Introduction
Chronic heart diseases affects the structure and functionality of the heart and must be managed properly to ensure that a patients regains a normal health. The use of medical devices has been crucial in the management of chronic heart conditions and improvement of the functionality of the organ. Most of the medical devices used to treat heart diseases are placed within the human thorax part of the body. During the past few years, permanent pacemakers and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) have become commonly used in decreasing the negative health effects of the signs and symptoms of and management of congestive heart failure and arrhythmias respectively.
Permanent Pacemakers
Congestive heart failure is one of the most common chronic heart diseases that is highly fatal in nature due to its signs and symptoms. The condition is mainly caused by the build-up of plaque within the arteries that supplies blood to the heart (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Therefore, there is narrowing of the lumen of such arteries, which causes a decrease in the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Since there is a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the heart, congestive heart failure results into shortness of breath among patients (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Furthermore, those suffering from the condition are likely to report feeling weak and fatigued as a result of decreased heart pumping activity (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Since patients with congestive heart failure are weak and fatigued, they have a reduced exercise ability and may experience irregular heartbeats due to poor heart pumping activity (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Therefore, such individuals may need to use permanent pacemakers to manage such signs and symptoms.
Using permanent pacemakers in the management of congestive heart failure is important due to the improvement of the ability of the patient’s heart to pump blood to vital body organs. A pacemaker is typically a small device that is placed on the patient’s chest (Carrión-Camacho et al., 2019). The device works by sending small electrical pulses to the patient’s heart, thereby stimulating it to regain its normal heart rate and rhythm (Carrión-Camacho et al., 2019). However, an effective management of congestive heart failure do not only depend on the placing of a permanent pacemaker on the patient’s body (Carrión-Camacho et al., 2019). A patient may have to take various medications, such as diuretics and beta-blockers, to properly manage the complication (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Furthermore, a patient may have to engage in monitored physical activity and exercise since it decreases the build-up of plaque within arteries (Inamdar & Inamdar, 2016). Consequently, the application of such management strategies will lead to a reduction in the signs and symptoms of the complication.
Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP)
Changes in the structure of heart muscles can undoubtedly lead to fatal consequences and thus should be detected and managed properly. Arrhythmia has also become one of the most common heart diseases that mainly affects the elderly population (Masarone et al., 2017). By causing heart palpitations as a result of irregular heartbeats, the condition is associated with various signs and symptoms that can negatively impact the quality of life (Masarone et al., 2017). Arrhythmia not only leads to fatigue and weakness among patients but also causes dizziness and lightheadedness (Masarone et al., 2017). Due to the irregularities associated with the heart condition, arrhythmia may lead to chest pain (Masarone et al., 2017). In addition, the irregularities in heartbeats resulting from an insufficient flow of blood from and to the heart may cause a decrease in the supply of oxygen to vital body organs (Masarone et al., 2017). On that account, patients with arrhythmia may experience shortness of breath that may lead to fainting.
The use of IABP as a medical device to manage the signs and symptoms of arrhythmia mainly depends on the ability of such device to restore regular heart pumping activity of the patient (Özen et al., 2018). The device involves a catheter, which is a flexible tube attached to a long balloon (Özen et al., 2018). The balloon, which is also attached to a computer and a patient’s artery, ensures that there is an increased flow of blood within the artery, while the computer monitors the patient heart activity (Özen et al., 2018). By regulating the amount of blood flowing into the patient’s heart, an IABP can be used to decrease the signs and symptoms of arrhythmias (Özen et al., 2018). However, a patient may also use anti-arrhythmic drugs such tocainide and quinidine (Özen et al., 2018). Moreover, there might be a necessity to undertake a monitored physical activity and exercise regularly.
Conclusion
Both congestive heart failure and arrhythmia are fatal heart diseases requiring high management costs by health care systems since they decrease the functionality of the human heart. Therefore, they usually result into serious signs and symptoms such breath shortage, weakness and fatigue. It is essential to use various medical devices to properly manage the effects of the given conditions. The most common medical device used to manage congestive heart failure by medical practitioners is permanent pacemakers. On the other hand, the management of arrhythmia is mostly done by an IABP. By improving the flow of blood to and from the heart, such medical devices are effective in the treatment process.
References
Carrión-Camacho, M., Marín-León, I., Molina-Doñoro, J. M., & González-López, J. R. (2019). Safety of permanent pacemaker implantation: a prospective study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(1), 35. Web.
Inamdar, A. A., & Inamdar, A. C. (2016). Heart failure: diagnosis, management and utilization. Journal of clinical medicine, 5(7), 62. Web.
Masarone, D., Limongelli, G., Rubino, M., Valente, F., Vastarella, R., Ammendola, E., Gravino, R., Verrengia, M., Salerno, G. & Pacileo, G. (2017). Management of arrhythmias in heart failure. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 4(1), 3. Web.
Özen, Y., Aksut, M., Cekmecelioglu, D., Dedemoglu, M., Altas, O., Sarikaya, S., Rabus, M.B. & Kirali, K. (2018). Intra-aortic balloon pump experience: A single center study comparing with and without sheath insertion. Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Research, 10(3), 144 -148.