Almost every person knows the state when the heart is ready to jump out of the chest. Usually, a strong heartbeat (tachycardia) is observed in people after significant physical exertion or as a result of strong emotional experiences. However, even if such activity is normal, everyone experiences fear when his pulse increases.
In some situations, such concerns are justified, especially when it comes to older people. Sometimes tachycardia appears with fairly serious ailments and indicates the work of body systems. If you have complaints and too often increasing heart rate, you should immediately undergo an examination and establish the exact causes of a strong heartbeat.
The most common causes of heart rate
If a person often encounters arrhythmias, then this indicates a possible sinus tachycardia, atrial or ventricular extrasystole, atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia.
In the first case, heart rate can reach up to 160 beats per minute. Sinus tachycardia develops against a background of strong emotional or physical stress, with fever and increased anxiety. Other ailments are less common in medical practice.
Dangerous pathology
In some situations, a strong heartbeat can be a sign of ailments and conditions that threaten a person’s life. For example, heart rate may indicate:
- Ventricular tachycardia.
- Hypokalemia.
- Electrolyte disturbances.
- Hypomagnesemia.
- Syndrome of a weakened sinus node.
- Complete atrioventricular block.
Also, similar symptoms are observed with coronary heart disease and in the case of myocardial infarction. In some cases, a strong heartbeat is an indicator of an unstable angina. However, it must be borne in mind that such ailments as myocardial infarction may not occur.
Heart disease
Arrhythmia is not always an independent pathology. In some cases, heart rate is a symptom of one of the conditions or diseases. For example, if the pulse is increased by about 10 beats per minute with a very slight increase in body temperature (even by 1 degree), then this indicates a fever.
If a representative of the fair sex began menopause, then during this period she is most susceptible to diseases of the heart muscle. In this case, there is a risk of hormonal ailments of non-ischemic type.
If a person suffers from a strong heartbeat after taking certain medications, caffeine, energy drinks or alcoholic beverages, then the ailment is temporary. If we talk about drugs, then most often similar symptoms are caused by the use of antiarrhythmic, diuretic and vasoconstrictors, as well as antidepressants, nitrates and cardiac glycosides. In this case, there is a strong heartbeat, pressure, dizziness and general weakness.
Similar symptoms may also indicate mitral heart disease, hypoxia, aortic insufficiency, or hypercapnia. In this case, we are talking about a lack of oxygen. Such conditions are familiar to those who like to spend holidays in the mountains, as well as people suffering from lung diseases.
A strong heartbeat may be a sign of pheochromocytoma. This rare ailment is an adrenal gland tumor. In this case, the heart rate may increase by 20 points with a slight change in body position (for example, if a person lay on the bed or turned over).
There are other ailments in which there is a sharp change in the heartbeat. For example, a frequent pulse is observed in pregnant women during the period of postpartum depression, in those who suffer from a tick bite, diabetes mellitus, anemia, thyroid disease, osteochondrosis and urinary tract infections.
When heart rate is normal
Such symptoms are a completely natural reaction to physical exertion, awakening from sleep, a sharp change in body position, eating and when a person experiences strong emotions.
Most often, in such situations it is very difficult to independently determine the heart rate, since no visible changes in the state occur. However, sometimes a person may begin to experience discomfort, shortness of breath, pain. Do not panic. If a person has just been involved in sports or abruptly got out of bed, then a strong heartbeat in a normal (calm) state will quickly return to normal.
Also in medical practice there is such a thing as idiopathic tachycardia. In this case, we are talking about a condition caused not by pathologies, but by individual characteristics of the body.
A strong heartbeat in a child is also the norm, especially in childhood and adolescence. During this period of time, his heart always beats faster than that of his parents, even if he is in a completely calm state.
Rapid pulse during pregnancy
You need to understand that carrying a baby is a huge stress for a woman's body. At this time, all its organs and systems begin to work in an enhanced mode. The heart is no exception. Pregnant women often complain of a strong heartbeat at night. The reasons for this condition most often lie in a change in the hormonal background and the general emotional and mental state of the expectant mother.
Some ladies begin to consume a huge amount of vitamins during the period of bearing the baby, believing that in this way they will make the child strong and healthy. But you need to understand that, provoking hypervitaminosis in yourself, a woman will only aggravate her condition. This can affect the functioning of the heart.
As a rule, obstetricians and gynecologists see no cause for concern. The situation changes if a woman suffers from anemia. At the same time, a rapid pulse is often accompanied by short-term fainting. Therefore, the expectant mother needs the help of specialists.
Heart rate in a child
As mentioned earlier, heart palpitations in a child are most often the norm. However, we are talking about minor deviations from the norm. There are normative indicators of what pulse a person should have at different periods of his life. For example, in a newborn baby, the heart rate can be up to 180 beats per minute, however, if a child who is already a year old shows the same indicators, then you should consult a doctor.
Most often, heart rate is recorded in children suffering from sinus tachycardia. To answer the question of why a strong heartbeat occurs in this case is definitely difficult. However, one should not panic ahead of time and fear that the baby will have to fight pathology all his life. In this case, the cause of the disease does not have to be any serious cardiac disease. A similar condition in a child can be caused by anything. For example, if he has been in the strong sun for a long time or engaged in active physical games.
Strong heartbeat: what to do at home
Not all people know that they suffer from cardiac abnormalities. If the attack of tachycardia happened for the first time, do not panic. You need to calm down, open the window, try to take a horizontal position, unfasten the collar and remove the squeezing clothes so that it is easier to breathe.
In order not to think later with a strong heartbeat what to do at home, it is worthwhile to prepare some drugs in advance. Even if a person has never had such attacks, and he does not think that they can happen, it is worthwhile to put in a medicine cabinet tincture of valerian, validol, corvalol, motherwort and valocordin. These funds help calm down and normalize the heart.
It is also worth washing your face with cold water and putting a cool compress on your forehead. However, moving around the apartment is not worth it. It is better if the patient will lie while someone else will provide him first aid.
Useful tips for an attack
Speaking about what to do with a strong heartbeat, it is also worth paying attention to the recommendations of specialists. Doctors recommend learning how to breathe properly during an attack. With an accelerated pulse, you need to take a deep breath, hold your breath and make attempts (as during a bowel movement). After this, air must be slowly released through the mouth. A similar procedure is repeated for at least 5-7 minutes. After that, the condition will improve. However, it should be borne in mind that in practice in a panic state such manipulations are extremely difficult to perform, so it is worth practicing in advance.
If during a seizure a person is very dizzy and coordination is compromised, then eye massage will help. It must be done very carefully. In order to alleviate the condition, it is necessary to close your eyes and relax. After that, you need to press on the eyeballs with your fingertips and keep your hands in this position for about 10 seconds. After that, you can lower your hands and open your eyes. Manipulation is repeated again after 10 seconds.
On the hands there are special points that are responsible for the work of the heart and heart rate. With pressure on certain zones, you can achieve a fairly quick effect. However, do not joke with this type of massage. If you accidentally clamp the wrong point, you can harm yourself. Therefore, it is worth entrusting such procedures to specialists or prepare in advance. It’s very difficult to concentrate during an attack. However, there is an easy way to activate biological points. With a rapid heartbeat, it is necessary to connect the little finger and thumb (on one or both hands) so that the tip of the first presses with force on the base of the nail plate of the second.
Also, biologically active zones responsible for the work of the heart are located on the wrists of the hands on the back side. If you rub them during an attack, you can alleviate your condition.
Good to know
In some sources, you can read information that squeezing the carotid artery can quickly relieve an attack of heart palpitations. This is a very dangerous manipulation that should not be performed by yourself! Even an experienced chiropractor risks making a mistake. Therefore, do not experiment on yourself.
There are also several theories about when you need to hold your breath before trying (described earlier). Some do it by inhalation, others by exhalation. Therefore, if holding your breath does not help, you should try a different technique.
Those who are not the first time faced with tachycardia, always need to be prepared for an attack. However, it is better to take preventive measures to prevent an increase in heart rate. Such people are advised to spend more time outdoors, to avoid physical exertion, as well as stress. Always at hand should be the necessary medicines.
Speaking about what to do with a strong heartbeat, it is worth paying attention to natural medicines.
Folk remedies
To get rid of unpleasant symptoms, you should turn to recipes from natural herbs. For example, you can avoid tachycardia with:
- Hawthorn. To prepare a medicinal product, it is necessary to pour 15 berries of hawthorn with a glass of boiling water and leave for several hours. Ready broth should be drunk three times a day before meals, 2 tablespoons.
- Herbal harvest. This will require 40 g of hawthorn and valerian (preferably chopped roots), 20 lily of the valley (flowers) and 30 g of fennel and mint. All dry herbs are mixed and poured 1 liter of boiling water. When the mixture cools down, you can take 1 cup per day.
- Sand immortelle. To prepare a medicinal decoction, you will need to pour 15 g of herbs in boiling water (about 250 ml). In an hour, the medicine will be ready. It must be taken three times a day for 1/3 cup.
If the patient has an attack of tachycardia, it is necessary to give him a sniff of a sheet of fresh peppermint or lemon balm. The composition of these herbs includes soothing components, which also favorably affect the human heart.
If heart rate is caused by hypertension (high blood pressure), it is recommended to drink 50 g of green oat juice, which is obtained from young sprouts, 3 times a day. It is also worth normalizing the functioning of the vessels of the brain. The blue cornflower will help to cope with this task.
To prevent a second attack of tachycardia, some healers recommend drinking green tea. And coffee and black tea should be completely abandoned to everyone who has even minor heart rhythm problems.
To stabilize the pulse rate, it is worth drinking tinctures from rose hips and hawthorn. The components must be mixed in equal proportions and poured with boiling water. The resulting liquid should be drunk instead of tea and coffee.
However, before resorting to traditional medicine recipes, it is necessary to undergo an examination. Some herbs are categorically contraindicated in heart defects! To get rid of discomfort, you need to diagnose and cure the underlying ailment.