Originally Posted by
globecanvas
Yes, but the diagnosis was made by my regular doctor (not a cardiologist), and in the absence of any data other than my own description of symptoms, since nothing unusual showed up in an exam or on a Holter monitor.
Flaco, I read your other thread here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...T)-and-cycling .. that really does sound more like what I have experienced. Have you identified any particular triggers, or does it come and go randomly?
[edit] The more I read about this condition the more it sounds exactly like what I have experienced. Several references talk about events being triggered right when easing up after hard exertion.
The bottom line is that you don't have a diagnosis.
For what it is worth, I am an Internal Medicine Physician. I doubt you are having episodes of Atrial Fibrillation. Supraventricular Tachycardia is much more likely in someone your age. If you walked into my office with these symptoms, I would work you up by doing an EKG (to rule out WPW Syndrome, etc.) and another 48 hr Holter Monitor. It is unlikely it would occur during the 48hr of the monitor but it isn't uncommon that people have other episodes that they are not even aware of and it is a uninvasive test and occasionally will document the problem.
Then I would do an echocardiogram to make sure there were no structural abnormalities (valve abnormalities, etc.). If all of those things are negative, I might refer you to a Cardiologist. I would ask them if they thought there was an indiaction for a Stress test or Electrophysiology Study (EP Study) - an elecrical study of the conduction of the heart to try to document the problem and to help decide if this is any threat to your health.
In all liklihood, this is just a benign, nuisance, electrical problem that has no long term consequences on your health but occasionally this can be sign of something more serious. The rare athlete that has sudden cardiac death or the younger person that develops premature coronary disease often has some warning symptoms like this.
I would pursue it a little more with a Physician.