From the Guidelines
Tachycardia and hypertension are often caused by various physiological and pathological conditions, and their management depends on identifying and treating the underlying cause, with the most recent evidence suggesting that beta-blocker treatment is indicated in numerous diseases and conditions that patients may suffer from concomitant with hypertension 1.
Causes of Tachycardia and Hypertension
The causes of tachycardia and hypertension can be divided into several categories, including:
- Physiological conditions such as anxiety, stress, pain, fever, dehydration, and stimulant use
- Pathological conditions such as hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, heart conditions like heart failure or valve disorders, and certain medications
- Underlying chronic conditions such as obesity, sleep apnea, kidney disease, and diabetes
Management of Tachycardia and Hypertension
Management of tachycardia and hypertension depends on identifying and treating the underlying cause, which may involve:
- Lifestyle modifications such as reducing caffeine, managing stress, and regular exercise
- Medication adjustments or specific treatments for conditions like hyperthyroidism
- Beta-blocker treatment, which is indicated in numerous diseases and conditions that patients may suffer from concomitant with hypertension, including COPD and peripheral arterial disease 1
Importance of Immediate Medical Evaluation
If experiencing persistent or severe tachycardia with hypertension, immediate medical evaluation is necessary as these symptoms can indicate serious cardiovascular issues requiring prompt intervention, such as a heart attack, severe infection, or blood loss.
Recent Evidence on Beta-Blocker Treatment
The most recent evidence suggests that beta-blocker treatment is indicated in numerous diseases and conditions that patients may suffer from concomitant with hypertension, and that it can provide documented cardiovascular prevention together with several other drugs, including diuretics 1.
From the FDA Drug Label
Elevated systolic or diastolic pressure causes increased cardiovascular risk, and the absolute risk increase per mmHg is greater at higher blood pressures, so that even modest reductions of severe hypertension can provide substantial benefit The answer to the question about the causes of tachycardia and hypertension is that the provided drug labels do not directly address the causes of tachycardia. However, they do mention that elevated systolic or diastolic pressure causes increased cardiovascular risk, which is related to hypertension.
- The labels do not provide information on the causes of tachycardia.
- They discuss the importance of controlling high blood pressure to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, but do not explicitly state the causes of hypertension 2 3.
From the Research
Causes of Tachycardia and Hypertension
- Tachycardia is a strong predictor of both hypertension and excessive cardiovascular risk, as shown in studies 4, 5.
- Hypertension can manifest as cardiac arrhythmias, including supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, and can contribute to an increased risk of stroke 6.
- The pathophysiology of tachycardia and hypertension is complex and multifaceted, involving factors such as sympathetic nervous system activation, myocardial hypertrophy, and altered calcium handling 7.
- Increased heart rate is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, even after adjustment for other conventional cardiovascular risk factors 4, 5, 8.
- Resting heart rate is correlated with blood pressure and prospectively related to the development of hypertension, with a lower threshold defining an increased resting heart rate potentially adopted 8.
Relationship Between Tachycardia and Hypertension
- Tachycardia can be a marker of increased sympathetic nervous activity, which is often seen in patients with hypertension 8.
- Not all hypertensive patients are tachycardic at rest, due to factors such as age, hemodynamic pattern of hypertension, and variability of heart rate 8.
- The definition of tachycardia is debatable, with a general definition of resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute (bpm), but epidemiological data suggesting a lower threshold may be adopted 8.
Mechanisms and Risk Factors
- Myocardial fibrosis and scar can create the substrate for re-entrant ventricular tachycardia, and altered calcium handling in the failing heart can lead to proarrhythmic early and delayed after depolarizations 7.
- Beta-blockers are effective in reducing mortality and sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death 7.
- Increased resting heart rate is a simple marker of increased sympathetic nervous activity, and is prospectively related to the development of hypertension 4, 5, 8.