SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm usually occurs in seniors but they can happen at any age. Between sporadic symptoms and heart monitors geared for adults, diagnosing kids can be challenging. Ivanhoe is about to introduce us to a Pediatric Cardiologist who found an innovative solution using a device many kids are already wearing. Smartwatch
Connor Heinz has big hoop dreams. As a point guard for his high school. Until recently, that was becoming harder and harder to do. He says, “My heart just started beating really fast, like really hard.”
Heinz’s mom, Amy says, “It lasted for about 20 minutes and then all of a sudden stopped.”
Heinz says, “And then I had to leave practice because we still didn’t know what it was at the time.”
That’s when Heinz and his mom, Amy, sought out Doctor Scott Ceresnak, a Pediatric Cardiologist.
Scott Ceresnak, MD, Cardiologist at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health says, “We had a suspicion for Connor that he had an arrhythmia such as SVT, supra ventricular tachycardia, or fast heartbeat coming from the upper chambers of the heart. That usually is not life threatening. But it’s usually very uncomfortable for patients.”
To confirm his diagnosis, Ceresnak needed a reading of Heinz’s heart rate during an episode. He says, “We tried multiple monitoring tools for Connor, but we’re never able to capture an episode.”
That’s why Doctor Ceresnak suggested a smartwatch instead. A smartwatch can also monitor the heart but be worn anytime.
Doctor Ceresnak says, “The key was just trying to document and really get a good EKG recording of an arrhythmia episode.”
Heinz then wore his mom’s watch anytime his heart started racing, and also at basketball try-outs.
Conner says, “We put it on, and it started recording like these crazy high beats.”
Amy says, “And, so, we felt like we were catching an episode in real time.”
With a confirmed diagnosis, Heinz’s arrhythmia was corrected through a routine procedure to get him back to doing what he does best.
Doctor Ceresnak believes a smartwatch is going to change the landscape of how hospitals care for kids moving forward. His next step is launching a study to design algorithms for smartwatches based on the information gathered from pediatric patients.
Contributors to this news report include: Jennifer Winter, Producer; Chuck Bennethum, Editor, Joe Alexander-Short, Videographer.
Sources:
SMARTWATCH RECORDS PEDIATRIC ARRHYTHMIA IN REAL TIME
REPORT #3202
ARRHYTHMIA: Arrhythmia is when a heart beats irregularly, whether it’s too fast, slow, or erratic. Arrhythmia can last for a short or long duration of time, with longer arrhythmia greatly affecting the heart’s function. Arrhythmia can be caused by strain on the heart, blocking or damage to the heart’s electrical systems, an imbalance in blood, or some heart medications. Arrhythmia can lead to damage in all organs, and can even shut them down. Symptoms of an arrhythmia can include unusual heart pounding, fast or slow heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, and fainting. Any of the symptoms should call for a health check up, and if someone has collapsed emergency services should be called.
(Source: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-arrhythmia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350668)
PEDIATRIC ARRHYTHMIA: While arrhythmia is more common in adults, it can happen at any age. Arrhythmia can be difficult to diagnose in children due to them being without symptoms or not being able to easily describe symptoms. One type of arrhythmia in children is Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), where the lower chambers of the heart take too long to relax after a beat, which can be inherited or from some medications. LQTS can caused seizures and death, so it is important to get a child tested if they have fainting spells or a history of heart-related problems in the family. Another type of arrhythmia is supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), where electrical signals travel irregularly in the upper chambers of the heart. SVT can be diagnosed in infants as early as still in the womb, and may be only a temporary condition. SVT in children and teens isn’t life-threatening and only needs to be treated if they have prolonged or frequent rapid heart rates.
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia/types-of-arrhythmia-in-children)
ARRHYTHMIA TYPES: Arrhythmia types are categorized by if the heart is beating too fast, called a tachycardia, or too slow, called a bradycardia. Tachycardia can be as harmless as just causing a pounding sensation in the case of supraventricular tachycardia, or as serious as causing a stroke or death in the cases of atrial fibrillation, arial flutter, and ventricular fibrillation. A ventricular tachycardia can be an emergency in people with heart disease, but for people who are healthy not cause serious problems. Bradycardias are not as serious as tachycardias, with some instances, like construction blocks, causing no symptoms. However, in extreme cases bradycardias can cause frequent fainting and cardiac arrest.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-arrhythmia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350668
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia/bradycardia–slow-heart-rate)
* For More Information, Contact: Elizabeth Valente, PR Manager
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
EValente@StanfordChildrens.org
(650) 269-5401
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