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My Son 18 Years Old Is Having Constant Heart Palpitations
Question: My son 18 years old is having constant heart palpitations and making him very tired. We took him to the ER and they did chest xray and blood tests, all normal. His heart rate was high, resting 100 and when he gets up goes up to 130 or so. He's been drinking and urinating alot. I feel like he needs a second opinion.
Brief Answer:
Consider postural tachycardia syndrome
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. With all the normal testing he has had done, this is not a simple case and it isn't obvious what the cause of his symptoms are. However, there are some things you could consider. One is postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which can have many symptoms, including palpitations, weakness, and fatigue. Its key feature is an exaggerated high heart rate with standing. This can be confirmed with a test called a tilt table test, and while there is not good treatment yet, certain medications can be tried.
Otherwise, I would also suggest talking with his doctor about doing a holter monitor to see what his heart rhythm is doing over time. If he is having sporadic episodes of an abnormal heart rhythm, this should be able to confirm that. Finally, an echocardiogram might also be good to make sure there does not look like there are any structural abnormalities with the heart.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Consider postural tachycardia syndrome
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch, thanks for using 'Ask a Doctor'. With all the normal testing he has had done, this is not a simple case and it isn't obvious what the cause of his symptoms are. However, there are some things you could consider. One is postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which can have many symptoms, including palpitations, weakness, and fatigue. Its key feature is an exaggerated high heart rate with standing. This can be confirmed with a test called a tilt table test, and while there is not good treatment yet, certain medications can be tried.
Otherwise, I would also suggest talking with his doctor about doing a holter monitor to see what his heart rhythm is doing over time. If he is having sporadic episodes of an abnormal heart rhythm, this should be able to confirm that. Finally, an echocardiogram might also be good to make sure there does not look like there are any structural abnormalities with the heart.
I hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about that, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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