How to manage a persistent irregular heartbeat?
Stress and anxiety are so common in today’s lifestyle. Many of us can experience an irregular heartbeat because of many factors apart from stress and anxiety. Heart beat can be irregular even with low, high or normal heart rate. Normal resting heart rate is usually 60-100 beats per minute.
- If the heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute then it is known as bradycardia.
- If the heart rate is more than 100 beats per minute it is known as tachycardia.
What causes a persistent irregular heartbeat?
There are many factors responsible for making a heartbeat irregular:
- Electrolyte abnormalities
- Too much consumption of caffeine, alcohol, or drugs
- Side effects of over-the-counter medication used for cough, cold, and allergy. Medications used for asthma, antidepressants, and anti-cancer drugs can cause irregular heartbeat.
- Heart attack or a scar from a previous heart attack
- Heart diseases like coronary artery disease, in which arteries in the heart are blocked, and cardiomyopathies in which the structure of the heart changes.
- Heart valve damage can affect the rhythm of the heart.
Conditions that may affect regular heartbeat:
- Diabetes
- COVID-19
- Hypertension(high blood pressure)
Management of persistent irregular heartbeat:
Managing irregular heartbeat depends entirely on the root cause responsible for it:
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If it is caused by stress and anxiety, then it is important to take care of your mental health. Proper sleep hygiene, at least 30 mins of exercise everyday, balanced healthy diet should be considered.
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Limit caffeine intake if that’s causing irregular heart rate, same goes with reducing the consumption of alcohol.
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Talk to your physician if it’s due to side effects of certain medications.
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some vagal maneuvers like valsalva maneuver can be recommended by your physician for certain (supra ventricular tachycardias) which affect electrical signal pathway of the heart above ventricle(lower chamber), in which you have to take a normal breath and breathe out closing mouth and pinch shut nose, like trying to blow a balloon. After that you can breathe normally. It helps to slow down rapid heart rhythm . You can do this only if it is recommended by your physician otherwise do not follow without knowing the underlying condition causing irregular heartbeat.
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Following medications can be prescribed by your physician depending on your type and cause of abnormal heart rhythm,
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calcium channel blockers,
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potassium channel blockers,
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and sodium channel blockers,
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beta blockers,
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digoxin,
Anticoagulant drugs if there is a risk of clot formation in certain types of arrhythmias.
If you have other associated symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting and dizziness it is better to seek an emergency medical care. Also ECG and proper history taking can be helpful in evaluating irregularities in heartbeat.
MBH/PS