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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Sensation Of Abnormal Heart Rhythm?

Hi, I'm 21, and I've been noticing more and more that my heart will suddenly beat fast then return to normal. I've only had one episode where my heart beat really fast for about 5 minutes, but then returned to normal. Now, I've just been noticing that every once in a while I'll feel like my heart "skipped a beat" or had an extra beat or something. I never feel light headed or sick whenever this happens, it's just really uncomfortable and nerve racking.
posted on Thu, 13 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 6 May 2019 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 7 May 2019 Last reviewed on
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Cardiologist,  's  Response
Hello,

I would explain that your symptoms could be related to anxiety. You should know that some skipped heart beats are quite normal in every healthy individual during anxiety or physical activity.

Nevertheless, before coming to this conclusion, I would recommend performing some tests in order to exclude possible causes that may trigger this clinical situation:
- complete blood count for anemia
- thyroid hormone levels for thyroid gland dysfunciton
- blood electrolytes for possible 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 these tests result normal, you should consider anxiety as the main cause underlying your complaints.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist
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What Causes Sensation Of Abnormal Heart Rhythm?

Hello, I would explain that your symptoms could be related to anxiety. You should know that some skipped heart beats are quite normal in every healthy individual during anxiety or physical activity. Nevertheless, before coming to this conclusion, I would recommend performing some tests in order to exclude possible causes that may trigger this clinical situation: - complete blood count for anemia - thyroid hormone levels for thyroid gland dysfunciton - blood electrolytes for possible 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 these tests result normal, you should consider anxiety as the main cause underlying your complaints. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist