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Fast heart rate
Firstly, thank you for this service. I am a 25 year old non-smoking male. As long as I can remember I have had a varying heart rate. Sometimes at rest it can be in the sixties and other times in can be near 100. It never goes below 60 or above 100 at rest but the variations seem to be unusual. For the most part it is usually in the high eighties or ninties. Also, when I exercise, my heart rate will stay at a fast rate for a couple of hours before returning to normal. Two years ago, I decided to get this checked out. I had a couple of EKGs, I did a stress test, echocardiogram and wore a holter monitor and blood and thyroid tests. The doctors agreed that I had a fast heart rate but could not explain the reason for it. They said that my heart is structurally fine. They said that I have nothing to worry about but wanted to send me to a specialist in heart rates. Unfortunately I had to move abroad at short notice and have not yet done this. I plan to do it in a few months. Can you think of anything that would cause the variations in my resting heart rate or the usually fast rate?
Many thanks
Bremer
Many thanks
Bremer
I have been experinencing a fast heartbeat for awhile now. I never am short of breath and no chest pains. I have hypothyroidism and forgot to take my meds for about 2 weeks and have been back on them for about a week. My question is this what might be causing fast heart rate?
I recently discoverd that I have a resting heart rate of 101. I am a 22 year old female that has one kid. I have no clue what to think. It feels like my heart is actually turning when I believe that it actually speeding up then it skips a beat then slows down for 2 beats then it is up again. This speed up happens while sitting, standing, walking, mostly anything. I am very concerned could you shine some sort of light on what I am going through?
Thank You
Thank You
Hi,
I have the same symptons and one day I ended up in hospital. It turns out that I have a rare condition called Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome.
What is Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White Syndrome?
Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White (WPW) is a very rare cause of sudden death. It results from an additional electrical connection between the atria (upper chambers of the heart) and the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). This extra or accessory electrical pathway is present in approximately 1.5 per 1,000 people. It runs in families in less than 1% of cases. In the majority it is completely silent and only detected on a routine ECG. In a small proportion of patients the extra electrical pathway allows conduction of the electrical pathway generating an electrical circuit which produces a very rapid heart rate. Most patients tolerate this well but some experience very troublesome palpitations, light-headedness and blackouts. A very small minority of patients may die suddenly from ventricular fibrillation.
Symptoms
Palpitations are the main symptoms. They can occur at any time and some patients learn to control them by holding their breath for prolonged periods. In many instances the palpitations remain until they are terminated by medical therapy in the accident and emergency department.
Signs
When the patient is experiencing palpitations the heart rate is usually in excess of 150 beats per minute. When the patient has no symptoms there is nothing to find on examination.
How is Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White diagnosed?
WPW is diagnosed by performing an ECG. The ECG usually shows two abnormalities when the patient is free of symptoms
I have the same symptons and one day I ended up in hospital. It turns out that I have a rare condition called Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome.
What is Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White Syndrome?
Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White (WPW) is a very rare cause of sudden death. It results from an additional electrical connection between the atria (upper chambers of the heart) and the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). This extra or accessory electrical pathway is present in approximately 1.5 per 1,000 people. It runs in families in less than 1% of cases. In the majority it is completely silent and only detected on a routine ECG. In a small proportion of patients the extra electrical pathway allows conduction of the electrical pathway generating an electrical circuit which produces a very rapid heart rate. Most patients tolerate this well but some experience very troublesome palpitations, light-headedness and blackouts. A very small minority of patients may die suddenly from ventricular fibrillation.
Symptoms
Palpitations are the main symptoms. They can occur at any time and some patients learn to control them by holding their breath for prolonged periods. In many instances the palpitations remain until they are terminated by medical therapy in the accident and emergency department.
Signs
When the patient is experiencing palpitations the heart rate is usually in excess of 150 beats per minute. When the patient has no symptoms there is nothing to find on examination.
How is Wolff (Wolfe)-Parkinson-White diagnosed?
WPW is diagnosed by performing an ECG. The ECG usually shows two abnormalities when the patient is free of symptoms
Hi Bremer,
Sorry for the delay. I was away from the clinic and my computer crashed.
We see cases like this occassionally and never a great explanation for why it happens. There are wide variations in heart rate response to stressful stimuli (exercise, anxiety, stress). There is usually a continuum between abnormal and normal. What is a normal heart rate response to stress -- the definition of normal heart rate is a calculated by statistics (with in 2 standard deviations of normal). There are people that fall above and below these limits that have nothing "wrong" with them, just heart rates that are faster than normal. I agree you should have this looked into to make sure nothing is wrong (thyroid, heart function, etc). Unless you are having symptoms, it probably can wait.
I hope this answers your questions. Again, sorry for the delay.
Sorry for the delay. I was away from the clinic and my computer crashed.
We see cases like this occassionally and never a great explanation for why it happens. There are wide variations in heart rate response to stressful stimuli (exercise, anxiety, stress). There is usually a continuum between abnormal and normal. What is a normal heart rate response to stress -- the definition of normal heart rate is a calculated by statistics (with in 2 standard deviations of normal). There are people that fall above and below these limits that have nothing "wrong" with them, just heart rates that are faster than normal. I agree you should have this looked into to make sure nothing is wrong (thyroid, heart function, etc). Unless you are having symptoms, it probably can wait.
I hope this answers your questions. Again, sorry for the delay.
the fact that your heart rate doesnt go above 100 at rest is good.. it means ur normal.. maybe on the highside of normal, but normal all the same. the only thing i can think of that sounds KIND OF like your problem is innapropriate sinus tachycardia, which is a normal heart rhythem but a fast rate.. but since your heart rate isnt above 100 i think you probably dont have this.. good question though! interested to see what the doc has to say
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