My daughter's resting heart rate was 180 bpm. Will she just grow out of it?

[sweetpea&babycorn]

Mrs-b, your motherly instincts are right and there is no way that this is normal for a 21 year old. I’m sorry that doctors have been so dismissive.

I rarely post here but wanted to echo what some others have said about SVT (supraventrical tachardia). I was diagnosed with it in my 30s, although I had episodes of it throughout my life but never knew what it was. Apparently it’s fairly common and it sounds very similar to what your daughter is experiencing.

I was only diagnosed after having an extreme episode that landed me in the ER, and they put me on monitors while it was happening. I think that’s the main reason I was able to get a diagnosis and not have it dismissed as anxiety (which happened prior to that).

A few thoughts:
- As another poster said, get an appointment with an electrophysiologist and not a cardiologist.
- The newer Apple watches have EKG capabilities that are reliable, according to my electrophysiologist. Documenting the episodes may be of help so they can see what is actually happening.
- For me, lack of sleep (usually caused by stress) can trigger episodes. It took me a while but I’ve figured out some of my triggers, which has helped greatly reduce the episodes.
- SVT (and I’m guessing other heart issues) can be exacerbated by pregnancy. Only mentioning it because your daughter is young and may want to keep that in mind in the future.
- Your daughter may want to research “vagal maneuvers” which are simple ways to trick your heart back into a normal rhythm. This is how I’m usually able to stop my episodes, but it may not apply to your daughter if her issues are being caused by something else.

I don’t mean to give medical advice here because your daughter might be experiencing something entirely different. Just wanted to help if i can.

You are doing great, mama. Your daughter is lucky to have you!

I 10000% agree with everything said here. And young adults notoriously have difficulty in the healthcare system and so I’m very happy that you’re advocating for her. If I saw a patient like this, I would totally freak out over the tachycardia.

I especially love the suggestion of doing vagal maneuvers in case this is SVT.

I would be a little cautious of a functional medicine approach, at least for now. Many of the supplements they recommend are not FDA approved for their indication and often we don’t know enough about how they could impact the cardiovascular system and how they interact with other medications she is currently taking.

My first thought was thyroid and possibly adrenal workup if there are other symptoms suggestive of endocrine contribution, and seeing an electrophysiologist. A heart rate that high caused by hyperthyroidism would almost always be associated with other symptoms. Pheochromocytoma is usually characterized by more episodes of hypertension and if pretest probablility is low it’s not worth testing for.
A normal echo is reassuring as it rules out structural heart disease but will say nothing about conduction abnormalities.

If she had abnormal EKG readings, then electrophysiologist is the way to go.

Have her blood pressures been normal during these episodes? It may be worth getting a home BP monitor to correlate any abnormal readings with episodes of tachycardia.

Would she be able to eliminate all caffeine? Even decaf can have enough caffeine to trigger tachycardia if one is sensitive enough.

Documenting episodes would be extremely helpful for a physician, as well as details of any recent activity, stressor, or something like having had a cup of decaf coffee or caffeinated tea. Timing how long episodes last could be helpful too.

I really really hope this gets figured out soon! Sending strength and love

 

[danusia]

You wrote that your daughter saw a cardiologist. I would fully recommend that she see an electrophysiologist instead who deal with heart rhythm problems. They know more than cardiologists. I know because I was dismissed by a cardiologist until I landed in the cardiac ICU with a heart rate of 30. I now see an electrophysiologist because I have a cardiac device implanted.

Also, I think I wrote about this in another thread, but my DD who is in her 20s developed a fast heartbeat after getting her Pfizer covid booster late last December. She had an ultrasound performed which showed fluid around her heart which has since gone away, but she still has the rapid heartbeats. She has reported this to the CDC and will be going back to the doctor regarding this as he assured her the rapid heartbeats should go away when the fluid around the heart went away.