Ask a doctor on the topic of General medicine

Heart disease or Römheld tension

January 24, 2022 | 35,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Hello, I am male and 27 years old. Six months ago, for the first time, I woke up at night with a strong racing heart and thought something was happening. I went to the family doctor, who said that at my age, only myocarditis could be considered. An EKG, blood test, and listening were done, everything was fine. Unfortunately, it didn't end there, a few weeks later, in the evening on the couch, I had racing heart, tightness, and the feeling of having a heart attack or something similar.. I went back to the doctor, and after questioning, it seemed to be related to the psyche. He said it was probably the Römheld syndrome, as I can no longer differentiate whether it is the heart or what I now believe is more likely the diaphragm, right in the middle under the ribs. He recommended me tablets (Pandropazol) and calming tablets Neurexan. Unfortunately, it still didn't end there, and a few weeks later I went back to the family doctor, this time asking to take another look. This time a 24-hour blood pressure test was done, everything was fine. She said it goes down at night, which is a sign of a healthy cardiovascular system. For now, that was okay for me. Unfortunately, the pressure pains are still there, as I said, I don't know if it comes from the heart or rather hurts in the diaphragm/solar plexus in the middle. Unfortunately, the pain is often associated with great fear, I don't want to run to the doctor again, they probably think by now that I'm completely losing it. Unfortunately, I googled it, and all kinds of things came up from pancreatic cancer to heart disease. Now to my question: based on my examinations, can heart disease be ruled out now, or should I have another long-term EKG or stress EKG done? I am really afraid of falling asleep because something might be wrong with my heart and I won't wake up in the morning.. Because Google of course spat out heart death, and I recently read that even young people can be affected. (Look at Eriksen at the football EM). Thank you in advance!

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good day,

If you had had myocarditis six months ago, it would have shown up on the ECG by now, and it would have healed by now as well. What the general practitioner said is also not true: most of the time it's simple rhythm disturbances or psychological causes that cause palpitations, myocarditis is rather rare. People like Eriksen continue to participate in high-performance sports despite being ill because they are happy to be included, and that can sometimes be fatal. They often have symptoms beforehand, but choose to ignore them.

I would recommend doing a 24-hour ECG, as it shows what type of palpitations are occurring. This can also help determine the cause (the long-term blood pressure measurement was actually unnecessary).

Pancreatitis usually causes back pain, and one usually develops cancer there after the age of 60. After six months, you would have already experienced severe symptoms!

Pantoprazole should be taken 30 minutes before breakfast, otherwise it won't work.

However, I believe that fear is causing your abdominal pain and palpitations, it seems to have taken on a life of its own.

Since Neurexan is a homeopathic medicine and therefore has no proven effect, I would suggest trying Lasea. It is herbal and has proven effectiveness.

Warm regards, Dr. Gehring