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Hi There I’m A 25 Year Old Female (five Foot
Question: Hi there I’m a 25 year old female (five foot seven, 120 pounds, non smoker but was a social smoker from 20-23) experiencing shortness of breath especially on exerction (confirmed by two walking pulse oximeter tests when my resting oxygen saturation was 98 then after a short leisurely walk it dropped to 89 and an abnormal DLCO lung gas transfer capacity thing). My chest x ray was apparently normal. I had a ct scan with contrast that ruled out PE but noted “systolic activity of the heart seems exaggerated, does the patient have tachycardia?.......Systolic cardiac activity produces considerable motion artifact in the lung parenchyma and this limits assessment of peripheral subsegmental vessels.” I’ve also been experiencing episodes of tachycardia for years (suspected heart arrythmia not sure yet which one) and had an episode where my heart went to 220bpm, earlier the day of the scan (on the way to the hospital). The tachycardia has become more frequent and the shortness of breath (not during tachycardia episode, but just going about my day) is new started about a year ago. I’m waiting for my cardiologist to come back from vacation, any idea if this is all related or what it could be? My other pulmonary function tests were normal. Also apparently the vector of my heart depolarization is running perpendicular to my arms.
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome back to Ask a Doctor service!
I am glad to hear that the CT scan with contrast has ruled out PE and your pulmonary function tests have resulted normal.
You should know that the increased systolic activity and tachycardia are related to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is a normal physiological reaction to psychological stress or physical activity in healthy persons. In some sensitive persons, this reaction may be exaggerated.
Considering the episodes of shortness of breath and tachycardia, I would recommend further tests to help investigate on a possible heart issue.
In this regard, I would recommend performing a cardiac ultrasound,to help examine your heart structure and function and an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) to help examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time in order to help determine the type of cardiac arrhythmia.
I would also recommend checking thyroid hormone levels in order to exclude a possible thyroid gland dysfunction, which could trigger the episodes of shortness of breath and tachycardia.
I hope you will find this information helpful!
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me again!
Kind regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome back to Ask a Doctor service!
I am glad to hear that the CT scan with contrast has ruled out PE and your pulmonary function tests have resulted normal.
You should know that the increased systolic activity and tachycardia are related to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is a normal physiological reaction to psychological stress or physical activity in healthy persons. In some sensitive persons, this reaction may be exaggerated.
Considering the episodes of shortness of breath and tachycardia, I would recommend further tests to help investigate on a possible heart issue.
In this regard, I would recommend performing a cardiac ultrasound,to help examine your heart structure and function and an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring (Holter) to help examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged time in order to help determine the type of cardiac arrhythmia.
I would also recommend checking thyroid hormone levels in order to exclude a possible thyroid gland dysfunction, which could trigger the episodes of shortness of breath and tachycardia.
I hope you will find this information helpful!
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me again!
Kind regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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