My Son Is 12 Years Old Having Zapping Sensation in Chest ???

Once you rule out everything serious, you may want to try a chiropractor. It sounds like a pinched nerve. Sometimes I get that zapping feeling in my head/neck/jaw area. Mine is definitely caused by tension and tightness.

If you've ruled out anything dire, I'd look at some anxiety issues. A child psychologist or pediatric social worker might be able to give him some breathing techniques to release some of the tension in the chest muscles and so on. That doesn't mean he's making it up - and tell him that! Maybe having him work on muscle relaxation will also let him open up about things that are bothering. Even if you don't get to the bottom of it, if the techniques work, you'll be ahead of the game. Ask the pediatrician for a referral to someone who takes your insurance, but don't make a big deal of it with your son. It shouldn't matter, but it does to a lot of kids (and adults) who think stress and anxiety and mental health issues are a terrible disgrace. Handle it more like an athlete or even a good singer learning to work with muscles and breath control.

I don't understand "zapping".
My daughter was diagnosed with SVT last year and had surgery to correct it. It deals with the electrical issues in the heart.

If you have no answers from your Dr, I'd go to a cardiologist who may refer you to another specialty cardiologist who deals with the electrical issues.

Good luck.

I was going to say the same - anxiety can cause palpitations, even twinges. Kids may not realize they are anxious.

Has he had an EEG? they are painless and non invasive.

I would record when it happens, and what he is doing.

My grandson said his heart felt funny sometimes when he was 11 or 12 hi. The pediatrician thought the sensations could be palpitations when tests found nothing wrong.

This was when puberty changes began. He is also autistic previously called Aspergers. He was anxious. In the next year or so he grew several inches and slimmed down. He's now 13 and says his heart feels fine.

I would ask to be referred to a pediatric cardiologist. They can do a special ultrasound to check the blood flow and other issues with the heart and surrounding areas. My daughter had tests done last year. She is on the track team at school and complained that her heart hurt. We also had her write down what was going on when she felt it. She had several things checked out and nothing was found. She does however tend to get anxious about stuff. Talking about how she was feeling--whether because something was actually happening around her or if she was keeping things internal-we attributed the feelings to anxiety. As she has started relaxing and managing stress better, the feelings lessened quite a bit.

Could you tell us what kind of tests have been conducted, and what kind of specialists he has seen (cardiologist, primary care physician, etc)?

Is your son physically active (sports, riding a bike, always on a skateboard) or fairly sedentary (studying, reading, on the computer, etc)?

Do the sensations seem to occur with any pattern (when he stands up after lying down, after eating, etc)?

keep bugging the dr, find specialists that might me able to help. if not a pediatric cardiologist then maybe neurology? as it may be nerves sending mixed signals...

Has he worn a heart monitor for a month? That might tell the doc if he's got something wrong with his heart.