Skipped and Racing heartbeats

[Mojo200x]

I have a questions which my doctors haven't answered, why I don't know but they keep blaming this on anxiety. I find this slightly annoying as I'm quite a relaxed person who plays football (soccer) 5 times a week and who is enjoying life to the maximum. But I'm looking for an answer just for reassurance.

From what I can recall when I was about 15/16 I started to experience a weird feeling in my heart, this would only happen once in a blue moon, more frequently back then than now and I'm 24 now and not overweight.

Basically from what I remember this sensation would start off with what I felt was a skipped beat followed by a feeling as though my heart was shocked back into action but at an extraordinary speed, very scary feeling I must say. My heart felt as though it was beating faster than it has ever done before, bearing in mind I played football pretty much every day! and still felt quicker than any exercise I have ever done, and I mean very fast!

This always seemed to go away on its own after some minutes, however the last time I had this was when I was 20 or 21 and it lasted well over 1 hour, initially I sat down to let it pass but my friends felt that they had to call an ambulance which they did.

I was transported to hospital which took over 30 minutes, my heart rate still felt quick not as quick as when it first started but nevertheless still quick even when I arrived at the hospital.

The DRs did some tests; ECG, blood test etc and they concluded that it wasn't anything to be concerned about even after telling them that I was due to fly abroad the next day, but they did not indicate what the cause may have been and why I get this, hence why I'm here looking for reassurance.

So can anyone shed some light as to what this could be so next time I get this I know what to do?

Many thanks

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

The testing you had done should give you peace of mind that your heart is structurally normal. If your symptoms are sporadic then an event monitor would have been better for you. Do you feel comfortable asking your Cardiologist for this? Or do you think he has already concluded that this is related to anxiety and is not open to discussion. Clearly, your symptoms have persisted and warrant further evaluation.

There is that old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the oil" Don't take no for an answer. You are the patient and he, the Dr, is supposed to help you. If you feel that you aren't getting anywhere, then maybe it's best to find another Dr. It is crucial to have trust in the people you are responsible for your health...especially your heart:)

[Mojo200x]

Hi Brooke thank you for your reply. The difficulty I have is the fact that it doesn't happen all that often, well my last one was about 3/4 years ago so it's tricky to pin point what it could be. I was reffered to a cardiologist 2 years ago where I had a stress test, echo, ECG and 48 hour holter, all tests came back normal. So am I wrong in thinking this not enough proof that I have a healthy heart?

Many thanks

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

So, the only test you have had is an EKG and blood tests? First of all, if the EKG was done and you weren't experiencing symptoms....it would be normal. I imagine the blood tests were Electrolyte Levels, Cardiac Enzymes and a CBC...If this was normal, then you your rapid rate cannot be related to an Electrolyte imbalance and oviously you didn't have a heart attack. To me, this is not what I would consider a complete workup to be told, "you're fine, it's anxiety"

I can't diagnose you and really do not even want to hazzard a guess to what arrhythmia you may or may not have. This can only be done from monitoring your hearts electrical activity. If you're sypmtoms do not occur on a daily basis, then a holter monitor would not be beneficial (these are 24-48 hr monitors) You're best bet at capturing this rhythm would be an event monitor. These are typically give for 21-30 days. You wear the monitor which usually has 2-3 electrodes worn on your chest. When you start to feel symptoms you press the button on the recorder and then you send this tracing through the phone.

It is disconcerting to feel unvalidated or be told that it's all anxiety. I think your first step is to get refered to a cardiologist for a consult.

I hope that you find a solution. Keep us posted with your progress:)