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Anxiety, Dizziness, Light-headedness, Nausea, Neck And Chest Tightness, Normal EKG.
Question: My friend complained of feeling anxious, dizzy, light-headed and slightly nauseated, and tightness in her neck, shoulders and chest area. As she was laying down, I observed her chest moving side to side. She is a very thin person, and this movement was easily observable. After about 20-30 minutes, the sensations subsided but when she attempted to resume activity, she had to lie down again. After an hour or so, she seems to be fine. I've made her promise to call her doctor tomorrow, but in fact the ekg
she had done recently showed normal. Should I worry her?
she had done recently showed normal. Should I worry her?
Dear XXXXXXX
The symptoms are more likely an anxiety episode.
However the way you have described the symptoms and signs there is strong possiblity of a supraventricular tachycardia, that is abnormal fast and regular heart beats. To detect it she needs to take an ECG during the episode of the symptoms. This disorder, even if present is not very XXXXXXX situation but does require evaluation and treatment.
She should definitely visit doctor next day morning but having her in the hospital or clinic during the symptoms would be more informative. A short term admission in the hospital helps for a better evaluation. After evaluating her clinically and if the primary ecg is normal doctors may also suggest further test such as Holter Monitoring, Echocardiogram and tread mill test (TMT) which should help them arrive at presence or absence of cardiac problem.
So my opinion is she should reach the emergency or cardiologist as soon as possible.
Hope I answered your query.
Regards,
Dr. Prabhakar.
The symptoms are more likely an anxiety episode.
However the way you have described the symptoms and signs there is strong possiblity of a supraventricular tachycardia, that is abnormal fast and regular heart beats. To detect it she needs to take an ECG during the episode of the symptoms. This disorder, even if present is not very XXXXXXX situation but does require evaluation and treatment.
She should definitely visit doctor next day morning but having her in the hospital or clinic during the symptoms would be more informative. A short term admission in the hospital helps for a better evaluation. After evaluating her clinically and if the primary ecg is normal doctors may also suggest further test such as Holter Monitoring, Echocardiogram and tread mill test (TMT) which should help them arrive at presence or absence of cardiac problem.
So my opinion is she should reach the emergency or cardiologist as soon as possible.
Hope I answered your query.
Regards,
Dr. Prabhakar.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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