HomeAnswersCardiologytachycardiaI am suffering from tachycardia and shortness of breath. What should I do?

What could be the reason for tachycardia and shortness of breath?

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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.

Answered by

Dr. Rishu Sharma

Medically reviewed by

iCliniq medical review team

Published At November 24, 2023
Reviewed AtDecember 28, 2023

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

I am 23 years old. My height is 163 centimetres, and I weigh 140 pounds. I eat relatively healthy, and have a healthy smoothie every day, and I do not enjoy sugar at all.

I have had tachycardia four times since my junior year of high school. The third time it happened to me, I was playing racquetball and was rushed to the hospital. They gave me some medicine to restart my heart twice, but it did not work. Eventually, my heart rate went down on its own. After this happened, my heart would often skip beats. I went to a cardiologist for this; he said I was fine, and my heart was just filling with more blood than usual. That is why it felt like my heart was skipping a beat. He thought I had tachycardia episodes because I had low potassium. This has deterred me from exercising for the most part because of the fear of something bad happening to my heart. I actually had a panic attack for the first time after working out with some friends a couple of weeks ago.

Now, to get to the symptoms I am having currently, I was mowing the lawn, and I felt short of breath, and my heart was racing. I had to take breaks often just to catch my breath. After I have finished mowing, I felt really fatigued. I can hardly stand it. I am now lying down and feeling a bit better. I just bent down to pick up my dog's water bowl, and my heart skipped a couple of beats.

Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Rishu Sharma

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are extra, abnormal heartbeats that begin in one of your heart's two lower pumping chambers (ventricles). These extra beats disrupt your regular heart rhythm. The most common cause of PVC is coronary artery disease. However, other causes are-

  1. Mineral and chemical imbalances in the body.
  2. Medications.
  3. Alcohol.
  4. Damage to the heart muscle from heart disease or high blood pressure and elevated levels of adrenaline (which could be caused by caffeine, exercise, or anxiety).

I would suggest you go for some of the baseline tests of cardiology, like

  1. A standard exercise stress test uses an EKG (electrocardiogram) to monitor changes in your heart's electrical activity.
  2. Imaging stress tests take pictures of blood flow in various parts of your heart. Abnormal test results may be due to coronary heart disease.
  3. 2D-echo test or echocardiography is a diagnostic procedure with which you can determine the systolic and diastolic function of the heart.
  4. In addition, we can also check the heart valves and can diagnose stenosis or insufficiency.
  5. Combined, the efficacy of 2D-echo test and treadmill tests to rule out coronary artery disease is 85%.
  6. Lipid profile.
  7. Serum electrolytes.
  8. Fasting and post prandial blood sugar.

Thank you.

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

Dr. Rishu Sharma
Dr. Rishu Sharma

Cardiology

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