Hopefully, this will be good news or a the very least make you feel just a little bit better.
Many of us are walking your same path. I have it's cousin "supraventricular tachcardia/paroxysmal atril tachycardia". I also have very long runs of atrial bigeminy which are beyond annoying and make me feel almost as poorly as the SVT/PAT if it is sustained.
I get the same symptoms you describe but I do not have heart disease. Terrifying yes, deadly no.
I never get chest pain when I am in it, some very young folks describe having chest pain when it happened to them.
I gave up coffee for 3months and it still recurred. I cannot lie on my left side, or raise my arms over my head in the morning to stretch because I go right into it. Sometimes if I bend over quickly it will precipitate it. Alcohol will almost always set it off hours later.
If you had a heart attack and went into at fib, this would be a very different problem. The good news.... it appears they ruled that out.
Some of our presidents have been treated for this condition. It has no respect for age, and I have known some young people who have it, so no one is exempt.
They will usually check all your blood work including a thyroid test to be certain that this is not the cause. They might put you on a small monitor that you will wear 24-7 at home for several weeks. Unfortunately, these things don't always happen when you are wearing the monitor.
They put me on a beta blocker years ago and recently had to increase the dose. I also have a short acting one that I take when I go into the rhythm. Sometimes it works, other times I go to the ER. As my cardiologist told me years ago, "as scary as it is, you are NOT going to die!" When its happening, I don't necessarily believe that.
I have had it on the summit of Stratton, at Coolidge State Park in the middle of the night, in the Whites and in the Northeast Kingdom, all when I was solo. I had my dogs with me each time. I was more worried about them at the time than I was me.
There are two books written by a hiker who did the AT.
He had a history of at fib and was on a med for it. He went into it on the hike and ended up having to go down to a nearby town to get his treatment changed. He finished the AT, no problem.
It atrial arrythmias, such as the ones we have give us lots of grief, they can try to "ablate" the focus under anesthesia. It may or may not be successful but probably worth a shot if it becomes a big problem. I worked with a nurse who came to the ER 4x in one day and had hers ablated.
I'm certain you will be told all these things and more by your MD.
I hope this makes you feel a little bit better. You are not alone. I would be shocked if other hikers on these boards do not have similar problems. As annoying as it can be, it is far better to have atrial arrhythmias than the ones which originate in the ventricle . Some of those will find you knocking on the pearly gates.
Being on beta blockers alters how you exercise. They decrease you myocardial contractility and this makes you feel like you would at higher altitudes. I even read that in a sports magazine not too long ago. I am especially bothered in the heat and have to go more slowly. I enjoy hiking solo even more now because I am to slow for most people. It's very uncomfortable for me to try to keep up.
I will be thinking of you and hope you will be back on the trails in record time. I look forward to hearing how you are feeling and I wish you the very best.
All this from a fellow traveler in the "atrial arrhythmia" hiking club! This just happens to be as important a club as the 48- 4000 footer club!
Be well.
