ECG Abnomalities

im 28 female, overweight and not very active and i have been suffering with anxiety and panic attacks but have not experienced them for months. But then thursday night i woke up with my left arm tingling and pounding, my heart rate was fast i could feel it pounding through my chest and i was breathless, i called an ambulance they took my blood pressure which was fine, they then did a ECG which showed an abnomalitie ( which they explained that my heart was doin want it was supposed to but was taking a millisecond longer than it should i am obvioulsy worried that this could mean i have something wrong with my heart and im really scared. would just like some advice if to get a 2nd opinion or ignore it?

[caregiver222]

First of all, paramedics do not perform what is known as  "twelve lead" EKG (or ECG). They use a simplified lead system which doesn't provide a complete picture of the electrical activity.

Secondly, they should not have ventured an opinion as to your "abnormality", which in itself is rather innocuous. They are not doctors. What constitutes an abnormality is a matter of some discussion.

If your heart rate was fast your blood pressure should have been higher than normal. The two "don't add up", unless the heart rate had gone down when they examined you.

Many people have episodes of short periods in which they have an "abnormly high heart rate". Unless these episodes are frequent, and interfere with activities of sleep, they are generally left alone.

A common cause is an excitable atria, a problem which sometimes can be solved by taking a daily magnesium glycinate supplement. I am NOT suggesting you do so. I am suggesting that if the episodes increase in frequency, an evaluation may be in order.

You are not having a "heart attack", nor are ocasional episodes of tachycardia (fast heart rate) to be something that you should lose sleep over. It depends a lot on how fast and how often the episodes take place.

When the heart rate is especially fast, the heart chambers do not fill completely with blood. This sometimes causes the feeling of "breathlessness".

There are "missing pieces" to this story.

First, they should have taken you to the hospital.

Instead, they probably had you sign an "RMA",  which stated you "refused medical aid".

Then they went back to the donut shop to make time with the waitress.

And, of course they didn't leave the ECG (EKG) strip for your medical records.

I would feel more comfortable if you got a cardiac evaluation from an M.D.  That being said, minor variations in an electrocardiogram are common.

Ocasionally obesity enters into the equation.

Losing some weight would be a step in the right direction.

If you have not had a recent physical, it would seem prudent to arrange one, and explain the circumstances.

But you should not be overly concerned.