tachycardia question

[geonmax]

Hello Doctor - I am a 43 year old female in generally good health (trying to lose about 50 pounds).  Since my late teens I have had what I assume to be is tachycardia very rarely - years may go by without an episode.  I was always able to immediately stop the pounding heart rate by holding my breath.  Approximately 2 years ago I had an episode of extremely fast heart rate which I was unable to stop for 8-10 minutes - it stopped very suddenly after sitting quietly.   I saw my MD who did an EKG, chest x-ray, blood work and a 24 hour holter monitor.  Everything checked out fine.  I have since had two more episodes -about 6 months apart.  The first one again lasted for several minutes and I was eventually able to stop it by coughing.  The last time it happened was last week - and it was only about 30 seconds before it stopped.  However, I now feel somewhat faint or flushed when I feel my heart rate start up - perhaps from the anxiety?   I saw my MD in January 2010 and he did another EKG and blood work and he diagnosed me with a "benign tachycardia".  I started Antenol, 50 mg for mildly high BP.   MY doctor doesn't seem concerned.  

I am very sensitive to caffeine and should mention I took Mucinex the day of the 2nd episode and last week had more diet soda than usual prior to the short episode ( I rarely drink anything with caffeine).  I am now avoiding all caffeine and cold remedies.

My questions are:

Should I feel confident in my diagnosis and not worry that I am going to die during an episode?  They are very frightening.  

How long can my heart beat at that rate before I should go to the ER?  I have read about other people who deal with this issue for extended periods of time.

Why was I able to end the tachycardia so quickly years ago and now they may last for up to 10 minutes?  

Thanks you so much for your opinion!  Any reassurances you can give me willbe much appreciated!

Jackie

[Jerry_NJ]

You mention diet soda, please don't confuse that with caffeine-free diet soda. I am a regular cola consumer, perhaps 12-20 oz a day, most after lunch time.  I drink only caffeine-free diet, which I find increasingly hard to find...must be more popular than in the past.

I was disappointed to read "red wine"... I always thought red wine in moderation is good for the heart, and I had never given any consideration of caffeine when having "one glass":)   Hope beer doesn't have caffeine.  It too, in moderation, can be "good" for one's health.

Of course, all my medications warn against drinking any alcoholic beverage.  

Chocolate is one way caffeine sneaks into my system... but then it dose worse damage to my waist-line than to my heart, I think.

[geonmax]

Thanks so much for your comments!  I realized I was not in the correct forum for a MD response shortly after I posted...  I do so much appreciate you thoughts and it does reassure me.  I have only seen my family doctor and will talk with him about a referral to a cardiologist at my next appointment.  Best wishes to you....  I appreciate the supportive nature of this forum and see how caring you all are.

[cindy707]

Hey Jackie i read your post...first i would like to clarify that this is not the site where doctors respond and if so rarely however we do have the Medhelp "ask a doctor" site you can click onto under the forum section at the top of your screen.  We on this site are just like you...a part of a very large community that is here for one another....the majority of members i think have had issues w. their hearts in one form of another...as people we professionally range from everyday people to medical professionals in some capacity but we are here just as part of the family of the community forum and the vast majority of us never mention what our professional backgrounds are so we are all on a level playing field i think...so i will give it a shot at answering a couple of your questions....
1. If your  doc said not to worry and you trust that doc i would say learn to go with it.  I understand completely about that feeling of a fast/irregular heart rate been there done that.  There are a couple of things that you can do to help yourself and minimize the episodes....no caffeine or severely limit it..this means coffee, teas, colored sodas, red wine, any drinks with electrolytes in them, limit chocolate, sugar products and a big no no is energy drinks.  You need to make sure that you stay hydrated w . just plain water as even slight dehydration can set the episodes off like crazy..limit your stress and make sure you sleep well at nite these are all of the general rules of engagement w. fast and/or irregular heart rates.  I can pretty much assure you that you won't die from this unless there is something i am missing here...mostly yep its just scary.  When you are coughing and it helps its because you are basically helping to re set the electrical activity of the heart which is no doubt a little out of whack at the time of the episodes and putting it back in order and thats great that your body recognizes this and does that.  It is scary i know but in most instances pretty benign....don't let it get the best of you......
2. There are many people on this site that are in constant atrial fib and have been for 20+ years and they are still here posting..we are talking 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  You really haven't said what your heart rate is so i am in the dark a little on that one..for myself before i chose to have an ablation done a couple of years ago to fix my issues my heart rate would soar into the lower 300's which is unusual at best...as far as how long you can go your doctor should be able to give you the time frame and what symtoms to look out for before panicking and running to the E.R Remember you have this issue it doesn't have you is a good creed.  Just always keep it in the back of your mind that in 10 minutes it will be gone, in 30 minutes it will be gone...look ahead and most of all if possible try to divert yourself while it is happening so you don't concentrate on it because you'll make it worse...anxiety is a known factor w. these episodes..again no biggie we have all gone thru them at one time or another.
3. If your tach has changed over the years well welcome to our club here...as we grow a little older things start popping up on us but i would say you are very lucky if they are only lasting 10 minutes altho i know it seems like hours.  Antneolol is a great med for your blood pressure but also is excellent for keeping this at bay.  You may want to have a sit down w. your doc and see if you are a candidate for an ablation i am hoping that this doc that came up w. all of this is a heart doc and not your regular doc...if it is your family doc you need him/her to refer you out to a heart doc who only deals w. matters of the heart not "general" medicine...good luck to you Jackie and i hope i helped a little bit anyway...no worries my friend it is so common that you would not believe it and trust me it takes ALOT to stop the heart the main pump of your body and i just don't think you are at risk unless your heart doc has told you something different.....