There are numerous causes of an increased heart rate or tachycardia. According to MayoClinic.com, the heart of a normal, healthy adult beats around 70 times each minute while at rest, and tachycardia involves a faster than usual heart rate. Common symptoms associated with an increased heart rate include dizziness, lightheadedness and a rapid pulse rate, among others. Causes of an increased heart rate include exercise, smoking and anxiety disorders.
Exercise
Exercise, both strength training and aerobic, causes an increased heart rate. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, a rapid heart rate and a strong and forceful pulse occurs with heavy exercise. Mild to moderate exercise also causes an increase in heart rate, to a submaximal level. As the exercise's physiological demands increase, the body's heart rate increases to send more blood and oxygen to the working muscles. The American Heart Association or AHA states that a person's heart rate decreases with age, and that a person's maximum heart rate can be calculated, somewhat accurately, using the formula 220 minus age. The AHA recommends that a person exercise within a target heart rate, which is a heart rate that's 50 to 85 percent of a person's maximum heart rate.
Smoking
Smoking causes an increased heart rate. According to the Cleveland Clinic--one of the United States' top four hospitals--smoking cigarettes decreases a person's exercise tolerance, decreases oxygen to the heart and other body tissues and increases a person's blood pressure and heart rate. MayoClinic.com states that each puff of nicotine from cigarette smoke forces a person's heart to work harder, and over time, narrows the blood vessels and increases blood pressure and heart rate. Smoking-related heart rate increases, therefore, can be both temporary and long-term. Because the carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke binds to the red blood cells better than oxygen, less oxygen is available for the body's cells. To meet the cellular demand for oxygen, a smoker's heart must beat quicker to pump more blood to the tissues. A person who quits smoking should notice, and benefit from, a decrease in her resting heart rate.
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders and stress can cause an increased heart rate. According to the Merck Manuals website, anxiety disorders can induce sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, fear avoidance behavior and an increased heart rate. The Merck Manuals website states that anxiety disorders involve a state of chronic, yet fluctuating nervousness that is unreasonable for the person's circumstances. Anxiety is a normal response to threats, both real and perceived, or to mental stress, and is experienced by everyone, to some degree. Fear-based anxiety is a survival mechanism, such that, when a person is faced with a potentially dangerous situation, the fight-or-flight response is invoked. The fight-or-flight mechanism triggers a variety of physiological changes, including an increased heart rate to send more blood to the heart and muscles, which prepares the body for action.
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