Bradycardia Health Dictionary

Slow heart rate; less than 55 beats per minute. Cause may be disease of the heart muscle or may lie in the CNS (central nervous system). May also be caused by disorder of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) with dropsy-like swelling of face and hands. Of recent years bradycardia has been associated with beta-blocker drugs, reserpine and digitalis alkaloids given in excess. Wrist pulse is slow. In the aged it is present as weakness and worsened by hypothermia.

In total heart block a rate of 36 or less is due to failure of conduction from atria to ventricles: requires artificial pace maker.

Modern herbalism (phytotherapy) employs: Hawthorn berries, Prickly Ash bark (berries preferred for circulatory disorders), Lily of the Valley leaves, Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus), Broom, Heart’s Ease, Holy Thistle, Cactus (Night blooming cereus), Nutmeg, Saffron, Lemon Balm, Thuja, Figwort, Ginseng.

Lily of the Valley has a specific action in the heart muscle.

One of the purest and positive stimulants known for increasing the pulse rate is Cayenne Pepper. A few grains sprinkled on a meal or added to a beverage coaxes the heart to increase its output. To give the heart just that little extra support it may need, gentle cardiac stimulants can be found in the kitchen: Cloves, Ginger, Horseradish, Peppermint, Red Sage, Garden Sage.

Where a slow beat arises from a serious heart condition the underlying disorder should receive priority. In the event of an emergency the restorative, Camphor, may be given until the doctor comes:– 1-5 drops oil of Camphor in a teaspoon of honey. Even inhalation of the oil is known to increase pulse rate.

A slow pulse can be increased in pace by vagal relaxation. The pulse may be slow because of an excess of bile salts in the blood when a liver remedy (say Dandelion) would be indicated. Slow pulse of convalescence (Gentian), diabetes (Goat’s Rue), glandular fever (Poke root), jaundice (Dandelion), low thyroid (Kelp), congestion in the brain (Cypripedium), nervous exhaustion (Ginseng).

Practitioner. Broom (Spartiol Drops), 20 drops thrice daily. (Klein) Diet and supplements. See: DIET – HEART AND CIRCULATION. 

An abnormally slow heartrate. Most people have a heart-rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Many athletes and healthy people who exercise regularly and vigorously have slower rates. In others, bradycardia may indicate an underlying disorder such as hypothyroidism or heart block. Bradycardia may also occur as a result of taking beta-blocker drugs. Profound or sudden

bradycardia may cause a drop in blood pressure that results in fainting (see vasovagal attack).

Slowness of the beating of the heart with corresponding slowness of the pulse (below 60 per minute). (See HEART, DISEASES OF.)

A distinctly slow heartbeat, which may be a normal idiosyncrasy or with causes ranging from regular strenuous exercise to abnormally slow heart stimulus to the side-effects of medication. Bradycardia is usually defined as a pulse below sixty beats a minute, or seventy in children.

n. slowing of the heart rate to less than 50 beats per minute. Sinus bradycardia is often found in healthy individuals, especially athletes, but it is also seen in some patients with reduced thyroid activity, jaundice, hypothermia, or *vasovagal attacks. Bradycardia may also result from *arrhythmias, especially complete *heart block, when the slowing is often extreme and often causes loss of consciousness.