Sinus tachycardia

Sinus tachycardia is a heart rhythm faster than 100 beats per minute at rest, with each beat originating in the sinoatrial node. It is usually a response to increased bodily demand or stress.

Sinoatrial node: A cluster of specialized heart cells that initiates each normal heartbeat. Its faster spontaneous firing produces sinus tachycardia.
Exercise: Physical activity that increases energy use and bodily demand. Working muscles prompt a normal rise in sinus rate to deliver more oxygen.
Supraventricular tachycardia: A rapid rhythm arising above the ventricles, often beginning and ending abruptly. Unlike sinus tachycardia, it commonly has abrupt onset and a non-sinus activation pattern.
Sinus tachycardia management: Clinical evaluation and treatment of an elevated sinus rhythm according to its cause and effects. Addressing fever, volume loss, pain, or another trigger is usually the priority.
Autonomic nervous system: The nervous system that regulates involuntary functions through sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways. Sympathetic activation and reduced vagal influence can accelerate sinoatrial-node firing.
Fever: A regulated increase in body temperature, often caused by infection or inflammation. Higher temperature commonly increases sinoatrial-node firing.
Atrial flutter: A rapid atrial rhythm caused by a reentrant electrical circuit. Its organized rapid atrial activity differs from faster normal sinus-node firing.
Ivabradine: A medication that slows sinoatrial-node firing by inhibiting the cardiac pacemaker current. It can reduce heart rate in selected cases of inappropriate sinus tachycardia.
Electrocardiography: The recording of the heart’s electrical activity using electrodes on the body. A tracing shows sinus-origin P waves preceding the rapid QRS complexes.
Dehydration: A deficit of body water that impairs normal physiological function. Reduced circulating volume can provoke a compensatory increase in heart rate.

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