I have an unusually fast heart rate for unusually long periods of time. What is wrong with me?

Question

My heart rate is really fast, and slightly irratic. I'm 15, I eat unusually healthy for my age, I'm female, not on period at the moment. No meds I am taking cause fast heart rates. I am athletic, but not overly so. I am underweight. I do have a tendency to become stressed easily. I have been on the computer for a while, but I took a break to see if that helped and I noticed no change. Any Ideas of what is wrong with me and how can I slow my heart rate down to a decent pace?

Answer 1

It may be something major and it may be nothing at all, the best thing to do it check with you doctor.

Answer 2

This also depends on if you are showing other symptoms such as lightheadedness, shortness of breath, numbness, pressure on your chest, or pain. Tachycardias (resting heartrates greater than 100 per minute) can be caused by many things and only an ekg and or blood test can determine the exact cause. Problems can range from dehydration and electrolyte imbalance to birth defects which affect the heart's electrical system. One common tachydysrhythmia (fast, irregular heartbeat) is called svt or superventricular tachycardia, which can sometimes be relieved by bearing down as if you were having a bowel movement, but again, if you are having symptoms along with your fast heart rate, I would suggest going to your family doctor or the er for evaluation.
I am a paramedic.

Answer 3

According to my sister's cardiologist, A normal heartrate is between 80 and 100. You do not specify how many beats per minute your heartrate is. To check this follow these steps-- place your pointer finger and middle finger on the carotid artery which is where your neck curves just under the side of your chin towards the ear, or on the inside of your wrist and feel for your pulse. Do not use your thumb to check for a pulse as there is a pulse area at the base of your thumb as well. Count the number of beats you feel for 60 seconds. This will tell you what your heartrate is per minute. Do this when you are sitting down and calm. If greater than 100 talk to your parents about it. They may need to take you in for a physical with your doctor where you can express your concerns. Things that you can do to slow your heartrate are deep breathing exercises, relaxing in a quiet place and try to do some meditatioin to help yourself destress.

Answer 4

Someone said dont worry about that, but that is not good advice. Fast pulse rate has a cause and it could be many things. Get a good checkup. In the meantime when it does get 85 and above, where you are conscious of it, try lieing on your back with feet elevated (like in a chair or couch) and take long deep breaths and exhale slowly. Do that for 5 to10 minutes and that usually works for me. (Not completely) but until my atenolol which is for that begins to work. Try to be calm, and stay away from caffeine and stimulants. Good luck and get it checked out.

Answer 5

It is probably not too high at all. A puppy's normal heart rate is 220 beats per minute. A dog's heart beat is also naturally irregular. If you have a stethoscope, you can hear it. However, becoming out of breath so easily could indicate something is wrong. Although not necessarily life-threatening, it could be something as serious as heart worms. To be certain, I would contact your vet and get her checked out.

Answer 6

Do you exercise? I know someone who is really skinny but has a pretty high heart rate because they are extremely out of shape.

What exactly is "high"? I think "normal" can go all the way up to even 80 bpm.

You say you eat healthy, can you give a general outline of what you typically eat in a day?

Sorry that this doesn't really have many answers, but there's just too many open questions.

Answer 7

It is possible that you could have excessive thyroid hormone production which can cause weight loss/underweight and increased heart rate or it could be something else or nothing. Get it checked. What is high? Anything above 100 while resting/not exercising is bad expecially for long periods of time.

Answer 8

You need to reach your desired weight.( the weight you should be) Stay away from caffeine and alcohol and any msg. Stress may also cause but that is difficult to change. Take some deep breaths. So if your heart skips more than a couple beats you maybe should get an electrocardiogram .

Answer 9

This is definitely not a question to be answered on yahoo answers, since there could be an underlying medical condition that needs to be addressed. Usually arrythmias are not serious, but if it bothers you in any way, it needs to be checked out by a doctor. I went throught something very similar at your age. It turned out to be nothing, but the doc did say that if it was annoying he could prescribe a mild drug to suppress abnormal beats. Certainly if you are very thin, you could have a slight potassium imbalance. But you have to have these things measured by the experts.

Answer 10

if you aren't doing drugs than you may need to eat and also drink more water cause you are dehydrated or exercising too hard and not getting enough calories in, or you have a heart condition and need to see your doctor, healthy athletic people tend to have slower heart rates than people who exercise regularly or not at all

Answer 11

You could have a slight rythm disorder. You should eliminate all stimulants such as caffeine and exercise regularly. Other than that don't worry about it, rythm disorders like this rarely endanger your health.