Heart rate is faster than pulse rate

In hospitals or in our daily lives, many people will take their pulse when they feel unwell or have heart problems. Our heart beats slightly faster than our arteries, so the best monitoring standard is to check the heart rate, especially for heart diseases, which cannot be reflected by the pulse frequency. This article introduces common heart diseases and their causes. Let’s take a look below.

Causes and common diseases

There are many causes of atrial fibrillation, mainly heart disease. In developed countries, the main diseases are coronary heart disease and myocardial disease, while in developing countries, the most common diseases are rheumatic valvular heart disease. In a small number of cases of atrial fibrillation, no clear cause can be found, which is called lone atrial fibrillation or idiopathic atrial fibrillation.

1. Rheumatic valvular heart disease

It is the most common cause of atrial fibrillation, especially in the setting of mitral stenosis and regurgitation. Aortic valve disease is less likely to cause atrial fibrillation.

2. Coronary heart disease

With the increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease, coronary heart disease has become the leading cause of atrial fibrillation, with a higher proportion among the elderly. But atrial fibrillation is not a common clinical manifestation of coronary heart disease.

3. Cardiomyopathy

Atrial fibrillation can occur in various types of cardiomyopathy, which is more common in adults but can also occur in children. Mainly primary congestive cardiomyopathy.

4. Hypertensive heart disease

The occurrence of atrial fibrillation is related to electrophysiological abnormalities of hypertrophic myocardium caused by hypertension, myocardial ischemia and myocardial fibrosis. Atrial fibrillation is caused by myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, decreased ventricular compliance, increased atrial pressure and left atrial enlargement, as well as myocardial ischemia, which induce atrial electrophysiological disorders.

5. Constrictive pericarditis

The incidence of atrial fibrillation in elderly patients can reach 70%, and pericardial effusion may also be associated with atrial fibrillation.

6. Cor pulmonale

It is often paroxysmal and its causes are related to repeated lung infections, long-term hypoxia, acidosis and electrolyte imbalance.

7. Congenital heart disease

Among congenital heart diseases, atrial fibrillation is mainly seen in atrial septal defect.

8. Sick Sinus Syndrome

It includes persistent sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest, sinoatrial block and bradycardia-tachycardia, where tachycardia includes atrial fibrillation. When sinus bradycardia occurs, the ectopic excitability of the atria increases, making atrial fibrillation more likely to occur.

9. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

The main complication of preexcitation syndrome is paroxysmal atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia, followed by atrial fibrillation. It is generally believed that the incidence of atrial fibrillation due to ventricular preexcitation is related to age. It rarely occurs in children, but is more common in elderly patients.

10. Hyperthyroidism

Atrial fibrillation is one of the main symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Elderly people with hyperthyroidism may have organic damage to the myocardium and are prone to chronic atrial fibrillation.

examine

1. Check the pulse strength

An auxiliary examination method used to check whether the pulse is normal. The strength of the pulse is related to cardiac output, pulse pressure and peripheral vascular resistance. The pulse is enhanced and has a large amplitude, which is caused by large cardiac volume, wide pulse pressure and low peripheral resistance, and is seen in high fever, hyperthyroidism, aortic valve insufficiency, etc. A weakened pulse with low amplitude is caused by low cardiac volume, low pulse pressure and increased peripheral resistance, and is seen in heart failure, aortic valve stenosis and shock. This examination can determine the location of the lesion and the corresponding symptoms.

2. Electrocardiogram

In each cardiac cycle, the pacemaker, atrium, and ventricle are excited successively, accompanied by changes in bioelectricity. The graph of various forms of potential changes drawn from the body surface by an electrocardiograph is called an electrocardiogram (ECG for short). The electrocardiogram is an objective indicator of the occurrence, propagation and recovery process of cardiac excitation. Electrocardiogram is an important means to help determine whether the heart's electrical activity is normal. It is the earliest, most commonly used and most basic diagnostic method for coronary heart disease.