Bradycardia Of The Heart - What Is It? What To Do?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 02:10

Bradycardia of the heart: what is it? Symptoms and Treatment

Bradycardia is a slowing down of the pulse, which is provoked by diseases of the cardiovascular system. It can develop in people of any age, but it is mainly detected in patients over 40 years of age. It has been found that bradycardia is 4 times more likely to be found in obese people.

Therapy of bradycardia is reduced not only to taking medications, but also to correcting the diet. It is important to take medications that will keep the heart working normally, eliminating acute attacks. The selection of drugs should be handled by a doctor, since drugs for the treatment of cardiac pathologies have many contraindications and side effects.

Content:

• Bradycardia - what is it?
• Types of bradycardia
• Symptoms of bradycardia
• Causes of bradycardia
• Diagnostics of the bradycardia
• Conservative treatment of bradycardia
• First aid for bradycardia

Bradycardia - what is it?

Bradycardia is a subtype of arrhythmia, which is characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm. Oxygen enters the heart through the blood. If blood circulation is impaired, then the heart muscle experiences oxygen starvation. Therefore, bradycardia most often develops against the background of atherosclerosis or coronary heart disease.

The diagnosis is made with the following pulse rates;

• Less than 55-60 beats / minute - for an adult.
• Less than 110 beats / minute - for a newborn.
• Less than 100 beats / minute - for monthly babies.
• Less than 85 beats / minute - for children 1-6 years old.
• Less than 70 beats / minute - for children 6-10 years old.
• Less than 65 beats / minute - for teenagers.

Most often, bradycardia does not pose any threat to human life. However, this does not mean that the pathology does not require treatment. If the patient does not receive therapy, he will begin to suffer from regular bouts of the disease. Each exacerbation of bradycardia is accompanied by an increase in the likelihood of death by 3-6%. Therefore, it is so important to receive treatment that will avoid an exacerbation of the disease.

Types of bradycardia

The ICD does not imply a differentiation of bradycardia, as a cardiac pathology, into any subspecies. However, practicing cardiologists distinguish several types of the disease, depending on the severity of its course, the cause of its occurrence and the pathogenetic characteristic.

Stages of development of bradycardia

Stage	Description
Initial	Bradycardia at this stage is a physiological phenomenon and does not require therapy. To get rid of the attacks of the disease, you need to revise your lifestyle, make changes to the menu. At the initial stage of the development of bradycardia, the person himself does not notice that he has bouts of slowing down the pulse, since there are no symptoms of this disorder. The prognosis for mild bradycardia is favorable.
Moderate	The heart rate is reduced to 40-50 beats / minute. This type of bradycardia is typical for the elderly, as well as for people who are professionally involved in sports. If bradycardia is diagnosed in these categories of citizens, then doctors consider this a variant of the norm.
Heavy	The patient's pulse decreases to 40 beats / minute, which leads to the appearance of pathological symptoms. Without treatment, it increases the likelihood of death.

Symptoms of bradycardia

Bradycardia most often has a latent course, gives scanty symptoms, so it is almost impossible to identify it yourself. As a rule, they find it by accident, during a doctor's visit for other disorders.

In some cases, even a severe course of bradycardia is manifested by such symptoms that a person without medical education is not able to correctly differentiate. To clarify the diagnosis, you need to go to the doctor and undergo a comprehensive examination.

If a person has at least 2 of the symptoms listed below, then bradycardia should be excluded as a diagnosis:

• Pale skin. Bradycardia is accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure, so blood rushes to the skin slowly. She turns pale. Discoloration of the dermis occurs either locally or throughout the body. The face turns noticeably pale, blue spots may appear on the limbs. It is important to take into account that such a symptom of bradycardia develops in people with advanced form of heart disease.

• Chest pain. It appears only during seizures when the heart rate drops to 40 beats / minute or below. Pain is a consequence of cardiac hypoxia and the death of muscle cells. Therefore, such a symptom requires an ambulance call. After the acute attack is eliminated, you need to see a doctor. The pain is not always concentrated in the region of the heart. Sometimes it spills behind the chest, radiating to the shoulder, to the interscapular zone. Whatever the cause of the pain, it is necessary to visit and consult a cardiologist.

An attack of heart pain (angina pectoris) develops in people with bradycardia during an emotional shock, with physical overload. Therefore, such patients need to try to minimize all worries. If it is difficult to control your emotions, you need to contact a specialist.

• Fainting, dizziness. Loss of consciousness most often occurs in people with low blood pressure. This is the body's response to oxygen deficiency. The person begins to feel dizzy, after which he may lose consciousness for a while. At the same time, dizziness cannot be called a symptom that would characterize exclusively bradycardia. It also develops in people with other diseases, such as damage to the nervous, endocrine, or digestive systems. Therefore, patients who are dizzy do not always turn to a cardiologist.
• Dyspnea. This symptom of bradycardia develops after physical overload, such as after running. The heart muscle is not able to cope with the pumping of the increased blood flow, as it is used to its slow flow. During an attack of shortness of breath, a person may have a cough, chest pains appear. It is difficult to cope with them by taking medications.

Shortness of breath, pain, dizziness, and pale skin are the 4 main symptoms that people with bradycardia develop. However, there are other signs that can lead to the idea of a disease. When the blood flow through the vessels slows down, not only the heart suffers, but also other internal organs: the brain, lungs, etc. A person, even after a sound sleep, feels tired, he wakes up broken, cannot focus on professional duties.

Daytime fatigue is a hallmark of bradycardia. It haunts a person all the time, becoming a chronic phenomenon. The decrease in efficiency is especially clearly noted by office workers. Their well-being is aggravated not only by oxygen starvation of the heart muscle, but also by physical inactivity, computer radiation, stress and conflict situations.

An increase in heart rate during sports is another indirect sign of bradycardia. Moreover, it rises sharply, which is due to the inability of the heart muscle to compensate for the increasing blood flow.

The listed symptoms and signs of bradycardia can occur in other diseases. Therefore, you should not try to diagnose yourself on your own. You need to go to an appointment with a specialist and only after a comprehensive examination start treatment.

Causes of bradycardia

The causes of bradycardia are negative changes in the conducting system of the heart, which lead to a violation of the propagation of an electrical impulse from the sinus node, which causes the heart to contract. Malfunctions can occur in the sinus node itself, which leads to a violation of the heart rhythm and, ultimately, to bradycardia, tachycardia or arrhythmia. The causes of such failures can be all sorts of processes that lead to various changes in the heart muscle - myocarditis, atherosclerosis of the coronary vessels, causing coronary heart disease, cardiosclerosis, postinfarction scars, etc.

In addition, the nervous autonomic system, endocrine diseases, severe infections, and high intracranial pressure have a huge impact on the heart rate.

Various medications affect the heart rate, contributing to the development of bradycardia or tachycardia. It is worth paying close attention to this when prescribing various medications.

However, not only pathological conditions can cause the development of bradycardia. It also occurs in healthy, even trained people.

Small disturbances in sinus rhythm usually do not cause any negative sensations in a person. In cases where the pulse becomes less than 40 beats per minute, the person feels weak, dizzy, cold sweat, fainting, as brain hypoxia (oxygen starvation) occurs due to insufficient blood supply.

Diagnostics of the bradycardia

In order to diagnose "bradycardia", it is necessary to make an electrocardiogram, Holter ECG monitoring. After examining the doctor and talking with the patient, the doctor prescribes additional studies as needed.

Conservative treatment of bradycardia

Treatment of bradycardia involves taking medications. They should be prescribed by a doctor, as many of them have serious side effects. Most patients prefer drugs in the form of tablets. However, such therapy can help those patients who have just begun to develop bradycardia. If the disease is severe, then injection of drugs is necessary.

Izadrin

Izadrin can be purchased both in the form of an injection solution and in tablet form. This drug has an exclusively auxiliary effect, since it does not directly affect the heart rate. The pills cause some side effects, including dry mouth, headache, tachycardia, and nausea.

The tablet is dissolved under the tongue, do not swallow. You should try to keep this mass in your mouth as long as possible. A single dose is 2.5-5 mg. You need to take the drug 2-3 times a day. The duration of the course is determined by the doctor.

Isoprenaline

To achieve the maximum therapeutic effect, it is necessary to inject Isoprenaline intravenously.

The analogue of that drug is adrenaline. The main effects of Isoprenaline:

• Increased myocardial contractility.
• Stimulation of adrenergic receptors in the heart muscle.
• Increased tone of the sympathetic nervous system.

The drug is taken 2-4 times a day. The dose is chosen by the doctor. In many ways, it is determined by the severity of the course of the disease and the patient's well-being at the time of the start of treatment. The average dosage for an adult patient varies between 2.5-5 mg.

Ephedrine hydrochloride

This drug increases blood pressure by narrowing the blood vessels. It is prescribed for violation of myocardial conduction. At one time, 25 mg of the drug (1 tablet) is enough. The course of treatment is 7 days. The drug is taken 2-4 times a day. This is a general guideline for all patients with bradycardia. If any adjustments are needed, they are made by a doctor.

Atherosclerosis of blood vessels, hypothyroidism, pathologies of the heart of organic origin - all these diseases are contraindications for taking Ephedrine.

Orciprenaline sulfate

This drug is an analogue of Izadrin. However, patients tolerate it better, since it does not provoke side effects. It cannot be used to treat patients with vascular atherosclerosis.

Orciprenaline is available in tablet form and in the form of a solution for injection. During the day, the patient should take 3-4 tablets.

Ipratropium bromide (Ipratropium)

This drug is most often used to treat sinus bradycardia, as it does not have any effect on the central nervous system. Patients do not experience drowsiness, do not suffer from lethargy. This drug has a good therapeutic effect, but it can cause such disorders as: intestinal disorders, dry mouth, increased blood pressure.

Also in medical practice, there were cases when patients had a heart rhythm disorder. The reason for this was precisely Ipratropium bromide. Therefore, the drug should not be taken on its own. Its use is possible only as directed by the attending physician. The average dose of the drug is 1-1 / 2 tablets 2-4 times a day.

Ipratropium bromide is not prescribed for pregnant women, patients with glaucoma and tachycardia.

First aid for bradycardia

If a family member suffers from bradycardia, close relatives should know how to help him cope with an attack of the disease (when the heart rate drops to 35 beats). In such situations, the likelihood of death of the patient increases, so treatment should not be delayed.

First aid recommendations for people with low heart rate:

• Offer strong coffee or tea to the person. You can supplement the drink with 15 drops of belladonna or ginseng tincture. These drugs can help relieve an attack, so they should always be on hand.
• The person should be laid on a hard surface, and his head should be raised. Pillows are also placed under the feet. This will increase blood flow to your heart.
• If the attack is accompanied by painful sensations, then you can offer the person a tablet of Nitroglycerin or Izadrin. They dissolve under the tongue. As a rule, improvement should come after 10-15 minutes.

If a person faints or complains of intense chest pains, a medical team should be called as soon as possible. Until the doctors arrive, you should take care of the documents. It is important to provide doctors with complete information about the medicines that a person is receiving and about his diagnosis.

Most often, bradycardia is not life threatening. However, this does not mean that the disease is not dangerous. It is imperative to receive treatment. Otherwise, the likelihood of developing pathologies such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, hypertensive crisis, etc., increases.

Bradycardia therapy is a task that the patient must solve together with the doctor. If the treatment is chosen correctly, then the prognosis will be as favorable as possible. Therefore, it is not recommended to postpone a visit to a specialist.

The author of the article: Molchanov Sergey Nikolaevich | Cardiologist

Education: Diploma in "Cardiology" received at the PMGMU. I. M. Sechenov (2015). Here I completed my postgraduate studies and received a diploma "Cardiologist".