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Tachycardia
Pronounced tak-ih-KAR-dee-uh
Also known as Fast heart rate
Tachycardia means a resting heart rate above 100 beats per minute in an adult. It is often a normal response to something else, and occasionally a rhythm problem in its own right.
In Cardiology
A fast heart is usually doing its job. Fever, pain, , , an overactive , anxiety, exercise and stimulants all raise the rate legitimately — the heart is compensating, and the useful question is what it is compensating for. A rising heart rate is also one of the earliest measurable signs in , often before blood pressure falls.
The other category is a rhythm arising abnormally within the heart's own electrical system — an . These tend to start and stop abruptly rather than climbing and settling, can be very fast, and are diagnosed on an taken during the episode. Someone experiencing them usually notices .
Rate alone does not decide seriousness. A trained athlete and a person in early shock can share a number; what surrounds it — blood pressure, alertness, breathing, skin — is what interprets it.
Where this comes up
Related terms
- ArrhythmiaDysrhythmia, Irregular heartbeatAn arrhythmia is a heartbeat that is too fast, too slow or irregular because the heart's electrical signalling has gone wrong. Some are harmless and lifelong, others raise the risk of stroke or are immediately dangerous.
- PalpitationsPalpitations are an awareness of your own heartbeat — racing, thumping, fluttering or seeming to skip. Most are harmless, but the pattern and the company they keep decide whether they need investigating.
- ECGEKG, ElectrocardiogramAn ECG records the heart's electrical activity through stickers placed on the chest and limbs, printing it as a tracing. It takes a few minutes, is painless and involves no radiation, and it is the first test in chest pain, palpitations and blackouts.
- AnaemiaAnemia, Low haemoglobinAnaemia means the blood carries less haemoglobin than it should, so less oxygen reaches the tissues. It usually shows itself as tiredness, breathlessness on exertion and pallor, and in Pakistan the commonest cause by a wide margin is a shortage of iron.
- ThyroidThyroid glandThe thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck that sets the body's metabolic pace. Too little hormone slows nearly everything down; too much speeds it up.
- SepsisBlood poisoning, SepticaemiaSepsis is the body's response to an infection turning against its own organs, and it is a medical emergency. It can develop from any infection and worsens by the hour without treatment.
- DehydrationFluid depletion, Paani ki kamiDehydration is a shortage of water and salts in the body, from losing more than is taken in through diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, heat or simply not drinking. In children and older people it becomes dangerous quickly and is the main cause of death from ordinary diarrhoea.