What Causes Sudden Increased Heart Rate In A 57 Year Old?

Posted on Wed, 23 Aug 2017

Question: I am just walking around the house and I feel like my heart is going to burst through my chest, on my Fitbit my heart rate was 100, and then I sat down in one second it was down to 78. I am on atenolol and linsinopril.
Thanks

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
different possible causes

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

Increased heart rate can be frightening to experience sometimes especially if associated with additional symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath.

These were not mentioned above which is good.

There are different causes of increased heart rate such as: (1)anemia- low blood count can cause can increase

(2)thyroid disease- high levels of thyroid hormone can also cause this symptom to occur

(3)fever or infection

(4)side effect of medication or substances such as caffeine

(5)intrinsic heart disease

(6)anxiety

If the increased heart rate recurs, then you need to be assessed by your doctor. This would require physical examination, history , blood tests such as complete blood count and thyroid function test along with an EKG.

I hope this helps , feel free to ask any other questions

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

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