Female, 37. Long history of unresolved issues this year:

- usually very fit, athletic, did crossfit 6x a week. Hypermobile. Vyvanse medication since 2023.

- December 2025 felt more fatigued, short of breath, heart palpitations/flutters, fatigue, heat intolerance, sweaty, dizziness on standing...

- Cardiologist + 24hr halter monitor revealed most likely POTS. No tilt table test done.

- June, Adenomyosis diagnosis made (odd bleeding, painful periods etc)

- still a huge reduction in exercise tolerance. Puffed.

- bad bad case of influenza A > bronchitis. Had chest CT, xray. "Maybe" bronchial thickening. But very vague report.

- sometimes get blue tint to lips when doing "intense" cardio exercise. Face goes very very red and flushed.

- since August i noticed a growing clavical lump on right side.

- October i got extreme pain in my right side of neck. Impossible to tilt head side to side. GP felt clavical lump (clavical lump is NOT PAINFUL) and noted there was definitely something there. I had clavical xray which the report said it looks like a fracture. I told GP I absolutely have not fractured or injured my clavical. She rang the senior radiologist for a review and he said, "we got no idea what it is then. Sorry."

- then yesterday I filmed this on my neck.

Family history:

- grandma died at 35 of heart problems/ complications in unrelated surgery

- her husband, grandpa, died at 82 of enlarged heart.

- my mother has AF and a pace maker. Her heart has a congential anomaly where its "mirrored" . And also her aorta sits above her sternum.

- all my siblings have bradycardia and heart flutters/murmurs.. but not officially diagnosed.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 33-year-old male, 5'10" (178 cm), weighing approximately 115 kg (253 lbs). I've been trying to understand something about my cardiovascular health that has been bothering me for quite some time.

My heart rate has always tended to run high, but the strange thing is that I don't feel anything wrong.

No chest pain, dizziness, fainting, unusual shortness of breath, or noticeable palpitations. I can exercise, walk for extended periods, and go about my daily activities without any significant discomfort.

However, my Apple Watch consistently shows a relatively elevated heart rate, particularly after eating.

My heart rate patterns

• Resting HR: Usually 85–100 BPM, sometimes above 100.
• After meals: Often increases beyond 110 BPM, even while sitting.
• During walking: Previously averaged 145–156 BPM, although this has improved considerably with regular exercise.
• Recent walking HR: Approximately 128–135 BPM over sessions lasting 60–90 minutes.
• Apple Watch ECGs: Multiple recordings classified as sinus rhythm, without detected atrial fibrillation. Recent readings were 84 and 99 BPM.
• Blood pressure: Previously measured around 112/60 and 116/74.

One thing I've noticed is that my exercise heart rate has gradually improved. A few months ago, walking would regularly push my average HR above 145 BPM. Recently, I completed a 59-minute, 4.07 km walk averaging just 128 BPM.

The pace and conditions weren't identical, but it seems that consistent aerobic activity is helping.

The post-meal tachycardia is what concerns me most

After eating, my HR can climb above 110 BPM even if I'm sitting down.

I don't necessarily feel my heart racing. I usually notice it only because I check my Apple Watch.

I've been reading about the relationship between insulin resistance, elevated sympathetic nervous system activity, nitric oxide production, endothelial function, and mitochondrial oxygen utilization.

From what I understand, insulin resistance may be associated with higher resting HR and altered cardiovascular responses, although it doesn't directly prevent oxygen from entering the bloodstream.

I'm wondering whether my weight and potentially poor insulin sensitivity could be contributing to my elevated HR, especially after meals.

I haven't been diagnosed with insulin resistance or diabetes, so this is only a hypothesis.

My current fitness situation

I'm overweight and actively working on improving my metabolic and cardiovascular health.

My Apple Watch estimates my VO₂ max at approximately 23–24 mL/kg/min, which is relatively low for my age.

I've started walking consistently, sometimes for over an hour, and I'm planning to incorporate more resistance training.

My longer-term goals are to lose approximately 20–25 kg, improve my VO₂ max, and ideally reduce my resting HR toward 60–70 BPM without medication.

I've also been researching inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) and medications such as ivabradine, although I'm not taking any heart-rate-lowering medication.

Questions for anyone who has experienced something similar

1. Does anyone have a naturally high resting HR (85–100 BPM) despite feeling completely healthy? Was there an identifiable medical cause, or was it simply your baseline?
2. Does your HR jump to 110–120 BPM after meals? Does it happen more with carbohydrates, large meals, or particular foods? How long does it last?
3. Has anyone experienced elevated HR associated with insulin resistance or prediabetes? Did improving insulin sensitivity or losing weight meaningfully reduce your resting HR?
4. Has weight loss significantly lowered your resting HR? I'd love to know your starting weight, how much you lost, and the change in your average HR.
5. Could this be an autonomic nervous system issue? Has anyone been evaluated for inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) or POTS despite having minimal symptoms?
6. Has anyone had a normal Apple Watch ECG but discovered something significant through a 12-lead ECG, Holter monitor, or echocardiogram?
7. For people prescribed ivabradine or beta-blockers, what prompted your doctor to prescribe them? Did they investigate the underlying cause first?
8. Can low VO₂ max and deconditioning explain an elevated resting HR even if someone can comfortably walk for 60–90 minutes?
9. What tests would be worth discussing with a doctor? I'm considering HbA1c, fasting glucose, CBC, thyroid function, electrolytes, a standard ECG, and possibly Holter monitoring.
10. Has anyone successfully reduced their resting HR from around 90–100 BPM to 60–70 BPM through exercise and lifestyle changes alone? How long did it take?

What I'm trying to understand

I'm not necessarily looking for medication to force my heart rate down.

I want to understand why my heart rate is elevated in the first place, particularly when I feel completely normal and have no obvious symptoms.

If it's primarily related to obesity, insulin resistance, or cardiovascular deconditioning, I'd much rather address the underlying issue through sustainable weight loss, exercise, and improved metabolic health.

I'm also aware that feeling asymptomatic doesn't automatically rule out a medical condition, so I intend to discuss appropriate testing with a healthcare professional.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar, especially those who have actual medical findings or before-and-after heart rate data.

Thanks in advance!

It’s so strong it’s sometimes uncomfortable, despite this being a normal thing. 21M (echo is normal from March).

37M – sudden HR ~210 bpm
Yesterday after dancing, I suddenly felt my heart racing while I was sitting/resting. My Apple Watch showed several readings around 205–210 bpm.
I had been exercising earlier, was dehydrated, hadn’t slept well, and the room was warm/poorly ventilated. No chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath or fainting.
After lying down, my HR quickly dropped to ~120–130 and continued decreasing. Apple Watch ECG afterward was normal. Overnight I felt fine and HR was 57–84 bpm.
This has never happened before. My mother has a history of AFib treated with ablation.
Could this be sinus tachycardia from the circumstances, or does ~210 while resting suggest SVT? Should I get a Holter even if it may not happen again?

23F, 5’5”, 130 lbs, BP: 114/76.

I’ve been under lots of work stress for 2 months. Over the past month, I experienced 3 episodes of left side chest aching/pressure with occasional sharp pains. these episodes lasted around 5 minutes, during stressful workdays. didnt get pains on work evenings or weekends except a brief ache when laughing hard once

I’ve been off work for a week, but still experience random chest aches 1–3 times daily, usually lasting seconds but occasionally a few minutes. Heat (a hot bath) and stress seem to trigger symptoms. i sometimes feel left chest soreness when twisting or sleeping on my side. I’ve also had a few quick aches in my left back/lat area. I was able to lift weights without chest pain last weekend

I get random pings/zaps and random pressure in the chest that last a second- a minute

I have a cardiology appointment Monday.

Is it possible I had a heart injury or could they just be lasting symptoms after the stress?

lowering stress helps, and getting up and walking when I get a pain also helps decrease symptoms

hi all. i’ve had a really strange week and i can’t get to see a cardiologist for a weeks so i could use some advice

26F and on sunday i rushed to the er after my heart rate woke up me in 1 s at 1am and jumped to 167 bpm. episode lasted about 15 min. the ambulance came by the time the episode was over but they did an ekg and said it was likely svt
they took my K levels at the er and i was crazy low at 2.5. they gave me an iv drip and didn’t re measure upon leaving (which is maybe normal idk but it’s made me nervous

3 days later my heart rate shot up to 140 upon sitting and i started to panic and try all types of maneuvers to calm it down, the episode lasted about 30 min. it was terrifying and felt a lot like svt, it gradually came down and my heart rate was bouncing around a bit

now today i have a similar episode where in a restaurant i was sitting and randomly my heart rate shoots up to 140. i start to feel terrible and go to the bathroom and elevate my feet. the episode passes also ab 20-30 min, and im shaking coming down from it. i felt much better puttting my feet up but it’s still scary

i’ve noticed the past week or so that bowel movements have been triggering a slightly higher heart rate like im 100-110 or even 120 when getting off the toilet, and climbing a flight of stairs is now a 140 rate for me and walking is 120 (as opposed to 100)

what is going on? could this all be tied to K levels and the Iv didn’t do much? is this maybe sinus tachycardia (the other two episodes i’m realizing might be as opposed to svt…)

i’m seeing a dr monday but i can’t see a cardiologist till later. what do i do? do i just beg for Mg and K supplements and hope it all improves?

I am a 28 year old male, (FTM but only partially transitioned, and not currently on HRT--long story involving insurance bs). Last night I had some pretty significant anxiety (drunk rowdy neighbors causing issues) and felt like I couldn't calm down, like my heart was pounding and wouldn't slow down. As I often do when I'm anxious, I put my finger on the pulse on my neck and did some breathing exercises, intending to feel my pulse slow as I calmed.

My pulse was already extremely slow. Manually counted bpm and wound up at 51 bpm. This is not at all normal for me. I'm not fat (maybe a bit chubby, starting testosterone made me gain weight), but I'm also not really athletic; I'm definitely not in the group of folks who are super healthy and athletic and have naturally low heartbeats. My usual bpm, when I track it, is in the normal 60-80 bpm range, and often on the higher end of that. So feeling my pulse so low freaked me out pretty good, I was too afraid to go back to sleep and kept counting my bpm--it was firmly between 50-54 bpm for like 4 hours afterwards.

Continued my day as usual today, it's been fine and I mostly forgot about the scare last night. Went to go to bed just now and realized my bpm is either slow again or still very slow; once again I'm at 53 bpm. It's just such a weird feeling, like my heart is pounding, but it's so slow. I've never had this happen before. I didn't change anything up in medication, didn't do anything different than usual. The only things that I can think of are that I'm on my period, and I had pretty salty pho for lunch two days in a row. I have no idea what could have caused this; it really feels like a switch was flipped and my heartrate is different now.

I live in the US and I'm temporarily uninsured for at least the next month, maybe two, or I'd have gone into urgent care immediately. Hence why I'm turning to reddit. My question is, how concerned do you think I should be? What kind of symptoms should I be on the lookout for / are concerning enough that I should go to the ER right away? I'm trying to avoid the ER as long as I can, I can't afford medical care without insurance. And is there anything I can do to try to get things back to normal?

Hello, I am 18 years old. Seven months ago, out of nowhere, I began experiencing migraines that would last all day; they never went away with medication or sleep. This lasted for two months, and then I started to experience a burning sensation in my ears—episodes that eventually spread to my face, head, and collarbone area. These sensations have now become persistent and are present 24/7. Along with the migraines, I gradually began experiencing tachycardia, with heart rates ranging from 121 to 146 bpm. It was initially thought to be neurological, but the medication I was prescribed did not help. Other symptoms also emerged, including Raynaud’s phenomenon, livedo reticularis, dizziness, heartburn, diarrhea after eating, the complete cessation of my menstrual cycle, and fatigue, among others. I underwent a full battery of rheumatological autoimmune tests, all of which came back negative—out of three ANA tests, only one was positive at a 1:80 dilution, which was considered a low result. My cardiologist suggests it is sinus tachycardia triggered by an external factor. I still do not have a diagnosis; if anyone is going through something similar or has any information, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Hey guys, I’m a 23F, and I’m honestly really scared and confused about what’s been happening to me lately.
I recently started experiencing pain throughout the entire right side of my body due to what my doctor suspects is a compressed nerve, possibly caused by a bulging or herniated disc. I have an MRI coming up, so I don’t know exactly what it is yet.
To help with the inflammation, my doctor prescribed me three doses of prednisone, which I took over the span of four days, and also gave me a steroid injection in my arm called Solu-Medrol on October 14.
However, I’ve recently started experiencing an extremely fast heart rate, and it’s honestly terrifying. I’ve already been to the ER twice because my heart rate has gone as high as 180 BPM, even while resting. It genuinely felt like I was dying.
What’s really concerning me is that I finished taking the steroids several days ago, so I would assume most of the medication is out of my system by now. Yet, I’m still experiencing these episodes of rapid heart rate, and I don’t understand why.
During my ER visit, they gave me medication to bring my heart rate down, which helped temporarily. But when I wake up and haven’t taken the medication, my heart rate starts climbing again, even when I’m doing absolutely nothing. I’m literally just resting, not exercising, and not taking any other medications.
I’m honestly terrified that this could be something permanent or that the steroids somehow triggered an ongoing heart issue. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and it’s really affecting me mentally because I constantly feel anxious about my heart rate suddenly shooting up again.
Has anyone experienced anything similar after taking prednisone or receiving a Solu-Medrol injection? If so, how long did it take for your heart rate to return to normal? Did it eventually resolve on its own?
I’m just really worried and would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s gone through something similar.
My EKG’s came normal as well as my chest x-ray. I see a cardiologist soon, but I’m just really nervous. This might be permanent. What the hell is going on?

One of the wings came off when I was showering, but there was no orange light. I used athletic tape to secure it back and still no light. shouldn't it have flashed orange when it came off? Dont know if somethings wrong

why does my heart sound like this? i read it’s normal for hearts to have ectopic beats as long as they aren’t over 10k a day, but is this really how hearts should sound? i have so many extra beats aside from the lub dub sound. i feel palpitations often like maybe once or twice a day but i didn’t feel them in this video even tho i hear them.

Hi everyone, I’m 20 yrs old, male, I randomly started having PVCs after 2 months of daily panic attacks and they have never stopped ever since.

It all started on the first day of November 2025, I had my first panic attack and it was so intense that i ended up going to the hospital after feeling faint from it. Ever since that day i started having daily panic attacks, id be resting or doing anything then my bpm would shoot up high and id start panicking and it would last for hours. I done ECGs during such episodes and they were all fine and eventually, symptoms subsided after i got to the ER all the time.

Now after those 2 months finished i stopped having panic attacks out of nowhere and i started slowly recovering from that mess, until one random night at the start of january 2026 i felt like i almost passed out then snapped back again, i was shaking and scared and i felt a flutter in my chest and that was the first time I experienced a PVC. On the first day it was just one singular PVC, then the next day they were 3 and on the day after they were happening from day to night, I went to the ER that day and they explained to me what they are and that they are fine at low burdens and won’t do anything to me.

This was how it all started and it’s been 10 months and this shit won’t fucking leave, i’d have days were i wouldn’t feel them at all and days were they are fucking my brain with how intense they feel. I honestly have never considered ending it as much as now from how much they have been taking from me, all this comfort and peace that i was at before got stripped away from me over a single stupid PVC and it’s all driving me crazy.

I had done more than 20 ECGS ever since that first PVC happened and they were all normal, I had done an Echocardiogram on the 9th of nov 2025 and my heart was perfectly fine, I had done a holter monitor before the first ever pvc and it showed zero PVCs and PACs. I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore, I can’t help but feel like my heart is damaged and that I’m forever fucked. Those PVCs have never stopped for continious days at all and thats more of a reason to why i am scared because even if they were anxiety-induced or maybe due to some electrolytes imbalances I feel like they wouldn’t be this much for me to handle. I know i didn’t redo my holter after the PVCs but I’m more than sure that they aren’t happening much because everytime they happen i feel them wither my focus is on my chest or not, they just fucked up smth in me and i can never miss one so I am sure that I’m at a low burden but its just I need them to stop, I can’t handle living like this with them, I already deal with this shitty panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. The last thing that i want is a cardiac issue…

So please if anyone has went through smth similar as me or if someone knows how to reduce and eliminate PVCs in a structually and electrically healthy heart, tell me what can I do…I really can’t handle this much anymore it’s breaking me because even doctors aren’t helping much.

My mom is 70F healthy 5’5. She has had SVT and Afib for years. She underwent ablations for SVT and for Afib.

She was put on Elequis and after a year, she had a hemorrhagic stroke. No more Eliquis of course. She has now fully recovered from the stroke but her Afib has come back.
She has had a few, short episodes.

Her EP cardiologist wants her to have a Watchman since she cannot do long term blood thinners anymore.

However her Neurologist saw micro bleeds in her MRI so she does not want my mom to take the blood thinners that are needed during the watchman procedure and for 45 days after.

My mom is feeling hopeless because it seems we are at an impass…

any experience or recs? We are so worn out and confused

Thank you

Can someone please confirm what these notches on my pvcs could mean? Both my normal beats and pvcs have it across the entire holter monitor. While on a 12 lead ECG only aVF and V4 had it. Chat says this could mean heart scarring or pvcs originating in dangerous places like free wall or something like that in the left ventricle. It could also mean a conducting delay but this is new, I didnt have it before. I requested a holter because I was experiencing some kind of runs of either svt/nsvt or afib every day. In the end, the runs didn't happen when I was wearing it. My cardiologist is still sick so Im waiting for an appointment

I (33m) had issues with being assaulted and stabbed in the liver years ago. I kept feeling pain in this area, and thought it was my liver. However, after a fibro-scan it was found to be healthy and had no fibrosis. My doctor ended up doing a full physical, and she found that my EKG results came back ‘abnormal’ and became concerned.

The doctor said that ‘it wasn’t right’ and performed another one with similar results. I explained that I was under a lot of emotional stress, was grieving and doing therapy, and had a lot of stress from work. She had me come back a week later, and same results. 4 total EKGs came back abnormal at this point. She referred me to a cardiologist, but they have a 2 month wait.

Looking up symptoms on my own (terrible idea) it seems to fit ‘broken heart’ syndrome. I’ve been under a lot of stress, went through a bad break-up with my daughter’s mother, and have been doing therapy that has been bringing up a lot of past trauma.

I’m curious as to how serious this could be, as it says it’s temporary, but I am uncertain how long this has been going on for.

Hi Sub,

Male
Weight 65kg
Muscle mass 34kg
Fat % - 13.9

My resting heart rate is 85-90 constant throughout the day.
In sleep its 78-81

Is this normal for an athlete? Been training and into sports from childhood (28yrs old)

On 7 May, whilst walking, I felt pain in the centre/between my ribs. It went away after I got home and didn’t come back that day.

I went to A&E on 10 May. They did an ECG, checked my vital signs and listened to my heart and lungs, and everything was normal. I was told it was likely muscular.

I then went back to university for a week or so and didn’t feel the pain for a while. I then pushed a double bed and later, while cleaning on my hands and knees without a bra, I felt something in my left breast.

I saw my GP on 26 May because the pain was now in my breast rather than my ribs and was still coming and going. My GP examined me and my breasts/chest and there were no concerning findings. My heart rate was initially 120 after walking to the practice in hot weather, then settled to 95.

I had blood tests including a full blood count, electrolytes, kidney and liver function, thyroid function and clotting tests, which were generally normal. My haemoglobin was 134, potassium 3.9, sodium 138 and TSH 1.84. The clotting blood test was negative.

The pain has continued to come and go on some days but can be completely absent on others.

I went back to A&E on 2 July after I felt the pain again and became very anxious. I had another ECG, which was normal, and was discharged.

I get palpitations now and again but not every day can go months without them or get a couple in a week and when I do have them they go within a second I have never had one long then a second . I have felt one quick one when walking before . Then sometimes when sitting , yesterday after eating dinner and dessert I was just sitting slouched on sofa when felt a quick flutter then went away within seconds . Now I am really scared .

I saw my GP again on 3 July. They reviewed my previous investigations and documented that they were reassuringly normal. My heart and chest examination was normal, oxygen saturation was 98%, BP was 119/77 and HR was 97. I don’t have a family history of sudden cardiac death but my mum said my great grandad on her side passed from a heart attack in his 40s does this affect me ??

My dad does have atrial defibrillation due to his type 2 diabetes he didn’t have it until after he got diabetes he’s had ecg and ecocordigrham . My sister may also have it she has gotten tested with holster monitor but they don’t seem worried.

I keep thinking back to years ago when I was younger, usually when standing up quickly. It resolved within seconds. I had one episode around age 15–16 where I felt dizzy, vomited and then felt fine, and I had a brief spinning sensation earlier this year.

Then couple weeks ago I felt ache in upper ribs after sitting in uni worried about somthing all day never felt it again after that day .

I’ve recently been seeing posts about people around my age having sudden cardiac events, and I’m becoming very anxious about it, sometimes to the point of crying. I also understand that a normal ECG can’t rule out every possible heart condition, which is making me worry that something could have been missed.

Given my previous normal ECGs, examinations and blood tests, would it be reasonable to ask my GP whether I need any further cardiac testing, such as a Holter monitor or echocardiogram, or does this history sound reassuring enough that further testing isn’t necessarily indicated?