I am a 40 years old male 260 lbs, and in a high stress job. It is not a very stressful time right now, but I woke up this morning with my heart racing. The feeling is like when you are first startled with an elevated heartbeat and a little light headed. I did drink a couple of rum and cokes last night , but not to the point of even catching a buzz, and I do normally smoke, but not today because it seems to make it worse.  Is this a symptom of hypertension? Should I go see a Dr for this if it doesnt go away before tomorrow?
Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your concern. Yes, you should definitely consult doctor as soon as possible to rule out hypertension and other heart diseases. You are having risk factors like stressful life, smoking, alcohol ingestion and your symptoms are also favoring heart diseases. So get done blood pressure monitoring, ECG, 2d echo and Holder monitoring (24 hour continuous monitoring of ECG). If all these are normal then no need to worry about hypertension and heart diseases. Sometimes only stress can cause similar symptoms. So consult psychiatrist and get done counselling sessions. Try to identify stressor in your life and start working on its solution. You may need anxiolytic Chat Doctor.  Avoid stress and tension, be relaxed and calm. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.