HomeAnswersCardiologyhyperthyroidismI have racing heartbeats, breathlessness and headaches at times. Pease help.

I have racing heartbeats, headaches and breathlessness at times. What could be the cause?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

Medically reviewed by

Dr. K. Shobana

Published At April 1, 2022
Reviewed AtJuly 20, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

I need your help. I have seen many doctors about the symptoms that I am having. Several years ago, I would have these little episodes with my heart where for about five to ten seconds, my heart would race extremely fast when I say remarkably, I mean, within 5 seconds, it would beat 15 times. That would happen every once in a while. That eventually stopped and turned into episodes where it would skip beats, and I would feel like I needed air, get an immediate headache, have chest pain and pressure, feel fatigued, and many other symptoms. I saw many cardiologists, and they did many tests, and they could only find the palpitations, which they said was expected, but they could never really answer why I was getting these symptoms with the palpitations. The last cardiologist I saw said that my heart issues were caused by my hyperthyroidism, which was Graves Disease. I had the radioactive iodine done about six months ago. My symptoms should have stopped, but they did not. I am very sensitive to caffeine, and if I have a little bit, it will make my heart start having the issues even worse than when I do not have caffeine. I know there is something wrong with my heart, but I cannot find a cardiologist that will listen and fix the problem. The most I was given was heart medication which did not work. Please help me tell me you know what is going on and can fix it. Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for the query. In Hyperthyroidism, cardiac rhythm issues are common. Atrial fibrillation is a common Arrhythmia. Do you have documented atrial fibrillation on ECG (electrocardiogram)? If not, I would recommend having cardiac event monitoring done. It is a long-term ECG recording. Atrial fibrillation is curable by treating Hyperthyroidism. Atrial fibrillation can cause blood to clot inside the heart and cause stroke if clotted blood dislodges to the brain. Anticoagulants are prescribed to prevent it. Please tell me what medicines you are taking and your latest thyroid test report and send me echocardiography results so that I can guide you accordingly. Thank you.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Muhammad Zohaib Siddiq
Dr. Muhammad Zohaib Siddiq

Cardiology

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