You can determine the heart rate using the pulse. The normal number of beats per minute is considered to be from 65 to 95. If the value is less, then we should talk about problems with the functioning of the heart, brain, lungs, liver or kidneys. It is important to determine exactly why a slow heartbeat occurs in an adult and in a fetus.
Reason for slow heart rate
What is a low heart rate called? Bradycardia. It can occur even in a completely he althy person. This condition most often occurs at night or in the morning, when the body begins to wake up and adapt to wakefulness. This has nothing to do with pathology. Also, a slight deviation from the established pulse parameters for athletes is considered normal. The heart, which is accustomed to stress, begins to significantly slow down contractions during rest.
The congenital form of slow heart rate does not pose a threat to human he alth. This heart rate is considered individual for the body. When reducing the frequencypalpitations in such cases, treatment is not required. The pulse recovers on its own over time.
The following conditions can cause a slow heart rate:
- Atherosclerosis. Due to blockage of large vessels, the blood circulation process is disrupted.
- Endocarditis. The beginning of inflammation inside the lining of the heart.
- Hypotension. Due to the decrease in blood pressure, there is insufficient pressure on the vascular walls.
- Myocarditis. In this case, the inflammatory process spreads to the heart muscle.
- Myocardial infarction. In the heart muscle, important cells die irreversibly, blood supply stops due to damage to the venous artery.
Influence of external factors
There are also external factors that negatively affect the pressure. Low blood pressure and low heart rate lead to:
- using too much heart medication;
- intoxication of the body with lead or nicotine;
- strict diets that completely weaken the body;
- hypothermia;
- infectious lesions;
- weather change;
- emotional overstrain, severe stress and nervous breakdowns.
Weakened heartbeat can occur during childbearing. Most often, during pregnancy, a low heart rate occurs as a result of fetal pressure on the genital vein. To prevent possible heart disease, it is important for a pregnant woman to contact a treating specialist in a timely manner.
SAs you age, your heart rate starts to rise. In old age, 70-100 beats per minute is considered normal. Therefore, even a minimal deviation from this norm can lead to a deterioration in overall well-being. In this case, dizziness, coordination difficulties, migraines and vision problems often appear.
Despite the normal heart rate, everything will directly depend on the individual characteristics of the human body, as well as the lifestyle that he adheres to. If during bradycardia there is no pain or heaviness in the heart, there is no feeling of fatigue and drowsiness, or other unpleasant symptoms, then this means that a reduced pulse does not affect the general condition of a person.
Dependence of pulse on pressure
Heart rate is highly dependent on blood pressure in a certain period of time (normal, high, low). Under normal pressure, the heartbeat per minute should not exceed 60-90 beats.
Low blood pressure and slow heart rate can occur when:
- using drugs that affect the heart muscle;
- stress, fatigue, emotional breakdowns;
- too strong physical exertion that the body is not used to.
High blood pressure and slow heart rate are considered especially dangerous. Causes of low heart rate with high blood pressure include:
- cardiosclerosis;
- ischemia;
- inflammatory processes in the outer shell of the heart;
- cancer conditions(occurs quite rarely);
- a scar from myocardial infarction;
- sinus node insufficiency;
- congenital features of the heart.
If, with increased heart rate and insufficient pulse, there is lethargy, urge to vomit, pain in the heart area, it is important to immediately call an ambulance and wait for its arrival. Bradycardia with hypotension is the first symptom of the onset of dangerous processes in humans. The cause of a decrease in heartbeat can be a disease of the nervous or endocrine system, the appearance of respiratory arrhythmia in childhood, as well as meningitis.
It is forbidden to take any medication until the ambulance arrives, as the wrong choice can lead to dangerous consequences.
When urgent medical attention is needed
If the heartbeat is low, what should I do? A sharp drop in heart rate and a drop in blood pressure may indicate a critical condition that requires urgent help from specialists.
Such states include:
- Pulmonary embolism (a condition in which an artery is blocked by a blood clot). This reason for the violation of the normal pulse is considered the most common and most dangerous.
- Faints and collapses. Such conditions arise as a result of certain diseases: anemia, metabolic diseases, difficulties with the functioning of the nervous system. Fainting can occur with excessive physical exertion on the body, prolonged stress, exhaustingdiet or overheating.
- Profuse blood loss and development of bleeding. With blood loss, the pulse and blood pressure are significantly reduced. In this case, one should consider not only external, but also internal bleeding - gastric, pulmonary.
- Intoxication of the body and infection. Such lesions negatively affect the body, lead to a decrease in pressure and heartbeat.
- Allergy. Quincke's edema is the most common allergic reaction, during which two indicators decrease at once: the patient's pressure and pulse. Quincke's edema appears when taking certain foods, chemicals or drugs.
- Arrhythmia. Cardiac arrhythmia includes a large number of diseases of the cardiovascular system. Most often, in this case, a pathological decrease in heart rate and pressure is combined, which requires an emergency operation - pacemaker implantation.
- Acute myocardial infarction. It leads to a decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, which as a result provokes severe pain in the chest. Such a lesion requires immediate admission to the hospital and long-term treatment.
Ways to increase your heart rate
Sometimes it happens that the pulse slows down, and the pressure remains at a normal level. There are effective techniques that help to quickly restore the heart rhythm without affecting blood pressure.
Reduced heart rate? What to do?
- Use the mustard plaster. On the right side of the chestattach mustard plaster. The effect of its use activates the work of the heart muscle and speeds up the process of blood circulation without changing the blood pressure itself.
- Massage. It is necessary to massage the earlobes for several minutes. Next, do the extensor and flexion movements of the hands, and then stroke the hand for five minutes. This massage is especially effective for severe pain in the heart.
- Take the medicine prescribed by the doctor. If the decrease in heart rate occurred for the first time, and the doctor has not yet prescribed medication, then it is forbidden to choose medications for taking on your own. This may adversely affect he alth.
The described methods will help improve the patient's condition only for a certain time. Once the pulse is restored, it is important to go to the hospital and undergo an accurate diagnosis in order to determine the cause of the slow heartbeat and begin the correct treatment.
Activities at home
If a person becomes ill and has serious symptoms (vomiting, weakness, pain in the head, coldness, goosebumps, darkening in the eyes), then the most important thing to start is to determine the pulse rate and measure the pressure.
To quickly improve your well-being and restore your pulse, you need to:
- drink hot coffee or green tea, you can add cinnamon or cloves to it - spices help to significantly improve the pulse;
- from drugs it is best to choose drugs based on echinacea and radiola;
- take deep breaths onfor one minute;
- take a contrast shower if possible.
It must be remembered that the described methods are applicable only in the case when there is no predisposition to high blood pressure. If there is pressure, then there is a chance to increase the pressure along with the pulse, which can lead to complications.
Medications
What to drink with a low heart rate? With bradycardia and high blood pressure, Corvalol, Zelenin Drops will help improve the patient's condition (you should drink about 15 drops). When taking drugs, it is important to strictly follow the instructions.
If the heart rate is lowered along with the pressure, then any medication should be used with caution. You can increase the pulse with the help of Cordiamin drops, which must be taken immediately after the first symptoms of deterioration appear.
Using traditional medicine
Decreased heart rate does not always require an appointment with a treating specialist. To improve the general condition and get rid of unpleasant symptoms, you can use folk recipes. Among them, you can find those that will not affect the pressure indicator in any way.
If the heartbeat is low, what should I do? Folk remedies:
- Walnut mix. To do this, half a kilogram of chopped nuts must be mixed with sesame oil (250 ml). Next, add four crushed lemons. The prepared components must be thoroughly mixed with each other, adding 20grams of powdered sugar. The resulting remedy is best taken in the morning, afternoon and evening in a tablespoon. It is forbidden to exceed the established dosage.
- Rosehip decoction. To prepare the product, 50 grams of rose hips are boiled in 0.5 liters of water for 10 minutes. After complete cooling, the liquid is drained through a colander and mixed with honey (100 g). Ready-made broth should be drunk twenty minutes before meals daily (table. Spoon). Rosehip helps improve heart rate and lower high blood pressure.
- Pine buds. To obtain a tincture, 150-200 grams of pine shoots are poured with 320 milliliters of alcohol, and then infused for 7-10 days in a bright place. The tincture should be taken 20 drops during a sharp drop in heart rate.
It is important to take folk remedies with extreme caution so that there is no possible deterioration in the condition. It is important to consult with your doctor before taking it.
Surgery
Surgery is performed only when other methods fail to restore normal blood pressure and heart rate. If the heart rate does not rise above 40 beats per minute, then the patient may need to implant a special sensor - a pacemaker.
Causes of palpitations in a child
It is possible to determine the heartbeat of a child on ultrasound not from the first weeks of pregnancy, but only from the sixth, although the fetal myocardium begins to work as early as the third week.
In the normal state, the pulse and heart rate are at the same level, which varies80 to 86 heartbeats per minute, which most often equals a woman's pulse rate.
In the first weeks of pregnancy, the heartbeat of the embryo does not stand at one mark, over time, rising in value by 4 units every day. With this feature, a specialist can determine the gestational age.
The pulse at the ninth week of pregnancy is set at around 175 beats per minute, starting to decline over time.
Changes in indicators indicate that the nervous system begins to form in the fetus, which is responsible for the functioning of internal organs.
Main causes of low fetal heart rate:
- Mother's unhe althy lifestyle: not following the established diet, having bad habits, eating junk food, not being active;
- use of drugs that are particularly toxic and have a negative effect on the child;
- diseases that disrupt the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which have become chronic;
- anemia, which could occur both before pregnancy and already directly during it;
- transferred severe stress, emotional distress, nervous breakdowns and depression in the early stages of pregnancy, when all the organs and systems of the child are just being laid;
- congenital malformations of a child that can adversely affect the functioning of the heart or nervous system;
- the presence of an Rhesus conflict that cannot be cured;
- pregnancy with twins;
- polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios;
- severe degree of toxicosis;
- premature placental abruption;
- twisting the baby's umbilical cord.
The developing form of bradycardia requires diagnostic measures to find and get rid of the pathogenic effect on the fetus. Prolonged hypoxia can be fatal for a baby or lead to severe malformations and developmental disorders.
How the fetus is treated
Treatment of low heart rate in a child should begin with preventive measures. These include:
- normalization of mother's lifestyle;
- giving up bad habits;
- drawing up the right menu and maintaining a he althy lifestyle;
- for anemia, the doctor prescribes iron-containing medicines;
- in the presence of chronic diseases, treatment is carried out aimed at getting rid of dangerous symptoms or reducing a possible exacerbation.
The second stage of treatment will include regular monitoring of the general condition of the child:
- Bradycardia in early pregnancy. In this case, the disease is controlled by intravaginal ultrasound
- Fetal bradycardia in late pregnancy. The main observation is auscultation and transabdominal ultrasound. With a decrease in heart rate in the later stages, it is also customary to use CTG.
In late pregnancy, with severe heart problems in the fetus, the doctor may takethe decision to terminate the pregnancy urgently by caesarean section to protect the baby from the occurrence of more dangerous diseases.
Basic forms of defeat
Already from the eighth week of bearing a child, regular consultation with a treating specialist helps to timely establish a possible decrease in the baby's heartbeat while still in the womb. This is extremely important, as it helps to detect any deviation from the normal state and tell exactly what type it is and how dangerous it is for the baby.
Drugs administered to a woman, getting into the womb through the bloodstream, help improve the condition of the child. When choosing medicines, it is important to take into account the type of bradycardia in the fetus, the cause of its occurrence, the gestation period and the general condition of the pregnant woman. Medicines are administered according to the following instructions:
- droppers with solutions of sodium bicarbonate and carboxylase;
- solution of glucose and ascorbic acid;
- Calcium gluconate is the last to be used.
Specialists identify two forms of bradycardia in a child:
- Basal. In this case, the heartbeat drops to the mark of 110 beats per minute. This form of the disease is not dangerous and does not lead to irreversible changes if it is started in a timely and correct manner. Hypotension in a woman often leads to compression of the baby's head.
- Decelerate. In this case, the heart rate drops to 90 beats per minute. In addition to a number of reasons, in most cases hypoxia leads to such a complication (lack ofoxygen). Such a process requires urgent treatment and improvement of the child's condition.
Main symptoms
Of course, it is rather difficult to determine the development of such a condition during pregnancy, but in a newborn baby, the manifestation of a low heart rate can be detected by clear signs. Often it comes to light before a sudden cessation of breath. When walking, especially on cold days, the child's heartbeat slows down significantly when leaving the house.
Sinus bradycardia is considered especially dangerous, since when it occurs, the heart rate can drop to 70 beats per minute. Sometimes this indicates serious problems in the functioning of the heart (for example, congenital blockade). In this case, the child has the following symptoms:
- The baby freezes, his movement stops. In some cases, cramps occur in the limbs.
- The skin becomes pale, then a bluish color appears on the integument.
- Respiratory arrest may occur, in some cases the heart stops beating altogether.
When a pathologically low heart rate (less than 100 beats per minute) is detected in a baby, one cannot wait until additional symptoms appear that indicate the presence of a disease. In this case, it is important to take the child to the doctor as soon as possible and strictly follow all recommendations.
