Flutter, tachycardia, arrhythmia.. many episodes.. please help!

Hi, first off I'm a "healthy" 23 year old male, don't smoke or drink alcohol. Don't take illegal drugs. 5ft 6", 59kg.

For the last 4-5 years I've been experiencing weird sensations with my heart but I have no idea what it could be. It happens rarely with no real stimulus. Each episode lasts between 2 - 70 seconds and happens roughly every 1-3 months. So it appears to be semi-random.

During each episode I have a light empty feeling in my chest which I will assume is flutter. My heart rate shoots up to 200+ bpm (normally is between 48-55). The pulse is completely irregular. Then it will just go back to normal.

I have had a holter monitor (24h) on and the cardiologist has reported a sinus rythm but some non-conducted p-waves (I did NOT have one of these episodes during the holter monitoring). I do not experience fainting, dizzyness, pain etc. Chest x-ray came back fine.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism recently but my endocrinologist told me that the heart problems were not related and were due to some other underlying condition.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? It does get worrying when it starts.

Thanks.

[ireneo]

The doctor really needs to "catch" it on an EKG. Perhaps you could wear an event monitor. Usually they're worn for a month and when your heart goes bonkers, you press the button and it will record a couple minutes of your arrhythmia. That's the best way to see whether you have a tachy with some heart block or perhaps atrial fibrillation. You mentioned it was irregular. Ask your doctor about the event monitor. A heart rate over 200 is going to make you feel pretty uncomfortable.

Is your hypothyroidism being treated?

[BionicBabe]

Have you had an echocardiogram to test for possible heart disease? I experienced the same kind of sensations your experiencing and I now have an ICD to prevent cardiac arrest due to a serious arrhythmia  (Ventricular tachycardia). Demand every test possible so that you can find out if you really have a serious problem. If everything turns out well (which hopefully it will) then maybe you can stop worrying, but if there is something going on you are young and there are many awesome things that can be done these days to ensure you live a long life. Good luck!

[lolburg]

Hi, thanks for the responses.

Once I let my GP know that the heart problems are not caused by the hypothyroidism (and yes, I'm on thyroxine for that now) he should take it to the next level seeing as his personal interest is in cardiac problems.

I did just have a 10-way EKG as a surgery pre-assessment which came back ok. So I assume my GPs next step would be an echo or event monitor, although isn't that like the holter monitor but worn for months?

[ireneo]

Event monitor is smaller (thank goodness) and can be worn for a week to a month. Just depends on how long it takes to get a few recordings. They'll give you directions on how to download the recordings over the phone. And yes, you can take a shower. You unplug your two wires, clean up, and plug yourself back in. Snap, snap. Very easy.