Heart failure is neither tachycardia nor bradycardia.

Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
Updated on September 21, 2024
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Heart failure refers to the condition in which the heart's pumping function is relatively or absolutely insufficient, resulting in a series of symptoms. Patients may exhibit symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and sometimes even cyanosis of the lips. Severe cases can lead to sudden death. Tachycardia and bradycardia are only due to disturbances in the patient's cardiac conduction system, causing the heart rate to accelerate or slow down. If the patient's heart function is good, the majority can compensate. However, prolonged tachycardia or prolonged bradycardia can potentially lead to heart failure. Therefore, heart failure is different from tachycardia or bradycardia.

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Causes and Treatment of Bradycardia

Bradycardia can be seen in healthy individuals, especially athletes, and also during sleep. If caused by a pathological condition, there may be organic heart disease, particularly in patients with acute myocardial infarction. If such a condition causes a significant decrease in cardiac output, affecting the blood supply to vital organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, then drugs like atropine or even intravenous drip of isoproterenol are used to increase the heart rate. Oral theophylline may be considered under general conditions. For severe sinus bradycardia leading to syncope where drug treatment is ineffective, it is recommended to install a permanent artificial cardiac pacemaker to prevent sudden sinus arrest.

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Can digitalis poisoning cause bradycardia?

Digitalis toxicity can cause bradycardia. Digitalis is an inhibitor of the sodium-potassium ATPase, which affects the transfer of sodium and potassium in cells, leading to electrolyte disturbances and arrhythmias. Common arrhythmias include premature beats, bradycardia, and conduction blocks, and severe cases may experience sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, in patients with heart failure, it is important to closely monitor the blood concentration of digitalis during long-term use, and adjust the dosage of digoxin and digitalis based on its concentration to avoid toxicity. Once toxicity occurs, the first step is to stop the medication and then take appropriate symptomatic treatment to prevent accidents.

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How to treat bradycardia

People with bradycardia should maintain good habits in daily life, eat a light diet, exercise reasonably, avoid overwork and staying up late, refrain from smoking and drinking, and keep a relaxed mood. Medications such as Xinbao Pills can be taken to increase the heart rate. Additionally, consuming traditional Chinese medicines like ginseng can also help in increasing the heart rate. For severe bradycardia that causes repeated symptoms like dizziness, visual obscurity, or fainting, and even episodes of Adams-Stokes syndrome, such as sick sinus syndrome or third-degree atrioventricular block, it is crucial to promptly visit a hospital. Active pacing treatment should be administered to increase the patient's heart rate, in order to prevent sudden cardiac arrest and avoid sudden cardiac death.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
48sec home-news-image

Heart failure is neither tachycardia nor bradycardia.

Heart failure refers to the condition in which the heart's pumping function is relatively or absolutely insufficient, resulting in a series of symptoms. Patients may exhibit symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and sometimes even cyanosis of the lips. Severe cases can lead to sudden death. Tachycardia and bradycardia are only due to disturbances in the patient's cardiac conduction system, causing the heart rate to accelerate or slow down. If the patient's heart function is good, the majority can compensate. However, prolonged tachycardia or prolonged bradycardia can potentially lead to heart failure. Therefore, heart failure is different from tachycardia or bradycardia.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
48sec home-news-image

What are the dangers of bradycardia?

If the bradycardia is physiological, it generally does not harm the body and does not require special treatment. If the bradycardia is pathological, when the heartbeat significantly slows down, it can cause a decrease in cardiac output due to the slow heart rate, leading to symptoms of insufficient cardiac output, insufficient blood supply to the brain which can cause dizziness, visual disturbance, fainting, and other symptoms. Insufficient coronary artery supply can induce angina, and insufficient perfusion of the kidneys can lead to reduced urine output and kidney damage. Therefore, if a patient with bradycardia has a slow heart rate that leads to obvious symptoms, it is necessary to install a pacemaker for pacing treatment to increase the heart rate.