How dangerous is ventricular extrasystole? Interview with the head of the department of surgical treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac pacing at the Federal State Budgetary Institution "National Medical Research Center for Traumatology and Traumatology" of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Alexey

What causes ventricular tachycardia?

What causes ventricular tachycardia?

Ventricular tachycardia most often occurs in patients with organic changes in the heart, for example, myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis. Scar tissue creates abnormal electrical pathways, causing the heart to beat at a high rate. Sometimes people without heart disease can develop ventricular tachycardia. It is easier to treat and is usually not life-threatening.

What are the symptoms of ventricular tachycardia?

What are the symptoms of ventricular tachycardia?

Due to the fact that during ventricular tachycardia, the contractions of the ventricles are not synchronized with the atria, a chaotic heartbeat occurs, which prevents sufficient filling of the heart chambers with blood, as a result of which the heart is not able to pump the required amount of blood to vital organs. This may lead to loss of consciousness. However, the clinical manifestations of ventricular tachycardia may vary. Sometimes short episodes of ventricular tachycardia may last seconds and not cause any noticeable symptoms. In other cases, a prolonged episode (usually more than 30 seconds) can lead to severe symptoms such as:

Palpitations Dizziness Shortness of breath Chest pain Loss of consciousness

Ventricular tachycardia sometimes poses a serious danger, leading to a more severe, life-threatening condition - ventricular fibrillation. This is a condition in which the ventricles of the heart seem to tremble and pump very little blood. Ventricular fibrillation is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.

Tachycardia

Thyrotoxicosis

Iron deficiency

Climax

Menopause

11863 12 February

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Tachycardia: causes of occurrence, in what diseases it occurs, diagnosis and treatment methods.

Definition

Tachycardia is a condition in which the heart rate is more than 100 beats per minute. Tachycardia is not an independent disease, but is a symptom (manifestation) of certain diseases. In addition to rapid heartbeat, this condition is characterized by shortness of breath, weakness, chest pain, and sometimes loss of consciousness.

If shortness of breath and chest pain worsens, you should immediately seek medical help.
Types of tachycardia
One of the classifications divides tachycardia into physiological and pathological.

Physiological tachycardia is characterized by the absence of damage to the heart muscle and cardiac pathways. This type of tachycardia can be called compensatory, since it develops in response to an increase in the body’s need for oxygen, for example, during sports, psycho-emotional stress, being at high altitudes, etc.

Physiological tachycardia is characterized by the following manifestations:

1. changes in heart rate are transient (not permanent);
2. there is an obvious connection with a provoking factor (stress, severe anxiety, physical activity);
3. upon completion of the action of the provoking factor, the heart rate gradually returns to normal;
4. there are no pathologies from the cardiovascular system (for example, congenital heart defects, previous heart attacks, damage to the heart valve apparatus and other heart rhythm disorders).

Pathological tachycardia is observed in the following diseases and conditions:

1. Hyperfunction of the thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis, diffuse toxic goiter).
2. Diseases of the adrenal glands with their hyperfunction and, as a result, increased release of adrenaline into the blood.
3. Damage to the conduction pathways of the heart due to a heart attack, congenital pathology of the heart valve apparatus.
4. Presence of anemia (decreased blood hemoglobin level).
5. Damages of the heart muscle (for example, myocarditis, pericarditis).
6. Hormonal changes in the body (pregnancy, menopause).

Possible causes of tachycardia
Tachycardia with
hyperfunction of the thyroid gland
is more often observed in women than in men. An increase in thyroid hormone levels is reflected in the sinus node, which is located in the right atrium. It generates electrical impulses that cause myocardial contractions. When hormone levels are high, they reproduce chaotically, affecting the heart. As a result, the heart rate increases and tachycardia occurs.

Adrenal cortex dysfunction, or Addison's disease

, in which the adrenal glands cannot produce enough hormones. Their deficiency leads to the fact that the kidneys begin to quickly excrete sodium and water in the urine, dehydration of the body occurs, the water-electrolyte balance is disturbed, the blood thickens, circulation and blood supply to peripheral tissues slow down. Against the background of these changes, pathological changes in the cardiovascular system occur.

For anemia

the increase in the number of heart contractions is due to the need to maintain the required level of oxygen in the blood in conditions of hemoglobin deficiency.

Let us recall that hemoglobin is a carrier of oxygen to tissues and is found in red blood cells.

When hemoglobin levels decrease, an increase in heart rate allows blood and oxygen to be “driven” to the tissues faster, which makes it possible to partially maintain the required level of oxygenation. There are several types of anemia, including those associated with bone marrow pathology (for example, aplastic anemia, leukemia), with a lack of microelements (iron deficiency, B12 and folate deficiency anemia), anemia due to blood loss (chronic and acute).

If you suspect the development of anemia due to acute blood loss, you should immediately seek medical help.
Tachycardia
in pregnant women is caused by both an increase in the need of the mother and fetus for oxygen, and an increase in the consumption of serum iron, folate, and cyanocobalamin.

Tachycardia may develop while taking certain medications

, drinking
coffee
and
caffeine-containing products
, energy drinks containing
taurine, smoking
.

Which doctors should I contact?

If you suspect a pathology of the thyroid gland or adrenal glands, you should contact an endocrinologist. To treat conditions associated with cardiac dysfunction, see a cardiologist. If you have anemia, see a therapist or hematologist. Pregnant women are observed in the antenatal clinic, where an obstetrician-gynecologist can promptly identify the pathology and prescribe treatment.

Diagnosis and examinations for tachycardia

When a patient presents with symptoms characteristic of tachycardia, it is necessary to find out whether the tachycardia is the root cause of the deterioration in well-being that prompted the patient to see a doctor, or whether it is secondary and there is an underlying disease.

If there is a suspicion of thyroid pathology, the level of thyroid hormones in the blood (T3 - triiodothyronine, T4 - thyroxine and their free fractions) and the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone are determined.

How is ventricular tachycardia diagnosed?

How is ventricular tachycardia diagnosed?

Ventricular tachycardia can be diagnosed using an electrocardiogram at the time of the attack. For long-term recording of an electrocardiogram if ventricular tachycardia is suspected, a Holter monitor is used - continuous recording of an ECG over time. Additional tests such as echocardiography, cardiac MRI, stress test, or coronary angiography may be needed to determine the presence of structural heart disease.

2. Causes of the disease

The following factors are considered to be the causes of paroxysmal tachycardia:

• endocrine disorders;
• transient oxygen starvation of the heart muscle;
• changes in the concentration of electrolytes in the blood;
• heart defects;
• inflammatory diseases of the heart muscle;
• hypertension;
• hereditary factor;
• psycho-emotional factor.

However, in some patients no obvious causes are identified either before the onset of an attack or during life.

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How to treat ventricular tachycardia?

It is very important to identify the cause of ventricular tachycardia for the most effective treatment.

The main methods of treating ventricular tachycardia are as follows:

Average reading time: 3 minutes .

3. Symptoms of paroxysmal tachycardia

A heart attack usually begins with a delay in the pulse and then a strong shock, which the patient himself clearly feels. After this, rapid heartbeat develops. Duration of attack

- from a few seconds to a day or more. Sometimes the attack is limited to the initial shock. The patient reflexively presses his hand to his chest, slouches, and thereby blocks the development of this condition.

An attack in dynamics gives a high heart rate and may be accompanied by dizziness, noise in the head, sensations of general freezing, weakness and tightness in the sternum, and a decrease in the temperature of the extremities. An attack is often accompanied by an increase in blood pressure. A characteristic symptom is also polyuria (excretion of a large amount of urine) at the end or within several hours after the heart rate normalizes.

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