Heart Racing?
If you have felt your heart fluttering in your chest or a very fast heartbeat, you could have a condition called atrial fibrillation. You should go to your doctor and have him check your heart rate.
An electrical problem called atrial fibrillation is the most common cause of a racing heart beat. It is a flaw in the hearts electrical system that disrupts the regular heart beat. The upper chamber starts to quiver and results in an unsteady, often racing heartbeat. Normally your heart beats 60 to 80 times a minute; with atrial fibrillation your heart can beat 100 or more times a minute. You are not having a heart attach but you should check in with your doctor. He will want to follow up with tests to measure your heart rate.
Signs of atrial fibrillation:
1. An irregular pulse
2. Feeling as if your heart is skipping a beat
3. A very slow heart beat that causes dizziness, sweating, light-headedness, or fainting
4. Shortness of breathe or chest pain
5. A fluttering feeling in your chest
Atrial fibrillation is more important to diagnose if you are older, have high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. People in these groups are more prone to heart attach or stroke. In fact it is estimated your chances of having a stroke or heart attach are 5 times higher if you have AF. When the hearts top chambers don’t beat regularly, there is danger of blood pooling there, which means a clot can form. These clots can lead to stroke or heart attach.
Some factors can raise you risk of AF.
They include:
1. Heavy alcohol or caffeine use
2. Chronic lung disease
3. High blood pressure, diabetes, or thyroid disease
4. Other heart problems
5. Smoking
6. Ageing
Most people can control AF with medication that regulates their heart beats and prevents blood clots. In some cases the doctor may recommend an electric shock “under sedation” to reset a normal heartbeat, a pacemaker, or interrupting the electrical pathways in the heart with a catheter or surgery.
Liked it
Debra. | Dec 13, 2008 | Reply
well organized and detailed information. thanks,Ruby.
Liane Schmidt | Dec 13, 2008 | Reply
An important article*
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
nobert soloria bermosa | Dec 13, 2008 | Reply
you always provide us the best stuff,thanks much
James DeVere | Dec 13, 2008 | Reply
Your writing does that for me . j
Darlene McFarlane | Dec 13, 2008 | Reply
This is a very well presented article and one that people need to know about too. Ten years ago the doctor had me on drugs for fibromyalgia, we didn’t know at the time it was the cause of multiple emergency room visits throughout those two years. I was admitted many times for tachycardia and irregular heart beat. I stopped taking the drugs but still never linked them to my problem until I heard on the news that one had been taken off the market and the other had strict warnings added to the label.
This article is definitely worth reading.
Thanks, Ruby.
Anne Lyken Garner | Dec 14, 2008 | Reply
A very informative and interesting article. Thanks for sharing this, Ruby
PR Mace | Dec 14, 2008 | Reply
Hi, Ruby
I am a cardiac nurse and this was an excellant article written in layman terms that anyone can understand. You did a great job. I was impressed. I think I am caught up on your articles now, if I have missed any please let me know.
Your triond friend, Pam
Mark Gordon Brown | Dec 15, 2008 | Reply
Good information for anyone, because you never know.
B Nelson | Dec 15, 2008 | Reply
I dont know if this is true or not, but I often get this at “that time of the month” and was told this is normal then… it is scarey – I should get another opinion.
eddiego65 | Dec 16, 2008 | Reply
This is definitely a helpful article. Thanks for sharing!