My chest keeps beating when I sleep at night

Many people carry first aid medicine with them when they go out every day. That is, once a heart problem occurs, they will take first aid medicine orally to relieve the symptoms. This first aid medicine is very important. If your chest keeps beating while you sleep at night, you also need to be alert to symptoms of arrhythmia. There are many factors that cause heart disease, and many people are born with heart disease due to genetics. But no matter what the cause is, active treatment should be carried out.

Arrhythmia is caused by abnormal excitation of the sinoatrial node or excitation generated outside the sinoatrial node, slow conduction, blockage or conduction through abnormal channels, that is, the origin and/or conduction disorder of cardiac activity leads to abnormal frequency and/or rhythm of heart beats. Arrhythmia is an important group of cardiovascular diseases. It can occur alone or in conjunction with other cardiovascular diseases. The prognosis is related to the cause, inducement, evolution trend of the arrhythmia, and whether it leads to severe hemodynamic disorders. It can occur suddenly and cause sudden death, or it can continue to affect the heart and cause its failure.

Causes

Hereditary arrhythmias are mostly caused by gene channel mutations, such as long QT syndrome, short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, etc.

Acquired arrhythmias can be seen in various organic heart diseases, among which coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD), cardiomyopathy, myocarditis and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are the most common, especially in the event of heart failure or acute myocardial infarction. Arrhythmias are also not uncommon in basically healthy people or those with autonomic dysfunction. Other causes include electrolyte or endocrine disorders, anesthesia, hypothermia, thoracic or cardiac surgery, drug effects and central nervous system diseases, some of which are unknown.

Clinical manifestations

The clinical manifestations of hemodynamic changes of arrhythmia mainly depend on the nature, type, cardiac function and degree of influence on hemodynamics of the arrhythmia. For example, mild sinus bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia, occasional premature atrial contraction, first-degree atrioventricular block, etc. have little effect on hemodynamics, so there is no obvious clinical manifestation. More serious arrhythmias, such as sick sinus syndrome, rapid atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, sustained ventricular tachycardia, etc., can cause palpitations, chest tightness, dizziness, hypotension, sweating, and in severe cases, syncope, Adams-Stokes syndrome, and even sudden death may occur. Due to the different types of arrhythmias, the clinical manifestations vary, mainly including the following manifestations:

1. Symptoms of coronary artery insufficiency

Various arrhythmias can cause a decrease in coronary blood flow. Although various arrhythmias can cause a decrease in coronary blood flow, they rarely cause myocardial ischemia. However, for patients with coronary heart disease, various arrhythmias can induce or aggravate myocardial ischemia, which is mainly manifested as angina pectoris, shortness of breath, peripheral vascular failure, acute heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, etc.

2. Symptoms of cerebral artery insufficiency

Different arrhythmias have different effects on cerebral blood flow. For those with normal cerebrovascular diseases, the above-mentioned hemodynamic disorders will not cause serious consequences. However, if cerebrovascular diseases occur, they will be enough to cause insufficient blood supply to the brain, which will manifest as dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision, temporary blindness, and even transient or permanent brain damage such as aphasia, paralysis, convulsions, and coma.

3. Symptoms of renal artery insufficiency

After arrhythmia occurs, renal blood flow also decreases to varying degrees, with clinical manifestations including oliguria, proteinuria, azotemia, etc.

4. Manifestations of mesenteric artery insufficiency

When rapid arrhythmia occurs, blood flow decreases and mesenteric artery spasms, which can produce clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal ischemia such as abdominal distension, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even bleeding, ulcers, or paralysis.

5. Symptoms of heart failure

The main symptoms are cough, difficulty breathing, fatigue, weakness, edema, etc.