What are the causes and symptoms of a fast heart rate in children? When should he be taken to a doctor? What is the probable treatment for it? If all these questions are bothering you, then read this article, to find out the answers.
Children usually have high energy levels, due to which it’s normal for their heart to beat a little faster. Heart rate in children differs according to their age. If the heart rate deviates from what is normal for his age group, then you should never delay for seeking medical assistance. But how will you know that your child has an elevated heart rate? What are the symptoms associated with it and what are the underlying reasons? We explain you over here. Heart rate or the beats per minute should be within the normal range. Even if your child is perfectly healthy, you must get a routine check up done just to confirm that his heart rate is normal.
Fast Heart Rate in Children: An Overview
Children usually indulge themselves into a lot of energetic activities. You will often find them breathing heavily after returning from school or after playing. During that particular moment, their heart starts beating very rapidly. However, this is quite normal and their heart gets back the regular rhythm after a period of rest. Against this, you can easily make out the symptoms of high heart rate from your child’s behavior. With such a condition, most of the time, he will take deep breaths and will tend to pant even after mild exertion. He feels tired and restlessness in his behavior becomes evident.
You can feel his chest fluttering on touching and the throbs are heavy. He may also feel dizzy, nauseated and light headed. You may find his energy levels down and there’s a marked decline in his appetite. Such children become weak and suffer from shortness of breath accompanied by chest pain, fever and fainting. You must visit a doctor immediately, if you observe any such symptoms in your child. The causes will be explained in the next content.
You can refer to this HealthHearty article to know the normal heart rate for children. From this article, you can make out that any value rising above the normal figures will give lead to abnormal heart condition. Elevated heart rate is medically termed as tachycardia. In such circumstances, the heartbeat of your child can go as high as 400 beats/minute. The rise is sudden and so are its effects. Abnormal heat rate occurs mainly due to high blood pressure and obesity. Today, a large population of children suffer from obesity and overweight problems, which further give rise to complications, like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
When the B.P. of your child is high, it’s normal for him to have high heart rate. Another condition, as explained by doctors is, electrical signals flowing through the heart don’t “communicate” properly with the heart muscle, and the heart can start beating in an abnormal pattern. This kind of health complication is known as arrhythmia. As a consequence of all these health disorders, the heart tends to beat rapidly as its incapable of pumping sufficient blood to the body.
If your child has been diagnosed with any type of coronary heart diseases or he has suffered from myocardial infarction during childhood, then his heart rate will always remain on the higher side. Degenerative heart diseases, blockage in arteries and other types of inflammatory heart diseases might also give rise to rapid heart rate. You should be well aware of these facts and continue treatment till he recovers completely.
Children suffering from respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma and those who are vulnerable to lung infections also exhibit rapid heartbeat. Parents who impose too much control on their children, actually fail to understand the detrimental effects it can have, in the long run. It breeds stress and anxiety in children and soon health problems become evident. When a child suffers from hypertension, his heart rate is bound to fluctuate.
Once again i say, if you have noticed any of the aforementioned symptoms in your child, then make sure you take him to a doctor at the earliest. The treatment is dependent absolutely on the underlying cause. Your child have to depend on medications for a substantial time period to regain normal health. I’m sure there are no parents in the world who consider anything more important than the health of their child. Therefore, take utmost care of his requirements and plan his diet according to the suggestions given by the doctor.
