9 symptoms of tachycardia in diabetic patients

Diabetes is often the cause of other diseases. The kidneys and heart are especially stressed when blood sugar levels are elevated. Disorders in the work of the cardiovascular system are manifested by failures of the heart rhythm. Tachycardia and diabetes are interrelated pathologies, the treatment of which must be carried out in a complex manner, taking into account the characteristics of each of them.

Features of tachycardia in diabetes

Tachycardia is a failure in the rhythm of heart contractions caused by certain causes due to diseases. The symptom indicates pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

• external;
• internal.

The first group includes the patient's lifestyle, the presence of stressful situations, increased physical activity, malnutrition (alcohol, coffee, fatty foods), lack of healthy sleep. These factors become the cause that provokes the development of tachycardia as a passing symptom. But over time, regular pulse disorders develop into heart disease.

In diabetics, rhythm failure, which occurs under the influence of external factors, does not return to normal on its own, as in healthy people. Patients with diabetes need constant medical supervision and treatment if they develop tachycardia.

The second group of factors is associated with the presence in the human body of pathologies that affect the heart rate and the functioning of the cardiovascular system as a whole. Diabetes is one of them.

An increase in blood glucose and the development of hyperglycemia provokes the appearance of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels. Atherosclerosis develops, violating the functionality of the arteries, narrowing the lumen, complicating blood flow. The load on the heart increases. In order to deliver blood to all organs, the myocardium begins to contract faster, the rhythm becomes irregular.

Tachycardia in diabetes mellitus appears due to the disease itself, as well as as a result of the presence of ischemia and hypertension with such a diagnosis. Symptoms of a heart rhythm failure will differ for different factors. There may be cases of asymptomatic development of pathologies. After all, with diabetes, the nerves lose sensitivity.

Insulin-dependent diabetics are at even greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, accompanied by tachycardia. In this case, patients may not have symptoms of a heart rhythm failure. Insulin (its increased amount in the body of a diabetic patient) affects the rate of cholesterol deposition, accelerates blood clotting. This causes weakening of the walls of the arteries, a decrease in blood circulation and disruption of the myocardium.

Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the symptoms in time in order to diagnose the cause of tachycardia and provide effective treatment to eliminate the disease.

Causes and risk factors

What can provoke tachycardia in diabetic patients?

1. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy.
2. Diabetic myocardial dystrophy.
3. Diabetic microangiopathy

Neuropathy occurs after long-term treatment of diabetes with insulin. This drug affects the nerve endings of the myocardium. They are affected, reduced susceptibility to impulses.

Changes occur first in the parasympathetic parts of the nervous system, which are responsible for reducing the number of myocardial contractions. The heart starts beating faster. After damage to the sympathetic nerve fibers, the heart rate becomes irregular. Often this causes the development of ischemia in diabetics.

Myocardial dystrophy in diabetes occurs due to insulin deficiency, when glucose is not supplied to the myocardium in sufficient quantities. In this case, fatty acids are used to nourish the heart muscle. Their incomplete breakdown creates an accumulation in myocardial tissues, causing malfunctions. Tachycardia becomes a symptom of the development of extrasystole, other pathologies.

Microangiopathy is characterized by a change in the structure of the vascular tissue due to necrosis. Diabetes mellitus provokes the development of microangiopathy that affects the capillaries and arteries of the myocardium. In this case, there are various failures in the work of the heart muscle.

To prevent violations, you should regularly monitor the level of sugar.

• 5.4-6 mmol / l - in the morning, before meals;
• 7.4-8 mmol / l - 1.5-2 hours after eating.

Ischemia often becomes a concomitant disease of diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the occurrence of tachycardia in many cases is associated with coronary disease.

1. genetic predisposition.
2. Body weight is above normal.
3. Improper diet, causing high cholesterol.
4. arterial hypertension.
5. Smoking.
6. Alcohol abuse.

Most of the risk factors for tachycardia are manageable. To do this, it is necessary to adjust the lifestyle of a diabetic in order to avoid complications associated with the presence of the disease.

Symptoms of tachycardia in diabetics

Diabetes is the cause of many disorders in the human body. The cardiovascular system suffers first. Diseases of this kind are life-threatening, so it is necessary to pay attention to deviations from the norm in a timely manner.

Signs of cardiac arrhythmia that require urgent medical attention may include:

• lack of rhythmic contraction of the myocardium;
• feeling of increased heartbeat;
• frequent fainting, weakened state;
• dizziness;
• the presence of an alternate increase in the heart rate, and then weakening;
• decrease in the number of heartbeats;
• the appearance of difficulty breathing;
• a sharp manifestation of heaviness in the chest;
• a feeling that the heart has stopped working.

Treatment is not necessary in all cases of manifestation of pathology. You should not independently decide on the necessary medicines to normalize the condition. To determine the methods of therapy, you must consult a doctor, undergo a diagnostic examination.

Diagnostic methods

With suspicions about the presence of cardiac failures, a diabetic is referred to a cardiologist for a thorough examination.

The doctor makes a conclusion based on the diagnosis.

1. A blood test for sugar, cholesterol, an assessment of the amount of thyroid hormones.
2. Consultation of a neurologist.
3. ECG (electrocardiogram), if necessary - rhythm control throughout the day.
4. Echocardiography shows the state of the heart, possible deviations.
5. Special tests with measurements of the heart muscle after physical exertion (squats, bicycle ergometer) or the introduction of adrenergic blockers. Measurements are taken before and after exercise.
6. Cardiovascular tests.

A neurologist and a cardiologist may recommend additional examinations in order to get a complete clinical picture of the disease. On their basis, a diagnosis is made, a course of treatment is prescribed.

Ways to treat tachycardia

The main therapy for effective treatment includes the normalization of blood sugar levels. The choice of medicines to eliminate tachycardia is carried out taking into account diabetes. All medicines prescribed by a doctor are taken under special supervision.

To achieve a therapeutic effect, drugs are regularly used that maintain glucose levels and normalize heart contractions.

• sedatives (natural and synthetic);
• antiarrhythmic drugs.

The first group includes sedatives of plant origin (hawthorn, peony, valerian), as well as sedatives (Phenobarbital, Diazepam, Valocordin). The second group includes drugs that lower blood pressure (Diroton, Lisinopril), and drugs for hypotension (Ephedrine, Atropine Sulfate).

Side effects are possible when interacting with different drugs. Therefore, the doctor should choose medicines and combine them.

Traditional medicine has its own means to normalize the heart rhythm in diabetics. They are used as an additional to the main course of treatment.

1. Tea from motherwort, wild rose and hawthorn (1 spoon of each herb).
2. Adding mint and lemon balm to regular tea (especially useful before bedtime).
3. A decoction of cornflower flowers (1/2 cup a day - 2 months).
4. A mixture of garlic, lemon and honey (7 days to insist, 1 spoon in the morning).
5. Decoction of adonis (1 tablespoon 3 times a day).

In case of pathological disorders caused by tachycardia in diabetes, in case of ineffective drug therapy, a decision is made on cardiac surgical methods of treatment. An operation to implant a cardioverter is performed. Such surgical intervention should exclude possible risks for patients with diabetes.

Prevention

In order to avoid complications of diabetes mellitus, including diseases of the cardiovascular system, accompanied by tachycardia, it is necessary to take preventive measures.

• eat right, eliminating carbohydrates, caffeine;
• give up smoking and alcohol;
• monitor the level of glycemia and cholesterol in the blood;
• control blood pressure;
• monitor weight;
• increase regular physical activity;
• deal with stress, learn to remain calm;
• regularly undergo scheduled examinations.

The exclusion of risk factors, as well as regular monitoring of the condition of a diabetic, will prevent tachycardia and the causes of its occurrence.

Diabetes itself is not dangerous. Life-threatening complications are associated with insufficient treatment or poor lifestyle of people with diabetes. It is important to notice deviations from the norm in time and consult a doctor.