Bradycardia

bradycardia

[¦brād·i¦kärd·ē·ə]

(medicine)

Slow heart rate.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Bradycardia

 

decrease in frequency of heart contractions to less than 60 beats per minute.

Bradycardia may be found as a normal, constitutionally conditioned phenomenon in perfectly healthy persons, in well-trained athletes, and as one of the symptoms in many diseases. More often, bradycardia is observed as a result of organic disturbances of auriculoventricular conductivity—heart blockage, myocardial infarction, and inflammatory (infectious or toxic) diseases of the heart muscle. Complete blockage of the heart with a pulse frequency of 30–40 beats per minute or less threatens brain complications: loss of consciousness, convulsions, and cessation of heart activity. Prophylaxis and treatment are directed toward removal of the cause.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.