Extrasystoles
Clemens Gödel is a freelancer for the medical team.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Extrasystoles are heartbeats that occur in addition to the normal heart rhythm. Often you can feel it in the form of "heart stumbling" or "heart failure". They are mostly harmless and do not require treatment. Sometimes they are warning signs of serious heart disease. Read all about extrasystoles here.
ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. R00I48I46I47I49I45I44
Extrasystoles: description
Extrasystoles are additional beats to the normal heart rhythm. Cardiac arrhythmias are only spoken of when they occur frequently. They occur occasionally in all people.Normally, an electrical impulse is generated in the so-called sinus node in the atrium, which is sent to the left and right ventricle via another node. The heart's muscle cells then contract.
In the case of an extrasystole, an additional electrical impulse is generated in the chambers (ventricular extrasystole) or in areas above them (supraventricular extrasystole). Sometimes the heart needs a break after an extrasystole. One speaks of a “compensatory pause”. Those affected sometimes feel these as "heart failure".
Ventricular extrasystoles
Extrasystoles occur in all people, but are particularly common in adolescents. They are mostly harmless. If additional heartbeats are generated very frequently, this is referred to as ventricular extrasystole. It can be uncomfortable and in some cases dangerous.
Extrasystoles: symptoms
Most people do not feel extrasystoles at all or seldom as a brief "heart palpitations". Sometimes the extrasystoles are so common that they can also trigger dizziness and feelings of fear.
Extrasystoles: causes and risk factors
In healthy people, extrasystoles usually occur with strong emotions, fatigue or after consuming luxury foods (e.g. coffee, alcohol): The overstimulation of the nervous system stimulates the heart more strongly and additional heartbeats are formed more frequently. Other possible triggers are potassium deficiency, medication or thyroid dysfunction. Very rarely, extrasystole is also congenital.
In people with heart disease, extrasystoles occur much more often because many of the heart's muscle cells are damaged. There are supraventricular extrasystoles and ventricular extrasystoles here. Several successive extrasystoles are an expression of cardiac damage and can be harbingers of dangerous arrhythmias.
Extrasystoles: diagnosis and examination
In order to identify accumulated extrasystoles, a so-called long-term electrocardiogram (long-term ECG) must usually be made. For an EKG, the heart currents are measured and recorded using electrodes on the chest. With a long-term ECG, the heart currents are measured for at least 24 hours. If more than 10,000 extrasystoles occur in the 24 hours, one speaks of an extrasystole that requires therapy.
Extrasystoles: treatment
Extrasystoles do not actually require any therapy. If they occur frequently and uncomfortably, one should initially avoid stimulants, as they can promote the development of extrasystoles. If the extrasystoles occur more frequently because the heart is damaged, the heart disease must be treated.
An extrasystole can also be treated with medication. Beta blockers, for example, stabilize the heart rhythm and can reduce the number of extrasystoles.
In the case of a very uncomfortable or congenital ventricular extrasystole, there is the possibility of obliterating certain structures in the heart by means of a so-called catheter ablation. During ablation, a wire is pushed through the inguinal vein into the heart. Since a ventricular extrasystole often originates in a certain area in the heart, this area can be obliterated with heat. The chance of recovery with this procedure is 90 percent.
Extrasystoles: disease course and diagnosis
Extrasystoles are mostly harmless. However, frequent extrasystoles in people with heart disease indicate severe damage to the heart.
The additional heartbeats become dangerous if they occur at certain times during the electrical signal transmission in the heart. Then they can trigger ventricular fibrillation. Several successive extrasystoles are an expression of cardiac damage and can be harbingers of dangerous arrhythmias.
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