I have been diagnosed with an irregular heart beat which is called sinus tachycardia. I have had a lot of stress in my life during the last years and I'm trying to figure out what caused me to get this condition. So if anyone can give me some information I would appreciate it. Thanks !!Thursday, December 1, 2011
Can Stress Alone Cause Your Heart To Beat Irregularly?
I have been diagnosed with an irregular heart beat which is called sinus tachycardia. I have had a lot of stress in my life during the last years and I'm trying to figure out what caused me to get this condition. So if anyone can give me some information I would appreciate it. Thanks !!
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Jared - Yes.
ReplyDeleteSinus Tachycardia just means the electrical node responsible for the speed of your heart is going faster than "normal". It is the same thing as saying my heart rate is high. There is nothing 'wrong' with your heart.
The most common cause of Sinus Tachycardia is exercise, as you know,..
Though other causes that are common are catecholamine release -- a word for two chemicals.. Adrenaline(epinephrine) and Dopamine.
Stress and Anxiety cause these chemicals , namely the Epinephrine (Adrenaline) to be released. Thus you have Anxiety or "stress" related increased heart rate. To further tie it together,.. the bodies stress "response" is mediated via the release of these catecholamines. Make sense sort of?
It is a cycle.
Dehydration, thyroid issues, sepsis, lung diseases and a whole array of other things also cause a faster heart beat. But for less than 'benign' reasons.
Your heart rate is, again, just a stress response.
Now, what caused this? -- The way you live your life from birth till now. Some things you controlled and things you can't. Stress is such a vague word, but you need to lower and try to eliminate stress through.. "Stress reducing techniques". This should, over time, lower your 'stress response' and you can essentially *cure* this problem.
I would start with Diet and Exercise.
With diet,.. eat proper portioned meals, and of good nutritional value (not junk).
With exercise, start with cardio. You may not run marathons tomorrow.. but you must start somewhere.
I suggest walking a few miles daily for a few weeks. When you feel up to it, start jogging slowly in these walks and stop when you get winded. Do this over and over and your stamina will increase and in time you can jog the entire time. Alternatively if you prefer gyms, you can use the ellipticals, treadmills, or other "Cardio" machines.
Do this 30mins to 1 hour , 5 days per week.
This will help you more than you know,.. it will have a profound effect on your 'well being' and psychological health. You will have better blood flow and perfusion in the brain (leading to being more alert, etc) -- Your body will cleanse toxins much better because the lymphatic system only works with movement of our body (there is no pump like our blood has). The lymphatic system (connected by nodes) is the trash collector of our body. This is why sedentary people have alot of 'mystery' illnesses that creep up on them in time for no good reason.
This doesn't even include mood improvement, and looking better with increased confidence.
Make it something you need to do as a lifestyle, not a 'temporary thing'.
The way to prevent burning out is to take it easy and never turn it into something you dread. Which may take some creativity depending on your personality and diligence.
Take care,