![]() In other words, higher heart rates within the “normal” range are non-specific, but can be symptomatic of illnesses or other phenomena not directly involving the heart. Sustained rates at the high end (above 85 beats per minute) can suggest hidden processes such as dehydration, thyroid disorders, infections, and anxiety. However, heart rate can also decline with age, as the heart’s conduction system slowly degenerates, resulting in the need for pacemakers in some people. Rates at the lower end suggest fitness, as in the case of long-distance runners. The range considered normal and safe is 50-99 beats per minute. Normal heart rate ranges widely, depending on age, fitness level, mood, physical activity, and fluid intake (including caffeinated beverages). Several basic features characterize heart rhythm and can help us understand whether dangers are present or we are just experiencing harmless irregularity. How can you tell the difference? And when are nutritional strategies reasonable and a safe alternative or adjunct to conventional therapies? Others, however, can be life threatening. Some arrhythmias are benign and simply an annoyance (albeit a frightening one when your heart feels as though it is jumping and racing). ![]() At some point, however, your heart’s rhythm can violate its controls and exceed healthy limits of variability. This lack of variation is not something we can measure ourselves it must be assessed using an electrocardiogram or extended recording of rhythm. By contrast, lack of beat-to-beat variation can suggest hidden dangers and the potential for heart attack and even death. People who meditate or use biofeedback can ratchet up their parasympathetic tone and thereby increase their beat-to-beat variation in heart rate. Heartbeat variability is a reflection of parasympathetic nervous system tone (the opposite of the “fight or flight” sympathetic system), which is the beneath-your-consciousness control system that encourages low blood pressure and feelings of relaxation and calm. The most physically fit athletes, for example, have the greatest degree of heartbeat variation. Beat-to-beat variation, in fact, is a desirable feature of heart rhythm that indicates good overall health. In truth, we all have some measure of irregularity to our heartbeats, and no one’s heart rhythm is perfectly regular. ![]() What about that flip-flop feeling you get sometimes while lying in bed? Or that pounding in the chest you felt when your boss berated you on a project or your teenage son pushed you to your limit? When is irregular or rapid heart rhythm just a passing, harmless phenomenon and when is it a harbinger of trouble-real trouble? Your heart’s rhythm, however, is not always as reliable as clockwork. The human heart pumps approximately 100,800 times every day, or about 70 times a minute, every hour of the day, every day of the year. While conventional medical treatments emphasize dangerous anti-arrhythmia drugs, implantable defibrillators, and other major procedures, you can create a powerful arrhythmia-prevention program by following some simple nutritional strategies. Nearly 10 million Americans suffer from arrhythmia, or an alteration in rhythm of the heartbeat either in time or force.
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