Embryocardia

Embryocardia (from Greek embryon-embryo and kardia-heart), a special heart rhythm characterized by equal duration of systolic and diastolic pauses between equally strong heart tones with significant acceleration of the heart rate. This auscultatory phenomenon was first described in the mid-19th century by Stokes when describing the manifestations of typhus from the side of the circulatory organs. He gave it the name "fetal rhythm." In 1888, Huchard again drew attention to this phenomenon and proposed to designate it with the term embryocardia. Embryocardia should be distinguished from the pendulum rhythm of the heart-equality in the length of the small and large pause and equality of the strength of the 1st and 2nd tones, but with slowed or normal heart rate. As a normal physiological phenomenon, embryocardia is observed only in intrauterine life, while in adults it is most often observed in severe acute infectious diseases (mainly in typhus), and less frequently in other serious lesions of the myocardium. Embryocardia develops as a result of a significant decrease in systolic volume, both due to weakening of the heart muscle and due to insufficient blood flow to the heart due to vascular insufficiency (see Blood circulation, pathology). Embryocardia is always an alarming sign of severe circulatory insufficiency, cardiac or vascular (most likely there is a combination of both). The appearance of embryocardia requires the doctor to take energetic measures in the form of applying the most effective means that improve cardiac and vascular activity.