What Is Ventricular Arrhythmia
Ventricular arrhythmias, which include ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, start in the ventricles and are very dangerous. In ventricular tachycardia, the ventricles beat quickly, but in a regular fashion. Ventricular tachycardia can turn into other, more dangerous arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation. In ventricular fibrillation, the ventricles quiver instead of beating normally. Ventricular fibrillation can cause people to lose consciousness and, if not treated within minutes, die.
Dont Ignore The Warning Signs
If theres one parting thought I can impress on you, its to never ignore heart palpitations.
No matter what age you are or how good of shape youre in, if you feel fluttering, skipping, or any other kind of irregular heartbeat, get it checked out by a cardiologist. The cause of your situation may well turn out to be nothing to worry about. But if thats not the case, the sooner you begin treatment, the better off youre going to be. This is definitely one of those instances when its better to be safe than sorry.
References and Resources
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Emotional Or Psychological Triggers
Heart palpitations are also often caused by emotions or psychological issues, such as:
- excitement or nervousness
- stress or anxiety
- panic attacks an overwhelming sense of anxiety or fear, accompanied by feeling sick, sweating, trembling and palpitations
Doing breathing exercises and learning how to deal with a panic attack may help if you’re feeling stressed, anxious or panicked.
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Treatment For Iron Deficiency Anaemia
Once the reason you have anaemia has been found the GP will recommend treatment.
If the blood test shows your red blood cell count is low, youll be prescribed iron tablets to replace the iron thats missing from your body.
The prescribed tablets are stronger than the supplements you can buy in pharmacies and supermarkets.
Youll need to take them for about 6 months. Drinking orange juice after youve taken a tablet may help your body absorb the iron.
Follow the GPs advice about how to take iron tablets.
Some people get side effects when taking iron tablets like:
- constipation or diarrhoea
Try taking the tablets with or soon after food to reduce the chance of side effects.
Its important to keep taking the tablets, even if you get side effects.
Your GP may carry out repeat blood tests over the next few months to check that your iron level is getting back to normal.
Heart Palpitations And Ectopic Beats
Heart palpitations are heartbeats that suddenly become more noticeable.
Your heart may feel like it’s pounding, fluttering or beating irregularly, often for just a few seconds or minutes. You may also feel these sensations in your throat or neck.
Palpitations may seem alarming, but in most cases they’re harmless and are not a sign of a serious problem.
Sometimes you may feel an extra or missed beat. These are known as ectopic beats and are also usually nothing to worry about.
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Three Ways To Decrease Your Risk For Heart Disease
Blood Glucose Fluctuations And Physiological Characteristics In Stz
Blood glucose levels and body weight changes of STZ-induced DM rats during the experimental period are shown in Figure . Body weight gain was significantly less in U-STZ group than in C-STZ group, and this difference was more marked between STZ-GF and C-STZ groups. Body weights in STZ-GF group fluctuated because of repetitive starvation. Blood glucose levels in U-STZ rats were always > 22.2 mmol/L. In contrast, glucose levels in C-STZ rats were maintained around 5.5 mmol/L by periodic insulin injection. After starvation and additional insulin injections, glucose levels were decreased < 5.5 mmol/L in STZ-GF rats.
Blood glucose levels and body weight. Body weight gain was significantly lower in U-STZ rats than in C-STZ rats, and this difference was more pronounced in STZ-GF rats. Body weights in STZ-GF rats fluctuated because of repetitive starvation. Blood glucose levels in U-STZ rats were always > 22.2 mmol/L. In contrast, glucose levels in C-STZ rats were maintained 5.5 mmol/L. After starvation and additional insulin injections, glucose levels were decreased < 5.5 mmol/L in STZ-GF rats. Data are presented as mean ± SEM .
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How Do I Manage Heart Palpitations At Night
Most of the time, heart palpitations at night dont require treatment, especially if they only happen occasionally. You may be able to relieve heart palpitations at night yourself. If your heart is racing at night, you should:
- Breathe deeply: Try pursed lip breathing techniques, which involve long, deep breaths. You can also meditate and try other relaxation techniques to reduce stress.
- Drink a glass of water: If youre dehydrated, your heart has to work harder to pump blood.
- Roll over or get up and walk around: A change of position might be all you need to relieve heart palpitations. Try rolling over in bed, sitting up or going for a short walk around the room while taking deep breaths.
If a health condition is causing palpitations, your provider will treat the condition. Treatments vary depending on the cause. Sometimes, providers prescribe a type of medicine called beta blockers to treat palpitations. These medications slow the heart rate and reduce palpitations.
Why Are Steroids Used In Cancer Treatment
There are a number of reasons you might have steroids as part of your cancer treatment.
They can:
- reduce your bodys immune response, for example after a bone marrow transplant
- help reduce sickness when having chemotherapy
- improve your appetite
- when you are first diagnosed
- before and after surgery
- before, during and after chemotherapy treatment
- for an advanced cancer
A.V.
I got a really bad cold about three weeks ago. I lost my voice and had trouble breathing so I went to the doctor who diagnosed bronchitis. She prescribed inhalors and prednisone to address the inflammation. When a week went by with little improvement she upped the prednisone to 30mg daily which will be tapered off over four weeks. I did start feeling better but on Sunday I started experiencing a funny fluttering in my chest which turn out to be heart palpitations. I didnât even know this might be a side effect! My doc says Iâm otherwise healthy without risky habits so it should all go back to normal as I taper off the prednisone. However, it also raises my anxiety and so now I am wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar experience so I can feel better about all this. Did your heart rhythm go back to normal? Iâve never experienced this and so I have a nagging thought that maybe my doc is wrong and there might be permanent damage. At the risk of raising my anxiety even more, I would also like to know if thereâs anything I else I should know or expect. Thanks!
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Why High Blood Pressure Can Lead To Abnormal Heartbeats
“Under conditions of heavy, persistent mechanical load, the heart’s fine-tuned calcium control system becomes unstable, causing irregular heartbeats,” says Chen-Izu. “This could explain why high blood pressure can increase arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden cardiac death, heart failure, and stroke.”
You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.
Scientists have found a key biological trigger that makes the heart beat stronger in response to higher blood pressure. A new study suggests there may be a way to turn that trigger off when it becomes overactive.
The heart is a robust pump that can compensate for short-term increases in blood pressure due to changes in physical and emotional conditionslike exercise or joy, says study senior author Ye Chen-Izu, assistant professor of pharmacology and biomedical engineering at UC Davis. But there is a darker side to that compensating system that could lead to life-threatening heart diseases. Our work opens up new avenues for preventing that outcome.
Rotterdam The Netherlands High Dose Corticosteroid Therapy May Increase The Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation Researchers Here Reported
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, May 8 ââ¬â High dose corticosteroid therapy may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, researchers here reported.
A daily dose of at least 7.5 mg of prednisone equivalents was associated with a six-fold increase in risk of new onset atrial fibrillation, Cornelis S. van der Hooft, M.D., and colleagues, of Erasmus University Medical Center reported in the May 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Action Points
- Explain to patients who ask that the results of this study suggest that high-dose corticosteroid therapy may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation.
- Explain that concerned patients should not immediately stop corticosteroid therapy as this may trigger a number of serious side effects and doses should be carefully managed by physicians.
- This study suggests that careful monitoring of these patients by clinical examination and by performing an ECG before and after high-dose therapy is warranted to detect atrial fibrillation.
- The American Heart Association issued a statement warning that patients taking corticosteroids should ânot immediately stop taking them.â
Moreover, the increased risk was âfound in patients with and without asthma/COPDâ, the authors wrote.
There was, however, no observed increase in the risk of atrial fibrillation among patients treated with low or intermediate doses of corticosteroids.
Primary Source
Archives of Internal Medicine
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Other Causes Of Palpitations
In addition to anxiety, there are several other causes of heart palpitations. Palpitations can be brought on by:
- Alcohol. Having one or two too many drinks in a night can get your heart racing. People who rarely drink to excess, but do so at the occasional party may feel a fluttering in their chest later. This is sometimes called holiday heart.
- Caffeine. Each persons caffeine sensitivity is unique. You might drink three cups of coffee every morning and feel fine. A co-worker might try that and develop palpitations, headache, and other side effects. With the popularity of high-caffeine beverages, such as specialty coffees and canned energy drinks, researchers are learning more about how high levels of caffeine can lead to heart rhythm disturbances, high blood pressure, and other problems.
- Chocolate. Palpitations can develop from eating too much at one sitting. Overdoing your food intake at a dinner or other event can lead to a version of holiday heart. Chocolate is particularly associated with palpitations.
- Medications. Cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine may trigger heart palpitations and jittery feelings.
For some people, palpitations are signs of an arrhythmia, a problem with the hearts electrical system that controls your heartbeats. A normal, resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. There are several types of arrhythmias. Each type produces unique symptoms, including an irregular heart rate. Among them are:
How To Reduce Heart Palpitations At Home
For the most part, palpitations caused by non-heart related triggers can be treated with simple home remedies.
For example, if you only feel your heart race when youre anxious or stressed, relaxation techniques like meditation and deep breathing could be the key to reducing these palpitations.
Likewise, a thumping heart caused by stimulant use can be calmed by reducing your intake of tobacco products and caffeine. If youre taking any medication, tell your doctor about the palpitations youre experiencing to find out if your medication could be causing them.
Hydration and diet play a big role, too. Being dehydrated or having low levels of potassium can also trigger heart palpitations. If you have low blood sugar, eating too many carbohydrate-rich foods and processed sugars can increase your likelihood of experiencing palpitations.
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Take Iron Supplements If Your Doctor Recommends Them
You should only take an iron supplement if your healthcare provider confirms that youre iron deficient or are at risk for iron deficiency and cant meet your needs through diet alone.
If you do take an iron supplement, try drinking orange juice with it to boost iron absorption or using a supplement that includes vitamin C.
Keep in mind that taking iron supplements may cause some side effects. These include:
How Are Heart Palpitations Diagnosed
Your doctor will talk to you about how the palpitations start , how long they last, how often they happen and any other symptoms you may have and your family history.
They may send you for further testing, including an electrocardiogram to measure your hearts electrical activity. This may be done by wearing a Holter monitor, a device that you wear for 24 hours while going about your normal activities.
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Heart Rate Variability Monitoring For Chronic Health Conditions And Cervical Instability Cases
Ross Hauser, MD explains how monitoring HRV can be a helpful way to see how a persons vagal tone and overall health are improving or declining. This is an objective test we have some patients monitor at home and we have a more comprehensive version that we can do in-office.
The summary transcript is below video:
Video summary:
Heart rate variability or HRV measures the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. It measures if the balance between the sympathetic nervous system and the Parasympathetic system is good or if this balance is off. When it is good the body is in a good position to heal and regenerate.
We do heart rate variability testing in the office and this testing gives us a sense of how balanced someones autonomic nervous system is. When somebody has a high vagal tone meaning their vagus nerves, which are the nerves in the body that give the body health, when the HRV is high, the person has better athletic ability they also have a greater resistance to stress.
When people have a low vagal tone they cant handle stress, theyre much more prone to getting illnesses, they tend to have depression or they might have other signs like brain fog or melancholy and other psychological conditions. They are easily fatigued.
Diseases associated with low heart rate variability
Brain:
Why Foods Cause Heart Palpitations
Feeling palpitations after eating is a relatively common experience, which tends to occur when a substance in your food or drinkor your bodys natural biochemical response to that substancejolts the hearts electrical system and causes fluttering sensations, skipped beats, or a feeling that your heart is beating too hard or too fast.
Coffee drinkers, think about the last time you drank one cup too many. You know what I mean!
If your heart is healthy and you have no history of arrhythmia or heart diseaseand youre not experiencing any other symptomstheres little need to worry about an occasional episode of these irregular beats. For people who do have arrhythmias or cardiac issues, however, its a different story. Palpitations caused by food can cause an existing disruption in your hearts rhythm to escalate, and potentially lead to a major event.
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Managing Blood Sugar Levels
Many people with diabetes must check their blood sugar levels daily with a glucose meter. This device takes a drop of blood, usually from a finger, and displays the sugar level within a few seconds.
People with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin as their doctor recommends, usually several times a day.
Those with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes may need to change their diet and exercise habits. They may also need to take oral medications or insulin.
A number of strategies can help prevent hyperglycemia.
People should:
- check their blood sugar levels as their doctor advises and take the correct amount of insulin, if they have type 1 diabetes
- speak to their healthcare provider or dietitian about which foods to eat or avoid, how much to eat, and how often
- take precautions to avoid infections, for example, through regular hand washing, as illness, such as a cold, can trigger a rise in blood pressure
- plan their food intake and exercise to balance blood sugar levels
- minimize stress, as far as possible, for example, through exercise, getting enough sleep, and stress-reducing activities such as meditation or yoga
Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can happen when a person:
- has certain medical conditions
- does a lot of exercise
- skips meals or eats too little
It can also be a side effect of diabetes medicines. Taking too much insulin can result in low blood sugar levels.
Symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
- visit a doctor regularly
Signs You Have Iron Deficiency
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Iron is a very important mineral found in every cell of the body, which is why lacking it can cause both small and lasting health problems. The most important thing about iron deficiency is to find why there is a lack of it in the first place, Priyanka Pathak, MD, oncologist at Geisinger Health System, says. Replacing it is just like putting a Band-Aid on you have to find the real issue.
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What Are Heart Palpitations At Night
Heart palpitations feel like your heart is pounding, racing or beating quickly. It can also feel like your heart is skipping a beat or like you have an extra heartbeat. Palpitations make you aware of your heart rate. You may feel your heart beating in your chest, but its also common to feel it beating in your neck or throat.
Heart palpitations can happen anytime, including at night or when youre resting during the day. They can be scary, but they arent usually dangerous. Many people have the same heart palpitations during the day but dont notice because theyre busy.
Less commonly, heart palpitations at night can be signs of a serious health condition, such as arrhythmia . If your heart often races when you lie down, you should see your provider for an examination. Get help right away if you have palpitations and trouble breathing or chest pain.