Hi. Please help me out as I am very concerned at the moment.
I am a:
- 23 year old Asian male
- no family history of heart disease
-165 lbs, 5'11", BMI is 23.2, resting heart rate is 60, blood pressure is 138/86
- play 2 hours of soccer 3 times a week, lift weights twice a week
- no medication, multivitamin daily, fish oil daily, and protein shakes with 5 grams of creatine after exercise
- don't smoke and drink about 2 times a month
My symptoms are:
- occasional arrhythmia and palpitations for 3-4 years now, but recently they have become more often
- happens when I go to bed an hour after I play soccer (soccer at 10 PM, bed around 1 AM)
- characterized by extra beats, keeps me up for at least 30 mins
- sometimes extra beat will kick in every other normal beat
- very aware of it, feel like there's a pocket of air in my chest when it happens
- arrhythmia also happens after a night of heavy drinking or when not enough sleep
- hard and rapid heartbeat when I am nervous or anxious
- sometimes hard and very slow heartbeat (1 beat every 2 seconds) when I wake up from taking a nap
Cardiologist visit last week:
- normal EKG reading
- doctor detected murmurs and extra beats
- said it is possibly premature ventricular contraction, mitral valve prolapse, and mitral regurgitation
- said I need a stress test following the Bruce protocol and an echocardiogram to confirm and determine whether the condition was benign or required treatment
- because of the high deductible on my insurance, I have not gone back for those tests as I can get them done for much cheaper back in Bangkok, Thailand (including airfare)
My questions are:
1. Given that I am still able to engage in strenuous exercise without feeling pain or reduced tolerance, should I worry about my symptoms?
2. Are my symptoms serious enough that I should get these tests (stress and echo) done immediately?
3. What other possible conditions could it be?
I appreciate and thank you for your time and help in advance.