Sinus tachycardia of the heart - what is it

Many of those who are interested in the diagnosis of sinus tachycardia, what it is and why it is dangerous to health, do not even suspect that they have repeatedly experienced this condition throughout their lives. Such a statement is surprising, but it is true, because behind the medical term is just a rapid heartbeat. Sinus tachycardia is not always dangerous, but only when palpitations occur for no apparent reason and cause a deterioration in well-being.

How does tachycardia occur?

What is sinus tachycardia of the heart? A healthy human heart contracts under the influence of impulses that occur in the sinus node. Normally, an adult has 60-80 contractions per minute (children have a little more). Under the influence of various factors, the number of generated impulses increases, the myocardium begins to contract much more often, but without rhythm disturbance.

Tachycardia can be:

• physiological;
• pathological;
• caused by pregnancy.

Physiological tachycardia

Due to the protective reaction of the body in response to external stimuli. They are characterized by the fact that they occur acutely and resolve on their own without requiring treatment.

The mechanism of their development can be described as follows:

• under the influence of adverse factors in the human body, the need for oxygen and nutrients increases;
• in order to satisfy this need, the heart begins to contract more frequently in order to overtake a larger volume of blood in a minute.

After the provoking factor disappears, the heartbeat stops, the number of heartbeats becomes normal.

Physiological sinus tachycardia occurs due to:

• physical activity;
• stress
• physiological hypoxia (long stay in a poorly ventilated area).

In children, tachycardia can be caused by rapid growth, when the heart and blood vessels do not keep up with the rapidly growing musculoskeletal system. This condition can be safe or serve as a provoking factor for the occurrence of pathologies in the myocardium. In children's tachycardia, if they persist for a long time, it is recommended to consult a cardiologist. The attending physician will prescribe the necessary examinations and decide how to treat sinus tachycardia in childhood.

Pathological tachycardia

The increase in heart rate is due to the fact that the sinusoidal node receives an additional irritating impulse under the influence of internal factors.

It could be:

1. Cardiac pathology (angina pectoris, various defects, heart attack, inflammatory processes in the myocardium). Depending on the severity of pathological processes in the heart, moderate or severe sinus tachycardia is diagnosed. Is it dangerous for the myocardium? Yes, it's dangerous. Due to the disease, the organ cannot fully fulfill its function anyway, and the rapid rhythm creates an additional load, the ventricles cannot be completely filled with blood. If sinus tachycardia, which has developed as a complication of heart disease, is not treated in a timely manner, the risk of heart failure increases.
2. Internal diseases affecting the composition of the blood (thyrotoxicosis, diabetes, anemia, VVD, vascular blood flow disorders). The frequency and duration of heartbeats can be different: from moderate, which a person almost does not feel, to severe, when the patient's health deteriorates sharply.
3. Infectious diseases accompanied by prolonged intoxication of the body (tuberculosis, sepsis, purulent peritonitis, pneumonia). Purulent-inflammatory processes are accompanied by a high rise in temperature and rapid heartbeat. With long-term purulent infections, chronic tachycardia may develop, which is difficult to treat.

If the heartbeat is caused by internal factors, then paroxysmal sinus tachycardia often develops - a dangerous condition when the heart suddenly begins to contract at a frequency of up to 220 beats per minute.

Pauses between contractions become so small that there is no complete relaxation of the atria and ventricles, and the volume of blood circulating in the body decreases.

If this condition continues for a long time, then symptoms of heart failure may appear.

Increased heart rate during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a natural state of a woman, but often the processes occurring in the body seem to be signs of a disease. The feeling when the heart begins to beat often usually causes fear in a pregnant woman, making her suspect the worst. Accompanied by increased heart rate dizziness, weakness and pain behind the sternum.

More often, this symptomatology appears in the 3rd trimester, the causes of sinus tachycardia in pregnant women will be as follows:

• fast weight gain;
• hormonal changes that greatly change the composition of the blood;
• accelerated metabolism caused by the need to provide the fetus with essential nutrients.

Attacks of dizziness and palpitations appear suddenly, do not last long, but they are considered the norm or a variant of the norm.

Worry should be only when sudden ailments occur frequently and are accompanied by a fainting state. In this case, it is necessary to be examined by a doctor: in addition to pregnancy, this syndrome can be provoked by heart disease or hyperthyroidism. Increased heart rate can be not only in a pregnant woman, but also in her fetus. Normally, this occurs when the expectant mother is worried or if she takes certain medications. Short-term acceleration of the rhythm does not pose a danger to the fetus. Only if it continues for a long time, you should look for reasons.

It could be:

• violation of water-salt balance;
• anemia;
• hypoxia;
• genetic abnormalities;
• infection that crossed the placental barrier.

Signs of tachycardia

It is worth noting that moderate sinus tachycardia does not manifest itself in any way, except for a slight discomfort, and only a cardiogram helps to identify it, and even then not in all cases.

Incorrect diagnosis of the syndrome will be in the case of:

• the patient at the time of the examination had no provoking factors, the pulse was normal;
• the patient suffers from "fear of white coats" (a condition when a person is stressed at the sight of a doctor), in this case the tachycardia will be physiological.

In addition to taking an ECG, a thorough history taking will be an additional method of examination.

As a rule, almost all patients, even during the compensated stage, experience:

• attacks of sudden weakness;
• dizziness;
• darkening in the eyes;
• fainting;
• shortness of breath or just a feeling of lack of air;
• sudden blanching;
• feeling restless or anxious (sometimes panic attacks are possible);
• discomfort behind the sternum on the left, sometimes accompanied by pain in the abdomen.

All this symptomatology (sometimes even mildly pronounced) serves as a reason for a more thorough examination of the patient. Unfortunately, such symptoms are ignored by patients, associating their occurrence with VVD, overwork, and other similar causes.

How is tachycardia diagnosed?

Diagnosis of pathology is carried out only by a cardiologist after the following examinations:

1. Listening to heart rhythms. But this makes it possible to detect only an increase in heart rate, and it is impossible to identify the correct operation of the sino-arterial node, there is no way to exclude tachyarrhythmia.
2. Cardiogram. Sinus tachycardia on the ECG, if it is taken at the time of the onset of an attack, will look like normal heart function with equal intervals of the appearance of teeth, only they will occur more often (be sure to differentiate from "fear of white coats").
3. Ecg monitoring. To clarify the diagnosis, sensors and a device are fixed on the patient, which records the ECG at programmed intervals. In addition, the person is asked to keep records of the events happening to him to identify the circumstances provoking seizures.

Additionally, biochemical blood tests are done and a general health examination is carried out, finding out why the symptoms characteristic of sinus tachycardia occur.

The danger of tachycardia for health

Why is sinus tachycardia dangerous? Rare rapid heartbeats that occur in response to external stimuli are not only not dangerous, they are necessary as a protective reaction of the body.

But if sinus tachycardia occurs frequently and is accompanied by a deterioration in well-being, then this can lead to the development of the following complications:

1. Rhythm disorder. There are several additional nodes in the heart that can cause myocardial contractions. Excessively frequent contractions of the sinus node increase the excitability of additional pacemakers, stimulating their contractile function. Over time, the correct rhythm may be disturbed, signs of tachyarrhythmia or extrasystole will appear on the ECG. The most dangerous consequence of rhythm disorders is ventricular fibrillation, which, without timely medical assistance, can result in the death of a person.
2. Heart failure. Frequent contractions do not allow the organ to fully relax, so the blood supply to the atria and ventricles is not complete, circulatory failure occurs, from which all vital organs suffer.
3. Hypertension. To compensate for the insufficient output of blood by the heart, provoked by a rapid heartbeat, the body's defense reactions increase the tone of the main arteries, causing a narrowing of the vascular lumen and thereby contributing to an increase in blood pressure. Prolonged exposure of the arteries to hypertonicity leads to the fact that the vessels do not relax, even when the heart rate returns to normal.
4. Organ ischemia. The brain and myocardium suffer the most from insufficient blood supply. Insufficient nutrition of the brain is characterized by fainting, severe fatigue and memory impairment, and pain occurs in the heart, and the contractile function of the myocardium is disturbed. Prolonged ischemia can cause a stroke or heart attack.
5. Rapid wear of the heart. The work of the organ occurs with a greater load, if there are additional heart diseases, then complications caused by myocardial overload develop very quickly.

How is tachycardia treated?

If pathological sinus tachycardia is detected, treatment begins with the elimination of the cause. Antiarrhythmic drugs cause many side effects: they are prescribed only for severe pathological conditions.

The treatment process takes place in several stages:

1. The underlying disease that provoked tachycardia is treated. In many cases, it is enough to cure the underlying disease, palpitations cease to occur.
2. Sedatives are prescribed to eliminate the feeling of fear caused by seizures. In mild cases, tincture of valerian or motherwort is sufficient, in more severe cases, tranquilizers are prescribed.
3. If the heartbeat is over 130 beats per minute and continues for a long time, then antiarrhythmic drugs are used.

If treatment is started in a timely manner, it is almost always possible to avoid the development of complications.

First aid for an attack of angina pectoris

A sudden onset of an acute attack of angina is dangerous and can even lead to the death of a person.

In order to help the patient, you need to do the following:

• unfasten clothes, untie belt and tie;

• put a wet cold compress (wet napkin) on the forehead;
• advise the sick person to tighten the abdominal muscles, hold their breath for a short time (this technique causes a reflex decrease in the pulse).

Any medication is prohibited.

No matter how much easier the patient became after first aid, it is always necessary to call an ambulance. Often, acute symptoms of sinus palpitations appear against the background of other cardiac disorders (myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome).

Sinus tachycardia is one of the protective reactions that contributes to the survival of the human body. If the heartbeat appears too often and for no apparent reason, then this condition is dangerous to life and health. Do not ignore the first symptoms that cause discomfort, it is better to immediately undergo a medical examination.