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Expert: David Richardson - 11/6/2009
Question
OK, so I'm only 16 but my doctor stumbled on an irregular heartbeat during my physical. I went and got an EKG to get it checked out. They found something and I met up with a local cardiologist where I went through a few more EKG scans. The problems that they noticed between the two scans were similar but not exactly the same. Since my physical I have had chest pains, racing heart beats, and sometimes a shortness of breath from feeling as though my blanket is crushing me. The blanket one is the weirdest because I use the same blanket every night so there is no reason for it. I have listened to my heart through my own stethiscope that I have at home. I have heard the beats that are skipping, they're not in any pattern. sometimes it's one every few beats or i can have 5 in a row. the number of regular beats is not consistant either, sometimes its 1 or 5 or 13 beats in between each. The doctor had me walk around with a portable EKG to monitor me for 24 hours which I have yet to get the results back from. Can you tell me what could possibly be the issue?
Answer
Dear Steve,
Skipped beats are normal heart activity, no threat to life or health in someone with normal EKG and echo. About half of us have them, they are easy to understand as normal from knowledge of the heart's electrical system, and they don't mean you will ever get heart disease or any catastrophe. They are truly harmless. Anxiety over the skipped beats probably causes your chest pains and shortness of breath
Please write back if this note doesn't answer all your questions.
David Richardson
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