Sudden Increase in Heart Rate, Sweating, Light headedness...

Just some basic information:  I am 20 years old, and I do not exercise regularly (which is about to change!)  I am 5'5" and around 140 pounds. According to my father, heart problems run through his side of the family.  According to my mother, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes runs through her side of the family.  

Twice this has happened to me:

While just bending down to pick something up, I suddenly felt my body temperature rise, started sweating profusely, and my heart rate seemed to hit the roof!  I could hear/feel my heart pounding ridiculously fast.  I felt light headed, too.  I sat down and put my head between my knees and just focused on breathing.  After no more than two minutes, it all went away.  I was just left very sweaty and tired feeling.  About 5 minutes later after telling my mother about it, she checked my heart rate and said it was normal (I don't remember what it was.)  By then I felt perfectly fine.

The exact same thing happened to me about 4 months ago, but I just brushed it off.  Does anyone know what could be wrong with me?  I plan on going to the health center as soon as possible to just get checked.  These strange episodes are really scaring me.  =[

[kt150]

Is there anyone here who knows what could be happening to me?

[Momto3]

Kudos to you for getting into an exercise plan!  WOOHOO!!  In that you have a genetic component, you are wise to get started since it can lead to lifelong better health!  Good luck with the plan.

There are a number of possibilities regarding the increased HR.  For example, some people experience a disorder which causes a change in BP when they change positions.  Others have problems with arrhythmias that occur for no apparent reasons.  I can't really explain the change in body temp, other than I may not actually rise, but it may feel like it is rising.  The sweating COULD be anxiety as a result of the panicky feeling or the "rush" with the change in HR.  

Unfortunately, these events are hard to capture without monitoring equipment.  I would suggest you make an appointment with your family doctor and ask about an event monitor. It's like a mini EKG that you can walk around with.  You could wear it for a length of time (i.e., 30 days) and you would be able to record what's happening when you are symptomatic.  

Good idea to get checked out.  If you are having any heart arrhythmias, there are different treatments/medications available to certain patients.  Don't worry, but do get it checked.

connie

[dolfnlvr]

Momto3 is right on....

I just want to add that I have a feeling that your heart health is fine at this point.  This sort of heart palpitation is usually not life threatening and is much more common than one might think.  So when she says "don't worry, but do get it checked," it's the best and most poignant response she can give.  Capitalize on the DON'T WORRY part though.  Worrying can trigger irregular heart beats............

[nikgirl28]

are you a female? did this happen before menstration?  I get this too...but it seems to get worse before i start my period.

[kt150]

Thanks to all who responded!  I haven't had another episode, and I have not yet a chance to get to a doctor.  I just moved back to college and I am currently getting settled in.  I WILL be going soon, though.  

And nikgirl28, yes I am female.  I was about two weeks and a half weeks away from my next period when the last episode happened.  I'll start paying more attention to that.

I was told by someone that it could have happened due to stress and anxiety.  I have recently realized that I stress and worry WAY too much.

To Do List:

Go to doctor.
Begin exercising.
Eat better.
RELAX MORE!  

Thanks everyone!

[Captainraccoon]

This (probably) exact same thing happens to me! It's freaky. It usually starts when i'm bending over or picking something up. I get really light headed and my heart rate goes crazy and it pounds with alot of force. It also makes my chest hurt like when you are running outside in winter and you breathe in the really cold air and it burns your lungs. It feels horrible but i can get it to go away sometimes by either bending over again or taking a really deep breath and holding it and pushing really hard with my diaphragm. When it starts and stops it's immediate, it's not a gradual thing, and I can feel the instant it stops. It hurts more right as it stops but then it feels completely better. I wonder if this is what you're experiencing too?

[Captainraccoon]

And by the way this happens to me pretty often. It happened just yesterday in fact, and it's been happening since I was 10 (9 years ago). I've been to the doctor and they did an ekg and said my heart was fine but my heartrate IS fine when this isn't happening. I feel like they completely missed what's happening to me.  I'm 19 now, female and not athletic but I like to stay somewhat active. I hope it's nothing serious.

[lagoya]

what momto3 wrote above is good advise in the sence it is hard to say without a monitor which if u were worried if it was a arrhythmia an event monitor would show this up.if u have palps while u wear the monitor.if u do a random ekg and are not suffering palpatitions exactly at that time it will not show --other things will but not an exact arrhythmia,if u feel that this happens for no reason maybe you should ask your doc for an event monitor and when this happens u can record it and if needed progress to getting it treated and feeling better for yourself

hope u feel better

[married_rn]

I have had the same problems for the past few years now. I have sought medical attention a few times, with treatment including an emergent EKG, then a 24 hour heart monitor with numerous blood tests. All has always came back negative. I am on birth control for dysmenorrhea (problematic menstral cycles). However, I was placed on a beta blocker (which is a heart med) for migraine prevention and I have noticed a drop in my regular heart rate and a marked decrease in my episodes. By the way, I am only 25 years old now.

[LGK]

Interesting to find 1 or 2 to have the exact problem as me. I've had this since i was very young ( maybe 10+ ). My family isn't rich so I've never could afford going to the doctors til this day. I'm 20 years old now and I experience this situation a lot. Sometimes when I bend down to grab something and get back up. I would my heart rate increasing, then begin light headed,( sometimes to point where I could pass out, but hasn't happen yet. )and trouble breathing. When I try to breathe, my throat feels like I'm breathing in cold air and it hurts. Doesn't matter what the temperature is it'll still feel cold. I've tried taking long breathes, holding in my breathe ( Haha! ), pounding my chest ( HAHA! ), bending back down and up. Then again, I've tried laying FLAT down on the floor or bed and relax then a few seconds later it disappear. I've had this at work once and I ran into my car and put my seat back. It didn't do anything good, I was in my car for nearly 30mins with this problem so I rushed home and laid on my bed for less than 15sec and it went away. If anything could help us in finding results to this problem. It'll be appreciated. Like I said, I've had this since I was young. So, for those of you who are experiencing it. It'll be okay! I JUST WANT MY ANSWERS!

[alldukedawg]

i also have the same problem. when i go out golfing and take a sudden swing my heart goes out of control and feels like it is going to burst. the heavy sweating also follows anlong with the diziness and sudden fatigue. it just happened today actually and i felt as if i was going to faint. this has been going on for a good decade now but have never gotten it checked.

[evo123]

has anyone looked into orthostatic intolerence?  This maybe something worth looking into.

[Bwoods13]

This same thing has happened to me several times since high school. I bend over or jump down from something and my heart rate suddenly sky rockets. I get hot, dizzy and short of breath. If I sit down for a few minutes and focus on breathing it tends to go way. But lilke others have said, It starts suddenly(the heart rate) and it stops suddenly. I can feel it. I am 24, Male and pretty active. Im in good shape. I have a history of heart disease and choleserol problems in my family so I went to the doctor to assure myself. I have done a cardiac stress test, worn a heart monitor, had a pulminary breathing test, and done all kinds of bloodwork and It all says im fine. I know something is up and I wish I could just get some sort of concrete answer. Anyone else have any luck with a diagnosis?

[Bwoods13]

postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome...... I would like everbody to look this up. It seems to match up pretty well with what were all experiencing

[evo123]

This is what I was suggesting in my comment about orthostatic intolerence.  I have a 'suspected' diagnosis of POTS as I had a positive tilt table test for it.  

Visit the Dysautonomia (autonomic dysfunction) community on here and see if anything there is familiar.  They have great health pages regarding this condition.  Another excellent source of info on this can be found at dinet.com

All tests on the heart, including stress test, treadmill and echo will usually come back normal - as to will most bloods.

This condition is dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system and can be a condition on it's own or caused by something else.  There are also several other conditions that have similar symptoms.

[evo123]

I suppose I should have written POTS in my early post, sorry :)

[jlg2]

I have had this same problem since I was about 8 or 9 years old, it has not gone away, and it does not happen all the time. I have worn a monitor and they found nothing, as no episode happened during the wearing of the monitor. I have notice that now my body temperature rises to extremes during these episodes. Enough to steam a small room in the summer. The sweating also prompts an urgent need to use the bathroom, and a need to cool off, as in removing clothing, and getting down low on the floor were it is cool. I have not found any answer, I hope that there is someone out there who is interested enough to investigate. I know of two or three others that have the same problem but only in the later half of their life. I am 59 now, so this has gone on a long time. There is no pain, but there is weakness in the body. The last time was only a couple of weeks ago, and I believe that a drink of acohol may have started it. Which is a first, as I rarely drink.

[Guswilliamr]

I get this sometimes, not even when I'm doing anything, I just had one and I'm sitting at my desk on my laptop. I'm suffering from anxiety at the moment, I have not seen a doctor yet, but was thinking about it, because it's really getting on my nerves. I am a smoker too, which I'm guessing has something to do with it.. Any adivse?

[dreamylicious]

This is like what has happened to me this morning!

After I woke up and got out of bed. Immediately, I experienced a racing heart and light-headedness. I couldn't do anything because I was also feeling very fatigued. After a few seconds, I started to sweat profoundly (both upper body and lower body, soaking my pyjamas) - I am never this sweaty even when I'm doing loads of exercise.

I had another episode of this a year earlier.

I would really appreciate if anyone can tell me the possible cause of this.

[JME89]

3 years ago I was feeling the EXACT same thing before I went to the doctor. He told me I was anemic and I had to be given a few iron shots and some supplements (I don't remember what they were). I also had an irregular menstrual cycle due to PCOS which is what caused the anemia in the first place. I had my period for about 3 weeks straight and I was already going on to the middle of my 4th week. It finally got so bad that I HAD to go to the doctor. I'm not afraid of needles or doctors or anything, I just hate going. I hope you feel better and get checked sooner than I did because iron shots are a pain in the ***...literally ;)