Bradycardia is an alteration in the rhythm at which the heart beats, specifically it is a decrease in heart rate. Bradycardia begins to be considered as such when the heart rate is below 60 per minute at rest. Although by itself it does not necessarily have to be treated (when it is asymptomatic), it can appear as a symptom of a heart disease and associated with some ailment (symptomatic), which requires treatment, which in some cases can reach the facility of a pacemaker.
Bradycardia sometimes manifests with symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, dizziness, or palpitations, or it goes completely unnoticed . It is not rare or necessarily dangerous in athletes or young adults in good health, but in these population groups it must also be evaluated to rule out any symptoms of a congenital disorder or any type of injury. Attention to possible symptoms is important for the treatment of diseases that, if demonstrated as symptomatic bradycardia, could present themselves. It could not only be a symptom of coronary heart disease, but also meningitis or brain damage.
However, a recent study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, concludes that asymptomatic bradycardias can even be beneficial in people older than 60 years . Scientists at Northwestern University, in Chicago, USA, have come to prove that this type of bradycardia not only does not influence the causes of mortality in the elderly, but it is possible that they may even have a beneficial effect.
