Is it possible to have a Heart Arrhythmia for more than a year without knowing?

[yemiseika]

Hi, I'm 21 years old and i'm worried about what i think is an irregular heartbeat. basically my heart goes 'bm - pause - bm - pause - bmbm - pause repeat' I haven't told anyone about it but i think i've been hearing it in my chest for over a year and possibly since i was 19 but it's been so long i don't remember when i first heard it. I haven't said anything cause when i'm not well usually no one believes me including my parents so i just get on with things but the other night i was hugging my boyfriend and he noticed the heartbeat too. I had a look at the symptoms list on this site and other than the fainting (at least i don't think i've been fainting) during the time of having this i've had all of the symptoms, sometimes some of them at the same time.

So what i'd like to know is should i go see a doctor even though i'm worried they won't believe me and is it really possible to have an Arrhythmia this long and either not know or not become extremely sick and should be in hospital by now?

Thanks i would really appreciate the advice.

Augustine

[is_something_wrong]

To your question:
Yes, I think you should see a doctor. You need a professional opinion, so you are able to relax.

The heart is like an engine. It always creates small irregularities, that is just the way your heart works (and is supposed to work). All cells in your heart have possible "pacemaking abilities" and from time to time, an extra beat is "released" from an other location, creating a sensation of skipped beats or double beats.

As long as you're not symptomatic from this (except the anxiety) it's not dangerous and it should not be treated by meds.

Throughout a year, everyone have thousands of those strange beats, along with short runs of high heart rate from time to time. In healthy young people they almost always origin in your heart's upper chambers and are not dangerous.

Talk to your doctor about how to accept and live with this phenomena, that almost always are completely benign, won't cause any harm, and are best ignored.

Good luck!

[mum2four]

I would not worry to much but if you feel its making life to hard for you with symptoms ect then I still say get it checked out. Its better to wrong and get it checked out than right and ignore it.

I been haveing inappropriate sinus tachycardia(IST) for I dont know how long I suspect since 2007 when most of my symptoms got intence but I have always been intolerant to exercise. Every time I eva tried to run as kid or jog as a adult I the same symptoms I was recently dealing with hit me temporaryly. In 2007 the syptoms hit me hard, it was not untill 2009 that I started to question if the problems were something els and not my depression. Dr's ignored my concerns so I switchs Dr's and my new Dr started to take me serious but when I asked if it might be caused by something more serious like heart or brain she kept saying I was over reacting in a nice way. It was not untill I got my own pulse watch that I started to realise I was always tachy when I stood up. It took another 3mth to get my Dr to understand that it was not due to my weight or depression ect and the another 3mth to get in to see a cardiologist. just before seeing the cardiologist I was put in hospital for suspected heart attack only to discover some one apparently put ECG lead on me wrong but while it was a mistake the Dr finally got to see what I was talking about I was getting to 135 just drinking a glass of water in bed in was insane and it felt like I was lifting a 5 kg bag of potatoes. I was finally diagnoised with the IST and put on Ivabradine and been feeling so much better the last fue weeks.

Do what you feel you need to do to live the life you want to live. Listen to your symptoms.

[kay2486]

you'd become weak if there were a problem with your heart, id go to the doctor and do an ecg to put your mind at rest, what you're describing is premature beats, these are harmless and your doc will tell you this too, worrying over them makes them worse, sometimes you may feel a thump in the chest like a very forceful heartbeat, your doctor will explain better

[Jerry_NJ]

You have already gotten great advice, but let me add to you question: Yes, it is possible, even likely that one with some heart rhythm problems do not know it.  I think at the top of that list is atrial fibrillation, or any atrial problems. But as already noted, at your age it is unlikely that you have AFib or other problems, but it is clearly something that you need to discuss with a doctor.  It is their "job" to believe you and see where it leads.  I am sure your parents also believe and just want to act as a "filter" so that the doctor doesn't have to spend precious medical time for no reason.  You have a good reason, besides it is good to see your doctor once a year for a physical check-up, maybe that would be a good combination to get an appointment.  

[Cindy]

Hi

I thought you might like to see the following Q&A which comes from MedHelp's Ask a Doctor Heart Rhythm Forum.  While it isn't exactly the same as what you have described, it does offer information about how common heart arryhthmias are and how unlikely heart attacks are in young people, unless there is a family history or serious underlying illness.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Disease/Did-I-have-a-heart-attack/show/255226

You really should talk to your doctor about your concerns - just so any possible serious problems can be ruled out.

Hope this helps!