Resolved question:
About a week ago I had a heart flutter for about 2 seconds. Ever since, I have not felt normal. I felt light headed when it happened, and since then I sometimes feel flashes of light headedness. I feel uncomfortable. And I recently was awaken by a spell of my heart racing and beating harder. I had a history of heart palpitations in the past, but the doctors attributed it to high blood pressure. But it seems different now. It was simply one instance of fluttering and now an overall feeling of not feeling "right", almost like my heart isn't beating normally. I also realize I have gained weight in the past 6 months and I am now close to weighing what I weighed back when I had palpitations years ago. I recently quit my job so I no longer have insurance. I want to go to my local urgent care clinic but I'm afraid of the costs since I assume they will just refer me somewhere else to a specialized doctor. I started to use my stationary bike for 30 minutes a day after the fluttering instance. I was not active before. My heart seems to handle the exercise. I'm very confused about what's happening. Especially this overall feeling of something is not right. I am 28 years old, 5'7" tall, and I weighed myself at 207 lbs. I knew I had gained weight but I did not know I had gotten this bad. I had topped at a little over 220 lbs. 8 years ago when I was experiencing palpitations on a regular basis. After eating better and exercising I got down to 160-170 lbs. and the palpitations disappeared and I went off the heart medication they prescribed me. I forgot what it was called. I'm hoping exercising and eating better will be the answer this time too. The only medication I take is an albuterol inhalant for asthma, but I have not used it in several months. What should I do?
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Cardiologist
Hello,
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
You have symptoms or palpitations since last one week with some giddiness. Plus a history of weight gain in last few months. First we need to ascertain the nature of palpitations. You need to get an ecg to detect any abnormalities of heart rhythm. If it is normal you could get a 24 hr holter examination done to capture any heart rhythm abnormalities. A 2d echo to rule out any structural abnormality of heart is advisable. Anxiety may also be a cause in absence of any serious structural abnormalities.
Feel free to discuss further,
Regards
Dr Vivek Mahajan
DM Cardiology