Clinic of Friedrich Syndrome

The Frédéric syndrome received its name in honor of the Belgian physiologist, who defined it as a combination of a complete transverse (atrioventicular) blockade and atrial fibrillation, in other cases - atrial flutter. In this article, Frederick syndrome is considered: a clinic, diagnosis, treatment of a disease.

Mechanism of the syndrome

Mechanisms of the syndrome of Frederick are as follows: from the atria to the ventricles, impulses are completely stopped; Disorderly, chaotic, often repeated excitation and reduction of some groups of muscle fibers of the atria. The ventricles are excited through a pacemaker located in the atrioventricular junction or in a conducting system.

Causes of Friedrich syndrome

This disease can occur after severe organic lesions in the heart, which are often accompanied by inflammation, sclerotia or degeneration in the myocardium. Such processes include, for example, ischemic heart disease, mainly in chronic form, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, angina pectoris, and others. With such diseases, sclerotic processes develop in the cardiac muscle, as a result of which the connective tissue becomes unnecessarily expanded, which replaces normal cells, habitual to the body, capable of carrying out electrical impulses. Therefore, conductivity is broken, and blockade occurs.

What the cardiogram shows

To confirm the patient's syndrome, Frédéric is usually given an electrocardiogram. Moreover, it is better to perform the study within 24 hours in order to assess the heart rate at different times and collect more complete information.

If there is a disease on the ECG, waves of flicker or atrial flutter are recorded, while a healthy person should have teeth. The rhythm of the ventricles becomes nodal or idioventricular, and in general - nonsinus ectopic. The intervals RR are constant and have the right rhythm. The number of ventricular contractions is recorded in an amount not exceeding 50-60 times per minute. Ventricular complexes are often dilated and deformed.

Clinical manifestations and symptoms

Only with the help of an electrocardiogram can you accurately confirm the patient's syndrome of Frederick. The clinic that accompanies him in ordinary life, to which a person should pay attention, is a rare but correct pulse with a heart rate of at least 30 and not more than 60 times per minute. The pulse rate falls because the pumping function of the heart decreases. In turn, the above leads to oxygen starvation of the brain.

Patients for the most part complain of weakness, dizziness, dyspnea, deterioration of well-being even after a little physical exertion. If a person does not pay attention to Frederick's syndrome, the symptoms are aggravated, cardiac arrest of 5-7 seconds may appear. In addition, loss of consciousness due to ventricular tachycardia is possible.

Treatment

Increasingly, doctors agree that the only correct solution for the treatment of Frederick syndrome is the implantation of an artificial pacemaker. That is, an electrode is inserted into the ventricle, which imparts impulses and artificially causes a contraction of the myocardium. The frequency of contractions is set in advance depending on the patient's condition and physical activity.

In addition to electrocardiostimulation, cholinergic blockers are also used. These are special substances, for example, atropine. However, recently, many of the side effects, including negative effects on the patient's psyche, for example, the development of atropine psychosis, have been discarded from their use.

In general, treatment depends on the stability of hemodynamics and the causes of atrioventicular blockade.

Thus, Frederick's syndrome is a fairly severe lesion of the heart muscle, characterized by complete transverse blockade in combination with atrial fibrillation.

However, at present, with a correct and timely diagnosis, this phenomenon is treatable, after which the patient can return to a normal state and conduct a habitual way of life.