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Heart Spasms, Medication, Caffeine, Dehydration, Stress, Exercise, Anxiety, Electrolyte Imbalance
Question: Hi, I"m 20 years old and weigh about 150 pounds, and have never had any health problems, I go to the gym at least 4 says a week and do weight lifting as well as cardiovascular work outs, earlier today I was sitting down and my heart felt like it had a spasm, it felt like it had 4 really fast beats then it went back to normal. I can account of something like this happening about 4 months ago but I didn't think to much about it. I fell fine, but is this something I should be worried about?
Hello,
Let me reassure you that what you are experiencing is a relatively common phenomenon. These are sometimes referred to as premature ventricular or atrial contractions. This can sometimes be associated with a bit of chest tightness before it resolves.
Sometimes there are factors which trigger these premature contractions and these factors include: 1) Use of stimulant medications or substances such as caffeine 2) Lack of adequate hydration 3) electrolyte abnormalities in the blood (maintaining a well balanced diet generally makes this less likely) 3) stress 5) Vigorous exercise and 6) anxiety. Keep a log of how often and when you experience these symptoms and share it with your doctor may request an EKG to assess our heart rhythm. I do not see this as an emergent problem right now. I would recommend you see your physician sometime in the next few months to discuss this particular issue.
I hope I have adequately answered your concern. I am available for your followups.
Let me reassure you that what you are experiencing is a relatively common phenomenon. These are sometimes referred to as premature ventricular or atrial contractions. This can sometimes be associated with a bit of chest tightness before it resolves.
Sometimes there are factors which trigger these premature contractions and these factors include: 1) Use of stimulant medications or substances such as caffeine 2) Lack of adequate hydration 3) electrolyte abnormalities in the blood (maintaining a well balanced diet generally makes this less likely) 3) stress 5) Vigorous exercise and 6) anxiety. Keep a log of how often and when you experience these symptoms and share it with your doctor may request an EKG to assess our heart rhythm. I do not see this as an emergent problem right now. I would recommend you see your physician sometime in the next few months to discuss this particular issue.
I hope I have adequately answered your concern. I am available for your followups.
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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