The heart skips a beat - what does it mean? We will understand in this article.
The heart is the eternal engine of the body, and how its functioning as a whole will feel depends on its functioning. In the event that everything is good and the heart rate is constant, the internal systems with organs will remain healthy for many years. But sometimes it happens, as if the heart beats intermittently, skipping beats. Usually this happens against the background of various disorders of the nervous system. Next, we will talk about the causes and symptoms of this pathological condition, and in addition, we will find out what cardiologists advise such patients.
So what is it called when the heart misses a beat?
Pathology Description
In the event that a person often has a feeling that the heart is beating intermittently or other unusual sensations are observed in the chest, you should consult a doctor, since it is necessary to establish the cause of such a symptom. Perhaps such sensations are associated with extrasystole, it is also possible that other disorders, for example, arrhythmias, along with serious heart diseases, anxiety, anemia or infections, can also be their cause.
If the heart skips a beat, is it dangerous?
Heart structure
The human heart consists of four chambers, namely, two upper atria and a pair of lower ventricles. Heart rhythm, as a rule, controls the sinus atrium, which is located in the right atrium. It acts as a source of the physiological rhythm of the heart, from which branches go to the ventricular node. Extrasystole is a premature contraction of the whole heart or its individual parts.
The expression "heart missed a beat" scares many.
Such contractions, as a rule, are ahead of another heartbeat, often disrupting the normal rhythm of the heart rhythm with the order of blood movement. As a result, such unsynchronized extraordinary contractions reduce the effectiveness of blood circulation throughout the body.
The reasons why the heart skips beats are not always clear. Electrical instability of the heart can be caused by the influence of some factors from the outside, some diseases or changes in the body. Heart failure along with scarring on this organ can cause a failure in the passage of electrical impulses.
Not everyone understands why the heart misses a beat.
Provocative factors
Such a pass may be due to the following factors:
- Chemical change or imbalance in the body.
- The effect of certain medications, including traditional asthma medications.
- Exposure to alcohol or drugs.
- Elevated levels of adrenaline due to excessive caffeine intake or increased anxiety.
- Damage to heart muscle as a result of coronary heart disease, congenital organ defects, high blood pressure or infections.
The risks of developing this problem increase harmful factors in the form of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and nicotine, excessive physical activity, high blood pressure and anxiety.
What is it when the heart skips a beat?
Extrasystole
Extrasystole indicates high risks of developing disorders in the heart rhythm. In rare situations, when it is accompanied by pathologies of the heart, premature frequent contractions can lead to the development of a dangerous fatal complication in the form of fibrillation, when there is a chaotic inconclusive organ contraction.
Therefore, it is extremely important to diagnose a pathology such as extrasystole, it is necessary to determine its causes and conduct therapy for the underlying disease that causes such a violation.
Cardiac muscle misses beat: causes of violation
The appearance of arrhythmias or rhythm disturbances, when the heart begins to miss beats, can be facilitated by various structural changes in the conduction system as a result of pathologies of the heart. The negative impact of autonomic, endocrine and electrolyte factors that are associated with intoxication and drug effects is not ruled out. The main causes of cardiac arrhythmias are associated with the following prerequisites:
- The presence of heart lesions in the form of ischemic disease, defects of this organ, birth defects and injuries. Some drugs that are used during the treatment of cardiac pathologies can also have an effect.
- Bad habits in the form of smoking, drug addiction and alcoholism, and in addition, stress, abuse of coffee or products containing caffeine. Very often, the heart misses a beat after binge.
- Violation of the life regime when regular stressful situations along with insufficient sleep have a place.
- The use of certain medications.
- Diseases of various organs of the human body and systems.
- Electrolyte disturbances, when significant changes are observed in the ratio of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium levels inside the extracellular space.
In addition to the above, the heart misses beats due to the long-term use of diuretics, and also because of diseases, whose main characteristic is the difficulty in absorbing electrolytes.
What other reasons can lead to this feeling?
Violate the smooth functioning of the heart under the power of not every pathology. The heart can beat intermittently mainly due to chronic effects on the body, since it is quite difficult to break the nervous innervation of viruses or bacteria. The following factors can provoke this:
- Human myocardial infarction.
- The appearance of abnormalities in the endocrine glands, for example, a malfunction in the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thyroid and parathyroid glands and the hypothalamus.
- The presence of central paralysis, paresis, decompensation of the nervous system and the like.
- The occurrence of constant stressful situations.
- Uncontrolled use of narcotic compounds in the form of hemp, cocaine, heroin, spice and so on.
- The effect of menopause in women.
- The occurrence of fetal anomalies in the form of Fallot's disease, heart defects and the like.
- Excessive human consumption of food along with the presence of obesity in the patient.
- The presence of inflammatory processes of the heart in the form of endocarditis, pericarditis, myocarditis and so on.
- The appearance of chemical poisoning.
- Increased pressure, i.e. hypertension.
Next, we find out what symptoms can be observed in the presence of such a deviation in the work of the heart.
Symptoms of a violation
Symptoms are apparently completely absent. And this is quite normal for this disease. In some situations, symptoms of this ailment can be interruptions in the work of the body along with sensations of a strong heartbeat, dizziness and fainting. People who suffer from cardiac arrhythmias have the following symptoms:
- The presence of rapid and severe heart beats.
- Loss of another heartbeat.
- The presence of interruptions in the activity of the heart.
- The presence of dizziness and fainting, which is due to insufficient oxygen supply to the brain tissue.
- The appearance of pain in the heart or in the area of its location.
- The occurrence of shortness of breath.
The heart seems to miss a beat: diagnosing a disorder
Diagnosis with this symptom, as a rule, is aimed at performing various additional examinations. The main role in this is played by electrocardiographic studies. In addition, this type of disease can be diagnosed using Holter monitoring, which is a type of electrocardiographic study. Such a study makes it possible to ensure long-term registration of the heart rhythm when the patient is in his natural life conditions. Thus, doctors determine the dynamics of changes in the nature of rhythm disturbances in a certain period of time, which is compared with mental, physical and other stresses and situations.
Research methods
When the heart misses beats, it is also possible to diagnose pathology using transesophageal electrocardiographic examination and through cardiac pacing. In addition, in medicine, such a diagnostic method as ultrasound is widely used, which allows you to evaluate not only the functional feature of the heart, but also its structure. Quite good results are also demonstrated by cardiac catheterization, which is an invasive technique by introducing a special catheter.
If the heart skips a beat, treatment should be immediate.
Disorder Treatment
Therapy of patients with a clear violation of the heart rhythm largely depends on the type and nature of the disease, as well as on its degree. As a rule, doctors begin with the treatment of the underlying disease that caused this ailment. Most types of rhythm disturbances do not need medical treatment and are eliminated by a banal change in lifestyle. For example, a person should give up caffeine in all its manifestations, and in addition, from smoking. It is necessary to reasonably consume alcoholic beverages and completely avoid stressful situations.
Surgical intervention
In the presence of some cardiac arrhythmias, the only healing method is surgery. This type of treatment is used for severe bradycardia, against a background of a severe degree of AV blockade, and in addition, with a syndrome of weak sinus nodes. For people who suffer from episodes of ventricular fibrillation or from ventricular tachycardia, a defibrillator is implanted, which starts to work only if there is a violation of the heart rhythm. In the event that, as a result of studies, a pathological focus with excessive activity, which acts as a source of the appearance of cardiac arrhythmias, is detected, it is destroyed by surgical intervention using cardiac catheterization.
Heart rate problems after binge
The occurrence of arrhythmias after alcohol usually goes away by itself in a few hours, but sometimes this condition can be very dangerous. It is urgent to call an ambulance in the event that the hangover intensifies or the first time the following symptoms appear:
- The occurrence of severe weakness.
- Appearance of fainting or fainting.
- The appearance of a sudden fear of death.
- The occurrence of dizziness and the appearance of pain in the heart.
- The occurrence of shortness of breath.
Alcohol can dissolve equally well in water and fats, scientifically called amphiphilic. At the cellular level, alcoholic amphiphilicity allows it to destabilize cell membranes, which consist of several layers of amphiphilic elements.
How could this be fraught? The interaction of cells with the outside world, including information, is carried out using changes in the configurations of cellular receptors. In the first approximations, cellular receptors can be represented as protein particles immersed in the membrane. The binding of receptors to various substances causes changes in the course of the chemical reaction of the cell, including those that lead to the propagation of waves of electrical excitation through the membranes.
And in the event that the membrane was destabilized by alcohol or partially destroyed, this will lead to a decrease in receptor sensitivity, and in addition to the membrane’s ability to conduct electrical excitation.
When the heart skips a beat, what to do is best checked by a doctor.
Cardiologist Tips
To prevent this condition from occurring when a person’s heart begins to miss beats, cardiologists advise that certain preventive measures be taken. For example, to prevent the occurrence of abnormalities in the heart rhythm, it is very important to timely manage and diagnose diseases of the heart and other organs and systems. It is necessary to reduce the amount of stress, observing the daily routine. Doctors, among other things, advise people to sleep enough hours. It is equally important to eat rationally and balanced, refusing alcohol and smoking as well.
If the heart skips a beat, what is it, now we know.