Low Heart Rate

My Grand-daughter who is 15 started having episodes of feeling faint when at rest, ie: sitting in class at school, waking up in the a.m. also she felt as though her heart was racing as well during these episodes. Her Cardiologist performed the standard 24 hour EKG which showed her heart rate dropping to 10-15 BPM and at times stopping entirely for 5 second intervals during a two hour period while sleeping. The fainting/racing heart episodes did not co-incide with the low heart rate at all, her heart was normal during the documented  fainting/racing heart episodes, and she had a traedmill test which showed her heart to function normally during physical activity, She continues to play sports, Track, Soccer, Snowboarding, Wakeboarding with no ill effects. The Cardiologist is talking Pacemaker to regulate her heart during sleep. Any input? Would you suggest a week long EKG monitor, or is time critical?

[Mom2four85]

Did she have a tilt table test? It's important to have one also.  A pacemaker will help with the low hr's; fainting or lightheadedness, but it may take a few tries to get the HR set right at first.

I've fainted and had arrhythmia's since age 9 and it took until I was 42 for a doctor to take it seriously enough to do a TTT and find out what was happening.  Here's some info on syncope & heart  http://www.cccgroup.info/neurosyn.asp

Did she have a sleep study done and does she have sleep apnea? that would explain the hr drops; heart racing and heart stopping during sleep.

The good thing is she's young, and in good shape since she can play sports and passed the treadmill test where her heart functions normally during exertion.

[crownline65]

Thanks for the info, she has not had a tilt table test yet, her Cardiologist has requested consultation with a specialist in teen/young adult arrythmia, who will arrive on Wednesday and will begin further testing, her mother is going to ask about the TTT at that time.

Thank You

[Mom2four85]

wonderful =) TTT may yield some answers, but it may take going to an Autonomic specialist or one of the ANS labs to find what the problem is.

Here's some info from our Dysautonomia forum: http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Diagnosing-Dysautonomia/show/827?cid=196

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological-Disorders/Dysautonomia-Specialists/show/717?cid=196