hi,

I had a soccer game today and i warmed up and it was a little fast but as soon as i started to play my heart rate rocketed up to 200bpm. I was only jogging too but it wouldn't slow down until i started walking for a while. I also noticed a bit of tingliness in my feet when it happened. Eventually it slowed down a bit for the rest of the game but i'm still feeling nervous inside. I know i've been slacking in the potassium(although i make sure it's higher than sodium on fitday.com) and water a bit(3L a day). I am very active, could it just have been too low potassium or dehydration?? I've been to the ER before and had Ekg's done and a holter and everything was normal and it only happens once in a while if i don't take my potassium supplements?? ANyone else?? THanks

Danyele

It's inlikely that your heart rate was a "normal" rhythm.

Making a long story short, the normal heart pacemaker rarely goes that fast. It can happen, but it's unlikely.

Please ask your doc to follow-up on this! I could be what is called "Narrow QRS Tachycardia", which is caused by either another "abnormal" pacemaker taking over...or a problem with the conduction thru the heart, which makes the heart beat so rapidly.

This is something that many people have and live with it without medications, but if you are having symptoms it should be controlled.

Ask your doc if, in addition to the Holter monitoring, you can try an event recorder. Most insurance companies approve this, and it's usually used for a month to detect what the exact rhythm is. This is especially helpful if the problem is intermittent! There are several monitor types that can be used. The best one in my opinion is one that you wear, similar to the Holter Monitor, and make a recording when you have the rapid heartbeat symptoms. The reason why I like this one it is because if it's set up correctly, when you make a recording, it displays a few seconds before onset. This "pre-event" information can be invaluable in making a diagnosis!

This definitly can be related to your potassium levels. Hopefully you had a blood level done when you were in the ER? The problem with potassium is that either too much or too little can cause heart conduction problems, so it's not something you should play with on your own!

I hope I didn't scare you....this is likely a fairly benign problem ....but if left untreated it can become severe and it can lead to dizziness and even loss of consiousness! Please note also that this type of rhythm does NOT usually lead to heart damage, heart attack, or cardiac arrest!

Talk to your doc....see if you can give him/her as much information about your activities, diet, etc as possible. And ask him to look into this further!

Hope this is a help! Keep us informed.

Cindysue,


Thank you so much for the info. I'm going to talk to my doc about it if it happens again. I worked out this morning and it was fine. I have practice tonight so i'm going to see if it happens. Thanks again, i'm going to look into it. I'm just glad my trainer took my heart rate so that someone believes me!!

Danyele