Tips to Slow Down a Fast Heartbeat and Preventing It

Tachycardia is a condition that makes the ticker beat more than 100 times per minute. There are three types of it: Supraventricular, Ventricular and Sinus tachycardia.

Causes:

Supraventricular tachycardia mostly affects people who smoke, drink alcohol in excess, or have a lot of caffeine. It’s also linked to heart attacks in some cases and is more common in children and women. Sinus tachycardia apart from strenuous exercise, a fever, fear, stress, anxiety, certain medications, and street drugs- can also be triggered by anemia, an overactive thyroid, or damage from a heart attack or heart failure. Last, but not the least the ventricular type is tied to more serious ticker disorders, such as lack of oxygen, and could also be associated with conditions like sarcoidosis that causes the skin and other body tissues to swell.

Tips to Slow Down a Fast Heartbeat:

Medication- Antiarrhythmic drugs restore a normal heartbeat which can be administered orally or by injection. Sometimes it is required for an individual to take more than one antiarrhythmic drug.

Cardioversion- Patches or paddles are used to deliver an electric shock to the ticker which restores the normal rhythm by affecting the electrical impulses in the ticker. Cardioversion is carried out in a hospital.

Vagal Maneuvers- The simple maneuvers stimulate the vagus nerve (it helps regulate our heartbeat), sometimes resulting in slowed conduction of electrical impulses through the atrioventricular (AV) node of the heart. Coughing, heaving (as if you were having a bowel movement) and placing an ice pack on the person's face are maneuvers that affect the nerve.

Prevention:

Learn more about measures that can prevent a heartbeat becoming too fast or escalating into a health problem.

Medications- Anti-arrhythmic medications when taken regularly can prevent tachycardia. In combination with antiarrhythmics, doctors may prescribe other medications, such as channel blockers, such as diltiazem (Cardizem) and verapamil (Calan), or beta-blockers, such as propranolol (Inderal) and esmolol (Brevibloc).

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)- The ICD detects any abnormal heartbeat and delivers electric shocks to restore normal rhythm. This device is surgically implanted into the chest, it continually monitors the heartbeat.

Surgery- Surgery is needed sometimes to remove a section of tissue which involves the surgeon creating a pattern of scar tissue which is a bad conductor of electricity. Only when other therapies have not been effective, or if the person has another heart disorder that this procedure is used.

Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation- Through the blood vessels, the catheters with electrodes at the ends enter the ticker. The electrodes are heated to ablate, or damage the small sections of the ticker responsible for the abnormal heartbeat.

Symptoms:

Regardless of the type of tachycardia you have, you may feel chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness and lightheadedness. You could also become unconscious or go into cardiac arrest in extreme cases. Sometimes a fast heart rate causes no symptoms at all.

Equip yourself in the life-saving CPR procedure (chest compressions and rescue breaths) and contribute towards the safety of cardiac arrest victims in out-of-hospital cases. Select a certified training site for acquiring CPR training, such as the AHA certified CPR Indianapolis.