Slow heart beat

Slow Heart Beat

This problem may be a result of the several things and in the following text, we will talk about the causes, symptoms and methods of treatment for this problem. People should have 72 beats per minute and this is considered to be normal heartbeat, but the problem we are talking about causes the number of these beats below the number of sixty. There are two types of this problem, and while one is pathological, or abnormal, the other is physiological, or normal. In some cases, usually among athletes, the number of heartbeats can vary from 55 to 60, but this is a result of level of fitness of these people. Still, if you are having this heartbeat and you are not an athlete, there may be a problem involved.

Causes

Several culprits may cause slow heartbeat; it can be due to the faulty electrical impulses transmission in the heart, or viscous blood presence, blood vessels obstruction or the faulty functioning of the muscles of the heart. But they all have the same effect and it is the impaired blood supply, which may cause hypoxia, a problem associated with insufficient level of oxygen. It can also cause insufficient blood level in the body or ischemia. The most common causes are electrolyte imbalance, medications (such as beta-blockers and anti-arrhythmic drugs), arterial flutter, yellow fever, brucellosis, hypothermia, supraventricular tachycardia, obstructive jaundice, heart block, sick sinus syndrome, hormone imbalance, cardiac arrhythmia.

Symptoms

A person with slow heartbeat may experience lightheadedness, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and blood pressure drop (which may also cause additional concentration problems, confusion and dizziness). In some cases, there are no symptoms at all and if this is the case, a person should check the pulse rate, because by doing this, heart rate can also be checked. There are test that can be done in order to diagnose the problem, if the simple test we have mentioned give no results.

Treatment

The cause of the problem determines the course of the treatment. The treatment plan for the problem caused by the inherent heart diseases, such as heart muscle weakening or coronary arteries blockage, differs. First medications and drugs are given. Hypothyroidism medications are given if hormonal balance is the cause of the problem. In some cases the treatment involves surgery. At the end, we have to emphasize that a proper diagnose is crucial for the treatment, because only if this is accomplished, a proper treatment may be conducted.