What causes a rapid heart beat?
Patient: Hi I'm 15 and I'm a girl. A few months ago during a flu that I've got my heart started beating really fast and continued for a day or two. I've been told that it's normal. But after that these episodes started coming back for no reason and sometimes I get cramps around the area of my heart for no reason as well. Just today my heart started beating fast and hard again and I've checked my blood pressure but it's fine. Right now I'm a bit lightheaded/dizzy and I'm starting to worry. I play basketball and practise regularly, but my normal heart rate is a bit high (84bpm)...is there anything wrong? Should I go to the doc? Doctor: Hello!Welcome and thank you for asking on HCM!I understand your concern and would explain that your symptoms could be related to anxiety. Anyway, before concluding that it is just pure anxiety, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a careful physical exam and some tests to investigate for other possible causes that may trigger this clinical scenario: - a chest X ray study- complete blood count, PCR, ESR for inflammation- thyroid hormone levels for thyroid dysfunction- blood electrolytes for possible electrolyte imbalance - an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to investigate for cardiac arryhtmia. If all the above tests result normal, you should consider anxiety as the main cause of your complaints. Hope you will find this answer helpful!Wishing good health, Dr. Iliri