I Have Had Heart Palpitations My Entire Life But The

Posted on Tue, 22 Jan 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 Answered on

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Question : I have had heart palpitations my entire life but the past month they seem much worse and I feel like I have a weight on my chest and sometimes I have a dry cough. The back of my throat feels scratchy. I am having severe panic attacks also. My stress levels are beyond measure and now I fear there is something wrong with me physically as well.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (56 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome to Ask a Doctor service!

Regarding your concern, I would explain that some palpitations are quite normal during anxiety or physical activity.

Anyway, before concluding that it is just anxiety, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a physical exam and some tests:

- a resting ECG
- complete blood count for anemia
- thyroid hormone levels for thyroid gland dysfunction
- blood electrolytes for possible electrolyte imbalance.

An ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring would help examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time and exclude possible cardiac arrhythmia.

If all the above tests result normal, you should consider anxiety as the main cause of your complaints.

In the meantime, I recommend avoiding caffeine intake or energy drinks and try practicing Yoga or meditations to help against anxiety.

Hope you will find this answer helpful!

Wishing all the best,

Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Ilir Sharka (21 minutes later)

Thank you very much for the answer. I don’t have any leg swelling or any water retention. I’m not overweight and I have always had thyroid issues. I had a terrible 2018 personally and professionally and my anxiety is overwhelming. I will go see my PCP and get bloodwork done ASAP. Thank you again

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (3 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You are welcome!

Detailed Answer:
Hello again!

Thank you for the additional information!

Thyroid gland dysfunction could trigger all this clinical situation too. For this reason, it is important checking thyroid hormone levels.

If you have any other questions in the future, please feel free to ask me directly at any time!

I would be glad to answer to all of your questions or review your test reports for a second professional opinion.

Hope to have been helpful!

Wishing all the best,

Dr. Iliri

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar