One of the easiest, and maybe the most effective ways of gauging your health can be done in just 30 seconds, and with just your two fingers. Measuring you resting heart rate is actually a real-time shot of how well your overall heart muscle is functioning. However, there are some conditions that may affect the normal resting heart rate, one is tachycardia. This condition may cause the resting heart rate to go over 100 beats per minute, which is not normal. This condition can be a serious condition, thus having enough knowledge about the causes, symptoms, as well as the treatments for tachycardia is necessary. If you want to know all of these and more, feel free to read this article on.
Tachycardia: What is this condition?
Each and every one of us has a normal heart rate or what they professionally call as the resting heart rate. For most of the adolescents and adults over the age of 15, the normal resting heart rate actually is anywhere around 100 bpm. Whatever thing that is higher than this is already considered as tachycardia situation.
In doing some exercises or performing some other strenuous activities, the heart rate may climb naturally, actually, this is a normal and healthy part of the overall health. On the other hand, however, when your heart rate elevated without performing any strenuous exercise or exertion, then it might be an indication that you have an electrical malfunctioning in the heart.
The heart is being controlled by some electrical signals that are sent to the heart tissues. The condition of tachycardia actually occurs when a certain abnormality in the heart produces rapid signals of electrical signals, which may quicken the heart rate.
Tachycardia: What are its types?
Tachycardia is actually a condition that may cause the heart to beat more than 100 times per minute. Here are its 3 types:
- Sinus tachycardia: this usually happens when the natural pacemaker of the heart send’s out an electrical signal that is faster than the normal.
- Ventricular: in this particular type of tachycardia, the rapid rate of the heart starts in the lower chambers of the tickers. This happens when the electrical signals in the chambers discharge in the wrong way.
- Supraventricular: this particular type of tachycardia may happen when the electrical signals in the heart’s upper chambers discharge and cause the heart rate to speed up. Furthermore, it beats so fast that there’s no way that it can fill with enough blood before it contracts.
Tachycardia: What causes this condition?
The condition is generally caused by the disruption in the normal impulses of the electric signals, which controls the pumping action of the heart. Below are some of the conditions, illnesses, as well as situations that may possibly cause the condition:
- Various lung condition
- Smoking
- Overactive thyroid glands
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Imbalance in the electrolytes
- Cocaine consumption
- Alcohol consumption
- Congenital heart disease
- Reactions to some medications
Tachycardia: What are the symptoms of the condition?
Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms of the condition:
- Fainting
- Sudden weakness
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations
- Lightheadedness
- Low blood pressure
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Chest pain
- Fast pulse rate
Tachycardia: What are its possible complications?
The possibility of complications on the condition mainly depends on various factors, including:
- Whether there are some other heart conditions present or not
- Duration
- Heart rate
- Type
- Severity
The most common complications of the condition actually include:
- Sudden death
- Fainting spells
- Heart failure
- Blood clots
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue and tiredness
Tachycardia: What are its risk factors?
The risk of tachycardia may increase because of the following:
- Genetics
- Age
- The use of some recreational drugs
- Smoking
- Mental stress
- High blood pressure levels
- Regular consumption of large quantities of alcohol and caffeine
- Anxiety and depression
- Heart diseases
Treatments for Tachycardia
The treatments for tachycardia may actually vary depending on what causes it, as well as the age and the general status of the health of the patient. The main goal of the treatments for tachycardia actually is to address the cause of it. When it is clinically applicable, your doctor may recommend you to try to slow the rate, reduce the risk of complications, and prevent the succeeding episodes of the condition.
Treatments for slowing down the rapid heart rate
- Cardioversion: patches or paddles are used in delivering some electric shock to the heart. This mainly affects the heart impulses and restore the natural rhythm.
- Medication: antiarrhythmic drugs can be beneficial
- Vagal maneuvers: the vagal nerve is capable of regulating the heartbeat, thus using this is beneficial.
Prevention
Below are some measures, which may help in preventing the heartbeat to become too fast or to escalate into a much worse health problem:
- Warfarin
- Surgery
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator
- Medications like channel blockers, including verapamil, and diltiazem as well as esmolol, propranolol, and some other beta-blockers.
- Radiofrequency catheter ablation
