Fast Heart Rate What Tests Are Needed
History The initial most important thing is a good history. Are there associated symptoms of palpitations, light-headedness, fatigue, and dizziness or passing out? Is there associated chest pain or shortness of breath? Is the fast heart rate intermittent or constant and do the symptoms only appear when the heart rate is elevated? What happens to the blood pressure when the heart rate is elevated? Is there a history of heart disease or prior testing? These questions are critical in determining the seriousness of the situation and determining the work up required. If there are alarm symptoms such as above then the heart rate needs work up and should not be ignored.
Physical Exam Is the heart rate regular or irregular when it is fast. Are there physical exam signs of heart failure such as fluid retention? Also a thorough physical exam can point toward other systemic problems such a thyroid issues or other.
EKG A baseline EKG is key. Is the heart rhythm normal or abnormal? Is there any evidence of abnormality of the heart rate or conduction system of the heart? It is particularly useful to perform an EKG during the period of fast heart rate as it may help clinch the diagnosis if there is a cardiac cause.
Blood work Basic blood tests will be performed to rule out anemia or electrolyte abnormalities, thyroid function testing may be performed. Other testing may be performed as indicated.
Treatment Of Fast Heart Rate
Treat the Underlying Cause: Most important is to ensure there is no underlying systemic problem that is causing the fast heart rate. If there is anemia, for example, that will need to be treated. Infection and dehydration would need to be treated. Hormonal imbalances would require treating. Medications will be reviewed and any potential offending agents will need to be stopped if possible.
Medications: It is important not just to treat a number the reason underlying must be sought out. If the fast heart rate is thought to be from a cardiac cause then the appropriate treatment should be given. If there is significant muscle dysfunction then treatment aimed at strengthening the heart is given. If there are problems with the electrical system of the heart then medicines to slow the rate may be given such a beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. In some cases stronger medicines that prevent the occurrence of the arrhythmia in the first place may be prescribed, known as anti-arrhythmic medications. Specialists known as electrophysiologists typically prescribe anti-arrhythmic medications.
What Heart Rate Is Too High
Generally, for adults, a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute is considered as high.
Your heart rate usually rises when you walk fast, run, or do any strenuous physical activities.
Maximum heart rate and Target Heart Rate
Before doing any vigorous exercise, you should know your maximum heart rate and target heart rate, both of which vary by age.
Going beyond your maximum heart rate is not healthy for you. Your maximum heart rate depends on your age. This is how you can calculate it:
- Subtracting your age from the number 220 will give you your maximum heart rate. Suppose your age is 35 years, your maximum heart rate is 185 beats per minute. If your heart rate exceeds 185 beats per minute during exercise, it is dangerous for you.
- Your target heart rate zone is the range of heart rate that you should aim for if you want to become physically fit. It is calculated as 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
- Your target heart rate helps you to know if you are exercising at the right intensity.
- It is always better to consult your doctor before starting any vigorous exercise. This is especially important if you have diabetes, heart disease, or you are a smoker. Your doctor might advise you to lower your target heart rate by 50 percent or more.
Given below are the table showing the target heart rate zone and maximum heart rate as per age.
| Age |
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What Is Hrv And Why Do We Measure It
Heart rate variability is the time between your heartbeats, and it can change from night to night. For example, your heart rate may be telling you that your heart is beating at 60 beats per minute, but that doesnt mean its beating once every second.
To get a little more technical than we usually do, the actual variance in time between heartbeatsdown to millisecondsis the variability. Calculated during deep sleep, HRV can be used as a measure of recovery. According to the Harvard Health blog, measuring it can tell you about your physical resilience and ability to perform at high levelsi.e., how readily your body can transition from rest to activity and back.
Harvard Health tells us that your HRV is controlled by a part of the body called the autonomic nervous system . Essentially, your ANS regulates normal bodily functions like heart rate, of course, but also things like breathing, blood pressure, digestion, and more. It is divided into the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems, or as you might know themfight-or-flight versus rest and digest responses.
If your ANS is functioning normally , it receives all kinds of information from the region of your brain called the hypothalamus, and you wont even notice as it keeps your body working day in and day out. Its when the balance in your ANS is disrupted that your bodys fight-or-flight mode may overcompensate, resulting in a lower HRV..
When Is This Combo Not A Big Deal
Sometimes blood pressure and high heart rate occurs momentarily. For example, Dr. Taigen explains, when we stand up:
However, that phenomenon is short-lived. When the heart rate stays consistently high while blood pressure is low, there may be something problematic going on.
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How To Measure Hrv
Reliable HRV analysis requires accurate measurement of each heartbeat and the time between beats. There are different technologies for calculating HRV, but its beyond this blog to discuss them comprehensively. If you want to dig deeper into the principles of measuring HRV and different HRV variables, I recommend for example the Task Force article on heart rate variability.
In short, ECG-based methods detect the R wave in the QRS complex and calculate the time between R waves . This is what, for example, the Firstbeat Bodyguard does: it can detect the heartbeat at 1 ms accuracy for very accurate HRV analysis in most people of different body types and age groups. Most of the widely available wearable devices use PPG or photoplethysmography to detect the heartbeat optically by measuring the wave of blood flow, for example from the wrist or ear, and then calculate the inter-beat interval or IBI. Comparison between different methods is always challenging, and this is certainly true with HRV and beyond the scope of this blog. However, different methods and devices, if used correctly and systematically, can produce interesting and useful information for the user.
Fig. 1 An ECG graph showing a series of QRS complexes. The time between heartbeats varies naturally from beat to beat, and deeper analysis of this variation provides a lot of valuable information about the bodys physiological status.
Can Your Heart Rate Increase Too Fast During Exercise
Most people cannot exercise a healthy heart too much. Exercise is what causes your heart to get stronger and stay healthy. However, if you have any kind of heart disease or potential heart complications, then exercising too much can be dangerous.
You should never embark on an exercise routine without a doctors permission. If you have any heart problems your doctor can guide you to appropriate exercises for your condition.
Any heart condition, a stroke, chest pain, easy breathlessness, or high blood pressure are all reasons to consult with a physician. You may also need to discuss any conditions related to your joints or muscles before starting any type of vigorous exercise.
Whenever you are exercising you should pay attention to how your body feels. Endorphins are released during exercise, which causes you to feel good and stimulates you to continue. If you start feeling tired it is a sign that you are losing energy and your muscles may not be getting their required oxygen.
If you have a hard time carrying a conversation, feel faint or dizzy, or develop any type of chest pain then you should stop exercising immediately and seek medical assistance. Whenever you are exercising it is better to use caution.
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Whats An Elevated Heart Rate
A resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute is considered normal for adults. But it can vary based on your age and fitness level. For example, well-conditioned athletes can have a resting heart rate as low as 40 beats per minute, according to the American Heart Association.
“Whenever you get a consistently higher heart rate, more than 100 in an otherwise healthy person, at rest, it’s something that may need to be evaluated,” says Rakesh Gopinathannair, MD, an electrophysiologist with the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute and a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
When Your Heart Rate Spikes
Sometimes, your pulse might jump up for a little while. Most of the time, you heart will slow down naturally. If not, or if it happens regularly, these things can help get that number down.
Vagal maneuvers: These physical actions can reset your heart rate. For example, hold your nose and breathe out of your mouth. Itâs similar to when you want to pop your ears when youâre on an airplane. Or you can put your face in ice-cold water for several seconds or cough forcefully.
Medication: Your doctor may prescribe it to help treat an abnormal heart rate. Things like beta-blockers may help prevent future episodes.
Pacemaker: This small device can sense a rapid heartbeat. When it does, it sends an electrical signal and helps the heart return to normal. Your doctor would implant it under your skin.
Catheter ablation: Sometimes the cause of your racing pulse may be an extra electrical pathway in the heart. Your doctor would perform this procedure, which makes it so the extra circuit no longer sends signals. It doesnât require surgery. Usually, this is suggested only when medicines don’t work.
American Heart Association: âKnow your target heart rates of exercise, losing weight and health,â “Tachycardia: Fast Heart Rate,â “Ablation for Arrhythmias.”
CDC: âHealth Effects of Cigarette Smoking.â
Circulation: âFish Consumption is Associated with Lower Heart Rates.â
The Heart Foundation: âYour Heart Rate.â
âWhatâs a normal resting heart rate?â
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What Causes Ventricular Tachycardia
Your heart rate is controlled by electrical signals that move across the heart muscle. When something goes wrong and signals are sent too quickly, it can cause tachycardia. Most patients with ventricular tachycardia have another heart problem, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, an enlarged heart or heart valve disease. The condition can also develop after a heart attack or heart surgery because of scar tissue that forms on the heart. Other, non-heart-related causes of ventricular tachycardia include some medications, an imbalance in electrolytes , too much caffeine or alcohol, recreational drugs, exercise, and certain genetically transmitted conditions. Sometimes the cause is unknown. You are also more likely to have ventricular tachycardia as you get older or if you have a family history of heart rhythm disorders.
What Other Symptoms Might Occur With A Rapid Heartbeat
A rapid heartbeat may occur with or without noticeable symptoms, which can vary depending on the underlying cause. If you know how to take your own pulse, you will generally feel a rapid pulse at the wrist with a rapid heartbeat. However, in some types of serious rapid heartbeats, such as , it may be difficult to feel and count an accurate pulse because the heart is not pumping blood effectively enough to produce a strong pulse.
If you are exercising and are in general good health, you might have a fast pulse and feel mildly short of breath during exertion. Normally, the rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath go away quickly after you slow down or stop your workout.
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How To Lower Your Heart Rate
Staying physically active by doing moderate to vigorous exercise regularly is one of the best ways to achieve a lower heart rate that leads to a healthy and long life.
Changes in your lifestyle that may lower your heart rate include:
- Reducing the intake of coffee and caffeine-containing products
- Avoiding binge drinking
- Intake of a healthy diet to keep weight under check
- Doing deep breathing to manage stress and anxiety
If your heart rate becomes too high suddenly, and you feel shortness of breath or chest pain, you need to consult your doctor immediately to get medications prescribed for you. This could be a sign of an impending heart attack or other life-threatening heart problems.
What Treatments Are Available
Treatment for ventricular tachycardia involves managing any disease that causes the condition. These treatments may improve or prevent the abnormal heart rhythm from returning. In emergency situations, CPR, electrical defibrillation and IV medications may be needed to slow the heart rate. Nonemergency treatment usually includes radiofrequency catheter ablation or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator .
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation
Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a procedure performed by a cardiac electrophysiologist, which is a cardiologist who specializes in treating patients with heart rhythm disorders. In the first part of the procedure, the doctor uses electrophysiology techniques to pinpoint the location in the heart where the abnormal rhythm begins. In the second step, the doctor uses a catheter with a special tip that emits a high-frequency form of electrical current. The current is used to destroy a tiny amount of tissue in the area of the ventricle where the abnormal rhythm begins. This is called an ablation procedure.
Ablation of ventricular tachycardia has a long history of safety and success. For some patients, ablation completely cures the abnormal rhythm, and no other treatment is needed. Ablation can also improve treatment with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
Medications
Follow-up Care
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What Are The Different Types Of Rapid Heartbeats
A rapid heartbeat is a type of cardiac arrhythmia. There are different types of rapid cardiac , including:
- Atrial fibrillation is caused by an irregular, rapid quivering of the atria, the upper chambers of the heart. AF can result in ineffective pumping of blood, pooling of blood in the atria, and the formation of .
- Sinus tachycardia is a rapid, regular heartbeat that is over 100 beats per minute in adults. Sinus tachycardia may be normal in many cases and occurs as a response to many common conditions, such as exercise, stress, caffeine, illness, pain, or medication side effects.
- Supraventricular tachycardia is an extremely rapid heart rhythm that can compromise blood flow to the body if it is not treated rapidly. While anyone can develop SVT, it is more common in children. SVT is often intermittent, meaning that it comes and goes over time. Episodes may last from several minutes to several hours.
- Ventricular tachycardia originates in the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart. VT is life threatening because the heart contracts before filling with enough blood, resulting in an inadequate blood flow to the brain and other parts of the body. In many cases, this rapidly leads to loss of consciousness and the need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced life-saving measures. VT can be caused by a variety of conditions, such as heart disease.
Why Does An Increased Heart Rate Mean Increased Blood Pressure
Say a person starts exercising. If their cardiac volume remains the same but their heart rate increases so that the overall result is an increase in cardiac output, will their blood pressure increase during the exercise ? If it does, why ?
- $\begingroup$I take my blood pressure frequently during the day and find little or no correlation between BP and pulse rate.$\endgroup$ blacksmith37Dec 14 ’17 at 19:53
- $\begingroup$I wonder if the heart is effectively what an engineer would call a “positive displacement pump.”$\endgroup$
In good approximation, the arterial blood pressure PA depends with
PA = PV + R x dv/dt,
on central venous pressure PV, total peripheral resistance R and cardiac output dv/dt the usually cited equation MAP = CO * PVR is an over-simplification. Since cardiac output is defined with
dv/dt = RH * VS
as a result of heart rate and stroke volume the blood pressure should increase if heart rate increases.
However, in reality, the conditions are more complex. In exercise body temperature increases, which leads to vasodilation, so that the total peripheral resistance R decreases, which is able to reduce the blood pressure again.
Decreasing PV in exercise should occur on a very slow time-scale and only be relevant in long-time endurance training.
In summary, it depends on many factors, if blood pressure increases during exercise. In ergometry the blood pressure usually slightly rises.
References
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Symptoms Of Heart Palpitations During Pregnancy
You may experience the following symptoms if you have an increased heart rate during pregnancy.
- Shortness of breath even when you are sitting or lying down
- Palpitations and skipped heartbeats
- Light-headedness with dizzy spells and even fainting spells
- A persistent cough
If you experience any of these symptoms, it is best that you bring it to your doctors notice so that she can check whether these symptoms are normal or not.