heart arrhythmia

[Deb0626]

I am a healthy 29 year old female.. healthy weight of 130, BMI of 23.  I recently purchased a stethescope to monitor my infant son who was born pre-mature.  I used it on myself and noticed that when I inhale deeply, my heart beat speeds up and when I exhale, it slows down.  If I breathe normal, not much change but when I take in a deep breath, my heart pace quickens.  I mentioned this to my Dr. and he listened and said it was "normal" sinus arrhythmia.  He said because I am athletic and healthy, it does that.  However, my husband who is in the Army and who runs several miles daily does not have this happen when he takes deep breaths.  Is this something I should have checked out or is my Dr. right and there is nothing to be concerned about?  I have no other apparent symptoms other than tightness in the chest once in a while but I think that is muscular possibly or just anxiousness over the arrythmia.  What causes this change in rhythm anyway?.  I am very concerned.
Thanks.

[Wisconsin2007]

I know this thread is old, but I wanted to bump it because I've discovered something similar with my own heart too, and after a bit of reading, am thinking it may be an easily detectable sign of stress.

Now that I've had my event monitor for 3 weeks, I've noticed that the times I am more likely to have these short bursts of SVT are when my vagal tone seems "excessive," which from my personal observations is when a deep inhale results in an increase in heart rate of roughly 20bpm, slowing back down on exhale.  Ten deep breaths in sequence during these times usually result in 10 increases and decreases in heart rate with the peaks and valleys matching my respiration cycle.

Googling vagal tone and stress I see there are some medical articles on the topic which leads me to believe there may be something to that.  This morning I was noticing this phenomenon again, got up and went outside for a brisk 30 minute walk, and am now observing a measured decrease in vagal tone.

Maybe this "tool" could be used by others to determine whether they are experiencing high levels of stress.

[Jerzeegal]

This is a normal change in rhythm and and is a normal occurrence during inhaling and exhaling. It may be different with your husbnd because with running several miles a day his heart is conditioned differently.

Since your doctor listened and said there is nothing to worry about then please don't fret over it. You could make an appt with cardiologist if it's going to help ease your mind. :-)

[da75]

your dr. is right. this is called sinus arrhythmia. Its a natural change in heart rate due to breathing. The fact its called an arrhythmia is a little misleading because many ppl associate that with something abnormal. Sinus arhythmia is not only perfectly normal and common, it is a small indicator of a healthy heart. You may have increased  vagal tone, in comparison to your husband.