My heart stops for a second. Causes of heart failure

If a person begins to fear for the state of his heart, it is quite possible that his fear is not unfounded. He will soon feel that his heart muscle is working every now and then. But, to compensate for this, it will then beat very intensely, making two hits at once.

Why does my heart skip a beat?

Very often those whose loved ones suffer from one or another heart disease listen to their body. The most important thing here is to identify exactly why the heart behaves this way. Excessive anxiety in this case will only complicate the situation. It often happens that the “motor” reacts intermittently to stress. We need to reassure you that heart stopping is a phenomenon that can be found in many people. The only people who don’t know this are those who have never tried to listen to what their body says.

If the heart behaves this way, then there is nothing special to be afraid of. This is most likely just a signal that there is a slight malfunction in the endocrine system. In very rare cases, this may mean that the person has a rhythm disorder. This condition, for example, occurs with mitral valve prolapse.

Tea coffee

Excessive consumption of a drink such as coffee speeds up your heart rate. This is not a very good habit for people with heart problems. Caffeine should be kept to a minimum. Just one cup a day will be enough. You can drink this drink only in the first half of the day. It doesn't matter whether the coffee is with or without milk.

Tea consumption should also be reduced, since it, although in a smaller dose, also contains caffeine. Chocolate, energy drinks and other stimulants should be strictly prohibited. If you have consumed too much caffeine, then you need to drink as much water as possible, only it can remove the excess of this substance from the body.

Glucose

Another important point is the lack of glucose, which the heart muscle needs so much. If this is a consequence of an incorrect lifestyle, then going to the hospital does not make sense. You need to develop the habit of eating at the same time every day. In the morning, your meal should be rich in complex carbohydrates and fatty acids that are beneficial to the body. Examples of complex carbohydrates include cereals such as buckwheat, oats and lentils. You need to eat at least 100 grams of cereal every day. If your blood sugar has been low, the feeling of your heart sinking will soon pass.

Potassium

Another cause of such attacks may be a simple potassium deficiency in the body. Of course, our diet often contains less potassium than is needed for normal heart function. Medicines containing this substance will come to the rescue. True, many of them are expensive, which greatly affects the budget. Natural aids in the treatment of heart problems are undoubtedly foods high in potassium: grapes, raisins, dried apricots and other dried fruits.

Could this be a disease?

If all the advice is not helpful, you need to consult a cardiologist who will select adequate and effective treatment. If necessary, he may prescribe daily monitoring of your heart condition. If the knowledge and experience of a cardiologist is extensive, he can even determine from the test results whether a person has a tendency to have a slow heartbeat or not.

The cause of heart failure can be a phenomenon such as extrasystole. This disease is characterized by sudden shocks in the heart and lack of oxygen. A person may sleep poorly because of this; if he does manage to fall asleep, the sleep will be short and not at all restful. Unfortunately, extrasystole is a very common phenomenon, occurring in 70-80% of the world's population. Most often, the age of people suffering from extrasystolic disorders is approximately 60–70 years. However, this disease occurs not only in older people, but also in young people. Even athletes who have accustomed their hearts to enormous loads are at risk of contracting extrasystole.

Many people believe that this is a trivial ailment. However, anyone who thinks so is completely wrong, because a small attack can always develop into a serious problem. As for the question of whether to treat or not treat this disease, it all depends on the frequency and number of relapses. If the disease manifests itself very rarely, then there is no point in worrying too much. If the manifestations of the disease interfere with life, then, as already mentioned, it makes sense to consult a specialist.

The cause of the disease may be psychosomatic in nature. There is no way to do this without consulting an experienced psychotherapist. Sometimes a person simply avoids attacks on himself, hiding behind an attack of pain in his heart. Some are afraid to honestly admit it to themselves. There is no need to panic and immediately think that everything is lost.

If your heart sinks, this does not mean that you need to give up on yourself and give up all pleasures. Quite the contrary, you need to live actively and with pleasure. Positive emotions are the key to health!

Among the disorders in the functioning of the cardiovascular system there is a condition called cardiac arrest. Should heart stopping be considered a direct threat to human health? What causes heart rhythm disturbances and is immediate treatment required? If yes, then for what symptoms should you contact a cardiologist?

What is “heart sinking”?

People who have experienced a state of cardiac arrest note that it seems as if it stops beating for a second, and then there is a strong push to compensate for the lost gap at the moment of freezing. It is worth noting the fact that almost every person’s heart skips a beat, but not everyone pays attention to this momentary state. People who are prone to emotional instability and suspiciousness, when any symptom is perceived as a serious illness, are preoccupied with an obsessive idea about problems in the functioning of the heart. A person listens to his breathing, constantly puts his hand to his chest to feel freezing, reacts sharply to tingling in this area and begins to build up a feeling of anxiety, which is more harmful to the heart than temporary freezing.

In medicine, cardiac arrest is explained by the manifestation of extrasystole (extraordinary contractions of the heart), which occur spontaneously. An extraordinary impulse, or extrasystole, that occurs outside the rhythm conductor (sinus node), forces the heart muscle to make an unplanned contraction during the diastolic period. Heart stopping can occur about two hundred times per day, which depends on the individual parameters of the body of any person.

On a note! Some patients become aware of cardiac arrest only when undergoing a preventive ECG, when seconds of heart rhythm failure (fading) are recorded on the cardiogram. In the absence of cardiac pathology and a predisposition to it at the genetic level, the doctor may not inform the patient about the moments of freezing if there are no indications for a detailed examination and special treatment.

If the feeling that your heart is stopping and your breath is stopping occurs frequently and leads to panic, you need to consult a therapist or cardiologist to assess the condition of the heart and blood vessels and the causes of the freezing.

Symptoms of heart rhythm disturbances

The symptoms of heart failure are quite varied, because people who feel the failure perceive it differently.

At the appointment, the doctor may hear the following descriptions from different patients:

• The heart stops for a couple of seconds (freezes), as if it forgot that it needs to beat, but it starts again with a strong push, which is difficult not to notice.
• When trying to count the number of heartbeats, a feeling of cardiac arrest (freezing) occurs. The pulse disappears for a moment. The freezing is repeated several times within a minute.
• There is a tingling sensation in the chest, as if there is a premonition of something unpleasant or joyful, as if you are waiting for a decision on an important issue.
• It froze, and then there was a strong push.

All patient complaints have similar symptoms - heart rhythm disturbances, which seem to be a threat to health and cause fear. Such signs are observed both during the daytime with the slightest or excessive physical activity, and at night. A person feels a sinking heart even in a dream, from which he wakes up and may feel a lack of air and try to take a deep breath.

Attention! If attacks are repeated every day and cause a feeling of anxiety, there is no need to self-medicate. Profile diagnostics and the experience of a cardiologist will help you figure out why it works intermittently and how to treat it if there are indications for the development of pathology.

What factors contribute to heart failure?

Any imbalance in the human body is caused by a provoking factor. The causes of heart failure are classified into two categories:

• Functional - any influence on an organ from the outside that is not related to problems in the cardiovascular system.
• Organic - freezing is caused by pathology in the cardiovascular system, which interferes with an even rhythm.

Functional reasons

Any circumstance can cause the heart to sink:

• Abuse of drinks containing caffeine. Green and black tea, instant coffee or beans. There is no need to give up tea and coffee, but it is worth reducing their quantity and replacing the usual amount with clean drinking water.
• Deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Low glucose levels immediately affect the cardiovascular system. This carbohydrate is involved in many chemical reactions and metabolic processes. No less detrimental to the heart is a decrease in potassium levels, which cannot be replenished with food. But excess potassium is also dangerous for the heart. The principle of the “golden mean” is important here.
• Incorrect distribution of physical activity, rest, sleep is the reason for the feeling that you are shaking and as if you are choking.
• Alcohol, nicotine, and other bad habits give a huge burden. The feeling of stopping the rhythm is a bell about giving up on self-destruction. Missing a hit can be critical and fatal.
• Psychological stress, depression, unpleasant events, experiences also leave scars on the heart and lead to fading. An emotional outburst can be considered a reason for extrasystoles, which disrupt the heart rhythm and awaken a feeling of fear and panic.

The listed reasons of the functional type are only relevant, but there are more reasons when the pulse becomes uneven.

Organic causes

The heart beats freezing if a person has pathologies of the cardiovascular type, among which the following are worth noting:

• Constant jumps in blood pressure.
• Heart disease.
• Atherosclerosis, leading to blockage of the lumen in the coronary vessels, which supply the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients.
• Ischemia.
• Myocardial infarction after stopping the attack.
• Any inflammatory and infectious diseases that cause complications on the organ.

Interruptions during VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia) are also a cause for heart failure. Patients who report that the heart is beating freezing, and then suddenly starts beating, but without signs of pathology during examination, are diagnosed with VSD. Often the cause of freezing is a psychological factor and treatment should be prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Regardless of what caused the heart to work intermittently, it is necessary to eliminate it in order to avoid the development of serious cardiac pathology.

Diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrest

Is the condition dangerous when the heart kicks, when inhaling there is a feeling of lack of oxygen, there is a fear of death and other symptoms? Everything depends on the psychological state of the patient and the reasons that provoked chest discomfort. In any case, if heart stopping has become an obsession and interferes with normal life, you should contact a therapist or cardiologist to prescribe a cardiogram and other examinations.

Sometimes, to eliminate the clinical picture, it is enough to calm down, find an activity that will distract you from fixation on the cardiac problem, and review your diet and daily routine. If the doctor detects signs of cardiac pathology, complex treatment will be chosen.

Treatment of heart rhythm in the absence of pathologies

To eliminate the condition called “fading heart”, you should find the root cause and work on it:

1. Reduce physical or emotional stress on the body.
2. Assess by laboratory analysis the amount of glucose, potassium and other useful substances in the body. If a deficiency is confirmed, compensate with vitamins, folk remedies, proper nutrition or medications.
3. Avoid nicotine, alcohol, and drinks with high caffeine content in order to stabilize the functioning of the vegetative-vascular system.
4. Discuss a diet with an endocrinologist or nutritionist that will help stabilize the cardiovascular system.

More positive emotions, but not to the point of taking your breath away and stopping your heart rate.

Principles of treatment for organic causes

If chest discomfort is caused by cardiac pathology, which is confirmed by diagnostics, you need to trust the advice of a cardiologist who will select the correct treatment for the root cause.

The treatment regimen depends on the patient’s general well-being and may include the following methods:

1. Prescribing a medication that brings the heart rhythm back to normal.
2. Prescribing the correct physical activity to eliminate complications that may arise if the initial stage of ischemia, spasm of the coronary vessels, and atherosclerosis are diagnosed.
3. Surgical procedures, if indicated.
4. Recommendations on the use of traditional medicine as a preventive measure for heart disease, neuroses, and lack of vitamins and nutrients.

If the heart skips beats, what it is has become clear. But you can’t neglect the symptoms if a sinking heart accompanies many moments of life - joy, sadness, anxiety, sleep. Consulting a cardiologist is the right decision for a person who cares about his health and does not want to feel what consequences a short-term feeling of fading can lead to.

For many people, the heart stopping is a normal physiological process in the body, if there is no feeling of death when a person falls asleep, there is no fear that the heart will stop. Preventive measures and listening to your body will always help you find a solution to your heart problem.

Article publication date: 05/14/2017

Article updated date: 12/21/2018

In this article: why the heart often beats intermittently and there are skipped beats, acceleration and deceleration of the rhythm, and irregular contractions. Symptoms of various disorders, how to establish a diagnosis and what to do if there is a pathology in the normal functioning of the heart.

Contraction of the heart in a constant rhythm is the key to the normal functioning of all organs. Clusters of pacemaker cells (pacemakers) that create an electrical impulse of constant frequency (sinus and atrioventricular nodes) are responsible for the rhythm of contractions. The wave of excitation that arises in this zone spreads along the pathways (bundle of His) to all parts of the heart, causing contraction.

Interruptions in the work of the heart or arrhythmias are changes in the frequency of beats associated with a violation of the formation or conduction of the excitation wave.

The normal rhythm of heart contractions is 60–90 per minute, each beat after an equal amount of time. The source of the electrical impulse is the sinus node.

Three main violations:

1. Tachycardia - increased heart rate.
2. Bradycardia is a slowdown in the functioning of the heart muscle.
3. Extrasystoles are additional contractions against the background of a normal rhythm.

Rhythm disturbances can occur periodically (paroxysm), be asymptomatic, or quickly lead to deterioration of health and cause death. Arrhythmias not associated with cardiac pathology are well treated, but chronic diseases with myocardial damage require constant therapy.

Changes in the rhythmic functioning of the heart cannot be missed; this is a reason to consult a doctor to rule out arrhythmia. Patients with this pathology are treated by therapists and cardiologists, and in specialized centers by arrhythmologists.

Tachycardia

Contraction of the atria and (or) ventricles with a frequency of more than 100 per minute.

Types of tachycardia

By localization	Sinus Atrial Ventricular Atrioventricular
With the flow	Acute (first occurring during the acute period of any disease) Paroxysmal (intermittent disorder, there are periods of normal pulse or there was only one episode of rhythm disturbance) Recurrent (repeating heart problems) Constant
According to the mechanism of occurrence	Returnable (reciprocal) Automatic (ectopic) Focal (trigger) For a more detailed description of the development mechanism, see the “Development Mechanism” block later in the article.

Development mechanism

The reciprocal (return) mechanism of development is responsible for 80% of all tachyarrhythmias. Due to the disturbance in the movement of the excitation wave, the electrical impulse moves in a circle, again exciting the same area of ​​the heart.

Focal (automatic) tachycardias account for 10%, are associated with metabolic disorders, and are caused by increased excitability of the pathways. Under such conditions, all impulses cause contraction. Normally, for an excitation wave to occur, a certain level of electrical activity is required.

Trigger tachyarrhythmias are caused by the appearance of an electrical impulse that exceeds the normal level: after the excitation wave is carried out, the residual impulse again triggers the heart to contract.

Causes

Group of reasons	Specific reasons
Heart muscle damage	Impaired blood supply (heart attack, chronic ischemia) Degeneration of muscle tissue into connective tissue (myopathies) Enlargement or thickening of the chambers (hypertrophy, cor pulmonale) Inflammation (myocarditis) Heart defects Neoplasms affecting the heart
Violation of internal metabolism	Decreased potassium and magnesium levels Intoxication (alcohol, coffee, nicotine) Kidney failure
Medicinal action	Glycosides Drugs against arrhythmias Sympathetic nervous system stimulants
Oxygen starvation	Anemia Lung diseases Circulatory failure
Endocrine diseases	Hyperthyroidism Diabetes
Other reasons	Injury WPW and bradytachycardia syndromes Causeless

Symptoms of tachycardia

With the development of severe circulatory complications (cardiac shock, pulmonary edema), symptoms of cardiovascular failure with a risk are added.

The course of tachycardia is acute or chronic, progressive.

Review of some types of tachycardias

Atrial fibrillation

Frequent, irregular contraction of the atria. It makes up 75–85% of all supraventricular forms and occurs in 1–2% of the adult population. It is rarely diagnosed before the age of 25, affecting people of the senile and elderly age category.

The disease is characterized by a high risk of death, the development of cardiac dysfunction, and the formation of blood clots with their migration into the vessels of the lungs and brain. It is asymptomatic for a long time, and after the appearance of the clinic, it quickly reduces the quality of life due to the inability to tolerate even light loads.

Atrial flutter

Accelerated, regular contraction of the atria. Men get sick more often. Up to 50 years of age, the incidence is 5 cases per 100 thousand population; with increasing age, the incidence rate increases exponentially.

It is paroxysmal in nature; the chronic form is extremely rare. If left untreated, it leads to sudden death in 20% of cases.

In 20–35% of cases it is combined with atrial fibrillation. The clinical picture is similar, but flutter quickly leads to heart failure with edema syndrome.

Ventricular tachycardia

The source of the pathological excitation impulse is located in the ventricular myocardium or the terminal branches of the conduction system. The cause of occurrence is only cardiac factors (70–80% ischemic disease).

Lack of treatment leads to cardiac arrest.

Rare forms

• atrioventricular (nodal and focal);
• sinus and atrial.

Occurs in 1–10% of tachyarrhythmias. The focal form is most often diagnosed in children when the heart beats at a frequency of up to 210 per minute.

Interruptions in the heart are paroxysmal in nature and rarely become permanent. They respond well to treatment.

Treatment

Two approaches to therapy:

1. Restore normal rhythm and maintain it.
2. Monitor the level of tachycardia without restoring the rhythm.

The choice is individual. Regardless of what needs to be done, there are general rules:

• restore rhythm in young people without cardiac dysfunction;
• maintain the heart rate up to 90 per minute at rest and not higher than 115 during exercise in elderly people with cardiac pathology;
• use anticoagulants (warfarin, low molecular weight heparins) to prevent the formation of blood clots in the chambers of the heart;
• treat the causes of tachyarrhythmia.

Rhythm restoration options

Method	Specific actions, drugs
Cardioversion – “restarting” the heart	Medication (Propaphenol, Flecainide) Electrical (current discharge) Hybrid
Drug therapy	Beta blockers Calcium channel blockers Glycosides
Ablation – destruction of foci with pathological electrical activity	Catheter (endovascular, using burning or freezing) Open heart surgery (used when surgery is necessary for other reasons)
Installation of rhythm corrector devices	or cardioverter-defibrillator

The choice of tactics depends on the symptoms and the degree of circulatory impairment. Severe cardiopulmonary failure is an indication for emergency electrical cardioversion. For non-threatening conditions, drug therapy is used followed by a decision to perform ablation.

Monitoring the level of tachycardia

For this, the same antiarrhythmic drugs are used as for restoring rhythm. A combination of several medications is often required.

The effectiveness of treatment is determined by the reasons. Without primary pathology of the heart or secondary changes in it against the background of a long absence of sinus rhythm, a complete cure is possible. For tachycardias caused by chronic diseases, antiarrhythmic therapy is lifelong.

Extrasystole

Extrasystole is an extraordinary contraction of the heart muscle.

Its forms:

Extrasystoles occur for the same reasons as tachycardia. Often provoke the onset of paroxysm of tachyarrhythmia.

Extrasystole in most cases is asymptomatic, sometimes there are:

• interruptions in heart function;
• a feeling of increased heartbeat or cardiac arrest, freezing.

With heart failure, the course of the disease worsens and the risk of death increases. Single extrasystoles occur in healthy people and do not require correction. They respond well to treatment.

Treatment of extrasystole associated with damage to the heart muscle includes:

• beta blockers;
• ablation of foci of high-frequency extrasystole.

Bradycardia

Bradycardia is a contraction of the atria and (or) ventricles with a frequency of less than 60 per minute. Ventricular bradyarrhythmia requires medical intervention.

Kinds

Sick sinus syndrome

Reducing or switching off the electrical activity of the main pacemaker - the sinus node. The disease affects elderly and senile people; it is rarely diagnosed in young people. Occurrence – 3 cases per 5000 population.

In the early stages, without a decrease in rhythm to less than 40 per minute, there are no symptoms. Features a progressive course. Treatment improves overall health, but does not always affect life expectancy.

Attroventricular blocks

There is a disruption in the conduction of the excitation wave along the pathways to the ventricles. Occurrence – 2–5%. Progressive course.

There are 3 degrees of severity depending on the disruption of the excitation wave. Blockades of 2-3 degrees are characterized by a high risk of cardiac arrest.

Causes

1. Cardiac factors, as in tachyarrhythmias.
2. Increased potassium and magnesium levels.
3. Diseases of the esophagus, stomach.
4. Side effect of antiarrhythmic drugs, analgesics of the morphine group.
5. Vagotonia (predominance of the action of the parasympathetic nervous system).
6. Low thyroid function.
7. Causeless.

Symptoms

• Decrease in heart rate.
• Interruptions in the work of the heart, a feeling of its stopping.
• Severe, increasing weakness, inability to perform normal activities.
• Inconsistent blood pressure levels, often with episodes of increase with low effect of treatment.
• Impaired consciousness to the point of deep fainting.
• Chest pain unrelated to physical stress.

Treatment

What to do with this pathology:

• treat the underlying disorder that caused the slowing of the rhythm;
• correct bradycardia with medications (xanthines, anticholinergics);
• install a pacemaker (pacemaker) - if there is a high risk of cardiac arrest.

Tactics depend on the stage of bradyarrhythmia and the availability of the clinic. If the slowdown in rhythm is associated with myocardial damage, there is no complete recovery.

Physiological bradycardia in trained people and asymptomatic bradyarrhythmias do not require treatment.

Diagnosis of the heart when it works intermittently

Forecast

All arrhythmias of extracardiac origin are completely curable with correction of the original pathology.

In forms associated with myocardial damage, the prognosis depends on the degree of circulatory impairment. Chronic heart pathologies require constant treatment and gradually progress.

Paroxysmal forms of heart failure are a common cause of sudden death.

If a person is worried about the state of his heart, it is very likely that he will soon receive confirmation of his suspicions: he will feel as if his heart is freezing and skipping a beat. And after that, as if to compensate, he makes two blows in quick succession. Especially often people who are surrounded by heart patients listen to their bodies. But worrying is the worst thing you can do for your heart, so to improve the condition, it is best to identify the cause.

First of all, we need to reassure you: the heart skips a beat for almost all people. Only those who are inattentive to their body have never experienced this feeling. This “behavior” of the heart in most cases does not mean any serious illness. Most likely, a person may have some problems with metabolism. Very rarely, this sensation means that the mitral valve is not working properly or the person has a rare heart rhythm regulation disease.

Reason one. Coffee is like an enemy

The most common cause of heart failure is caffeine abuse. So start by limiting your caffeine. One cup a day is enough, and it is advisable to drink it before 16.00. It doesn’t matter whether the coffee is with milk or without milk. Remember that you should also limit tea (especially green!), dark chocolate, energy drinks, and any types of cola drinks. If you do drink more coffee than you should, you will need as much water as possible. This will speed up the removal of caffeine from the body.

Reason two. "Hungry" heart

The second most common reason that provokes the feeling of a sinking heart is low blood sugar. If this is not a carbohydrate metabolism disorder, but simply a consequence of an incorrect lifestyle, then you do not need to see a doctor. Eat at the same time, 4-5 times a day, and for breakfast you can and should eat slowly digestible carbohydrates: oatmeal, buckwheat porridge or lentils. Moreover, it is better to have a hearty breakfast: your portion should come from 100g of raw cereal. If it's all about blood sugar, the feeling of a sinking heart will become much less common.

Reason three. Potassium required!

It is not uncommon for the heart to skip a beat during a stressful situation. Of course, it's not just about your emotional state. Most often, stress freezing is associated with potassium deficiency. It is difficult to get enough of this trace element from food, so it will be cheaper and more effective to choose tablets with potassium, for example, “ Panangin" This product is available over the counter and is not harmful unless you deliberately try to take an excessive dose.

Reason four. Serious heart problems

If you don’t drink coffee, eat on time and take tablets with microelements, but the feeling of your heart sinking still does not leave you, make an appointment with a cardiologist. It may be necessary to “take readings” from an ECG machine around the clock. An experienced cardiologist can identify the most unexpected results from these data. For example, a good cardiologist can detect a tendency to have a slow heartbeat even if the person had a fast heart rate at the time of the test ( due to coffee or nervous tension). So if simple methods do not help you get rid of unpleasant sensations, a good cardiologist will help.

Reason five. Illness as a cover

Doctors don't like to discuss this with patients. It is difficult for patients to admit this. But the reason may be in the competence of the psychotherapist, and not the cardiologist. Especially if a person has a desire to avoid unpleasant situations with the help of illnesses. Sometimes poor health protects against the exorbitant demands of others. So if the feeling of a sinking heart does not go away after cardiac treatment, consult a good psychotherapist. He will help you solve problems, and the fading will pass, because the unconscious will no longer need the disease.

Slow and careful

Don’t worry ahead of time and sign yourself up for “heart problems”. The feeling of a sinking heart is not a license to a sedentary lifestyle. On the contrary, with true arrhythmia, many patients are advised to increase the amount of aerobic exercise, that is, they will be advised to walk or swim more. You should not run or play outdoor games without a doctor’s permission if you notice your heart sinking during exercise. You will need long-term, low-intensity exercise.

So if you don’t have pain when your heart stops, solve the problem with coffee, blood sugar and potassium. If it doesn’t help, see a cardiologist. If this doctor could not understand the reason, it is most likely a matter of internal psychological stress. Don't delay solving the problem!

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Fading heart: causes and treatment

The cause of the feeling of “fading” in the heart can be various rhythm and conduction disorders. Some of these conditions do not require medical intervention, but for other forms, a delay in detection and treatment can be fatal. There are supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias.

Supraventricular extrasystole

This is premature electrical activity of the heart. The cause is a source that is located in the atria, pulmonary and vena cava, as well as in the atrioventricular junction. After such an extraordinary contraction, an incomplete or complete post-extrasystolic pause may develop. Frequent extrasystoles and longer pauses after an extraordinary contraction can give a feeling of freezing and interruptions in the functioning of the heart.

These forms of rhythm disturbances do not have independent clinical significance, except in cases where their appearance is the trigger for the initiation of supraventricular tachycardia, flutter or atrial fibrillation.

In the absence of structural disorders in the heart muscle, special treatment for supraventricular extrasystoles is not required. In cases where they are accompanied by significant subjective discomfort, beta blockers, verapamil, and sedatives can be used.

Often, supraventricular extrasystoles are a manifestation of an underlying disease (vegetative-vascular dystonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, electrolyte disorders), then clarification of the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying process is required.

Ventricular extrasystolic arrhythmia

Ventricular extrasystole is early electrical activity of the heart in relation to the main rhythm, stimulated by an impulse arising in the branches or discrepancies of the His bundle, Purkinje orions or working myocardium. After this process, complete compensatory pauses develop much more often, which, as in the case of atrial extrasystoles, are felt in the form of “fading”. Ventricular processes of any grade without organic heart disease are not a risk factor for sudden death, and therefore are not treated. The exception is healthy patients with hereditary syndromes (congenital long or shortened QT, Brugada syndrome, etc.).

Heart failure, the causes and symptoms of which are discussed here, also occurs as a result of rare heart rhythms.
Normal heart rate is defined as 60 to 100 beats per minute. A physiological decrease in heart function can develop during sleep, during deep breathing, and in athletes.

If there is a disturbance at any stage of the generation and conduction of the cardiac impulse, pathological bradycardia develops, which can be symptomatic, asymptomatic and most often requires treatment.

Reasons for the development of bradycardia

There are internal and external causes of bradycardia.
Internal reasons include:

• aging;
• coronary heart disease;
• connective tissue diseases;
• congenital diseases, including weakness of the atrioventricular node;
• muscular amyloidosis;
• surgical trauma (bioprosthetic valve replacement, heart transplant);
• infectious diseases (diphtheria, rheumatic heart disease, blood poisoning, typhoid fever).

External factors for the development of bradycardia include:

• physical fitness;
• aggravated vagal electrotonus (vasovagal blackouts; hypersensitivity of the carotid sinus);
• medications (beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, digoxin, lithium, antiarrhythmic agents);
• cocaine use;
• hypokalemia;
• hyperkalemia;
• neurological disorders (tumors of the central nervous system, increased intracranial pressure);
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

To diagnose bradycardia, Holter monitoring, incident counters and implantable recording devices, as well as electrophysiological studies are used.

Treatment of bradycardia

The first step is to identify the causes of bradycaridia and possibly reverse their effects (stop taking beta blockers). If there is no removable cause, then drug therapy or temporary or permanent cardiac pacing may be necessary).

Drug treatment

To stimulate the heart rate during significant decreases (longer than 3 seconds), atropine, isoproterenol, and aminophylline are used. However, taking these drugs can provoke rhythm disturbances, including life-threatening ventricular disturbances.
In patients with infarction and bradycardia due to ischemia, anti-ischemic therapy is carried out and a wait-and-see approach is taken, using cardiac pacing if necessary.

Patients with sinus suppression syndrome and atrioventricular block are evaluated for temporary or permanent pacemaker placement.
There are developed European indications for the installation of permanent pacemakers in patients with CVS and AV block.

Types of stimulants

There are single-chamber, double-chamber, and three-chamber stimulators. The first and second have 1 and 2 electrodes (atrial and/or right ventricular). Three-chamber devices are used for biventricular activation and have an additional conductor for the left ventricle.

When stimulating the right atrium, the synchrony of ventricular contraction is disrupted. During this process, the ECG shows isolation of the right bundle branch.
When both ventricles are stimulated, their synchronous operation is maintained, and cardiac hemodynamics in this case are much better.

Implantation

The first such device was installed in 1958. Subsequently, their evolution took place. Now these are modern, very small, high-tech devices.

Currently, between 400 and 1,200 stimulants are installed per million people each year.

The cardiac device performs electrical activation of the myocardium. The signal travels through the heart muscle in a non-physiological way. Its long-term exposure can cause electrical and mechanical changes in the myocardium. Therefore, the installation of a stimulator must be carried out for serious indications.

Features of stimulation modes

During right ventricular pacing, an electrical impulse is applied to the apex of the left ventricle and depolarizes the slow-conducting myocardium. On the ECG this is expressed by blockade of the left bundle branch. Such patients have a lower ejection fraction than patients without blockade. Electrical remodeling of the heart also occurs during this process. Recently, there has been a tendency to reduce indications for the installation of these stimulants due to a significant number of unfavorable changes.

It has been established that the lowest ejection fraction is formed when exposed to the ventricles. Medium - when the atria are activated, then the rest of the heart. The highest ejection fraction is maintained when the atria and ventricles are stimulated along natural pathways.

It has been proven that fibrillation develops less in patients with atrial and dual-chamber activation than in patients with only ventricular exposure to the device.

The two-chamber device has been proven by studies and experiments to be better in physically active patients.
Pacemakers are currently the gold standard treatment for patients with symptomatic bradycardia. The search continues for the most physiological ways to have a positive effect on the myocardium.

Conclusion

Thus, cardiac arrest (when falling asleep or in other situations) is a very dangerous disease. At the first symptoms of this disease, you should immediately contact a medical facility, carry out all tests and receive thorough treatment. The sooner treatment and prevention begin, the more effective treatment procedures will be.

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Clinical picture

Regardless of the number of times your heart stops in your chest, you need to see a cardiologist. You should not entertain the illusion that the problem will go away on its own. There are many reasons for this disease, so the patient needs to undergo a diagnostic course.

At the initial stage, signs of the disease are not always noticeable. Only on the basis of the ECG results obtained, the doctor is able to draw a conclusion about the patient’s condition.

The list of reasons reveals an addiction to products containing caffeine. It is wrong to think that 1-2 cups of coffee a day will not harm human health. Depending on existing hereditary predispositions and health status, each person requires a different amount of coffee. Even adding milk or cream to your cup of coffee will not reduce the potential health risks. If you cannot give up coffee, then your last cup should be drunk before 16:00.

1. Other caffeine-containing drinks and products include Coca-Cola, green tea, dark chocolate and various energy drinks. It is especially difficult for teenagers to give up such liquids, so it is important to speed up the process of removing caffeine from the body. A large amount of boiled water drunk after caffeine-containing liquids will help with this. Other causes of heart failure are as follows:
2. A sharp decrease in blood sugar levels due to carbohydrate metabolism disorders. In addition, this problem is caused by the abuse of harmful foods or irregular nutrition. Nutritionists recommend eating 5 to 6 times during the day at strictly defined times. This optimizes the body's functioning.
3. Exposure to stress - nervous overexertion is always harmful to health, especially when it comes to the heart.

Acute potassium deficiency occurs due to improper or irregular nutrition.

As can be seen from the listed reasons, the problem arises due not so much to physiological as to psychological factors. That is why the cardiologist may refer the patient for additional advice to a nutritionist or psychotherapist.

Forms of manifestation

In second place are anxiety attacks and fever. Such signs literally “roll over” the patient without apparent external reasons. This is mistakenly taken as a form of fatigue, which only delays a much-needed visit to the doctor. In the acute form of the disease, the patient notes attacks of suffocation. Cardiologists strongly recommend undergoing the necessary examination. An ECG will immediately show why the “motor” in the chest freezes.

Based on the information collected, the doctor forms a therapeutic course. In most cases it is conservative in nature. It is divided into several stages. The least amount of time is required to adjust the diet of a patient who has impaired carbohydrate metabolism or a lack of potassium. If the “motor” does not work properly due to these reasons, the doctor prescribes a multivitamin course. Less often, the course is supplemented with a dropper.

Therapeutic techniques

Treatment takes longer if the cause is hidden in a psychological or anatomical plane. It is necessary to understand the underlying factors that led to the disruption of the natural rhythm. The emphasis is not so much on medications, but on psychological relief. In some cases, it is necessary to teach the patient how to properly respond to external stimuli.

If we are talking about hereditary predisposition or physiological changes, then in this case surgical intervention cannot be ruled out.

As mentioned earlier, the root cause of rhythm disturbance is VSD. As it develops, the “motor” works intermittently, the duration and frequency of which varies. That is why medications are prescribed to normalize the situation. This means that it is not interruptions in the work of the heart that need to be treated, but the situation that causes them.

As soon as the VSD becomes less pronounced, the heart rate will return to normal. Strict adherence to the recommendations of the doctor and related specialists is the key to health. Under no circumstances should you stop the course of medications prescribed by your doctor. It is impossible to cure VSD, but there are effective techniques that can reduce the intensity of the clinical picture.

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Causes of extrasystole

The reasons for the appearance of extrasystoles (tachycardia) can be different, they are observed even in healthy people due to physical or emotional stress, drinking a fair amount of alcohol, coffee or tea in large doses, or taking energy drinks.

Smokers and women with hormonal imbalance during pregnancy or menopause suffer from extrasystoles. Extrasystoles may appear after eating, which leads over time to the formation of electrical heterogeneity in the myocardium of the heart, rhythm disturbance, and ultimately to extrasystole.

The main reasons for the appearance of extrasystoles include:

• myocardial damage;
• cardiac ischemia;
• necrosis and dystrophy of the walls of the atria;
• myocardial inflammation;
• development of jaundice;
• intoxication of the body of an endogenous nature;
• accumulation of cardiac glycosides;
• damage to the vegetative-vascular system;
• myocardial infarction;
• development of a tumor in the body;
• angina pectoris;
• heart disease;
• allergic manifestations;
• increased adrenaline levels in the blood;
• frequent stress;
• the appearance of neoplasms in the endocrine system;
• cholecystitis, diaphragmatic hernia;
• pathologies in the gastrointestinal tract;
• osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebrae.

How to recognize extrasystoles?

Recognizing extrasystoles is actually not difficult. There are interruptions in the functioning of the heart. It seems to turn over, freeze due to overwork, physical or mental stress. It hurts in the heart area, there is shortness of breath, dizziness, weakness, and a feeling of lack of air.

Symptoms, for example, after a myocardial infarction, may be completely absent.

The heart stops and the breath stops often in infants. More and more babies are being born with this pathology.

Extrasystoles are detected in patients with diabetes mellitus who suffer from endocrine system disorders.

An electrocardiogram shows a significant decrease in the volume of blood pumped out by the heart. Patients experience a lack of oxygen due to impaired blood circulation in the vessels. Extrasystoles are accompanied by renal and cerebral failure.

Almost all smokers show signs of tachycardia and cardiac arrhythmia. Shortness of breath and head spasms appear.

The manifestation of extrasystoles occurs during physical exertion, a long stay in a sitting position, against the background of stress, severe overexertion.

Heart rhythm is often disturbed in pregnant women. Sometimes the heart beats excessively, sometimes it becomes suspiciously silent, thereby creating a nervous environment. Pregnant women begin to fall into hysterics, which does not have the best effect on the development of the baby. Doctors detect arrhythmia in the fetus. If extrasystoles occur more often than every 10 heartbeats, then this is already a deviation from the norm and the condition becomes dangerous.

Some of us sometimes experience a state when the rhythm of the heart becomes confused and it freezes. What could this condition indicate? Is it normal or does it indicate pathology?

What is the name of the condition when the heart freezes?

An abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) is called extrasystole. This condition occurs due to excessive excitation of part or all of the myocardium. Such a reduction is provoked by extraordinary impulses. Normally, the impulse comes only from the sinus node.

After untimely contractions, a compensatory pause occurs, which, in turn, can be complete or incomplete. This phenomenon in itself is safe, but if organic heart damage is present, then factors that negatively affect health arise.

The constant alternation of normal contractions and freezing is called bigeminy in medicine. If there are two contractions for one freezing, we speak of trigeminy.

There is also such a thing as quadrigymenia.

Causes and types of heart failure

Depending on the cause, functional and organic extrasystoles are distinguished. The first ones occur in people who do not have heart pathologies. The reasons in this case are hidden in dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Smoking, stress, alcohol, coffee, and vitamin deficiency can trigger freezing. In women, this feeling can occur under the influence of hormones.

The second - organic - occur in heart pathologies, for example, ischemia, dystrophy, cardiosclerosis, inflammation, defects, hypertension, cardiomyopathy. This is observed in most people who have suffered a myocardial infarction. In this situation, it is caused by necrosis of parts of the organ.

Extrasystoles are distinguished by the number of impulse foci. They are divided into monotropic (one section) and polytropic (several). Two foci can be observed at once: one is normal, sinus, and the other is extrasystolic.

According to the place of occurrence, extrasystoles are divided into atrial, atrioventricular and ventricular.

Symptoms when heart palpitations occur

1. With atrial extrasystole, which. It is worth noting that it occurs quite rarely,
   Organic damage to the organ is observed. When the number of its contractions increases, atrial fibrillation and paroxysmal tachycardia may develop. In this case, the sensation of freezing observed most often occurs in a supine position of the body;
2. The atrioventricular form is also quite rare. The danger of this phenomenon is that this can lead to reverse flow of blood from the atria into the veins;
3. Ventricular extrasystoles are the most common. This phenomenon can progress to ventricular tachycardia. It is also dangerous in case of myocardial infarction, as it can lead to ventricular fibrillation.

Symptoms of pathology, as a rule, are visible only to a cardiologist who interprets the results of the electrocardiogram. But it is worth noting that when deciphering the results of a standard ECG, an error can occur and even a good cardiologist can make the wrong conclusion. Signs of extrasystole can be confused with conduction disturbances and a number of other pathological phenomena. In turn, incorrect diagnosis leads to inadequate treatment.

As for the more obvious symptoms that the patient himself can notice, in most cases these do not appear. Sometimes there may be a feeling of tremors in the chest, a feeling of turning over or a sinking heart, and interruptions in the functioning of the organ. During the compensatory pause, dizziness, lack of air, weakness, aching pain and a feeling of compression behind the chest may occur.

How to Treat a Fading Heart

Therapy is aimed at eliminating the root cause of the disorder and stopping it itself. It is possible to restore the normal functioning of the organ with the help of antiarrhythmic drugs, but they are effective only for the duration of their use. If the cause of freezing is hidden in organic lesions of the myocardium or disorders of the coronary circulation, then appropriate therapy is needed aimed at dilating blood vessels.

If the reasons are hidden in emotional or physical stress, then rest and taking medications that reduce cardiac excitability are recommended. In any case, smoking and drinking alcohol are contraindicated for patients.

When heart disease is present, treatment is usually aimed at preventing life-threatening conditions. For this reason, people with hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocarditis, defects, etc. should be regularly examined by a cardiologist.

Such patients require constant monitoring of the function of the cardiovascular system.

What is the risk of heart stopping?

Given the functional nature of this phenomenon, serious complications do not arise. If extrasystole occurs against the background of myocardial infarction, cardiomyopathy, or myocarditis, then the person is at risk. The atrial form can lead to atrial fibrillation and tachycardia. The supraventricular form, if left untreated, ends in fatal arrhythmia and, as a consequence, arrhythmic death.

Heart failure with vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD)

VSD is a complex of pathologies that arise as a result of disturbances in vascular tone of the autonomic nervous system. Dystonia is a rather dangerous condition, as it can provoke the development of arterial hypertension, neurosis, and significantly worsen the quality of life.

VSD is accompanied by rapid heartbeat (constant or attacks), hyperhidrosis, headaches, tingling in the heart area, pallor or, conversely, redness of the skin, chilliness of the limbs, and a tendency to faint.

Treatment is prescribed depending on the manifestations of vegetative-vascular dystonia.

Typically it includes:

1. Normalization of the daily routine;
2. Balanced diet;
3. Sufficient time outdoors;
4. Elimination of stress;
5. Increased physical activity;
6. Working with a psychologist;
7. Massotherapy;
8. Acupuncture;
9. Water and physiotherapeutic procedures.

Therapy can be aimed at eliminating foci of infection and concomitant diseases. Patients are advised to undergo clinical observation and preventive measures. As for medications, sedatives (sedatives), tranquilizers, antidepressants, nootropics, vitamins and minerals, beta-blockers, and herbal psychostimulants are prescribed.

Acupressure for work interruptions and heart failure

First of all, you need to consult a doctor, who, in turn, must make a diagnosis and establish the cause of the rhythm disturbances. After this, you must strictly adhere to the specialist’s instructions, observe the dosage and regularity of taking the medications he prescribes, avoid stressful situations, and adjust your diet and daily routine.

As first aid, you can use some tricks, for example, “straining,” pressing on the eyeballs, or performing a massage of the sinocarotid zone.