Brugada syndrome is a rare and inherited heart disease characterized by changes in heart activity that can cause symptoms such as dizziness, fainting and difficulty breathing, in addition to causing sudden death in the most severe cases. This syndrome is more common in men and can happen at any time in life.
Brugada syndrome has no cure, however it can be treated according to severity and usually involves the implantation of a cardiodefibrillator, which is a device responsible for monitoring and correcting heartbeat when there is sudden death, for example. Brugada syndrome is identified by the cardiologist through the electrocardiogram, but genetic tests can also be done to check whether the person has the mutation responsible for the disease.
Signals and symptons
Brugada syndrome usually has no symptoms, however, it is common for the person with this syndrome to experience episodes of dizziness, fainting or difficulty breathing. In addition, it is characteristic of this syndrome that a severe condition of arrhythmia occurs, in which the heart may beat slower, out of rhythm or faster, which is usually what happens. If this situation is not treated, it can lead to sudden death, which is a condition characterized by the lack of blood pumping into the body, leading to fainting and absence of pulse and breathing. See what are the 4 main causes of sudden death.
How to identify
Brugada syndrome is more common in adult men, but it can happen at any time in life and can be identified through:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG), in which the doctor will assess the electrical activity of the heart through the interpretation of graphs generated by the device, and the rhythm and number of heart beats can be checked. Brugada syndrome has three profiles on the ECG, but there is a more frequent profile that can close the diagnosis of this syndrome. Understand what it is for and how the electrocardiogram is made. Stimulation by medication, in which the patient uses a medication capable of altering the heart's activity, which can be perceived through the electrocardiogram. Usually the medicine used by the cardiologist is Ajmalina. Tests or genetic counseling, because it is a hereditary disease, it is very likely that the mutation responsible for the syndrome is present in the DNA, and can be identified through specific molecular tests. In addition, genetic counseling can be done, in which the chance of developing the disease is verified. See what genetic counseling is for.
Brugada syndrome has no cure, it is a genetic and hereditary condition, but there are ways to prevent the onset, such as avoiding the use of alcohol and medications that can lead to arrhythmia, for example.
How the treatment is done
When the person is at high risk of sudden death, it is usually recommended by the doctor to place an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which is a device implanted under the skin responsible for monitoring cardiac rhythms and stimulating cardiac activity when it is impaired.
In the mildest cases, in which the chance of sudden death is low, the doctor may recommend the use of medications, such as quinidine, for example, which has the function of blocking some vessels of the heart and reducing the number of contractions, being useful for the treatment of arrhythmias, for example.
