Well, you need to take a deep breath and relax. Always consider the source of advice before commiting to worry. The hierarchy is sort of like this:

1st year resident - is given a wallet with no money in it. He can window shop, but not able to make a purchase.

2nd year resident - has a wallet with one dollar. He needs to use the information that he learned as a 1st year resident to spend his limited funds very wisely.

3rd year resident - has a wallet with one dollar plus a small line of credit. He can spend more than his dollar if he needs to, but he needs permission from the 4th year resident or the attending.

4th year resident - has access to the attending physician's wallet up to a certain amount. Anything over that requires permission from the attending.

I'm not certain who evaluated you, but in the absence of a full array of requiste testing and documented medical history, I'd say it was either a 1st or 2nd year resident so I'll let you make the appropriate association by comparison to the chart wherein money is analogous to training & experience. Also realize that these young physicians mean well, they just lack the experience necessary to make more accurate distinctions between pathological and non-pathological variants. They are not stupid by any means, merely uninformed in some ways at this point in their career. They'll soon be as sharp as your own doctor.

There is nothing wrong with the "wiring" in your heart and what this resident is recklessly attempting to suggest is that you have a re-entrant node wherein a cyclic evoked potential (electrical signal) causes the heart to beat at an erratic and accelerated rate. It is a congential condition that most often lies dormant until later in life, typically around 40 and beyond. These patients can many times need consultation for the potential placement of a pacer. You do not fit this category in any such regard.

You are experiencing benign palpitations that are induced by the vagus nerve and nothing more. You don't have heart disease or any type of anatomical abnormality.

I am a little puzzled in that you stated that you saw your general practitioner or primary care physician, but was first evaluated by a resident. You further mention the cardiology department.

I'm not certain what your reference in that regard means, but you need to be aware that residents do not rotate through specialties at that stage in their training, but rather move from year to year within the specialty selected. Only medical students would rotate through various specialties. So if a resident saw you, he would have been a resident in family practice if he was under your primary care doctor, unless you are incorrectly characterizing your "gp."

You're just fine and you're not headed for heart disease or a pacemaker.

Best regards and Good Health

Thanks RLR for your prompt reply and explanation of the situation.  I was referring to my general practitioner who has residents under him in a teaching hospital.  My understanding is that they are 4th year students and see most of the patients and then consult with your primary care doctor and then comes back in and tells you what they discussed about your problem and the solutions to it.

This young fellow did not however consult my GP when offering all of his wisdom (ha ha) regarding the heart muscle.

My comment on the cardiology department was probably not stated correctly by me.  I just meant that I hoped he was wrong in that department as I know he is not  educated in cardiology.

Thanks George for the information that you provided.

Thanks again RLR for clearing up this matter.  You are a blessing to us all!!!!