Increased heart rate and dizziness.

Dear Ask The Doctor: I measure my blood pressure each day and my resting pulse is always from 100-140 bpm..i sweat a lot at night..sometimes i feel like my heart is being stabbed with a knife. i have been having flu-like symptoms recently. i always feel weak and i feel like about to fall down when i walk. what could be wrong with me??

Dear Alex: Many a times when the body has or is fighting an infection like in your case with the flu the heart rate can actually increase. However  since you are having other symptoms like feeling dizzy and feeling of a stabbing feeling in the chest, I would like to rule out other causes like a heart rythym distrubance which can also lead to similar symptoms. You will definately need further investigations as well as a thorough physican examination and tests like an ECG to start off with. All the best.