From this article you will learn: pulse 50 is the norm or pathology, it is dangerous or not. Causes and characteristic symptoms of such a pulse. What to do with a pulse of 50 beats per minute, he needs treatment or not.
Article content:
- Causes of heartbeat 50
- Characteristic symptoms
- Diagnostic principles
- Methods of treatment when it is needed
- Forecast
Pulse 50 is a non-expressed bradycardia. This is not an independent pathology, but a symptom of a number of diseases. Often it is accompanied by heart disease, thyroid gland, sometimes it occurs as a side effect of certain medicines and is registered with infections.
In a number of cases, a pulse of 50 per minute is found in persons who do not suffer from any diseases and is regarded as a variant of the norm, does not require treatment.
In general this condition is not dangerous.
The cardiologist, therapist or( rarely) an endocrinologist is treating this problem. In some cases, the bradycardia can be completely eliminated, in others, for various reasons, it accompanies the patient all his life.
Causes of pulse 50
Bradycardia is physiological( "normal") and pathological.
1. Physiological bradycardia
Physiological bradycardia is not a symptom of any disease, for health it is absolutely not dangerous. It can occur in the following situations:
- If a person is in good physical shape, trained. The athlete's heart gets used to the high load. In rest it is reduced, though infrequently, but strongly - and this is enough to maintain adequate circulation of blood in the body.
- For prolonged stays in low temperature. This leads to a decrease in body temperature to 35 degrees or less, and slowing the pulse in this situation is a protective reaction of the body in order to save energy resources.
- As a result of stimulation of reflex zones. Stimulation of certain areas of the human body irritates the fibers of the vagus nerve, which leads to a decrease in the pulse. Such zones are, for example, eyeballs and the lower part of the side surfaces of the neck. Stimulate them a person can, without even thinking about it - intensively rub eyes, let's say, with conjunctivitis, or tighten the tie tightly. Bradycardia, which has arisen for this reason, is short-lived - the heart rhythm quickly returns to normal.
- In the process of aging. In persons of venerable age there is a tendency to a decrease in heart rate and pulse. The reason - the areas of connective tissue( scientifically - cardiosclerosis) that arise during a person's life as a result of metabolic disturbances or the outcome of myocardial diseases( heart muscle).They impair the ability of the muscle to contract and to conduct nerve impulses. Also, in the body of older people metabolic processes are slowing down, tissues no longer need so much oxygen, which means that the need for active heart work is reduced. All these changes and underlie the slowing of the pulse in the elderly. Such a bradycardia is a natural process, it is constant.
2. Pathological bradycardia
What can lead to the development of a pathological form of bradycardia:
Heart diseases
Most heart diseases are accompanied by an increase in its contractions - tachycardia. However, a bradycardia also occurs. It can be found in diseases of inflammatory nature( endocarditis, myocarditis), and those accompanied by sclerosis of the heart muscle( myocardial infarction, diffuse or focal cardiosclerosis).When sclerosing the heart, myocardial cells are replaced by a connective tissue;roughly speaking, the heart formed a different size of the scars.
If the driver of the rhythm is affected, sinus node weakness syndrome occurs - the node generates impulses with a lower frequency, the heart contracts less often. Conductivity disorder( when any part of the conducting paths is damaged, impulse is impossible) is called a blockade.
In some diseases of the heart, the bradycardia is constant, while for others, it occurs with attacks.
Reduced thyroid function( hypothyroidism)
The essence of this condition is a decrease in the level in the blood of thyroid hormones - thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which take an active part in metabolic processes, regulate the activity of the heart and maintain the tone of the nervous system. With a decrease in their level in the blood, a bradycardia develops.
Hypothyroidism is accompanied by thyroiditis, congenital underdevelopment of the thyroid gland and some other diseases. It can also develop due to a neck injury.
Pathology of the nervous system
The heart is innervated( ie, connected by nerves) by the branches of the vagus nerve, which belongs to the parasympathetic nervous system.
The increased tone of the parasympathetic nervous system can cause a decrease in heart rate. Vagus nerve irritation may occur with:
- depressive disorder;
- neuroses;
- of vegetovascular dystonia;
- intracranial hematomas( blood clots due to craniocerebral trauma or hemorrhagic stroke);
- tumor diseases of the middle part of the thoracic cavity;
- ulcer of the stomach and duodenum and in patients who underwent surgery on the organs of the head, neck, mediastinum( middle thoracic cavity).
Poisoning
One of the symptoms of lead poisoning, phosphorus, nicotine and narcotic substances poisoning is slowing the pulse to 50( its degree directly depends on the amount of toxic substance that has got into the body).
Diseases of infectious nature
A number of infections - viral hepatitis, typhoid fever, sepsis - can occur with bradycardia.
Taking certain medications
Pulse reduction is often a side effect of many medications( beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, cardiac glycosides, amisulpiride, morphine and others).As a rule, bradycardia arises as a result of non-compliance with the patient's recommendations regarding the dose and regimen of medication, but it also happens that even the minimal dosage contributes to its development.
This side effect is not usually a threat to the health and life of the patient, but if it does occur, it is still worth informing the attending physician about it.
3. Idiopathic bradycardia
In the case when the doctor can not diagnose diseases that could cause a decrease in heart rate to 50 beats per minute, and the physiological causes of such a pulse are also not determined - a bradycardia is called idiopathic. It can occur periodically or be of a permanent nature.
Symptoms of
In fact, bradycardia itself is a symptom. But the symptom is objective, which is determined at the stage of examination of the patient. Subjectively, many people with a slight slowing of the pulse( for example, 50 per minute) feel quite satisfactory and do not complain. This statement applies to both physiological and pathological bradycardia.
However, all people are different, and even a pulse rate of up to 50 beats per minute in a number of patients may be accompanied by signs that worsen the quality of their life:
- by dizziness( systemic blood flow is small, but broken, the heart is unable to maintain blood pressure within the norm - it decreases, brain cells are deficient in oxygen, dizziness occurs):
- general weakness( is a consequence of oxygen deficiency in muscles);
- increased fatigue( oxygen starvation of the body leads to a rapid depletion of its energy resources, and to fill them requires a longer time than in healthy people);
- with dyspnoea on exertion( with bradycardia, the pumping function of the heart is reduced, which contributes to the stagnation of blood in the vessels of the lungs, such vessels can not maintain gas exchange at the required level, to compensate for this, the brain makes it easy to install the breathing more often);
- pains for the sternum, arising from deficiency in the body of oxygen or as a symptom of the underlying heart disease.
Such a patient is paler, with excessive exertion of the pulse and shortness of breath.
With pathological bradycardia, there are always other symptoms of a different nature associated with the underlying disease. Conversely, all the above clinical signs occur not only with bradycardia, but accompany a variety of other diseases. Therefore, when they occur, the patient should consult a doctor - therapist or cardiologist. The specialist will conduct a series of surveys, on the basis of which the final diagnosis will be made.
Principles of diagnosis
The fact of having a bradycardia a person can detect independently by determining the pulse on the radial artery( on the wrist).He may also suspect her of having the symptoms listed above.
Click on the picture to enlarge Diagnosis of diseases that could lead to a decrease in heart rate is performed by a doctor. First of all, he will listen to the patient's complaints, the medical history( when complaints have arisen, they are permanent or occur periodically, the patient relieves his condition) and life( the diseases, working conditions, etc.).Then he will conduct an examination, palpation( determine the pulse), auscultation( listening with a phonendoscope) and percussion of the heart( tapping for the purpose of delineating boundaries).
Based on the findings, the physician will prescribe a test to the patient, which may include:
- electrocardiography;
- phonocardiography;
- daily( Holter) ECG monitoring;
- heart ultrasound;
- determination in the blood level of thyroid hormones;
- determination of the presence of toxins in the blood;
- general blood test and some other studies( depending on the pathology the doctor suspects).
When the cause of bradycardia is identified, the doctor will prescribe the patient treatment.
Methods of treatment
Let's start with the fact that according to the laws of medicine we treat not symptoms, but illness.
Physiologic bradycardia is a variant of the norm, which means that it is not shown in the treatment.
The bradycardia pathological, not accompanied by any subjective sensations, which does not worsen the patient's condition, is subject to dynamic observation.
To a patient who has a pulse rate of 50 beats per minute, the doctor will not prescribe drugs that increase his frequency, but this does not mean that the disease that led to a decrease in the pulse does not need to be treated. That is, in pathological bradycardia, the primary goal of a doctor is to eliminate its cause - the underlying disease. In the treatment of such a patient, medicines can be prescribed:
- holinoblokatory( atropine);
- ;
- levothyroxine( with reduced thyroid function);
- antibiotics( if the patient has myocarditis);
- adaptogens( medicines based on magnolia vine of Chinese, ginseng, aralia, eleutherococcus);
- preparations that improve the metabolic processes in the heart( tiotriazolin, meldonium).
Forecast
The prognosis for bradycardia depends directly on why it arose. Physiological bradycardia does not affect the quality and life expectancy of a person.
Pathological bradycardia with a pulse rate of 50 beats per minute is not in itself a danger, but the illness that caused it can significantly worsen the quality of its life.
To prevent this, it is important to diagnose the disease at an early stage and follow the doctor's advice regarding their treatment.
