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An article written by Dr Edward Leatham, Consultant Cardiologist Tags: Podcast, AFib, Bradycardia, NH1 search website using Tags to find related stories. Introduction Pulse rate or heart rate is a fundamental metric of heart health. It’s easily accessible—whether through feeling the […]
This post is not for the faint hearted! It is a technical description of how the heart works, and may help some readers/listeners to understand the difference between HFpEF and HFrEF. The main objective of this blog is to emphasise the enormous potential of reducing left ventricular stiffening as we age. This can only be accomplished by paying attention to key health metrics from mid life, all influenced by lifestyle, diet and physical exercise
A slow heart rate may not cause symptoms in many people. However, when bradycardia leads to insufficient blood flow, symptoms may arise. The causes of bradycardia are discussed and what constitutes a normal range. An associated podcast is available too.
In atrial fibrillation or AFib, the atrial tissue quivers at approximately 600 cycles per minute, which means that it has no useful pumping function. The left atrium therefore, in patients with atrial fibrillation, merely acts as a passive conduit between the lungs and the left ventricle. It no longer serves to prime the left ventricle, and as a result, less blood enters the heart during diastole, less 'priming' occurs so cardiac output may fall. If ever you have experienced a car's turbo charger going 'on the blink' you will know that the car still GOES, but not very well, since it too suffers loss of output. The left atrial pressure in many such cases will increase, causing oedema or fluid in the alveolar space, reducing gas exchange and contributing to the symptom of breathlessness.
For a cardiologist, beta blockers are a commonly used medication, possibly because we live in a high stress world and patients come to us with symptoms that are often improved by moderating the biological effects of our own adrenaline on the systems it was designed to protect.