Intermittent Heart problems & Arrhythmia

[justaguy]

My girlfriend sometimes gets random and painful heart palpitations and arrhythmia. It started when she was very young, about 15 and has persisted for years. Her mother also had the problem when she was younger, so it's quite possible that it could be hereditary. Over the years she has seen doctors but not even once have they prescribed her any sort of medication or beta-blockers etc. It's quite intermittent when she gets these mini-attacks. Sometimes weeks could go by without a beat out of place. Sometimes we can just be walking talking casually and suddenly she will stop and have to sit down clutching her chest. Other times we will be sitting or lying in bed and suddenly her face will just change and she'll be in pain. Then the next day or a few days later it'll happen again. Then it'll be weeks again and we'll almost forget about it. There doesn't seem to be anything either of us can associate it with. Which is really scary.

The longest episode I've seen her have is about 2+ hours or so. It seems that relaxing, lying down, sitting, or generally doing anything at all to try and make her 'relax' actually makes it worse, or does nothing at all. Though most of the time it's just a 10 to 20 minute issue she will face after which she is in mild pain.

Obviously I am really worried about her. Subsequent attempts to see a doctor have resulted in her being told to wait up to 2 weeks for a check up. Okay, so apparently most arrhythmias aren't life-threatening but I still think that this is something that should be taken more seriously. On 2 occasions that it was very bad and I took her to the emergency room the 2 doctors both told her that despite all the pain she was going through and her inability to walk or even stand that again no one would prescribe her any sort of medication such as beta-blockers or blood pressure pills. Despite her blood pressure apparently being very high. Ok, I am no doctor and it's best to not take drugs when you don't have to, but surely they could at least try and give her something?

I've heard of some people who have had these problems as young adults for years, and after a few beta-blockers their arrhythmias were cured for life. I am not saying that will happen if my girlfriend tries any sort of medication but at this point I am really frustrated with the health system here and I think that she's been neglected. In the past she's had scans and such which are all in her medical history but they all led nowhere. At this point she's given up on the health system because she feels like they have given up on her.

Some facts about my girlfriend:
She's young. 18.
She's a caffeine addict.. she drinks a lot of, and seems to rely a lot on coffee. Anywhere from 1-6 cups a day. Though when she has heart issues she never drinks any, unless she already has.
Her mother had the same issue, was never given any medication and has them very.... very rarely now as middle-aged adult. Approximately 1-2 times a year.
Father and rest of her family are totally clean. So just 2 females in the family. Her little sister is 9 and perhaps too young to have the same issues.

I'm not here looking for a diagnosis. Or anything like that at all. Just some help and ideas, some spark of inspiration or something that will hopefully lead us to figuring something out. For the most part doctors seem to be generally pretty useless. Just an auscultation measurement with a stethoscope, a few comments or questions and a brief report with literally an 'I don't know' response. When the topic of medication is mentioned the answer is usually along the lines of "I don't think that is necessary/the type of treatment she needs" and in most cases they just tell her to stress less.

I think it's pretty obvious that there maybe an underlying problem here, and a hereditary problem at that. But it doesn't seem to phase any doctors really. So far we've been to see 3 over the last few months. 2 public and 1 private. Generally they do take into consideration that it is a heart issue and we get a time to see the doc a lot quicker than I would say is normal. With the private doctor we got an appointment the next day but she had absolutely nothing different to say at all, except "Young people commonly deal with these uncomfortable issues and they generally go away with age". I am not quite sure whether or not to classify some of these as emergencies when they happen, and demand that something serious be done on her behalf or if I should just watch her suffer and hold her hand whilst she tries to cope.

I'm pretty useless at understanding this kind of thing. My resting heart-rate is anywhere from 46-49. I would consider myself very, very healthy and very fit, albeit a little underweight. My GP always said I'll have a lot of energy and that my heart will last a long time. All of my relatives have been very fit and none of us have a history of heart condition. I also don't smoke and I only drink once every 6-ish weeks. My girlfriend is also of perfect weight, doesn't smoke and only drinks once every blue moon, and both our diets I would say are far better than most. Also her and I go running/biking quite often, which she is able to do without any sort of issues at all and can easily keep up and outperform me. So it's not that she has a 'weak' heart or lack of energy or oxygenation, but more that she has one that throws tantrums.

So the TL;DR

My girlfriend sometimes gets random and painful heart palpitations and arrhythmia.
Does anyone else here have the same issues as I am describing, or know someone who did/does?
What can I/we do about it and should we take it more seriously? - Honestly, I consider heart problems of the highest concern though I can't help but feel like every doc in Finland treats everything like a case of a common cold.
Do you have any suggestions or home remedies that may help? - I talked to her about quitting coffee but she got pretty pissed off at the notion...
Would it be crazy to seek medical help from another country? - We're going to the UK in a few weeks could we go and see a doctor there and see if they could give her a differential diagnosis?

Basically does anyone have any suggestions, or know specifically what we can do in Finland about this issue. Is there a magic word I need to say whilst at the doctors or something?

Thanks.

[Pursuivant]

Magic words - go private. Mehiläinen or some clinic like that.