Tachycardia?!?

[BigMike79]

I'm a 28 yr old male 6'2" overweight 350 lbs previously in good health ... normal bp, resting heart rate (60-70), cholosterol normal, blood sugar normal, blood counts ... etc.

I apologise in advance for the long post

Background history:

When I was younger I used to get sharp chest pains that would go away with a deep breath which I would hold in for 10 seconds, I used to have asthma, and I would also notice skipped beats when I would take my pulse after runnung but it would never bother me.

I have always been overweight and taller for my age 5'2" 165lbs in grade one/two.

I have had one strange incident which went on for a couple of months two years ago wheremy heart would race, my vision would get all crazy, dizziness, and I would feel something like an electrical pulse through my whole body which caused tingling in my extremities along with my lips and teeth.  After testing for seizure disorder they came to NO CONCLUSIONS.  This has stopped but occasionally I still get the pulse.

Now on to my current issue:

As of late December I began to have some problems with my heart.  I woke up with sharp chest pains and nausea.  The nausea went away after 15min but the chest pain did not go away when I took the deep breath and lasted all day.  I saw my doctor and had an ECG done and she said I did NOT have a heart attack and sent me home.  Later that day the pain got worse so I went to Emergency.  After all blood work and being hooked up to an ECG for about an hour they determined that it was NOT a heart attack but pericarditis (inflamation of the tissue around the heart) which they said can be caused by injury.  I went home and tried to forget about it but it never really went away, it just lessened.

A couple of weeks later I started to get a really localized strong headache in my right temple and right eye which would cause my vision in the right eye to get blurry and focused (back and forth) I had a CT scan done and it was clear, I saw an opthamologist and my eyes were deemed to be fine.  

Then one month ago today I was driving to a friends place with my girlfriend and I got this strange feeling like I jujst got really scared, I felt my heart pounding in my chest really hard and I began to feel funny, with shortness of breath and pain in the centre of my chest.  I checked my pulse and it was racing, stopping, starting slowing down, racing (just all over the place) It stopped after two hours and I thought it was a one time thing.  The next day I was lying down and it happened again ... I stood up and felt faint, I put my hands on my chest and I could feel my heart pounding really hard and irregular (it must have been over 150bpm) it would also slow down within 10 beats, then stop for a second and then kick back on with a really had thud and start racing again OVER AND OVER!!!  I went to the walk in clinic and by the time I got there the racing had stopped but the skipped beats were still there.  The doctor sent me to emergency where they did the blood work and a 3 second ECG and told me that nothing was wrong and to see my family doctor about getting a holter monitor.  Within a week I had an echo cardiogram where the technician caught the skipped beats 4 times and he told me that it would be fine if it was atrial and not ventriclar.  As he put the 48 hour holter monitor on it happened another 4 times in 30 sec and he told me it was ventricular but it could still be fine.  STILL WAITING FOR RESULTS

Things that occured during the monitor as well as now:

-a dull ache in the centre of my chest
-a feeling of a lump in my throat
-high resting heart rate (80-90)
-heart rate up to 140-150 bpm when walking
-3 incidents while I was sleeping where I could not breathe and racing skipping pulse that I could feel in my whole body
-lasts between 20 min and 3 hrs

I looked at all the symptoms:
-irregular hb
-palpitations
-racing hb
-chest pains
-lump in throat

and came up with ventricular tachycardia, myocarditis, and angina.

Anyone else with these same problems?

[Celeste77]

The diet is a good idea for alot of us, including myself. I bounce around like a yoyo and my Cardio always worries when I get up above my high average. My fiance is in his late twenties, 6'4 and 340 pounds (was 352). He doesn't really look "fat", he's just always been a big guy (was a strongside linebacker) like what you described of yourself. 22 days ago, he started a low impact cardio program and cutting out some of the high carbs. It hasn't been easy, but he's had some great weight loss so far, and his resting pulse and blood pressure have dropped by about 15 beats/points.

Let us know how the tests came out and best fortune with the diet! :)

[Celeste77]

Yawning is another sign of my free floating anxiety, but it is also associated with tiredness, stress, lack of stimulation, and boredom, or so they say.
I've been going thru the breathlessness for the last few weeks myself. My oxygen is always good as well as my FEV and my heart looks great, so I am at loss for what might be causing it other then anxiety. I think the waiting and/or wondering is the worst thing but the docs never really come up with anything concerning the breathlessness other then anxiety for me. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of your symptoms very very soon!

[BigMike79]

I am hoping that I will get the results soon.  As for pericarditis, it is not severe.  Anyone can get it and it can be caused by strain (which is why I tried not to worry about it after my first hospital visit) but it can also be a factor in other more serious conditions.  After doing research I have found out that myocarditis can go undetected, and can cause all these other problems.

I also began a diet and maybe this will help reduce strain on my heart... I mostly eat healthy but I just eat too much.

So did you yawn uncontrollably when you had an attack? (almost gulping for air)

[Celeste77]

I forgot to address the pericarditis and possible myocarditis. I'm not real familiar with pericarditis symptoms or treatment other then I know that it is usually treated aggressively, but when my sister in law had myocarditis, she was one sick woman and her's started after having the flu.
The ECG's, echo, bloodwork and a chest x-ray should help determine if you have myocarditis. When will you have your test results back?

[BigMike79]

Thank you for your input.  I have been staying away from all stimulants as well as alcohol, and I've been trying to get less stressed out.  It is not caused by anxiety ... I was given Clonazopam and Adavan which had no effect, and I try not to check my pulse every second, I only check it when it gets bad.  I also try to use those deep breathing techniques and sometimes they help.

I have a question for you.  When you have a bad attack and have trouble breathing do you yawn alot?  I have had times when it got really bad and I could not stop yawning?

[Celeste77]

Hi,
Sorry to hear your going through all this. I've had cycles of similiar symptoms since my early 20's and I'm now 43. I've been diagnosed with PVC's (premature ventricular contractions~ventricular "skips/pauses") with bouts of NSVT (more then 3 PVC's in a row) , IST (inappropriate sinus tachycardia) and panic disorder.
While waiting for your results, you might want to try a few things to see if it will help calm down the symptoms abit like avoiding caffeine and alcohol, practicing deep relaxation techniques, drinking more water.
Some of your symptoms that "might" fall into classic anxiety symptoms are: feeling scared for no apparant reason, lump in the throat, chest pain that comes and goes,  feelings of suffocation, dizziness, tingling in the extremities, racing hr and irregular hr.

Hopefully you will have answers soon! It appears you have had all the appropriate testing. Hang in there!