Heart rate is one of the main physiological indicators of the heart. The value of heart rate depends on many reasons: age, gender, environment, physical activity, the presence of diseases and so on. This indicator is determined by the method of counting the pulse or auscultation. A healthy person does not feel the beating of his own heart, his work happens imperceptibly. If unpleasant sensations of a heartbeat appear, then this, as a rule, indicates certain deviations in his work.
The heart rate is variable, it can increase and decrease depending on the state of the body. Its change can be physiological, but it can also be a symptom of pathology.
Heart rate: normal
The rhythm of cardiac activity is considered correct if contractions are carried out rhythmically with a frequency of 60 to 80 beats per minute. There are physiological fluctuations in heart rate. Women usually have 7-8 more contractions per minute than men. The frequency increases after eating and at the height of inspiration. With moderate physical and psycho-emotional stress, heart rate increases to 90-120 per minute, and with heavy loads - up to 100-150 per minute. With a sharp change in body position, the frequency increases by several strokes in one minute.
Above normal heart rate
An increase in heart rate above 80 is called tachycardia and is often a symptom of many pathological conditions. The appearance of tachycardia is a consequence of the high activity of the sinus node, so it is called sinus.
Sinus tachycardia is often observed in practically healthy people. It happens with physical overload, emotions, arousal, pain, fever, alcohol, strong coffee and tea, and smoking. In these cases, they talk about temporary tachycardia. This increase in heart rate is gradually increasing and is also gradually weakening. The heart rate in children in the form of tachycardia is a physiological phenomenon. The value of this indicator in children can be over 200 strokes per minute. In athletes, during maximum load, it can reach 190-200 beats per minute.
Long-term tachycardia is determined in many pathological conditions. Heart rate increases with increasing body temperature: with an increase in temperature by one degree, the frequency becomes ten more reductions. The number of heart contractions above normal occurs with hyperthyroidism, heart disease with myocardial damage - myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, cardiosclerosis, as well as disorders of the central nervous system - depression, neurosis, neurasthenia.
Below normal heart rate
If heart rate is determined by less than sixty contractions per minute, then this condition is called bradycardia. Bradycardia can be associated with a person’s constitution and is often familial. Often bradycardia in athletes, people well-trained, performing physical work. In these cases, it has no clinical significance. Bradycardia is often observed in people with a labile nervous system, in which the vagus nerve tone predominates. A decrease in the frequency of contractions is observed in a sleeping person, during vomiting and other conditions that occur with a high tone of the vagus nerve. Bradycardia often occurs in many infectious diseases, especially caused by viruses, sometimes it can occur with myocardial infarction, with the localization of the necrosis site in the region of the posterior wall. Treatment with certain drugs, including beta-blockers, an overdose of potassium preparations can lead to the appearance of bradycardia.