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Question:
Should I be worried about my fatigue and dizziness, coupled with my family history?
I am having severe fatigue, dizziness and my family doctor said that a heart tracing said that I have a slow heart rate. My mother has a congenital heart problem. She has endothelial dysfunction, a symptomatic myocardial bridge and heart spasms. I am in my 2nd year of college and dropped out for a semester because of the fatigue and can't concentrate. Should I be worried? I do exercise fairly well.
submitted by Teresa from Georgia on 1/09/2013
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Domingo G. Gonzalez, Jr., MD 
Many things can cause fatigue; and dizziness can be what patients say they feel when they feel faint like passing out or when they feel the room spinning or they can't get their balance. Many normal young people have a normally low resting heart rate. For your low heart rate to be a cause of your symptoms, it would have to be in the low thirties per minute or lower, and possibly associated with pauses greater than three seconds. Also the response to activity would be blunted or none existent. A cardiologist can assess if your heart rate is the cause of your symptoms or if some other cause is the culprit.
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Updated January 2013
