Never ignore this symptom when you wake up. It's "potentially fatal"
Can be confused with other problems.
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Lifestyle Saúde cardiovascular
Changes in heart rate upon waking could be a sign of "potentially fatal" heart disease, a study published in the journal Circulation Research has warned, referring to arrhythmias.
Arrhythmias refer to abnormal heart rhythms. "These beats can be fast, with a rate above 100 beats per minute, or slow when the rate is below 50 beats per minute. They can also be described as irregular beats and, in this case, the rate may even be normal, that is, between 50 and 100 beats per minute", you can read on the Lusíadas group portal. Some of these arrhythmias are considered benign, but "others may require immediate medical attention as they are a medical emergency".
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According to the research, funded by the British Heart Foundation, these heart rhythm disturbances are related to the increase in the stress hormone cortisol, which peaks in the blood first thing in the morning.
In a clinical study conducted with rats, researchers at Imperial College London found that cortisol binds to a specific protein on the surface of heart cells. In turn, this protein moves to a different part of the cell, where it influences the genes that control how easily heart cells carry the electrical signals that cause them to beat. As gene activity changes, the electrical impulses to the heart become less regular, resulting in abnormal heartbeats.
"Ventricular arrhythmias [when the origin is in the ventricles] can occur at any time and, if left untreated, can lead to loss of consciousness, sudden cardiac arrest and death", explains professor and physician James Leiper, of the British Heart Foundation. He also argues that information and time are everything in prevention. Therefore, it is crucial "to continue to investigate the causes of these arrhythmias".
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