by Massimo Mapelli
There is a close association between gastrointestinal disorders, arrhythmic problems and an important activation of anxious origin
Over the past few days I have noticed that my heart rate has increased by about 20 beats per minute. I suffer from anxiety and gastroesophageal reflux, I’m sedentary and I don’t play sports. I did an EKG which showed sinus tachycardia. My fear that the cause of the abnormal increase in heart rate is organic. Should I worry and book a cardiological visit as soon as possible?
Answer by Massimo Mapelli, Critical and Rehabilitative Cardiology Department, Card. Monzino, Milan (VAI AL FORUM)
Sinus tachycardia is not a per s pathological condition. completely normal in the child, while in the adult it represents only a response – often physiological – of the organism. Several studies performed on military pilots during flight simulations, for example, demonstrate how their heart rate rises during the most demanding maneuvers (between 90 and 100 beats per minute and even more), with values that are even higher when the The flight itself is performed in a real plane and not in a simulator. It is a hyper-selected population of subjects who are not only healthy, but also highly trained from a physical and psychological point of view. Yet, even in this case, the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system acts by stimulating the heart to pump harder and above all faster.
Close association
It is an ancestral reaction that can lead to pathology in case of very accentuated and unmotivated responses. Then there are special cases. For example, I recently treated a young patient who, after a paucisymptomatic Covid infection (two years ago), despite the absence of specific organ damage, had developed an annoying form of inappropriate sinus tachycardia, so important as to also give rise to lipothymic/syncopal (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). In most cases, however, a trivial anxiety problem generates the symptoms. More precisely, there is a close association between gastrointestinal disorders, arrhythmic problems and an important activation of anxious origin.
Aerobic physical activity
I can give you a practical suggestion: take care of the anxious problem that afflicts you, but above all stop measuring your heart rate. a practice that has not demonstrated specific benefits in this context and which, on the contrary, can itself become a harbinger of further unrest, in a vicious circle that is difficult to break. Conversely, correct lifestyle habits that may not work, starting with aerobic physical activity which, if practiced regularly, allows for better control of cardiovascular parameters, as well as anxiety.
August 7, 2023 (change August 7, 2023 | 12:51 am)
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