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high heart rate and chest pain

What if i've had high heart rate and chest pain for seven hours or longer?
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144586 tn?1284666164
I might add that Drnee's suggestion of the possibility of a clot in a blood vessel leading to the lungs concerns me the most. Such a clot would block blood flow, in turn triggering a compensatory tachycardia. A lifesaving tachcardia. It is questionable whether drugs would be given to lower the heartrate. This could happen to a healthy person of any age for a number of reasons.

You are not "bothering" the people who run ambulances by telephoning 911. That's what they get paid to do.

NEVER hesitate to call.
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144586 tn?1284666164
As Drnee stated, your presentation warrants an immediate trip to the emergency room - by ambulance. Not a trip to your doctor for an appointment.

Do not provide them with your diagnosis or suggest tests. Merely present your symptoms in a clear concise manner. State what you were doing when the pain came on, for example, the duration of the pain, the nature of the pain (dull, stabbing, radiating etc.)  and the intensity.

It is unlikely they will sedate you and run tiny tubes through your heart. They will give you an non-invasive twelve-lead EKG as suggested by Drnee (which doesn't hurt) and the emergency room take bloods to test for what are called cardiac enzymes. The cardiac enzyme test will determine if there is tissue damage to the heart.

Cardiac pain is generally (but not always) substernal, dull and not positionally relieved.

There are many reasons for a high heart rate. The simplist way to treat such a rate (this does not always work) is to cough forcefully several times. This triggers the vagus nerve and sometimes "breaks" the so-called tachycardia (fast heart-rate).

The most important thing to remember if you have chest pain you suspect is due to heart trouble is to immediately REST. Stop moving around. Lie down to reduce oxygen demand.

The second thing is to call 911 for an ambulance. Do not drive to the hospital. Do not take a cab. Do not walk to the bus stop. More people die from exerting themselves during an episode that from any other cause.

Often, cardiac problems are due to a spasm - sumilar to a "charlie" horse of a blood vessel providing oxygen to the heartr muscle. These spasms often disappear on their own over time. A paramedic or the ER may prescibe nitroglycerine, which will release the spasm. This is in fact, sometimes called a "nitroglycerine challenge" and is one of the diagnostic tests for angina.

As Drnee stated, there are other possible etiologies, or causes.

It is important to have a diagnosis made while the episode is taking place. Not three days later.

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Avatar universal
Sounds like tachycardia to me. I also have it but don't get the pain you describe. That might be a good indication that your heart is under stress. You can go to the ER if the rate is too high and they will give you something to slow it down. I was shown an exercise that helps slow the hr down which might help you. Push like your going #2 and hold your breath and position for at least 15-20 seconds. It might speed up your heart at first but then your hr should come down a lot. First find out about the pain before you do this . I dont want to cause any other problems for you. If you drinking coffee or alcohol stop as it will give you a faster hr.Ask for a stress test. You will run on a treadmill while hooked up to and ekg and they can see it for themselves if there is something out of the norm. You can also get an E.P study done. They will sedate you and run tiny tubes into your heart and then recreate the problem and find out what area of your heart it is coming from. It goes in through your groin area. While they do this they can also send electric impulses to the targeted area to discontinue the abnormal arrhythmia. It's in a controlled environment done by trained doctors so it is safe with a high success rate. I'm getting one soon as well. Hope this helps. Also try to keep anxiety at a min as this will only make it worse!
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Avatar universal
make an appoint with your doctor for an exam.
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Please rush to the ER if you have a high heart rate and chest pain for so long. You need a 12 lead EKG to rule out heart related cause. Other than it can be due to severe acidity, clot in the lung or even fever. Hope this helps. Take care!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
your symptoms are very much vague. you can have these symptoms in the presence of fever, or due to drugs or any cardiac causes.etc. Other thing is age of the patient is also very important. The term high heart rate is not clear as you should mention specifically. You better consult your doctor regarding this as i cannot comment on this
Helpful - 0
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