WebMD Symptom Checker helps you find the most common medical conditions indicated by the symptoms fatigue and rapid heart rate (pulse) including Heart. Tachycardia refers to a heart rate that’s too fast. How that’s defined may depend on your age and physical condition. Generally speaking, for adults, a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute (BPM) is considered too fast. View an animation of tachycardia. The most common are sinus tachycardia, an abnormally fast heart rate that tops 100 beats per minute, and atrial fibrillation, a disorganized rhythm in the heart's upper chambers. A thyroid storm, dangerously high levels of thyroid hormone, causes fever, racing heartbeat, sweating, and more. Polycystic kidney disease. Polycystic kidney disease can cause abdominal pain, headaches, and pain in the sides and back. Porphyria is a condition that can affect the nerves and skin, making the skin extremely sensitive to. If a person's heart rate is consistently over 100 beats per minute, the person is considered to have a high heart rate, which is also known as tachycardia. Although tachycardia is considered relatively harmless, it can decrease the efficiency of the heart by lowering the amount of blood pumped throughout your body.
A high heart rate can be due to many factors, such as physical activity, panic, stress, or anxiety. In order to accurately measure your heart rate, you will need to measure it while you are in a relaxed, resting state.
If you don't know how to take your heart rate, you can download Instant Heart Rate to measure your heart rate with your phone. By placing your finger on your camera lens, Instant Heart Rate can measure your heart rate in less than 10 seconds.
So, what does a high heart rate look like?
While resting, a healthy adult heart beats 60 to 100 times per minute. If a person's heart rate is consistently over 100 beats per minute, the person is considered to have a high heart rate, which is also known as tachycardia.
Although tachycardia is considered relatively harmless, it can decrease the efficiency of the heart by lowering the amount of blood pumped throughout your body. With less oxygenated blood circulating the body, the body receives less oxygen and the person may ultimately experience dizziness, lightheadedness, chest pain, or fainting.
Tachycardia can be caused by several factors:
- Heart conditions – heart related conditions such as high blood pressure and poor blood supply to the heart muscle due to coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart failure, heart muscle disease, tumors or infections.
- Health conditions – Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) and emphysema and other lung diseases
- Stimulants – drinking large amounts of alcoholic or caffeinated beverages, smoking cigarettes, and abuse of recreational drugs.
- Other – abnormal electrical pathways caused by a genetic defect at birth, electrolyte imbalances in the body (too little potassium, calcium, sodium and other minerals), and side effects of heart medications
Remember that a high heart rate can be due to a number of reasons. When logging your heart rate in Instant Heart Rate, be sure to go to the timeline and see trends in your heart rate. If you see a consistent high heart rate, it may be time to look into a professional analysis. Contact your doctor about your heart rate to find the best treatment for your health.
Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a heart condition featuring episodes of an abnormally fast heart rate.
The heart will suddenly start racing, then stop racing or slow down abruptly.
Episodes can last for seconds, minutes, hours or (in rare cases) days. They may occur regularly, several times a day, or very infrequently, once or twice a year.
The heart rate may be as high as 250 beats per minute, but is usually between 140 and 180 (a normal heartbeat should be 60-100 beats per minute at rest).
What it means
- 'Supraventricular' means that the problem occurs in the upper chambers (atria) of the heart.
- 'Tachycardia' means an abnormally rapid heart rhythm.
What happens
When the heart beats normally, its muscular walls contract (tighten and squeeze) to force blood out and around the body. They then relax, so the heart can fill with blood again. This process is repeated for every heartbeat.
In SVT, the heart muscle is contracting so fast that it cannot relax between contractions. This reduces the amount of blood being pumped around the body, which can make you feel dizzy and short of breath.
You usually feel heart palpitations (noticeable heartbeats) and a fast pulse.
Why it happens
SVT is caused by abnormal electrical impulses that start suddenly in the upper chambers of your heart (the atria). These impulses override your heart's natural rhythm.
It is often a short circuit in the electrical system of your heart that causes these spontaneous impulses. The short circuit causes an electrical signal to travel continuously around in a circle. Each time the signal completes the circuit, the impulse spreads out to the rest of your heart, forcing it to beat rapidly.
SVT attacks often happen for no obvious reason. However, they may be triggered by a change in posture, exertion, emotional upset, coffee or alcohol.
Who is affected
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SVT can occur in anyone at any age, but it often occurs for the first time in children or young adults.
High Heart Beat Covid
Outlook
In the vast majority of cases, attacks of SVT are harmless, do not last long and settle on their own without treatment.
High Heart Beat For Men
If necessary, SVT can be treated with drugs that correct the abnormal heart rate. It can also be permanently treated with a very effective surgical procedure called catheter ablation, which interrupts the abnormal electrical circuits.