During an ACLS or PALS class, you and your team may encounter a patient with one of the four types of heart block. While it isn’t critical for these courses that you know how or why they occur, but for the fullness of context here are some causes.
Some people are born with heart block – known as congenital heart block.
But more commonly, heart block develops later in life. This is often termed an “acquired heart block” and possible causes are:
- Other heart conditions or injuries, such as a heart attack
- Some prescription medicines
- Other conditions, such as Lyme disease
- Having heart surgery
- Muscular dystrophy
- Problems with your thyroid hormone levels
- Sleep apnea
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