Palpitations - a feeling that the heart is beating too quickly or is beating too hard - is a reason to consult a doctor.
Heartbeat
is a patient complaint about the subjective sensation of a rapid, arrhythmic or heavy heartbeat. Normally, we do not notice our heartbeat. But any deviation from the norm becomes immediately noticeable. Patients typically describe palpitations as the following: the heart pounding too hard (or “loudly”) in the chest, the heart “jumping” out of the chest, pounding, “jerking,” “spinning,” or “fluttering.” Increased heartbeat may be accompanied by a feeling of pulsation in the neck, temples, pit of the stomach or fingertips. Palpitations may also be accompanied by tinnitus, pain in the heart area, a feeling of tightness in the chest or difficulty breathing. Such symptoms may indicate heart pathology, but in most cases, complaints of increased heartbeat with accompanying symptoms, instrumental studies do not reveal signs of heart damage.
Palpitations should be distinguished from tachycardia. Tachycardia
– this is an objective increase in heart rate. The normal heart rate for an adult at rest is 60-80 beats per minute. If more than 90 beats per minute are recorded, then tachycardia is diagnosed. However, the patient may not feel that his heartbeat is rapid.
Common causes of heart palpitations
Even a healthy person can feel increased heartbeat. This is most common for people with increased nervous sensitivity. The following can lead to heart palpitations:
- significant physical effort;
- rapid rise to altitude;
- physical activity in a hot and stuffy environment (lack of oxygen leads to increased heart function);
- sharp mental stress (fear, excitement, etc.);
- consuming large amounts of foods high in caffeine (coffee, tea, Coca-Cola);
- certain medications (in particular, cold remedies);
- digestive disorders (for example, flatulence, as a result of which the diaphragm appears slightly elevated).
Palpitations may be felt when the temperature is high (patients with a fever often feel palpitations).
First aid
First aid for tachycardia consists of the following:
- Don’t panic, but quickly, if possible, call someone for help;
- Unfasten the collar, ensure sufficient flow of fresh air;
- You can drink Corvalol, Valocordin, motherwort tincture, valerian;
- Wash with ice water, put a cold compress on your forehead;
- Close your eyes, press firmly on your eyeballs for 10 seconds, repeat several times;
- You can take a deep breath, hold your breath and push as if on the toilet. Do all this for 3-5 minutes;
- Try to cough hard.
Increased heart rate and high blood pressure
Increased heart rate is often accompanied by increased blood pressure. In this case, the more often the heart contracts, the higher the pressure in the arteries. The dependence here is exactly that... Therefore, it is wrong to consider high blood pressure as the cause of increased heart rate. Another thing is that increased blood pressure, accompanied by a general deterioration in well-being, can make you notice how hard your heart is beating.
Rapid heartbeat and increased blood pressure can be caused by the same reasons. In this case, therapeutic measures aimed at normalizing blood pressure will also help normalize the heartbeat.
Main symptoms
Tachycardia manifests itself in different ways; clinical symptoms depend on age and concomitant diseases. Rapid heartbeat may be accompanied by a feeling of discomfort in the chest, a drop in blood pressure, and weakness. There may be a feeling of shortness of breath, dizziness, darkening of the eyes, fainting. A patient with angina pectoris experiences chest pain as a result of an imbalance between the heart's increased oxygen demand and decreased O2 delivery. In people with heart disease, an attack of tachycardia is accompanied by a sharp increase in shortness of breath.
Features of the floors
There are no particular differences between the manifestations of tachycardia in men and women, except for autonomic reactions and emotional overtones.
The heart beats and bubbles in the throat, gives rise to fever, severe sweating, trembling in the body - this is how the signs of tachycardia in women are vividly described. They are more likely than men to have chronic non-paroxysmal sinus tachycardia - a disease when heart rate does not correspond to the level of physical activity or emotional stress. A possible mechanism for its development is considered to be an anomaly of the sinus node or increased automaticity of the heart.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia is also predominantly characteristic of women. It is accompanied by an inadequate increase in heart rate when the body position changes from horizontal to vertical.
Increased heart rate and low blood pressure
An increased heart rate is quite possible even with low blood pressure. A sharp decrease in blood pressure can be observed during shock conditions (anaphylactic, traumatic, infectious-toxic, psychogenic and other types of shock). The body responds by speeding up the contraction of the heart muscle to restore blood pressure. A similar compensatory nature of increased heartbeat also occurs with large blood loss.
Clinical case
In my practice, there was a case of sinus tachycardia in a pregnant woman.
The woman constantly felt a rapid heartbeat, which was an adaptive reaction of the body: pressure decreased, heart rate increased; but the patient was also diagnosed with anemia. After correcting the hemoglobin level with iron supplements, her health improved and the feeling of palpitations disappeared. Although at first the woman was sincerely surprised when she was not prescribed drugs to slow down her pulse! Depending on the location of the source of excitation, tachycardias are divided into supraventricular and ventricular.
The first arise in the structures of the heart up to the level of branching of the trunk of the His bundle: in the atria, AV node, in additional conduction pathways. The source of origin of the latter is the His bundle, Purkinje fibers, and ventricular myocardium.
Based on the nature of the course, paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal types of pathology are distinguished.
According to the mechanism of occurrence - reciprocal, ectopic, with trigger activity, and so on.
Differential diagnosis of arrhythmias is a difficult and responsible task. In particular, when it comes to tachycardia with wide QRS complexes on the ECG. This may be a ventricular arrhythmia or tachycardia involving the accessory tract (accessory tract).
Ventricular tachycardia has a poor prognosis and occurs as a result of damage to the heart muscle. In contrast, arrhythmia involving the AP appears in a person without gross structural pathology of the heart.
To clarify the type of tachycardia, an ECG with an intrathoracic lead should be recorded or a transesophageal electrophysiological study should be performed. However, in real clinical practice, such an opportunity is rarely provided, and in these situations the doctor is guided by the following rule: assess the condition as the most dangerous to human health and life and begin appropriate treatment.
Rapid heartbeat with normal blood pressure
However, increased heartbeat can be felt regardless of blood pressure. The pressure may be low or normal, but the patient complains of palpitations. This is possible with vegetative-vascular dystonia, anemia, thyroid diseases and a number of other diseases. You should not try to determine what you are sick with, much less begin treatment only on the basis of comparing your heartbeat and blood pressure. In all cases when you are concerned about increased heart rate, you must undergo an examination as prescribed by your doctor.
Heartbeat norms
A fast heartbeat is most often caused by the body's physiological adaptation to changing conditions and the associated increase in demand for oxygen and nutrients transported in the blood vessels.
The heart acts as a pump in the body, responsible for blood flow. Under the right conditions, when the heart rate increases, this should help speed up the rate of blood circulation in the body and provide the tissues with the necessary nutritional components.
This happens, for example, during physical activity, when intensely contracting muscles need more nutrients.
What are the normal heartbeat rates?
Resting heart rate reference values are as follows:
- in infants - about 130 beats per minute,
- in older children - up to approximately 100 beats per minute,
- in adults - approximately 80 beats per minute,
- in older people - about 60 beats per minute.
When is palpitations a reason to see a doctor?
A rapid heartbeat is a reason to see a doctor if it:
- too intense;
- is protracted (does not go away for a long time);
- occurs with less and less exposure to the above factors;
- occurs independently of the above factors;
- is uneven in nature (arrhythmia can be assumed - a violation of the heart rhythm).
In these cases, rapid heartbeat may be a manifestation of serious disorders and diseases, such as:
- avitaminosis;
- anemia (low hemoglobin and iron in the blood);
- tetany (a condition caused by a lack of calcium);
- endocrine diseases;
- heart pathologies.
However, as a rule, in the case of myocarditis, other heart diseases, and hyperthyroidism, palpitations are not the main complaint. With such diseases, first of all, they complain of pain in the heart and shortness of breath.
It is necessary to react promptly if, against the background of increased heartbeat, dizziness, shortness of breath, pale skin, and sweating are observed. In this case, you should call an ambulance.
Diagnosis and treatment of tachycardia
You are experiencing palpitations, what to do in this situation? The answer is simple - contact a cardiologist. First of all, the doctor will conduct an accurate diagnosis. It begins with a detailed interview with the patient. It is important for the doctor to hear about all existing complaints, as well as about chronic diseases, heredity, etc. The main method of examination is an ECG. Currently, there is modern equipment for obtaining ECG data. With its help, any cardiac arrhythmia is determined as accurately as possible. Correct ECG analysis is of particular importance, so an experienced cardiologist interprets the data obtained. In some cases, to clarify the diagnosis, other methods of examining the patient are required: echocardiogram, Holter ECG monitoring, etc. We must not forget about additional research methods: blood tests, ultrasound of the thyroid gland, etc.
At the EXPERT Clinic, the entire necessary range of diagnostic measures is possible. There is modern ECG equipment, so the cardiologist will always make a quick and accurate diagnosis.
How can a doctor help with a strong heartbeat?
If you have a complaint about palpitations, you should contact a general practitioner or cardiologist.
When a patient complains of increased heartbeat, it is first necessary to establish its cause - whether it is of physiological or pathological origin. For this purpose, laboratory and instrumental studies may be prescribed, including ECG, echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart), and radiography of the heart. After identifying the cause of the increased heart rate, a course of treatment is prescribed aimed at eliminating pathological factors. Normalization of the heartbeat is achieved through treatment with antiarrhythmic drugs. Such drugs should not be taken on your own; they should be prescribed by a doctor in accordance with the condition of your body, established on the basis of a medical examination. Otherwise, the treatment result may be negative.
How to choose a cardiologist
If you want to go to a medical institution for consultation because of rapid heartbeat, then first of all it is important to choose a clinic that has proven itself well. Advantages of the EXPERT Clinic:
- multidisciplinary medical center, which allows you to get advice from various specialists if necessary
- experienced and attentive cardiologists
- modern examination equipment, as well as practicing specialists in ultrasound and functional diagnostics
- the ability to quickly take all tests and provide examination results
- the most attentive attitude towards patients, only an individual approach, a detailed study of the problem
- convenience and comfort in the clinic, responsive medical staff.
Do not delay visiting a cardiologist, because timely identification of the main problem of “rapid heartbeat” can sometimes save your life.
