Tachycardia

Tachycardia is a disease in which the heart beats very rapidly. In a normal person the rate of heart beat is 60 beats per minute but in tachycardia the rate is 100 beats per minute. In cases like exercise or stress, it is considered normal because the exertion makes the heart beats very rapidly but in cases like cardiac arrhythmias, it is considered abnormal.

Tachycardia can be harmful in three ways. First, if the heart is pumping too fast for a long period of time then the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the hemoglobin of the blood is imbalanced. It is normal in exercise but dangerous when the heart is resting. Second when the heart beats too rapidly, it tends to pump blood less efficiently because the myocardium gets less time to contract. The third harmful effect is that, when the heart beats very rapidly, it requires more oxygen and blood and in this way the person feels out of breath and stressed.

Normal heart rate increases due to these factors or causes. Exercise or exertion, fever, fear, nervousness, emotion, large meal, high or low blood pressure, prior heart attack, asthma, anemia or panic attack. Tachycardia is stimulated by excessive nicotine, caffeine or adraline, certain illicit drugs and medications, deficiency of potassium and vitamin B, excessive dieting, and arrhythmia. Pounding heart beat is a type of rapid heartbeat.

The symptoms of tachycardia include rapid heartbeat and rapid heartbeat at rest, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and heart failure. These are the symptoms which are known to the patient but the doctor takes tachycardia differently. Home medical test of tachycardia includes heart rate monitors, ECG and irregular heart beat detection. Alternative diagnosis method includes hypotension.

Tachycardia can be treated with chemical conversion, electrical conversion or simply by the use of drugs to control and normalize the heart beat. However the treatment depends on the mechanism of tachycardia in a person.

Tachycardia can be cured or controlled by certain drugs and medications prescribed by the doctor but it can be prevented, once diagnosed, by controlling diet, restraining from physical stress and exertion, eating normal meals, following a healthy life style and restraining oneself from excessive use of nicotine, caffeine, drugs and adreline etcetera.