I agree with the other posters - you really must get your Doctor to refer to
you a cardiologist and get him to do some tests.
I have been having regular problems with intermittent heart beats over the
last year or so - I tend to get an episode every three months or so. I've
had it checked out and they have diagnosed "Atrial Fibrilation". This may be
what you are experiencing, but I know there are various different types of
irregular heartbeat and this is only one of them. There is no pain at all in
my case, but I am aware of the heart beating very fast and can feel
lightheaded and find it a little difficult to concentrate.
Caffeine, alcohol, stress and exercise are all triggers that can cause
Atrial Fibrillation and I believe some other irregular heartbeat problems as
well. I've also heard drinking a large volume of water can also be a
trigger. But I haven't heard that dehydration can cause it. My Doc told me
to cut out caffeine - I have cut down a lot on this and its helped but not
eradicated the problem. I tend to get an attack sometime after after being
particularly stressed and also having done a lot of exercise (mostly running
in my case). (And I have to say usually the day after a few beers as well,
its kind of hard to cut that one out 😉. I am convinced that for me it is
the stress that is the prime factor. The attack normally lasts a day and a
half and in my case it is usually some very gentle exercise (such as a short
stroll) that flips it back into the normal state, once the irregularity has
calmed down to a certain degree.
I've been told my problem is quite common in fit people as they have larger
hearts and are therefore more prone to the problem, which is something to do
with interruptions to the electric signals in the heart wall that control
the beating. In my case they have told me that my heart is healthy. I think
they label what I have as "lone atrial fibilation" as there are no other
associated causes. But in general there may be which is why it is important
to get it checked. In my case I was strongly encouraged to keep running,
although I don't do it of course when its out of sync. (Fortunately it
doesn't normally happen during a period of exercise for me).
I was told that when the heart is in an irregular state, there is an
increased risk of stroke. So one thing you might want to consider is taking
an Aspirin a day (the little 75mg ones) as it thins the blood and reduces
the risk of a stroke. I tend to do this when I get an attack and for
several days after it stops, but I should probably take one every day.
But these are only my experiences and your problem may be different - the
only way to find out and put your mind at rest is to go and see the doctor
and cardiologist.
Hope it helps anyway.
Jerry
"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:I had a scary experience yesteday.
About 30 minutes into a morining ride, I started feeling sick to the
stomach and
my heartbeat became noticibly irregular. Sat down for awhile, felt a
little
better, decided to turn around and ride home...felt worse immediately,
experienced some dizziness.
Called my wife to come and drive me home.
Felt lousy most of the rest of the day - extremely quick to tire,
heartbeat up
around 140 just sitting in a chair... Slowly got better over the course of
the
day.
I don't think it was a heart attack because I'd had a 'clean' cardiac
catheterization only a couple of weeks before - having foolishly told my
doc
about some chest discomfort that I'd experienced. That was good for a
week's
lost pay while going here and there for various diagnostic procedures
prior to
the cath.
I did, however, wind up chugging about three very large glasses of water
with
dinner that nite and it tasted *really* good.... I'd also been under a
lot of
stress - I'm a contractor and my contract with a place I'd been serving
for
about 10 years finally expired and was not renewed. Working 10-hour days
to
clean up loose ends and all that....
Somebody's gonna say "don't mess around, see a doctor immediately...".
Been
there as described above...lost the pay, no disease found....
So, bottom line, was my little adventure consistant with dehydration?
--
PeteCresswell
