AboutDavid Richardson Expertise Adult heart function and disease. Not very good about children lesss than 12. Hypertension is o.k. Heart rhythm a special interest.
Experience Certified in cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Was chairman of division of cardiology at the Medical College of Virginia. Am now mostly retired.
Organizations Fellow of American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology and member of American Physiological Society..
Publications Circulation, American Heart Journal, Hypertension.
Education/Credentials M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Residency training at Yale Uhniversity School of Medicine and Medical College of Virginia.
Awards and Honors Gold Heartt Award from American Heart Association in 1995.
Question Im a 23 yr old male, with cholesterol of 245, 6ft and 205 lbs. I have intermittent recurring left side chest pain that sometimes extends to my left arm, I've seen 6 cardio's and had echo's, ekgs, chest xrays, blood work, holter monitor, event monitor and had a stress test done 3 and half years ago. All normal. Ive had all the tests done recently less than a year, except stress test which was 3 and half years. I have PVC'S, PAC'S, and PSVT. Today while I was push mowing the grass my heart rate jumped quickly within 10 mins of mowing to like around 170, and I came inside and stood at the counter and was feeling my pulse and it was really high like 15 beats per 5 seconds then it suddenly went to around 7 beats per 5 seconds, and like 3 seconds later immediately jumped back up to around 15 beats per 5 seconds and stayed like that till I sat down and relaxed, now its at 80 per min. What would cause the immediate decrease then increase. Is that normal? Sometimes just by feeling my pulse it will do that just jump up real high for a second then go back to normal. I often have this weird feeling in the left side of my chest like a nagging dull ache, and it sometimes is a gripping pain that hurts my arm as well. I've been having the pain for 2 yrs, and its ALWAYS in the same spot and just comes at random times, seems like nothing triggers it. What could this be, is that a good indicator or bad? Thanks so much Does any of this indicate any type of heart disease or would the test have caught it, could they have missed something? I have noticed here lately I will wake up EARLY in the morning and feel like my heart is beating REALLY hard and my chest feels weird and Im short of breath, I lay there and feel so tired and as soon as Im almost back asleep it happens again. I felt my pulse and it seemed to be normal, but seemed really slow, I didn't count it but it def. wasn't fast, if anything it would have been really slow. What could cause this and what could this indicate? It seems like it's caused from my heart, because thats where I feel the discomfort and my heartbeat feels really weird. Could it be Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea?? Does these symptoms sound dangerous??? What type of heart problem could cause this? I'm scared that its going to happen and my heart's going to stop beating. Also could it be sleep apnea? Thanks so much!! My MAJOR concern is the recurring intermittent, left side chest pain and arm pain, the left side chest pain is ALWAYS in the exact same spot, and my left arm will ache really bad. what could that indicate?????
Answer Dear Michael,
The sudden increase and decrease in pulse rate indicates PSVT,
The most likely cause of pain like yours is cramping of the muscles in the chest wall. If you can modify the pain, make it better or worse, by pressing on the area that hurts, then you have proven that the pain is coming from your chest wall. Chest wall pain is a nuisance but no threat to life or health. At age below 45, chest pain is very unlikely to come from clogging of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart. The tests would have caught any abnormality of your heart's structure and function.
Slow pulse is normal when you first wake up, and your heart beat is strong so the heart can continue to pump the correct amount of blood each minute. It's not paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea or sleep apnea. None of this sounds dangerous, and your heart will not stop beating.
