BRADYCARDIA

Bradycardia

• Name the causes of bradycardia!

Physiological bradycardia is seen during sleep and in athletes.

In typhoid fever, yellow fever and brucellosis, we see relative bradycardia.

Pathological bradycardia is seen in hypothermia, hypothyroidism, raised intracranial tension

 & inferior wall myocardial infarction, hypertension, bradyarrhythmia, etc.

• What is relative bradycardia?

In fever, we would normally expect tachycardia. But despite the fever being there, here the rate

is not high, therefore, relative bradycardia.

For every degree rise in temperature, the pulse increases by 10 bpm. When there is fever and

the heart rate doesn't increase proportionately, it is termed relative bradycardia

• Why does obstructive jaundice causes bradycardia?

I thought it was because of the effect of raised bilirubin on the SA node. But I was wrong.

Sinus bradycardia is not a feature of obstructive jaundice and that high serum bile acid concentrations 

do not exert a slowing effect on the sino-atrial node.