Rapid heart rate

So I would like your input and hopefully some advice... Here is how it went down.

One night I was on the computer watching an ape playing with a basket ball, the ball went up and down atleast 50 times, I have to say I'm really proud of that ape... anyway, in several minutes my heart rate went straight up to the heavens. I tried to ignore it, but after several minutes I became worried and went to the bathroom. There I tried to calm down. After a minute, I measured my pulse and it was 120 bpm. I tried to sleep, hoping it would pass, but after half an hour of it beating 120 bpm non-stop I decided to take a trip to the ER as I became concerned.

There they hooked me up to an ECG, and after that the nurse who took the ECG said with an assuring voice, 'nothing serious', and told me to wait for the doctor. I was skeptical as to how she could know it was nothing serious from one single ECG, but I waited two hours before the doc finally arrived. I could tell he was quite professional. He asked me some questions like do I have chest pain and so on.. and then told me to lay down on the stretcher, then he rubbed a vein on the side of my throat and told me to hold my breath for 15 seconds while I strain my stomach.

He contacted another doctor and they discussed, after a while he sent me home and said that it's nothing dangerous. I was relieved, but the next day it was still there, although this time it was more like 100 bpm. I was hoping it would pass during the day but when the night came and it didn't, I went to the ER again. This time they sent me to a hospital for 'further testing'.

When I arrived they were apparently waiting for me and took a blood test, blood pressure, pulse, ecg, nasal bacteria test, x-ray, genetics, felt my legs, my stomach.. and hooked me up to a 24h monitor so I had to sleep there. In the morning I was woken up by a doc who said that my heart rate dropped to 60 while I was sleeping and that nothing is wrong. In the paper I received when I left, they said the cause is 'banal and harmless', so I went home.

It's been three weeks, and it's still here, although lately it's 80-90 and rarely above hundred -- only when I climb the stairs it easily goes to 140 but drops to below 100 after half an hour or so. I have no idea what is causing it, and I was wondering if any of you have a similar experience or if it could be anxiety as I feel tense lately.

Thanks alot!

LiquidSpidey said...
I wonder the same thing about myself. I can almost always feel my heart beating in my chest and I have palpitations ALL the time. It all started with a panic attack about three years ago and the only thing that helped I think was Zoloft. My doctor told me I had panic disorder and anxiety disorder. Now all I can think about is anxiety and I can't really engage in anything because it consumes my thoughts. I'm going to make a doctors appointment to further discuss my issues and maybe get back on Zoloft or some other kind of antidepressant because that helped my negative thought process.

How old are you by the way? I'm 26 and I'm sure I don't have a heart problem but I always think I do. It's a vicious cycle for me and hard for me to break out of.

I notice you posted this last month. Have things gotten better for you? Any news or updates? Hope all is well and you get the help you need.

I'm 18... it's down to 70 bpm now but I still fear it'll come back. It was hyperthyroid after all. As for palpitations, I recommend you take magnesium and potassium, they are absolutely necessary to remove palpitations. I heard of a person that had palpitations all the time like you and he increased intake of these two then it completely disappeared, like a miracle cure.

The Happy turtle is right about the potassium and mag. Taking these supplements MAY only help if the reason for your fast heart rate is due to below normal levels of these electrolytes. However, higher than normal levels of potassium and mag can also cause heart arrhythmias (dangerous ones!!), so you have to be very careful and I would HIGHLY recommend that you DO NOT start supplementing with ANYTHING before talking to a doctor. Taking those supplements without knowing your levels is not great advice (sorry!).

You said that you had tons of blood work done and speaking from experience as a cardiac ICU nurse, I can tell you that the first thing the doctors would check in your blood work for an arrhythmia would be your electrolytes (potassium and magnesium are included in this), and if they were low and needed replacing, they would have replaced it for you.

When the doctor pressed down on the vein in your neck and asked you to hold your breath and strain your stomach, he was trying to get you to "vagal down". The vagal response can cause a drop in heart rate and can be very useful in a controlled setting to get people out of fast heart rates. I have used this technique before when I have patients on constant EKG monitoring. But a vagal response can be dangerous as well and cause people to faint if their heart rates are within normal limits already, so please, do not try that at home either.

If your resting heart rate is now typically between 80-90, that is very normal. Shooting up above 140 from climbing stairs is a little high, but if you don't regularly do cardio work outs, its not totally unreasonable for that to happen, especially if you are coming back down below 100 within a half hour.

Anxiety can effect a multitude of body systems, especially the cardiovascular system. It may be helpful for you to practice meditation and deep breathing exercises, or explore some other techniques for relieving anxiety.

Lastly, if you are still concerned at all or not satisfied with answers you got (or didn't get!) for what was going on with your heart, don't hesitate to get a second opinion or even make an appointment with a cardiologist. I tell all my patients this same thing; at the end of the day, you have to be your own advocate!

Best of luck to you!