Rapid Increase in Heart Rate

[PsYkOoOoO]

Hello everybody. I am 24 years old, male, and I weigh 136 pounds. I've never been an active person in terms of exercising, but healthy nonetheless. I don't fall ill very often, for one, and I generally feel fine. However, two incidents over the past two years really scared me.

About a year ago, I was climbing a short flight of stairs to go to school when my heart started to race. I understand it is normal to have your heart rate increase rapidly even though it was just a short climb up the stairs. However, I noticed that my heart beat didn't get slower after that. It got faster and faster and faster. I noticed that I started to have cold sweat, my vision was blurred, I couldn't breathe properly and I started to feel extremely dizzy. I started coughing continuously, and my chest felt like it was caving it. I found a bench where I sat down for a while, and that was when I noticed that my body was rocking back and forth due to the rapid heart rate. Mind you, this was just after climbing a few flights of stairs, something which I did on a daily basis. This went away in about five minutes. I was shocked and scared, but I didn't really pay much attention to it.

This year, about three weeks ago, I was climbing up a short flight of stairs again at the office, and the same thing happened. My heart rate started to race, I started to feel dizzy again, and I couldn't breathe. I made my way back into the office and just sat at my desk for the longest time. That was when the racing really stopped, leaving behind cold sweat and a very worried guy.

I have already scheduled a full-body check up in November, and I intend to tell my doctor about this. However, in my country, we are required to serve the military. I have already done my two years of national service. I do, however, have an intense military training exercise scheduled in December and January that I am somewhat worried about. I have read of local military personnels, despite frequent exercises, dying during training for no apparent reasons. I am just wondering if it is possible to get a doctor's opinion on skipping these upcoming trainings and whatnot. I don't know if my heart is going to go haywire all over again in the middle of some intense training.

What's happening to me?  

[leika007]

What you're going through seems exactly like what I went through when my AF introduced itself to me.  They can only tell when you're in AF and via ECG.  You will know by the fact your heart seems like it's rolling around in your chest and your heart rate is around 200.  If you press it, you could push your ventricles into V Fib, which could be lethal.  I did it once while running and fell down in the weight room.  Fortunately I rebounded almost immediately and only had a bloody lip and some bruises to show for it.

Get it checked out.  Better safe than dead.

[Jerry_NJ]

You upcoming check-up with a doctor is a good plan.  Be careful until then with things like caffeine or any other stimulant.  Also think about what you were eating/drinking/ingesting before the high HR occurs/occured.

While I have had the pleasure to visit Singapore many years ago, and in my business relations there I found the environment very familiar, I have no idea on how your country handles military obligations.  It is typical, I think, for all military training to include some strenuous physical challenges.  Yes, you should be sure to discuss this with you doctor in November and he/she should be able to give advice and if possible "prescribe" some limitation on physical activity that your military unit will follow.

Good luck, and hope it is something that passes.  Good luck too on your military training. I am myself a veteran and familiar with past military training in the USA.