subject: Irregular Heart Beats: Causes, Symptoms, and How to Prevent It [print this page] Irregular Heart Beats: Causes, Symptoms, and How to Prevent It
Irregular heart beats can put you in a life-threatening situation. This may result in the event of a cardiac arrest and eventually death. Many conditions could cause this to happen. By knowing its symptoms, one could give the right treatment and prevent it from worsening.
Also known in the medical term cardiac disrhythmia or arrhythmia, an irregular heart beat is different from an abnormal heart rate, although these two may occur in the same manner and situation. An arrhythmia could happen to a person with a normal, slow, or fast heart rate.
Many factors could cause a person to suffer from an arrhythmia. It could be due to a coronary heart problem, natural changes in the heart muscle, or injury after the event of a heart attack. It could also be caused by the electrolyte imbalance in the body. There are times where the cause of the condition is difficult to determine.
A person's lifestyle is a big factor that could cause arrhythmia. Too much smoking, coffee, alcohol, and stress may initiate this condition. Diet pills and medicines for colds may also be the cause of irregular heart beats.
A wide variety of arrhythmia symptoms exists. The individual may feel their heart beating at an extremely fast pace, or chest fluttering, or even a skip in their heart's beat. Among the most common symptoms of arrhythmia is dizziness, fainting, difficulty in breathing, and occasional chest pains. The most common type of the condition may be sinus arrhythmia, where the heart rate changes whenever you breathe.
There are changes that you could do to prevent the event of the condition. Irregular heart beats may be triggered by certain activities. Lessening them will reduce the symptoms of the condition. Smoking should be avoided. Alcohol intake should also be reduced. Caffeine is must be limited if you cannot eliminate it.
Some are quite sensitive to caffeinated beverages, causing additional symptoms of the condition. You should also keep away from stimulants included in medications for cough and cold. They often contain ingredients that may aggravate the symptoms of arrhythmia.
If you've observed the signs and symptoms of arrhythmia, you must not panic as it may bring more harm than good. Before taking medications, be sure to ask your doctor whether the ingredients could aggravate your condition or not. Knowing the causes, symptoms, and prevention of irregular heart beats will give you more optimism in life, as well as the people around you.
