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Can Dehydration Cause Tachycardia?

Tachycardia is basically rapid and irregular heart rate at rest in adults. Tachycardia happens when heartbeats exceed 100 beats per minute. Dehydration is the loss of too many fluids from the body to work properly. Dehydration also causes loss of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, etc. along with water. Excessive loss of body fluid results in a reduction in blood volume, and blood pressure. The heart has to work faster to meet the requirement of adequate blood supply. So, dehydration can cause tachycardia.

An 80% of our body is made up of water. Fluids are present all over our body and are regulated on the basis of our specific needs. We have a tendency to lose fluids from skin via evaporation and sweating, from kidney via urine, from stomach via vomiting, diarrhea and from lungs via exhalation. We have to fulfill our water requirements by taking sufficient liquids to maintain an optimum level of hydration.

Dehydration not only leads to loss of water but also cause loss of electrolytes such as potassium and sodium and nutrients too from the body. Electrolytes play an important role in the maintenance of blood volume and blood pressure. When blood volume reduces, blood supply to various parts of the body is compromised. This increases the workload on the heart. It has to pump more blood thus; it beats faster resulting in tachycardia.

Depending on the amount of fluid lost from the body and intake of fluids, dehydration is categorized into mild, moderate or severe.

Mild Dehydration: It represents few symptoms like thirst or dry mouth.

Moderate Dehydration: It represents most of the signs and symptoms of dehydration.

Severe Dehydration: It is a serious type of dehydration where emergency medical intervention is necessary.

The causes of dehydration

Hot weather- we lose liquids faster than we replace them in hot weather when the range of temperature is high.

Physical exertion- intense physical exercise leads to much loss of fluids along with electrolytes.

Consumption of less water- some people do not drink sufficient water.

Fever- rise in body temperature due to infection and disease may result in dehydration.

Diarrhea- diarrhea more than two days can cause dehydration.

Vomiting – excessive loss of body fluid due to vomiting also cause dehydration.

Injury- bleeding from the skin, burns, diseases or infections of the skin may induce dehydration through fluid loss.

Less availability of clean water in places such as beach areas, and desert areas and Hypernatremia

The symptoms of dehydration-

Thirst- dehydrated person experiences thirst and want to drink more and more fluids.

Dryness in the mouth and throat- the patient with excessive liquid loss can cause dryness in the mouth and throat.

Dry and cracked lips – dehydration cause dryness in the skin and lips. Moisture in the lips gets lost resulting in cracks in the lips.

Tachycardia- loss of fluids results in the reduction in blood volume causing impaired heart function, thereby leading to tachycardia.

Hypotension- frequent loss of fluids and electrolytes especially sodium reduces blood volume and blood pressure causing hypotension.

Less urination- dehydration induces the reduction in urine output from the kidney. Dark yellow, orange colored and dark brown urination indicates dehydration.

Fatigue and tiredness- the dehydrated person feels tired, lack of energy, sleepy, weakness, and fatigue all the time. He may feel weakness in muscles and joint.

Dizziness, lightheadedness, and confusion- dehydration causes dizziness, lightheadedness and confusion due drop in blood pressure.

Fainting- dehydration may result in loss of consciousness and the dehydrated person may faint down.

Lack of appetite and low blood sugar- the loss of fluid may result in loss of appetite and drop in blood sugar.

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Can Dehydration Cause Tachycardia?