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The Dysfunctional Drummer: Sick Sinus Syndrome

It is a fairly common condition, particularly in elderly patients with concomitant cardiac disease, and prevalence is high in patients who have an increased BMI or a history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, or heart failure.

About half of patients with SSS will have a tachycardia- bradycardia syndrome in which they have a rapid heart rate, often atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, followed by bradyarrhythmia.3 The incidence of SSS increases with age and affects males and females similarly. With an increase in our geriatric population, the prevalence of SSS in the United States is expected to double in the next 50 years.4

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 The effect of unhealthy lifestyle on the pathogenesis of sick sinus syndrome: A life-guiding review

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS), also known as sinoatrial node dysfunction, has been widely concerned by the medical community. The incidence rate of SSS is increasingly, which poses a great threat to public health. Through decades of repeated research in the medical field, great progress has been made in the pathogenesis of SSS and the interaction mechanism between SSS and other cardiovascular diseases. In this paper, we pay special attention to the mental stimulation factors under various pressures such as society and work, and the influence of smoking, drinking, and unhealthy diet on the pathogenesis of SSS.

Articles of Interest

Sick Sinus Syndrome

There are no specific clinical signs seen in sick sinus syndrome other than tachycardia and bradycardia.

Sick Sinus Syndrome: Synopsis

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a term used for a variety of cardiac arrhythmias, occurring predominantly in the elderly, that result from a senescent sinus node. Because the sinus node is the normal pacemaker of the heart, its dysfunction is a cause for concern. Although the major problem is failure of the sinoatrial node, the symptoms would be uncommon were it not for the diffuse nature of the dysfunction, accounting for the frequent failure of escape or rescue rhythms. Accordingly, SSS is characterized, not only by sinus node malfunction, resulting in intermittent sinus pauses and rare sinus arrest, but also by inappropriate and often intermittent bradycardia, tachycardia, and the frequent alternation between the 2 conditions (tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome).

Sinus Node Dysfunction (Sick Sinus Syndrome)

Commonly seen in the elderly but sinus node dysfunction can affect all age groups. Symptoms are due to decreased cardiac output and end-organ hypoperfusion associated with cardiac rhythm abnormality. Wide range of clinical symptoms including syncope, near-syncope, dizziness, fatigue and palpitations.

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UMEM Educational Pearls

SSS usually manifests as sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest, or sinoatrial block, and is sometimes accompanied by supraventricular tachydysrhythmias. Symptoms of SSS include: syncope, dizziness, palpitations, exertional dyspnea, fatigability from chronotropic incompetence, heart failure, and angina.

Harvard Health

Sick sinus syndrome is a relatively uncommon problem. How many people have it is hard to say because it often doesn't cause any symptoms and therefore many people may be living with it and not know it. One study estimates that sick sinus syndrome occurs in about one in every 600 people with cardiovascular disease older than 65. It is even less common in younger people. The average age of a person with sick sinus syndrome is about 68. Of the three arrhythmias that fall under the term sick sinus syndrome, sinus bradycardia is the most common.

StatPearls

Sick sinus syndrome, also known as sinus node dysfunction, is a disorder of the sinoatrial node caused by impaired pacemaker function and impulse transmission producing a constellation of abnormal rhythms. These include atrial bradyarrhythmias, atrial tachyarrhythmias and, sometimes, bradycardia alternating with tachycardia often referred to as tachy-brady syndrome.