What is Tachycardia?

Question

I read that i might have it. been having fast heart rate

Answer 1

This topic will help you out:

Ventricular tachycardia is a heart rhythm that originates in the ventricles and produces a heart rate of at least 120 beats per minute.


Ventricular tachycardia may be thought of as a sequence of consecutive ventricular premature beats. Sometimes only a few such beats occur together, and then the heart returns to a normal rhythm. Ventricular tachycardia that lasts more than 30 seconds is called sustained ventricular tachycardia. Sustained ventricular tachycardia usually occurs in people with structural heart disease that damages the ventricles. Most commonly, it occurs weeks or months after a heart attack. It is more common among older people. However, rarely, ventricular tachycardia develops in young people who do not have structural heart disease.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

People with ventricular tachycardia almost always have palpitations. Sustained ventricular tachycardia can be dangerous because the ventricles cannot fill adequately or pump blood normally. Blood pressure tends to fall, and heart failure follows. Sustained ventricular tachycardia is also dangerous because it can worsen until it becomes ventricular fibrillation—a form of cardiac arrest. Sometimes ventricular tachycardia causes few symptoms, even at rates of up to 200 beats per minute, but it may still be extremely dangerous.

Electrocardiography Electrocardiography) is used to diagnose ventricular tachycardia and to help determine whether treatment is required. A portable ECG (Holter) monitor may be used to record heart rhythm over a 24-hour period.

Treatment

Ventricular tachycardia is treated when it causes symptoms or when episodes last more than 30 seconds even without causing symptoms. Sustained ventricular tachycardia often requires emergency treatment. If episodes cause blood pressure to fall to a low level, cardioversion is needed immediately. Drugs may be given intravenously to end or suppress ventricular tachycardia. The most commonly used drugs are lidocaineSome Trade Names
XYLOCAINE
, procainamideSome Trade Names
PROCAN SR
PRONESTYL
, and amiodaroneSome Trade Names
CORDARONE
.

Certain procedures may be performed to destroy the small abnormal area in the ventricles, identified by ECG, that is usually responsible for sustained ventricular tachycardia. They include radiofrequency ablation (delivery of energy of a specific frequency through an electrode catheter inserted in the heart) and open-heart surgery.

If other therapy is ineffective, an automatic defibrillator (a small device that can detect an arrhythmia and deliver a shock to correct it) may be implanted. This procedure is similar to implantation of an artificial pacemaker.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

What Is Tachycardia

Answer 5

yeah, read all the others responses....you need to differentiate between the electrical activity of the heart which is seen on the ekg, and the functional pumping of the heart which is felt as a pulse or measured as the blood pressure. pulseless vtach would show as a fast ventricular rhythm on the ekg. then by checking the person, if you find no pulse this is technically an arrest because no matter what the heart is doing electrically, the heart is not pumping out enough blood to maintain perfusion to the body, therefor no pulse will be felt. this is often caused because the heart is beating so quickly, that the chambers do not have enough time to fill with blood, so not enough blood is available to be pumped out. now asystole is seen on an ekg as flat line, no electrical activity, and therefor no heart muscle pumping, so no perfusion, no pulse, also an arrest situation.

Answer 6

Extreme Tachycardia

Answer 7

Tachycardia refers to a rapid beating of the heart. By convention the term refers to heart rates greater than 100 beats per minute in the adult patient. Tachycardia may be a perfectly normal physiological response to stress. However, depending on the mechanism of the tachycardia and the health status of the patient, tachycardia may be harmful, and require medical treatment. In extreme cases, tachycardia can be life threatening.

Tachycardia can be harmful in two ways. First, when the heart beats too rapidly, it may pump blood less efficiently. Second, the faster the heart beats, the more oxygen and nutrients the heart requires. This may leave patients feeling out of breath or cause angina. This can be especially problematic for patients suffering from ischemic heart disease.

Answer 8

You answered your own question. Tachycardia = Fast HR.

But what causes tachycardia is a whole another question. Several reasons for it and beyond scope of this forum.

How old are you and what is your heart rate. Do you have any symptoms ? How did you find out you had tachycardia ? If it was at doctor's office, what made you go to doctor's office ?

edited to add: Hey doc he/she didn't ask what is VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA. Poster was simply asking about tachy.

Answer 9

Tachycardia means faster than average heart rate. Average is the key word. Whether or not it's a problem depends on a lot of things.
If you are seeing someone medical about it, good. If not you probably should, just to be on the safe side.Ventricular tachycardia and atrial (what I imagine you are having) are two different things.
Atrial tachycardia by itself does _not_ cause v tach.

Answer 10

You dont have tachycardia, youd be...dead or unconsious without a pulse
Tachycardia or 'taching' is fast heart beat that is because of an irregular electrical pulse by your heart, if left untreated it leads to Ventricular Tachycardia which is life threating. Its not like a fast pulse from running.