During exercise, our heart rate increases significantly, but what if the heart rate increases even at rest? We sit and suddenly our heart starts to beat like crazy and we have no idea what is going on. There is a high probability that we are dealing with tachycardia, but what is it?
TachycardiaSimply put, it is the acceleration of the heart rate caused by the acquisition of the rhythm of the heart muscle, which is physiologically guided through the sinus node at a rate of 60-100 beats / min. by the extrasystic medium which produces stimuli with a frequency of more than 100 beats / min. up to 220 strokes / min.
It happens that the heart accelerates up to 400 beats / min. With this tachycardia, the heart does not provide the body with enough oxygen-rich blood. Hence, we often deal with syncope with tachycardia. It turns out that we don't only have one type of tachycardia.
Tachycardia: types and causes
- Tachycardias are generally divided into supraventricular and ventricular. This division depends on the location of the center that produces the abnormal stimuli, depending on whether it is located in the atria or the atrioventricular node or the ventricles. They may not differ in clinical symptoms due to a decrease in cardiac output. If it is maintained, the patient may only feel palpitations - explains Prof. Leszek Bryniarski from the 1st Department of Cardiology, Interventional Electrocardiology and Hypertension, Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University.
The ventricular paroxysmal tachycardiacan be caused by cardiac and non-cardiac factors. Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia are most often initiated by organic damage to the heart muscle. It is most commonly seen as a symptom of myocarditis, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy. They are especially dangerous for patients.
Supraventricular tachycardiais often caused by the presence of an anatomical secondary pathway between the atria and ventricles through which excitations are conducted, or such a loop is caused only by the electrical properties of the heart's conductive fibers, some of which they conduct slower and the others faster.Supraventricular tachycardia also determines our lifestyle . They concern people who consume various stimulants- large amounts of alcohol, drugs, strong coffee and black tea. Such tachycardia can also accompany neurosis.
Read also: Ventricular tachycardia: causes, symptoms, treatment
Tachycardia: symptoms and tests
Prof. Bryniarski emphasizes that during tachycardia, the patient may also experience shortness of breath or pain behind the sternum, weakness and even fainting due to the drop in blood pressure. Shock may occur in the event of a very fast and ineffective haemodynamically ineffective heart rate, especially with ventricular tachycardia. Therefore, this problem should not be underestimated.
- Each patient with such symptoms should visit a cardiologist who will order appropriate diagnostic tests, the basic of which is24-hour ECG recording using the Holter method . The diagnostic procedure also includes looking for organic heart disease, which should always be ruled out. Sometimes, when tachycardia attacks occur very rarely, we have to resort to very sophisticated diagnostic methods, such as an implantable recorder that can record the ECG for up to several months - explains Prof. Bryniarski.
A visit to a cardiologist is important because tachycardia may be a symptom of another, much more serious disease that must either be ruled out or treated. It often happens that the flutter in the chest is downplayed by patients and blamed on the pace of life, stress and neurosis. It turns out that such neglect can have dire consequences.
Tachycardia: treatment
- Having the diagnosis, the cardiologist, in addition to pharmacological treatment, can order surgical treatment -percutaneous ablation of foci of additional stimulations , or additional atrioventricular conduction pathways - adds prof. Bryniarski.
Prof. Bryniarski also points out that if the patient is not permanently cured by ablation, he must avoid situations that may trigger tachycardia, i.e. excessive emotional tension, excessive physical exertion, and the use of stimulants such as nicotine, alcohol or excessive amounts of coffee or tea. .