do i have to see a doctor for palpitations?

[ishtar807]

i have a lot of tight deadlines and drink a lot of energy drinks and coffee to make them. because of this i get palpitations and chest pains and sometimes get short of breath. once it became really bad so i saw a doctor for it. he said my ecg showed nothing wrong and that it was just stress. once the deadline is over i just finally sleep and it goes away.

now i have another insane deadline and several simultaneous projects and it's happening again. i don't want to go to a doctor only to have him snicker and put it down to stress again. however, people tell me it's something i should take seriously on account of me being age 32 and because it happens regularly. i figure once the deadline's over i can just sleep this off, right?

or should i make the time to go see a doctor anyway? in the meantime what's a good painkiller for chest pain?

thanks

[debola53]

Do you want to drink energy drinks and caffiene, or risk your heart? Only you can decide which you prefer. Life is short and precious-live it healthly. Good luck.

[bgrimes86]

This is probably stress-induced. You mentioned that once the deadlines were over you slept and it went away. Obviously, you're under a lot of stress and the chest pain and heart palpitations went away after your life settled back down. Now, you're facing new deadlines and the chest pain and palps have returned. See the correlation? I know EXACTLY what you're going through. A year ago, I was under so much stress that my heart rate would go up to 176 BPM and I developed chest pains as well. My blood pressure would also spike to nearly 200/110. I also must mention that I was taking strong prescription stimulants that severly aggrevated my condition. Once I got off of the stimulants and began to reduce my stress, my heart rate dropped, but it is still slightly elevated for some reason (I now take a beta blocker to keep it under control). Perhaps the extreme stress or the drugs damaged my heart or nervous system? Basically, what I'm trying to say is that emotions have an extremely powerful effect on our brain, and our brain controls everything, right down to every single heart beat. If you are still experiencing problems, see a cardiologist and have a full work-up as iamfaithful mentioned, just to make sure everything is as it should be. And try to reduce your stress levels as much as possible and stay away from the energy drinks...they are loaded with caffeine as well as other stimulants. I hope this helps.

[iamfaithful]

Hi there,

Have you seen a cardiologist or a PCP?  You need to see a cardio and get the total workup, i.e. echo, stress test, wear an event monitor.  After you have had these test and you are in the clear (I'm sure that's the case) then you try and sleep it off :-)  You really need to steer clear of the energy drinks.  I am a caffeine lover but am unable to partake anymore because of my palps.  It's hard for me at times, but I don't want to aggrevate the situation AND caffeine truly is not good for you at all.

I hope you get the answers you need.  Make an appt ASAP for your own peace of mind.

[finetilthree]

I would not brush off your symptoms based on your young age.  My best friend suffered a heart attack at 34 and now has permanent ventricle damage.  I find myself wondering what deadlines could be of such great importance that you put your health and your life at risk.  Engergy drinks are extremely high in caffeine and studies have shown caffeine to be a powerful and dangerous stimulant.  If you need proof of this danger, check out the recent studies with regard to the high rate of miscarriage among pregnant users.  Its four times as high. You may very well be damaging your heart and you might want to consider cutting out the energy drinks and coffee and instead getting more sleep.  Your body is telling you something and I hope you listen before you end up like my friend Jim.  Best wishes.