Crazy Arrhythmia and Muscle Pain

[oceanave]

I am 34 year old white male and for the last year months have been having a lot of crazy symptoms.
I have had bradycardia for the last 8 years.   The normal rhythm is dum-dum-dum-dum-dum
and the arrhythmia is like this: dum-DUM.....dum-DUM or just DUM......DUM......DUM......
I can usually get it back to normal by taking a few deep breaths, or even holding my breath for 5-6 seconds.
I had an EKG and electrocardiogram back in  2003.  Both were completely normal.
About a year ago, the bradycardia started getting worse.
I could be seated at my desk at work for a couple hours, get up, and immediately I felt faint and
my heart rate slowed down to about 40.  After going up a flight of stairs, it also decreased to 40.
Similarly, if I stretched my arms, that also can throw it out of whack.
I started getting leg pain in April. It has gotten progressively worse.  Sometimes it is worse
than others - but I usually don't feel it while walking, only when I am sitting or lying down.
It is in my calves, thighs, and hips mostly.  Sometimes it is in my shoulders.
It is usually a sizzling, burning pain.  It is in the back of the leg and occasionally top of the leg. I took motrin
(sometimes as much as 1800 mg a day) and that barely helped it.   I quit taking the motrin
because I know it's bad for the heart anyway.  Aspirin barely helped it either.
Oddly, I haven't had any chest pain or shortness of breath...knock on wood.
II had a really bad flu earlier this year, due to some viral infection - and I wonder if that had
anything to do with it.  For like 3 weeks, my right arm was totally cold and numb, like no blood
was getting to my fingers.  Then I started getting burning pain in both hands and legs.  
Since that flu, I also have gotten Raynaud's phenomenon in my hands and feet - my fingers
and palms are  constantly red and sensitive to heat/cold.  Small cuts I've gotten recently
have taken forever to heal too.  Any advice??

[Lee Kirksey, MD]

Hello
It sounds like you have had a persistent bradycardia for some time. Bradycardia, in and of itself is not that alarming, however the presence of various symptoms does make the problem a little different. what does your doctor say. I would think that someone would want to perform an echo of your heart and probably place you in an event monitor to assess the frequency and exact nature of those rhythm changes.

It is possible for viral conditions to affect cardiac function however that would best be determined by a thorough history and physical examination by your doctor

Importantly, seek immediate help to get to the bottom of the problem before it turns into something more serious. Best of luck