Sinus Tachycardia: Clearing up the Mucus and the Confusion

What’s in a Name?rnFor a lot of people, the word “sinus” brings to mind the air-filled cavities found in the skull. Humans have eight of them located behind the eyes, cheeks and forehead. When one or more of these sinuses become inflamed, a condition called sinusitis results. Among the manifestations of sinusitis include nasal congestion, headaches and facial pain; but normally not an increase in heart rate (medically called as tachycardia). So why the term sinus tachycardia then? “Sinus tachycardia” is hardly a misnomer. The confusion often arises because of the concept that the term “sinus” only refers to the sinuses in the skull. In anatomy, “sinus” broadly refers to a sac or cavity in any organ or tissue. In fact, the term “sinus” can also refer to the furrows which separate the columns of the rectum (anal sinuses); to the venous channels located in between the dura mater layers of the brain (dural venous sinuses); or to a structure found in the right atrium of the heart which acts as the major pacemaker of the heart (sinus node, more popularly known as sinoatrial or simply SA node). Abnormalities in heart rate arising from a malfunction of the SA node are thus called “sinus tachycardia” (when the heart beats more than 100 times per minute) or “sinus bradycardia” (when the heart beats less than 60 times per minute). So there, you see, sinusitis and these heart conditions (sinus tachycardia/bradycardia) are separate entities which could, and actually usually occur independent of each other. Getting Back Into the Sinusitis BusinessrnWith the name confusion now hopefully cleared, we can get back into the discussion about sinusitis. Sinusitis is a fairly common condition affecting a lot of people in the world. Treatment options range from home medication, to oral treatment with a combination of medications, sinus surgery using a procedure called as Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) to a range of promising new options that include topical sinusitis treatments. Two types of topical sinusitis treatment regimens are medicated irrigation and sinus nebulization. In both these treatment options, especially compounded medications compatible for use with a medicated irrigator or nebulizer, medications are introduced into the nasal and sinus cavities so that the pharmacologic effect of the medications can be exerted directly right where the effect is intended, thus, faster relief is afforded for the patient. Sinus Dynamics, a leading compounding pharmacy manufactures its complete line of sinusitis and rhinitis medications intended for use with nebulized therapy and irrigation including their own brand of quality nebulizers and irrigators, SinusAero and ActiveSinus.