What's wrong with my child's fast heart rate?

Children's organs are still developing, so it is normal for their heart rate to be faster than that of adults sometimes. But what causes a child to have a fast heart rate? The heart is one of the most important organs for every person. Measuring heart rate can also show whether the heart is developing healthily. We need to pay close attention to the child's every move, so we also need to figure out why the child has a fast heart rate.

Everyone's heart beats at a different speed. Generally speaking, the normal range of a baby's heart rate in a quiet state is: 85 to 150 beats/minute at around 6 months; 80 to 145 beats/minute at around 8 months; 80 to 140 beats/minute for under 1 year old; 80 to 120 beats/minute for 1 to 6 years old; 60 to 100 beats/minute for over 6 years old.

2. Fast metabolism

Children's metabolism is faster than that of adults. Because children are in the period of growth and development, the speed of cell division and reproduction is very fast. At the same time, the waste discharged by the body also increases relatively, so the body's demand for blood oxygen supply is also greater, so the baby's heart beats much faster than that of an adult.

3. High energy consumption

Babies are young and usually active, so their bodies consume more energy than adults. This requires the baby's blood to flow faster so that the body can replenish energy in time.

4. Weak heart function

Babies are smaller and have weaker heart function. Their ability to transport blood with each beat is relatively inferior to that of adults. Therefore, they must increase the amount of blood delivered by speeding up the heartbeat.

5. Abnormal fast heartbeat

If the baby's heart rate exceeds the normal range for the above-mentioned age groups, or the heart rate increases in a quiet environment and when active, it is necessary to attract the attention of parents in time. It is best to take the baby to the doctor in time to find out the cause and avoid delaying treatment.

The baby is the apple of the mother's eye. A cold or fever can make the mother anxious like an ant on a hot pan, not to mention finding out that there is a problem with the baby's heartbeat. But no matter how anxious you are, you must not make subjective and blind judgments. If you have no relevant experience, you must go to a regular hospital for diagnosis. Moreover, even during the diagnosis process, there are many interfering factors. Only by eliminating these interfering factors can we make a correct judgment on the baby's condition.

1: Dynamic electrocardiogram is very important

There are many factors that affect heart rate, and heart rate will fluctuate within a certain range. For the same heart rate at the same age, it is difficult for us to simply judge whether it is normal or abnormal. Usually, we need to combine whether the ECG graph is normal. It is particularly important to use a 24-hour dynamic ECG to understand the heart rate fluctuation range throughout the day for a comprehensive evaluation.

2: Don’t panic when auscultating “arrhythmia”

Sometimes when a child is examined or sees the doctor, they are told that they have “irregular heart rhythm”, and parents often become very nervous. Arrhythmia is a general term that encompasses more specific diagnoses, such as sinus arrhythmia, which may be related to breathing and is a normal physiological phenomenon. Other common symptoms include premature beats and atrioventricular block, which are sometimes difficult to differentiate by auscultation alone and require further electrocardiogram examination.

Paroxysmal tachycardia, during which auscultation or electrocardiogram is normal. For paroxysmal attacks of tachycardia, such as the common paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, the heart rate is very fast during an attack, reaching 160 to 300 beats per minute. The duration varies, and in some children it may only last for a few minutes. It is difficult to capture it with a surface electrocardiogram or even a 24-hour dynamic electrocardiogram. Parents should not panic when such children fall ill. They should carefully observe their children's behaviors and measure their heart rates when the disease occurs, which can provide doctors with reliable first-hand materials and diagnostic basis.