Irregular Heartbeat or Murmur?

I think I have an irregular heartbeat, first discovered by my gf when she was laying on my chest and when I took my pulse and felt a beat skip followed by two quick ones. Apparently HIIT can cause an irregular heartbeat from what I've read and I use to do them 5 times a week when I played on a college varsity team. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything more about this and how serious the condition is and whether I should take any precautions or get it checked by my doctor. Thanks.

 

PS - I knew about the heart beat problem a few months ago and I hadn't workoutted for a couple months at that time. And I've been working out again for about 3 weeks with HIIT once or twice a week along with strength training and feel fine. So I think I may have developed this at least a year ago.

I would definitely mention it to your doctor. He may want to do a treadmill test on you to make sure everything is okay. I get some strange chest pains so my doc did the test on me and gave me the all clear. Turns out I may have some loose cartalidge in my chest instead. Good luck!

Arrhythmia, palpitations and irregular heart-beats are much more common than you think.  They can be brought on by stress, exertion, large amounts of caffeine, fatigue.... and sometimes for no reason at all.

Do mention it to your doctor.  I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.

You should definitely see a doctor and get an EKG. It might be an asymptomatic, possibly congenital defect, but it's always better to make sure. Good luck.

I'm always puzzled when I see posts like this.  Someone notices a health problem that could be serious and, instead of going to the doctor, they ask the question on a pubic forum. 

Only an EKG can confirm that you are skipping beats, as mel95 mentions.  It could be something a simple as too much caffeine, as gi-jane says.  So get yourself to the doctor!

Disclaimer: go to your doctor

That said, I dated a nurse who noticed that I have sinus arrhythmia, when I inhale, my heart goes up during that inhalation.  That was 13 years ago and I'm still kicking.  Were you inhaling?

clairelane.... a lot of the people on these forums are in the States and quite a few don't have health insurance for whatever reason.  They seem to put off going to a doctor as a result and hence the questions on a website.  (And the popularity of spiritual healers, I suppose)  I'm in the UK where healthcare is free and am starting to realise what an asset that is.... :-)

Make an appointment to see your doctor so they can do an EKG to rule out anything.  If necessary they can refer you to a cardiologist to have a stress test or echocardiogram done...I see a cardiologist once every 6 months or sooner if necessary for prolonger qt from chronic low potassium....take care of yourself you only have one heart!

i only don't think its serious cuz i've had it for a while. I don't have a problem with insurance. I just had $10,000 surgery and my dad's a doctor. Just wanted to make sure i wasn't overreacting.

I get heart palpitations that are caused from anxiety and my extreme coffee consumption. So maybe it's caffeine/stress related...?  I'm sure you're fine.

no coffee... some stress... ill talk to my dad

I too developed an irregular heartbeat. I went through a battery of tests, including a 24 hour holter to monitor the heart beat and a radioactive isotope stress test. The holter confirmed the arrhythmia and the stress test has shown that my heart is in athletic condition.

I too had been doing HIIT about 5 times a week and stopped when out of the blue my heart would jump from 135bpm to 190bpm during intervals. My cardiologist said not to worry and gave me medication for a month and I should go back at the end of August for a follow up. He also said to lay off caffeine and I've completely eliminated it. He said to continue exercising at my age appropiate heart rate, no intervals though.

I still get the occasional flutter, but it doesn't scare me as it used to. I hope I can get back to HIIT, although sure as hell I won't be doing it 5 or 6 times a week as before.