Heart beating weird, and feels like it's cramping?

[jellly]

I am sorry if this is in the wrong category.

I am a 17 year old girl, average diet, 5'6" 120 lbs. Exercise daily.

The past 3 or 4 years my heart has always beat harder than what i think is normal. A lot of times i can see it beat through my clothes. But this past year the beating of it seems to have changed. It beats once or twice normally then its almost like it has a buildup of pressure or something then it all releases in one big 'beat'.

Also in the past couple months i have been through some emotional problems that are pretty hard on me. I dont know if this is related to that, but in these months my heart has the weird beat, plus it is starting to hurt. Its like when you have cramps, and cant sit in a certain position because it causes discomfort. it kind of feels like something is on top of my heart making it hurt, or like a muscle is repeatedly cramping or getting too stretched out. It scares me sometimes and i tend to panic. It seems to get worse every month.

What could this be? I'm hesitant about telling my mom because she never takes me seriously about health related things ):

[Maria RN]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. There are many factors that can affect the heart rate. It includes physical activities, diet, stress, and certain diseases. Please check out Dr. Joshua's blog entry about causes of irregular heartbeat: http://www.drjoshua.com/2006/03/15/cause-of-irregular-heartbeat-skipped-heartbeat-slow-heart-rhythm/

Here's also a blog entry about common causes of chest pain among teens: http://www.drjoshua.com/2009/09/27/common-causes-of-chest-pain-among-teens/