At what point is a high pulse at rest dangerous?

An elevated heart rate is a very unspecific symptom and can have both harmless and serious causes. At rest, the circulation and thus the pulse is reduced physiologically. If the pulse is elevated in this state, further clarification of the possible causes should take place.

Even in a resting state, an increased pulse rate is in most cases due to harmless causes such as caffeine consumption, mild stress, mild colds or other concomitant circumstances that activate the circulation. In rare cases, however, dangerous diseases of the cardiovascular system, hormonal disorders or acute complications of infections or allergies can also be behind the pulse rate increase. In these cases, the pulse rate increase is often a symptom that indicates that the body is fighting the disease and trying to ensure adequate circulation.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis can usually be made by a short interview and examination of the patient. Often, the patients themselves notice a tachycardia and, if necessary, other accompanying symptoms. With the help of a simple pulse measurement the high pulse can be determined.

Furthermore, a long-term ECG measurement can determine the pulse rate over a period of 24 hours and, if necessary, reveal possible cardiac arrhythmia for further diagnosis. To determine the causes of the high pulse rate, numerous other diagnostic procedures can follow. In order to narrow down the diagnosis, the possible causes can already be limited by means of a survey and physical examination.

Associated symptoms

In most cases, those affected notice the increased pulse rate by means of various accompanying symptoms. The increased pulse can be felt and palpated as palpitations or palpitations of the heart. Furthermore, nervousness, sleeping problems, excitement, headaches, dizziness and cold sweat can also be added.

Depending on the cause of the increased pulse, specific symptoms of the underlying disease follow. Stress can be accompanied by sleep problems, loss of appetite, dizziness, diarrhea or heartburn, for example. Acute diseases of the cardiovascular system can manifest themselves as severe chest pain, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath and cold sweat.

Dizziness is a non-specific symptom which, in combination with a high pulse, can indicate various diseases. There are different types of dizziness, which can have different causes. Sudden spinning dizziness may indicate diseases of the inner ear, whereas swindling dizziness may have psychological causes such as stress.Mild permanent rotational vertigo, in combination with an elevated pulse, can cause cardiovascular disease such as anemia, arrhythmia or other blood flow disorders.

In case of acute dizziness, immediate rest and rest should be observed. In many cases, drinking water and putting your legs up will already help to reduce the dizziness. If an acute weakness with a feeling of fainting also occurs, these can be acute warning symptoms of a threatening event in the cardiovascular system.

Cold sweatiness is a symptom that occurs in the paradoxical situation of sweat formation with cold skin. This occurs when the body is exposed to severe stress and the blood circulation of the body is not fully ensured. Especially in acute diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection or a so-called “shock“, cold sweat and an increased pulse are typical symptoms that can occur together. Shock, for example, is a lack of blood volume in the blood vessels, which can have various causes. By definition, shock is characterized by a high pulse and low blood pressure.