

Therapy with beta blockers for pheochromocytoma

Pheochromocytoma is a disease in which a tumour produces an excess of hormones. This hormone-producing tumour consists of cells that originate from the stress-mediated nervous system. The pheochromocytoma produces large amounts of the stress-mediating hormones adrenalin and noradrenalin and releases them into the bloodstream.

Norepinephrine and adrenaline are so-called catecholamines. Adrenaline causes vasoconstriction, while noradrenaline has a vasodilating effect and causes the heart to increase its rate and beat. Most of the time, the pheochromocytoma produces adrenaline, which is why vasoconstriction occurs and high blood pressure is very common in affected patients.

The causal treatment of pheochromocytoma consists of surgery. However, it is important to treat the patient with medication before and after the operation in order to alleviate a faster heartbeat as a reaction of the body to the lowered blood pressure. However, beta blockers should only be used if treatment has already been started with alpha blockers. If surgery to remove the tumour cannot be performed, this form of drug-assisted treatment is used to lower the patient’s blood pressure. You can find more information on this topic at: Pheochromocytoma