DS14 has irregular heartbeat alarm on blood pressure monitr

[Europeangirl2022]

We were messing about with my Dads blood pressure machine yesterday & my 14 year old DS has the irregular heartbeat alarm thing show up each time. I have been thinking about it as was going to take him to GP on Monday to get him checked out but should I act sooner & go to childrens a&e? I don’t know how worried to be tbh. Is it normal in kids?

Is he very slim? Maybe it just wasn't fitting him correctly if it's sized for adults.

Not really - he’s got fairly normal size arms & it was tight on him

Maybe give 111 a ring? They should be able to get you an appointment with a GP or nurse to get it checked by a professional.

Please get this checked out.

Listen to his actual heartbeat. You’ll be able to hear if is heart is in arrhythmia!

Yes take his pulse, Ihave irregular heartbeat and feel it through the pulse in my wrist.

If your son is well and not having any symptoms then by far the most likely is sinus arrhythmia - where the heart rate varies with breathing in and out. Totally normal in teens and fit adults and nothing to worry about. (If you check his pulse and it feels very fast then he probably should be checked out, also if he has any actual symptoms.)

www.kidsheartshouston.com/answers/21812-sinus-arrhythmia

If you have access to a recent Samsung Galaxy phone, the Samsung Health App can do a heartbeat trace. It's only looking at the pulse in a fingertip but it can show you if beats are being missed etc. Apple Watches and some fitness monitors can do similar, but it's no substitute for a proper ECG by a suitable medical professional.

The picture is a Samsung phone showing my heart missing a beat (though I'm a lot older than your DS and have a pacemaker fitted so it doesn't get any worse than that).

So we measured it on an ecg app and it came up as irregular too! I just don’t know how worried I should be

There is an organisation called CRY - Cardiac Risk in the Young (c-r-y.org.uk) and they offer free heart screening. I took my son when I found his heart sounded irregular.

I’d go to A and E for peace of mind. My young nephew has the same and it was discovered when he went to join a gym. He was unaware beforehand but is now medicated and fine. I have arrhythmia and Atrial Fibrillation which was discovered during pregnancy. Again, I’m medicated and fine but it does affect my day to day life.
Better to get checked out sooner rather than later.