Cardiogram question?!
Question: I'm a healthy 24 yr old physically active male. Very much involved in sports. I have no personal history of heart problem and neither does anyone in my family. But I remember taking a cardiogram a few yrs back which indicated that every now and then, my heart would pump out a larger amount of blood than other regular beats. Sort of a "lumpier" every now and then kind of beat. The Doc said that it was nothing to be worried about and that my heart was healthy. Just a small "abnormality" (although I don't like to use that word). Is there a name for this? Is it common? Thanks.
Answers: I'm a healthy 24 yr old physically active male. Very much involved in sports. I have no personal history of heart problem and neither does anyone in my family. But I remember taking a cardiogram a few yrs back which indicated that every now and then, my heart would pump out a larger amount of blood than other regular beats. Sort of a "lumpier" every now and then kind of beat. The Doc said that it was nothing to be worried about and that my heart was healthy. Just a small "abnormality" (although I don't like to use that word). Is there a name for this? Is it common? Thanks.
I assume you mean an echocardiogram as that test would allow a doctor to visualize an increased contraction, although you may mean an electrocardiogram (EKG / ECG). On an EKG, the doctor may have noticed what is called a PVC, or premature ventricular contraction. This contraction happens earlier than it is supposed to and may be felt as a "skipped beat", although it may not be noticed at all as in your case. When this happens, less blood is pushed out of the heart than normally is per beat. Therefore, when the ventricles fill during diastole, more blood will be pushed into the ventricles via the atrial contraction than the ventricles are used to containing. The next round of systole (ventricular contraction phase of the heart beat) will eject the extra blood, and everything will be normal again. This condition is not serious, and in fact is the most common arrhythmia around. Hope this helps. Good luck and all the best.
I wouldn't worry if you can't feel it. I've been having heart palpitations for a few yrs. now and have had several echo's and he said it's nothing to worry about.
It's hard to say without seeing your ECG, but my guess would be a PVC, or premature ventricular contraction. It is sometimes called an irregular beat, or an early beat. Some people feel them when they happen, some don't. Everyone has them once in awhile, some people have them more frequently than others. Caffeine or stimulants can sometimes cause more of them to occur.