Is 27 years old too young to have cardiac problems?

Question

I'm 27 years old and for the past several years, sometimes I can feel my heart beat faster or sometimes it seems to be skip a beat. is that a sign of a heart problem? I'm always worried that i'll get a heart attack or stroke but doctors say that i'm too young to get a heart attack.....any advice?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, you have been given some advice that is unfounded and probably is scaring you to death.

First let's define heart disease. The typical heart attack that the 60 year old business exec suddenly dies from is something that happens over many years. Plaques form in the artery. The plaques either get large enough that they rupture or they break off and block a smaller vessel or the finally occlude the whole vessel (which is a very slow process - over decades). This is what is usually referred to as heart disease.

There are risk factors that we use to evaluate patients and decide if it is likely they might be at risk for heart disease. Cigarrette smoking, diabetes, family history (heart attacks before age 50), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, advanced age (greater than 75) and obesity are among them.

Do 27 years olds have true heart disease? Very unlikely, especially as a woman. On the other hand if you have EVERY risk factor above, it certainly increases the likelihood. If you have one or two risk factors...I still think very unlikely.

There can be other problems with the heart - babies are born with abnormalities of all sort. For the most part you can categorized the abnormalities as either plumbing (a problem with the valves or flow of blood) or electrical problems (irregular beats).

You can also acquire problems like cardiomyopathy that one respondant discussed at length above. Or you can be predisposed to things happening - and people who are predisposed to serious heart problems typically have family members who passed suddenly at a prematurely young age...often unexplained at the time. You made no mention of any other symptom other than the palpitations and a skipped beat. I am therefore assuming you do not have chest pain or shortness of breath, or extreme shortness of breath with light activity.

So what is probably happening? There are very common arrhythmias called premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contractions that manifest how you described it. In fact that is the very most likely thing happening. These are completely benign and do not develop into other more serious problems. There are other electrical problems, like the SVT that someone mentioned above; but again you did not mention any symptoms like fainting or nearly fainting....so that is very unlikely.

PAC's can be affected by caffeine, stress, and too little sleep.

So what should you do if anything? If you are having shortness of breath, chest pain, or fainting or near fainting, then seek additional help. I would not invest in a chest CT and pay $400 for a study. Unless you have many risk factors as I described above. If you have all or nearly all of the risk factors, then I would seek the advice of a cardiologist who can further advise you and order studies as needed.

If you think these palpitations sound like the PAC's, then try cutting back on caffeine and get plenty of sleep...see if that doesn't help. If not and you still want an answer then I would request a referral to a cardiologist.

Please rest assured, based on how you described it in your question, this does not sound serious.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

I know a lot of ppl have suggested what they think may be wrong but I am 29 and had the same thing happen. This condition is called tachycardia. I'd always had somewhat of a fast heartbeat but one night while working it was so fast that I passed out. I went to the ER and was hospitalized for a week. I have supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and it's very important to see a cardiologist because if not treated it can resort in death. They will first try medications such as Toprol XL, Cardizem and etc. but in my case that didnt work so I underwent a surgical procedure which corrected the problem. I underwent an EP study (electrophysiology test) and then I had an RFA (radiofrequency ablation). During the ablation a catheter is inserted in the artery up to the heart and a small part of the heart muscle is burned to stop the electrical current and etc. The procedure was outpatient and the recovery time varies but it took me about a week. My heart rate went from 160 bpm to 71 bpm.

Answer 5

You've already gotten 2 good answers, and all I really have to add is that if you do go the ER, go while the pain is active. EKG's are like cameras, in that they only show what is going on in the moment they are taken. Once the pain subsides, any trace of what was happening would not necessarily show up on an EKG. This does not sound cardiac, but the ONLY way to know for sure is to go be checked out. Just in case it is cardiac, I would not wait. Time is heart tissue, and as you know, heart tissue is life. With any chest pain, the standard is to rule out cardiac causes. Maybe once you do that, you can rest at ease, knowing it is not cardiac, and get treatment for what IS causing the pain. You really do need to go get to the bottom of this, just to be sure. Don't wait; just go. Plus, a pretty sure indication that it is cardiac is denial...If you're trying to talk yourself out of it's being cardiac, probably best to go get checked, because in women the symptoms can be so obscure, and even absent. Good luck with this. Just go get checked once, and then you'll know.

Answer 6

First of all you are not too young to have a heart attack. Although most heart attacks happen in people much older, there are still plenty of people your age who have them.

This is a real simple issue to look into. Contact your local cardiology center at any major hospital. Or contact their diagnostic imaging department. Tell them you want to have an ultrafast CT of your heart done to check the amount of heart disease you have. This test costs about $400 and takes only 15 minutes to do. You basically lay on a table as the cat scan takes the series. It will tell you how much blockage, if any, you have in your coronary arteries. Typically, a cardiologist will consult with you, right after you have the test done. Have the results sent to your family doctor.

Probably, you will have zero blockage. That's probably, as in, that's what most people have, just walking in off the street. Eat a healthy diet and get a reasonable amount of exercise and have the test redone every few years (talk to the cardiologist about how frequently you should redo the test).

If you have some blockage, it's time to get serious about treatment. Use of statin drugs is proven to halt cardiovascular disease in its tracks. Unfortunately, they raise your risk of cancer. It's more than a fair trade however....but only if you need them.

Answer 7

Very good question. It may be just a murmur. I have that. But when I was at college in the mid 90's, I was subject to a ton of stress, and that did cause chest pain. Deep down, I knew I could have a heart attack even at 21 from my situation, but I ignored it in favor of the "conventional wisdom" that a 21 year old could not have a heart attack.

Answer 8

As a matter of fact, kid as young as 8 could get cardiac problem/attack, due to obesity. Your best bet is to seek a 2nd opinion or talk to a heart specialist. The sooner you know of the result, the better you are in terms of prevention and/or preparation.

Watch your diet, blood pressure, exercise regularly, cut down any fast and junk food, increase fruits, beans and vege intake, reduce food that contains any trans fat and substitute cooking oil with olive oil. Watch your weight too, such as using the BMI scale as a benchmark.

And to answer your question, no, 27 is not too young.

Answer 9

My husband has that too and he is only 23 years old! The doctors call it an enlarged heart. You can have problems at any age. The best thing to do would be to go to a doctor just to make sure its nothing really bad.

Answer 10

I had a neighbor that had to have heart surgery when he was 12 years old. You are never to young to have heart problems. A doctor should check you out.