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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Heart Palpitations, Breathlessness, Lightheadedness And Loss Of Balance?

hi, i am 24 years old and about a year ago my heart started skipping a beat,one time it did it 7 times in 5 min. this is usually followed by a shortage of breath, i also get lightheaded, and my balance seems to be getting worse. is this all related,and should i be woried.
posted on Thu, 13 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 19 Feb 2018 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 23 Feb 2018 Last reviewed on
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Cardiologist,  's  Response
Hello,

I passed carefully through your concern and would explain that all your clinical symptomatology needs to be further investigated. Your cardiac palpitations seem to be related to intermittent episodes of cardiac arrhythmia and your lightheadedness and loss of balance should be differentiated whether are due to transient hemodynamic imbalances (blood pressure fluctuations,) or other alternative causes (neurological, metabolic, et cetera).

In this regard, I would recommend discussing with you doctor to see the opportunity of performing a careful physical exam and additional tests, like:
- Resting ECG
- Complete Blood Count (exclude possible anemia)
- Thyroid hormones level (possible thyroid dysfunction)
- Blood electrolytes level
- Cardiac ultrasound
- An ambulatory 24 to 48 hours ECG (Holter) monitoring
- Fasting blood glucose
- Chest X ray study

Once excluding obvious cardiac and metabolic disorders, a careful neurological exam would be advisable.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka
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What Causes Heart Palpitations, Breathlessness, Lightheadedness And Loss Of Balance?

Hello, I passed carefully through your concern and would explain that all your clinical symptomatology needs to be further investigated. Your cardiac palpitations seem to be related to intermittent episodes of cardiac arrhythmia and your lightheadedness and loss of balance should be differentiated whether are due to transient hemodynamic imbalances (blood pressure fluctuations,) or other alternative causes (neurological, metabolic, et cetera). In this regard, I would recommend discussing with you doctor to see the opportunity of performing a careful physical exam and additional tests, like: - Resting ECG - Complete Blood Count (exclude possible anemia) - Thyroid hormones level (possible thyroid dysfunction) - Blood electrolytes level - Cardiac ultrasound - An ambulatory 24 to 48 hours ECG (Holter) monitoring - Fasting blood glucose - Chest X ray study Once excluding obvious cardiac and metabolic disorders, a careful neurological exam would be advisable. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Ilir Sharka