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German Shepherd Dog Inherited Ventricular Arrhythmia and Shiloh Shepherds
Glossary of Terms
ARRHYTHMIA
An irregular heartbeat. Arrhythmias are heart-rhythm problems - they occur when the electrical impulses to the heart that coordinate heartbeats are not working properly, making the heart beat too fast, too slow or inconsistently.
Too fast - Tachycardia | Too slow - Bradycardia | Too early - Premature Contraction | Too irregularly - Fibrillation.
Too fast - Tachycardia | Too slow - Bradycardia | Too early - Premature Contraction | Too irregularly - Fibrillation.
ANTI-ARRHYTHMIC
Antiarrhythmic drugs are used to treat abnormal and irregular heart rhythms.
PROARRHYTHMIA
The provocation of a new arrhythmia or the aggravation of a pre-existing arrhythmia.
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG)
A test that records the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body.
PREMATURE VENTRICULAR CONTRACTION (PVC)
Are heartbeats that occur earlier than they should. These early beats briefly interrupt the heart's rhythm. Early heartbeats can happen in the upper chambers (atria) or lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. With PVCs, the ventricles beat early and an extra beat is followed by a pause and then a stronger heartbeat. The heart fills with more blood during the pause following the PVC, giving the next beat extra force. This pattern may occur randomly or at definite intervals.
Single - 1 PVC | Pairs - 2 PVCs together | Runs - 3 or more PVCs together
Single - 1 PVC | Pairs - 2 PVCs together | Runs - 3 or more PVCs together
VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIA (VA)
This is an abnormal heart rhythm the comes from the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Rhythms of this type include ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). Both are life threatening arrhythmias.
VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA (VT)
This is a fast heart rhythm that occurs in one of the ventricles of the heart. It is like one electrical short circuit that races in a circle. In a VT, the heart beats with each race around the circuit at rates from 150 to 250 bpm. If left untreated, some forms of ventricular tachycardia may get worse and lead to ventricular fibrillation which can be life-threatening.
VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION (VF)
Originates from many different locations in the ventricles, each one trying to signal the heart to beat. In this case, the heart beats much faster than normal, sometimes over 300 beats a minute. The lower chambers quiver instead of contract and very little, if any, blood is pumped from the heart to the rest of the body.
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