2 scary Arythmias in 8 months - Between Machine Gun Like Pace and Constant Vibration

[Zenmasta]

Hello,

I'm 26 years old.  I work out 4-5 days a week doing 30 minutes a time of cardio on average.  I eat healthy, including taking Omega 3 supplements and eating sushi twice a week along with fruits and vegtables.  Have had scary heart symptoms like chest pain, skipped heart beats, and a scary really fast flutter of heart with no succinct ba-boom ( This particular symptom has only happened twice in eight months, 1st time rushing for a dropped shot while playing tennis (June 06') and during doing curls (weights) last Tuesday (2/27/07) Told symptoms I have felt are of no concern given the healthy test results indicated below:

March 06' General physical - All blood test normal, healthy cholesterol levels.  Normal EKG.

April 06' Normal EKG

June 06' Normal EKG and Normal Regular Echo

Sept 06' Stress Echo - Normal / Good Tolerance to exercise

The symptom I felt last Tuesday as indicated above went away in less than five minutes, no chest pain, no lightheadedness, was able to walk up stairs of gym fine. BP readings at home after this were 130/90..three minutes later 118/78.Temp 98.2
Worked out four days in a row following these scary symptom, including three hours of snowboarding the Friday after when I took my BP and it was at 106/78.  BP has been phenomenal.  Didn't call docs that Tuesday night due to all the healthy results indicated above and that symptom went away in less than five minutes.  

I'm having second thoughts on whether I was rolling the dice on the health of my heart.  Was my judgement ok?

[Forum-M.D.-MJM]

Hello Zenmasta',
A normal EKG and the symptoms you describe are consistent with your doctors recommendations.  I specialize in heart rhythms, so I think it is reasonable to try and capture a similar event on a heart monitor.  Two episodes in 8 months means it is will likely be difficult to catch the arrhythmia, but worth a shot.  It is improbable that that these symptoms suggest a life threatening problem but this is often where the mind wanders after the symptoms. If the symptoms persist and are bothersome, it is worth seeing a specialist to look into in great detail.  There is not enough information to make any conclusions at this time.
I hope this helps.  Enjoy the sushi.

[Zenmasta]

Forgot...normal resting heart beat averages between 60-70 beats per minute
Thanks!

[Zenmasta]

Forgot...normal resting heart beat averages between 60-70 beats per minute.  Had anxiety issues during the times of tests indicated that I have greatly improved on. ( one panic attack every other day 1st month to one in last nine months - due to natural methods)
-No family history of heart disease.  

Thanks!

[Al Dente]

To catch a fish....

This is quite hard to do, to catch a heart rythym when you are symtomatic.  Most of the time, the workouts that we do at home, etc. are harder than what is done in the stress labs.  Running, doing shuttle sprints, weights, etc., aren't done.  My fainting issues pop up when doing harder exercise.  The stresses aren't to hard if you are in reasonable shape.  Even with CAD, you can achieve pretty good METS scores.

This can be a real challenge.  My docs and I have been trying to really figure this out for the last 12 years.  We just haven't caught the rythym yet.

Good luck!

[Bromley]

Heart arrhythmias can be difficult to catch, but dont let that stop you from trying. There is a trick to catching them. It is to understand what tends to set your rhythm off. This may have to come with persistance and a good deal of time. Knowing this, you can create the conditions you need to record it.

Then, there are portble devices now that you can carry with you during your workouts, if that is when you most often experience your symptoms.  You want a portable monitor that you can carry for several weeks during a time when you are most likely to experience your rythmn.  Since your abnormal symptoms are not PVC like, you do not necessarily need a loop recorder or an event monitor.  This makes it easier --- and it can be done with a less expensive, more convenient device such as a heart card.

Good luck.

[Bromley]

I was able to locate a picture:

http://www.summerlinhospital.org/p2073.html