Heart Rate....??

Nurses General Nursing

Published

i have a question and really dont know where to post it.

i have a friend who recently posted a blog about her mom being sick.

this is what she said

"[color=olive]my mom is very sick.

the doctor told us that becuase my mom's thyroid went so hyper-active that her heart beat is at 580 beats a minute whereas you are only supposed to have around 180."

now...i just have a question...i thought the "normal" heartbeat should be between 60-100 (80 is perfect and sounds real good to me) but i didn't know 180 was what you are supposed to have??

i have caught this girls in many lies before about her own health and i hope she isn't lying about her mothers problems:nono:,but her mom is home and doing okay but wouldnt you think 580 beats a min is alittle much for the body.

my heartbeat has been high after surgery and i went into cardic arrest (sp?) and i had alot of trouble and mine wasn't to high but high enough where it affected my body.

580 to me would kill a person if it didnt get under control.

i think that if it was that serious they would have kept her mom in the hosp.

i'm just not sure what to think..is it true you can have a heart rate of 580 and still live and not be affected by it...and what is the normal heart rate for a adult??

thanks girls and guys!;)

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Specializes in ICU.

Clearly whoever wrote that was making it up.

If you are looking for medical advice, this is not the place, and from the sound of your post, you dont work in the healtcare field, but I will quickly explain the impossibility of the situation.

A HR in the 500's wouldnt even be a HR, and physically impossible. Lethal heart rhythms can often go onto the 200's, but keep in mind...they are lethal. When they go that fast, they are abnormal rhythms, and there is no pulse with these fast rates, the heart is basically quivering and not contracting properly, and they often have to be defibrilated and given emergency drugs imediately to get the heart back to a normal rhythm. Essentially the person is dead with a heart rate that fast so we have to work fast to get them out of it or they wont survive 2 minutes.

A normal heart rate is 60-100. Too low can cause fatal problems as quickly at a rate thats too high. Even a rate of 150-180 is much to fast and the body cant sustain that for too long.

I would ignore this persons blog or whatever it was and not give it a second thought.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hello,

There is NO WAY that anyone could be alive with a heart rate of 580. The heart is not made to take that kind of abuse. I work on a cardiac unit, and I have seen some heart rates of 180-200, but they were very sick patients. You are correct that the normal heart rate should be in the 60-100 range. Some people are normally lower, and some are normally higher than the "average", but 580 is incompatible with life. If her Dr. really said that to her, than he should not be practicing medicine. My feeling is that your friend is exaggerating, and does not know what she is talking about. I'm sorry to say this, but I hope she is not a nursing student or a nurse....

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Discharges from the atria in various parts during fibrillation can be very rapid causing the atria to quiver. These contractions/discharges can be 400 to 600 per minute. This usually isn't measured but perhaps this is where they are coming up with this number and perhaps the doc was trying to explain fibrillation and the patient misunderstood???

Obviously the ventricles don't contract that many times.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Even if the doc was explaining rapid a-fib, saying normal is 180 doesn't make sense. I agree, ignore the blog.

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Specializes in corrections, LTC, pre-op.
Even if the doc was explaining rapid a-fib, saying normal is 180 doesn't make sense. I agree, ignore the blog.
Trust us ignore the person. 580 whew!!

Larry Rn in Fla

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Thanks YOU...All of you.

I'm glad you all replied I know that something about her seemed phony in the blog she wrote,but I just wanted to be sure and know the right facts.

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Clearly whoever wrote that was making it up.

If you are looking for medical advice, this is not the place, and from the sound of your post, you dont work in the healtcare field, but I will quickly explain the impossibility of the situation.

A HR in the 500's wouldnt even be a HR, and physically impossible. Lethal heart rhythms can often go onto the 200's, but keep in mind...they are lethal. When they go that fast, they are abnormal rhythms, and there is no pulse with these fast rates, the heart is basically quivering and not contracting properly, and they often have to be defibrilated and given emergency drugs imediately to get the heart back to a normal rhythm. Essentially the person is dead with a heart rate that fast so we have to work fast to get them out of it or they wont survive 2 minutes.

A normal heart rate is 60-100. Too low can cause fatal problems as quickly at a rate thats too high. Even a rate of 150-180 is much to fast and the body cant sustain that for too long.

I would ignore this persons blog or whatever it was and not give it a second thought.

And to answer if I'm in the health care field is "NO" not at this time.I'm going to start school to become a nurse so right now I dont know everything and was looking for advice since I've gotten good feedback from all of you.Just because I asked doesn't mean I'm stupid everyone in this world has questions and that was mine.

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