Rapid heartbeat - is it dangerous or not? It all depends on what caused the rapidity of heartbeats. It's one thing if the attack started after fright, and another, when there are chronic diseases.
So, let's figure out what it is - sinus tachycardia of the heart, whether it is dangerous and what, what are its symptoms and what is the treatment.
Main characteristics
Sinusovotachycardia arrhythmia called shape, what does it mean? This type of tachycardia is caused by a violation:
- pulse generation by the sinus node, which controls the heart rhythm;
- conductivity pulses from the sinus node to the ventricles.
In adults, the limit is the heart rate( heart rate) of 100 beats per minute .For children, this indicator is calculated by age, and a deviation is considered an excess of heart rate at 10% of the age norm.
With sinus tachycardia, the heart rate is 95-130 beats per minute( without physical exertion), 150-160 with load. In athletes, this figure can reach 180-240 strokes.
Forms
There are functional and pathological( or long) forms.
Functional
Functional is understood as the acceleration of the sinus rhythm in response to a load( physical or emotional), fever. The heart rate returns to normal as soon as the cause is eliminated.
Pathological
The pathological form arises at rest. It is caused by extracardiac and intracardial factors.
Differences from other
types There are also paroxysmal tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
From the paroxysmal form the sinus tachycardia differs in that in the first case the attack begins suddenly, the heart rate is 120-250 beats per minute , while maintaining the correct rhythm during the attack.
With physiological sinus tachycardia, the heart rate increases smoothly, for a paroxysmal form, suddenness is characteristic.
Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening condition in which does not bleed the blood from the heart and stops the body of the .At the same time a chaotic contraction of the myocardial fibers occurs( 250-480 beats per minute).
Usually a symptom occurs as a complication of extensive transmural myocardial infarction, as well as due to shock and severe potassium deficiency in the blood.
Developmental mechanism
Sinus tachycardia develops according to one of the scenarios:
- Activation of a symptomatic system that is part of the nervous system. The substance norepinephrine from the nerve fibers activates the sinus node.
- Decreased activity of the parasympathetic system. Its substance acetylcholine inhibits the generation of impulses, which leads to a decrease in heart rate. When the activity of the parasympathetic system decreases, the role of the sympathetic system increases, and as a result, the heart rate increases.
- Direct influence of influencing factors on the sinoatrial node in the normal functioning of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Active substances act on the pulse-generating cells and excite them.
Causes of
The symptom often occurs in young .The reason for this is the immaturity of the nervous system. The organism needs a balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. But at a young age the balance is not maintained well, so there are preponderances, which causes an attack( cardioneurosis).
To extracardiac factors include:
- Neurogenic - develops in individuals( more often in young women) with an unstable nervous system, with a tendency to neuroses, depressions, etc., which is explained by the high sensitivity of the heart receptors to stress hormones.
- Toxic - is caused by toxic substances - alcohol, tobacco, as well as internal factors( thyrotoxicosis, adrenal tumor - pheochromocytoma, are more frequent in women), chronic infections( tuberculosis, tonsillitis).
- Drug - occurs due to activity or overdose. So hormonal means, preparations for treatment of lung ailments, hypertension, antidepressants affect the body.
- Hypoxic - so the body reacts to oxygen deficiency. In turn, the cause of hypoxia are diseases of the respiratory system and blood pathology, in which the delivery of gas to organs and systems is disturbed( anemia, leukemia, chronic blood loss, etc.).
Intracardial factors are caused by heart diseases .Often( but not always) the development of sinus tachycardia in people with heart disease indicates heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction, since then a drop in the ejection fraction or a clinically significant deterioration of the hemodynamics inside the heart occurs.
Most often, the intracardiac form of the CT develops in such pathologies:
- chronic heart failure;
- angina attack with ischemic heart disease;
- cardiomyopathy;
- myocardial infarction;
- acute myocarditis.
Read more about the disease from the video:
Symptoms of
During an attack of sinus tachycardia in the patient , the following symptoms may appear:
- "trembling" of the heart, rapid heart rate;
- shortness of breath;
- severity, "tightness" in the chest( occurs when there is no load);
- dizziness, loss of consciousness;
- compressive pain in the chest( no longer than 5 minutes) - with ischemic heart disease;
- general weakness, decreased performance, intolerance to physical activity( in pathological form).
Diagnosis
A complete picture of the severity of the condition is obtained after the examination. Diagnostic activities include:
- analysis of anamnesis - the patient is asked to describe the sensations, possible cause-effect relationships, the presence of chronic diseases, conditions of life, bad habits, etc.;
- physical examination - inspect the skin, study the condition of the hair, nails;
- auscultation - the frequency of breathing, wheezing and noises in the heart is determined, which allows to identify the cause of the pathology;
- total blood test - shows anemia, leukocyte count( increases with chronic disease);
- blood analysis biochemical - gives an idea of the level of cholesterol( low and high density), glucose, potassium, creatine, urea, allows you to exclude diabetes, kidney disease, changes in the chemical composition of the blood;
- urine analysis( general) - excludes urinary tract diseases;
- hormonal background analysis - to determine the level of hormones produced by the thyroid gland;
- echocardiography ( echocardiography) - reveals structural changes.
The main and most informative study is electrocardiography, or ECG, as well as an electrocardiogram according to Holter( recording is conducted continuously 24-72 hours, at rest and under stresses).
ECG signs of sinus tachycardia are presented in this illustration:
The patient is assigned consultations of a psychotherapist, an otolaryngologist, other specialists.
How and what to treat
The main goal of treatment is to eliminate the cause of seizures, since sinus angina is a symptom of other ailments. Therapy is selected and appointed by a cardiologist.
Correction of the regime of the day and habits
This block of measures includes:
- rejection of harmful habits - the use of alcoholic beverages, narcotic substances, smoking;
- correction of the diet - patients are recommended to eat foods rich in fiber and give up fatty, hot, spicy dishes, reduce the amount of coffee, tea;
- compliance with sleep and rest.
Elimination of chronic diseases
If the examination revealed that the cause of tachycardia was an infection, the treatment is directed to its elimination. The patient is prescribed sanation for diseases of the oral cavity, removal of a sick tooth or inflamed tonsils, antibiotic therapy .
With a shortage of iron and anemia, is indicated for with this element, with bleeding - the administration of solutions to restore the volume of the blood mass.
Assignable drugs
Medications for elimination of the most tachycardia are prescribed when the patient is not tolerating rapid heart rate. With sinus tachycardia, the following drugs are used:
- beta blockers - block receptors that react to stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline;
- inhibitors of if-channels - control the degree of excitation in the sinus node, heart rate;
- sedative based on medicinal plants - motherwort, valerian root, hawthorn.
Recovery of
The patient may be shown spa treatment in Kislovodsk, other health resorts, if the cause was intracardial factors. In other cases, rehabilitation measures depend on the underlying disease.
It is recommended that you follow these rules:
- exclude intense emotional stress - at home and at work;
- sleep 8 hours a day;
- eat right, refusing to be sharp and fat;
- every day eat vegetables, greens, fish( especially marine);
- to abandon the addictions;
- do gymnastics( at least 30 minutes daily);
- to control body weight.
Controversial
The physicians are arguing about whether can take cardiac glycosides with sinus tachycardia. In particular, this concerns digoxin. According to the Russian method, a combination of beta-blockers and digoxin, sometimes with calcium antagonists, they achieve clear control over heart rate.
The spectrum of drugs for the treatment of tachycardia is limited, as this may have a side effect with prolonged therapy. If drug therapy is not possible, recourse to electrostimulation of the myocardium.
Prognosis
Prognosis is serious enough if sinus tachycardia is a symptom of heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction. Then the course of the disease is aggravated.
It is important to remember that sinus tachycardia can be a manifestation of other ailments of .But in childhood, in pregnancy and in adolescents, this is often the norm. Then drugs can hurt.
Therefore, it is forbidden to take any actions independently. To determine the degree of danger, the expediency of prescribing medicines can only be done by a specialist after extensive examination.
