Tachycardia: Alert Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Do you know what tachycardia is? Have you ever had a tachycardic episode?

It is an alteration of the heart, which begins to beat faster than normal, in a situation of rest. The causes that originate it are diverse.

In this article we will know what tachycardia consists of, what are its warning symptoms, the causes that can explain its origin and the treatments to follow in case of suffering from it. We will also see how prevention is a key tool to avoid its appearance.

Tachycardia: what is this disorder?

Sure you've heard of tachycardia before, but do you really know what it is? Tachycardia is a disorder of the heart, which implies that our heart rate (from the heart) increase excessivelyin a resting situation.

In episodes of tachycardia, the heart rate increases to more than 100 beats per minute (generally between 100 and 400). Let's think that the normal thing, in a situation of rest, is that our heart beats between 60 and 100 times per minute.

The direct consequence of these symptoms is that our heart cannot pump blood adequately, and that enough oxygen cannot reach the rest of the body. Tachycardia affects more women than men, and can be of two types: tachycardia atrial (when it occurs in the atria) and ventricular tachycardia (when it occurs in the ventricles).

Having tachycardia does not mean having a serious illness, but it is true that suffering from it can reduce the life span of our heart. In addition, depending on the cause that originates it, it can be more or less serious.

We can suffer a tachycardia in a specific, sporadic or occasional way, or also suffer it frequently. In the latter case, tachycardia becomes a very serious disease to treat.

• We recommend: "12 tips to take care of your heart and keep it healthy"

Alert symptoms

Tachycardia occurs because our heart rate increases considerably; This leads to the heart beating too fast, resulting in a ineffective blood pumping. In this way, the different organs and tissues of the body may be receiving an insufficient supply of oxygen, which implies different symptoms and signs.

Thus, the most frequent symptoms that a tachycardia causes are: feeling a sudden weakness, confusion, feeling dizzy, syncope (temporary loss of consciousness or fainting), trembling in the chest, a feeling of suffocation (as well as breathing difficulties) and feeling dizzy.

Other symptoms that may appear are: feeling light-headed, having a fast pulse, low blood pressure blood pressure, chest pain, heart palpitations (such as a very fast, uncomfortable or uncomfortable heartbeat) irregular), etc.

So if you start to feel any of these symptoms, you are facing a warning sign of tachycardia, and it is likely that you are suffering from one.

Possible causes

The causes of tachycardia are diverse. Some of the most frequent are: smoking, excess stress, different types of infections, high blood pressure, heart or coronary disease, lung disease, kidney failure, an overactive thyroid gland, alcohol or other drug abuse, caffeine abuse, and feeling strong emotions frequent.

As we have seen, depending on the cause of the tachycardia, its severity will be greater or lesser. Therefore, as we will see now, prevention and treatment are essential. If it is also known that you already have a previous disease (for example, heart disease), we must be careful and carry out the pertinent medical follow-ups that allow us to control our disease.

Treatment and prevention of tachycardia episodes

The best treatment for tachycardia is good prevention. We are going to talk about it first and then we will explain the treatments themselves to treat tachycardia.

1. Prevention

Prevention will consist of try to keep your heart healthy, through a healthy and calm lifestyle. That is why it will also be important to reduce the probability of suffering from heart disease or, if you do have it, to control your symptoms and be well followed.

On the other hand, we can bet on a healthy lifestyle, through exercise, a balanced diet, etc. Weight is also important that we keep it within healthy limits.

Other prevention strategies include quit smoking if you do, drink little alcohol, limit caffeine consumption, as well as manage daily stress. You can also bet on practicing yoga or mindfulness in order to be more relaxed and prevent these stressful states.

In addition, the preventive treatment of tachycardia, in some cases also includes certain medications taken regularly; is about antiarrhythmic drugs. These, in addition, can be combined with other types of drugs (for example, channel blockers or beta blockers), always under medical prescription.

2. Treatment

On the other hand, not talking about prevention but about tachycardia treatment, we find different types. They are tasked with treating the cause of the disease, reducing the rapid heart rate, preventing future episodes, and minimizing the risk of complications.

The different treatments that we can find to reduce the frequency of the heartbeat are:

2. 1. Vagal maneuvers

These consist of performing the following steps: cough, bend over (as if you were going to go belly) and placing an ice pack on your face. Vagal maneuvers involve the vagus nerve, and can help reduce your heart rate. These must be taught by a doctor or a nurse, and will be applied in case of suffering an episode of tachycardia.

2. 2. Medicines

Another option (and in case the previous one is not effective) are the drugs. Usually an injection of a drug is given that has effects that reduce arrhythmias. These drugs help restore a normal heart rate. In addition to injections, tablets (pills) can also be taken, always under medical prescription.

2. 3. Cardioversion

The third treatment option for tachycardia is called cardioversion. It is a procedure where an electric shock is applied to the heart, through different methods: a defibrillator, patches or paddles, which are placed on the person's chest.

In this way, the electrical current can restore the normal rhythm of the heart. Cardioversion is usually applied as emergency treatment or when the previous options are not effective.

Bibliographic references

• Gutiérrez, O and Araya, V. (2002). Cardiac Arrhythmias Manual. Diagnostic and therapeutic guide. Editorial of the University of Costa Rica.

• J. Fernández-Armenta, N. Calvo Galiano, D., Penela, I., García-Bolaob. (2013). Ventricular tachycardia update. Medicine - Accredited Continuing Medical Education Program, 11 (39): 2346-2355.

• Mayo Clinic. (2019). Tachycardia. Diagnosis and treatment.

• Sanitas. (2019). Causes and symptoms of tachycardia. Health Library: Prevention - Health.