What is the Difference Between Tachycardia and Bradycardia?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Tachycardia and bradycardia are both types of heart arrhythmias, which are irregular heartbeats. The main difference between them is the speed at which the heart beats per minute.
Tachycardia is a fast heartbeat, with the heart rate being greater than 100 beats per minute. Some common types of tachycardia include:
- Supraventricular tachycardia: Occurs when the electrical signals in the heart's upper chambers misfire.
- Ventricular tachycardia: Occurs when the electrical signals in the lower chambers misfire.
- Sinus tachycardia: Elevated heart rate in response to exercise or stress.
Bradycardia is a slow heartbeat, with the heart rate being less than 60 beats per minute. Some common types of bradycardia include:
- Sinus bradycardia: When the heart rate drops below 60 beats per minute.
- Sick sinus syndrome: The sinus node, which sets the pace of the heart, doesn't work properly, causing the heart rate to switch between too slow and too fast.
- Conduction block: A block of the heart's electrical pathways can cause the signals that trigger the heartbeats to slow.
It is possible to have both tachycardia and bradycardia at the same time, a condition referred to as tachy-brady syndrome or tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome. This condition causes the heart rate to fluctuate between beating too quickly (tachycardia) and too slowly (bradycardia).
Comparative Table: Tachycardia vs Bradycardia
Tachycardia and bradycardia are two types of heart rhythm abnormalities that differ in the speed at which the heart beats per minute. Here is a table comparing the differences between tachycardia and bradycardia:
Tachycardia | Bradycardia |
---|---|
Heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute | Heart rate less than 60 beats per minute |
Occurs when the heart beats faster than normal | Occurs when the heart beats slower than normal |
Can be caused by various factors, including genetic heart defects, complications post-heart surgery, underactive thyroid, electrolyte imbalance, sleep apnea, inflammatory diseases, and use of illegal drugs | Can be caused by various factors, including inflammation of the heart tissue, genetic heart defects, complications post-heart surgery, underactive thyroid, electrolyte imbalance, sleep apnea, inflammatory diseases, and use of illegal drugs |
Types include supraventricular (misfire in the heart's upper chambers), ventricular (misfire in the lower chamber), and sinus tachycardia (elevated heart rate in response to exercise or stress) | Types include sinus bradycardia (heart rate drops below 60 beats per minute) and heart block (due to blockage in the conduction network) |
Both tachycardia and bradycardia can be caused by atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia that results in an irregular heart rhythm. It is also possible to experience a combination of tachycardia and bradycardia, known as tachy-brady syndrome or tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome, in which the heart rate fluctuates between beating too quickly and too slowly.
- Ventricular Tachycardia vs Ventricular Fibrillation
- Heart Rate vs Pulse Rate
- Arrhythmia vs Dysrhythmia
- Hyperventilation vs Tachypnea
- Heart Rate vs Blood Pressure
- Pulse Rate vs Blood Pressure
- Heart Palpitations vs Arrhythmia
- Cardioversion vs Defibrillation
- Chronotropic vs Dromotropic
- Cardiac Arrest vs Heart Attack
- Inotropic vs Chronotropic
- Systole vs Diastole
- Pulse vs Pulse Pressure
- Myocardial Infarction vs Cardiac Arrest
- Sinus Tach vs SVT
- Pacemaker vs Defibrillator
- Hypertension vs Hypotension
- EKG vs Echocardiogram
- Polymorphic vs Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia