Hi,
well just as I was getting on top of my anxiety & learning to live with the palps I experienced the worst episode ever in over 20 years of putting up with these horrible things.
On Friday morning I had a bath & noticed my heart doing one of those machine-gun fire beats for afew seconds, I sat up & it stopped so thought nothing of it. Left for work feeling confident & fairly relaxed although I had been rushing a little bit I suppose.
Anyway just down the road my heart suddenly without any warning just started pounding wildly & irregularly. My head felt like it was going to burst & I had to pull over. It lasted maybe around 10 seconds but was so overwhelming that I just turned the car round & drove straight home again. Of course by now my heart was pounding & racing but this was from the panic. I didn't have any chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness.
I went to my local surgery & the doctor just felt my pulse & said all OK now & that if I got it regularly to go back. I was hoping they'd at least do an ECG but he said pointless as all seemed OK now.
So I posted on the RLR's heart palps forum but he hasn't replied yet & I'm feeling very low & depressed about it all.
I was so, so close to being OK about these & accepting them as part of peri but now I feel so terrified of having another really bad attack that it feels like I've gone back to square one.
I have had short runs of chaotic beats before that last anything from 6-10 seconds but my heart was pounding with it & the combination was terrifying.
Just wondered if anyone has experienced anything like this. I do have a wide range of palps from ectopics to flutters to just feeling uncomfortable but this was something else.
This week I have been experiencing lots of ectopics & flutters just before very intense hot flushes & wondered if there was a connection.
After feeling so positive about my return to feeling healthy again I now feel so down & disheartened.
Thanks for listening girls.
Sarah xx
Full Version: worst palp episode EVER!
(((Hugs))) Sarah
My worst palps came just before they finally disappeared for me. I hope it will be the same for you. i had a whole night of irregular flutters and missed beats, was terrified, saw the doc but he reassured me hat my tests were all clear.
Please think about the acupuncture as I do believe it helped get rid of mine twice now
My worst palps came just before they finally disappeared for me. I hope it will be the same for you. i had a whole night of irregular flutters and missed beats, was terrified, saw the doc but he reassured me hat my tests were all clear.
Please think about the acupuncture as I do believe it helped get rid of mine twice now
Meanrt to say the palps on that awful night were every other beat. At the time I took a valerian which didn't stop them but did reduce the intensity.
Hi, Sarah. I'm so sorry that you are suffering with these dreadful palps. They have been my worst nightmare! What makes it even worse is that I never know when I'm going to have an episode, and they scare me so bad that I have become afraid to go anywhere alone. Day before yesterday, I was having a conversation with my mother...didn't feel stressed at all...hadn't had any palps in a while and was thinking that maybe I had reached the light at the end of the tunnel...when suddenly I had one of those machine gun attacks of irregular beats. Usually I can cough a little and it stops them...not this time! They only lasted a few seconds, but in that time I had a terrible surge of adrenalin and began to feel weak in my arms and legs. I stood in front of my kitchen clock checking my pulse, which by this time had returned to normal, although a little fast, probably because I was scared almost witless! Then last night I was lying in bed feeling feeling completely relaxed when my heart fired off another round of those machine gun palps. I sat up quickly, ready to go into panic mode, when they very abruptly stopped. These things unnerve me to no end! I'm always so afraid that my heart won't revert back to normal rhythm and I'll end up having to go to the ER. I can handle the single PVCs, but these multiple, rapid fire beats are terrifying! I don't have them very often, but when I do it literally ruins my day. Like you, I get so depressed.
It's been 10 years since I had my first bout with PVCs. I would have them all night, every night at work. This went on for several weeks, then they stopped as suddenly as they came. A few months later they were back again, lasted for a few weeks, and then stopped. This was when I was 38. After that I would have the ocassional PVC...nothing too much until 2007 when I began having not only irregular heartbeats, but a myriad of strange symptoms. Of the 34 symptoms of menopause I think I have had all but a few. Interestingly enough, I've never had the drenching night sweats. But I'd be glad to swap them for the palps any day! I haven't had a period since June of 2007, so I just keep wondering how much longer before the ol' hormones level off so that I can start to feel human again. Some days I just don't even want to get out of bed.
You are definitely not alone.
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Suzy
It's been 10 years since I had my first bout with PVCs. I would have them all night, every night at work. This went on for several weeks, then they stopped as suddenly as they came. A few months later they were back again, lasted for a few weeks, and then stopped. This was when I was 38. After that I would have the ocassional PVC...nothing too much until 2007 when I began having not only irregular heartbeats, but a myriad of strange symptoms. Of the 34 symptoms of menopause I think I have had all but a few. Interestingly enough, I've never had the drenching night sweats. But I'd be glad to swap them for the palps any day! I haven't had a period since June of 2007, so I just keep wondering how much longer before the ol' hormones level off so that I can start to feel human again. Some days I just don't even want to get out of bed.
You are definitely not alone.
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Suzy
Hi Squiggle & Suzy,
thanks so much for replying
Squiggle-I will consider the acupuncture as I'm sure it will help
Suzy-sorry that you're suffering too, it seems that just as I feel confident that they're better or that I've learned to accept them, they throw a different weird beat at me & I'm back feeling scared of them again.
Thanks for your support girls!
love Sarah xx
thanks so much for replying
Squiggle-I will consider the acupuncture as I'm sure it will help
Suzy-sorry that you're suffering too, it seems that just as I feel confident that they're better or that I've learned to accept them, they throw a different weird beat at me & I'm back feeling scared of them again.
Thanks for your support girls!
love Sarah xx
I too have suffered from PVC's now for about 4 years. Used to scare me, but except for the 'machine gun fire' ones where you feel faint and funny for a few seconds, for the most part, I know they are benign, so I don't get too much anxiety from them anymore.
I had a monitor hooked up for 30 days to record them to make sure there was nothing serious when I started getting them alot, usually after I exercised, and although I had an average of one a day recorded (only during the day could I record), the cardiologist said they were benign and most likely cause no problems. Nevertheless I was prescribed a heart medication for lowering blood pressure that helps with PVC's, which is strange since my pressure is alreadly pretty dang low, but anyhow I take a pill when they get really bad and it is mostly just to help me cope- i.e. if they bug me, I was told to take it, but if I could handle the feel of them, it didn't really matter if I took the medication or not.
I have found, and the docs will tell you also, that caffeine, alchohol, stress, hormomes, you know, LIFE, can cause them to increase. But I think it is still mostly hormones, because I can go days drinking lots of coffee and have none, then other times, a ton, for no apparent reason. I will say that the caffeine element only seems to affect them after LONG term caffeine increase. Just a day or two of lots of coffee doesn't seem to affect them much, but if I find that I am regularly drinking more (and coffee seems to affect more that caffeinated tea- not sure about why that is) then I can feel an increase, so I back off the coffee a bit, and they lessen again.
I will go weeks at a time without feeling any, then have weeks on end where I am constantly aware of them. I am so glad that I have found this to be a normal part of this stage in my life! My practitioner said that most women going through peri or meno will have these, just not all pay attention or notice them.
Peace-
Cali
I had a monitor hooked up for 30 days to record them to make sure there was nothing serious when I started getting them alot, usually after I exercised, and although I had an average of one a day recorded (only during the day could I record), the cardiologist said they were benign and most likely cause no problems. Nevertheless I was prescribed a heart medication for lowering blood pressure that helps with PVC's, which is strange since my pressure is alreadly pretty dang low, but anyhow I take a pill when they get really bad and it is mostly just to help me cope- i.e. if they bug me, I was told to take it, but if I could handle the feel of them, it didn't really matter if I took the medication or not.
I have found, and the docs will tell you also, that caffeine, alchohol, stress, hormomes, you know, LIFE, can cause them to increase. But I think it is still mostly hormones, because I can go days drinking lots of coffee and have none, then other times, a ton, for no apparent reason. I will say that the caffeine element only seems to affect them after LONG term caffeine increase. Just a day or two of lots of coffee doesn't seem to affect them much, but if I find that I am regularly drinking more (and coffee seems to affect more that caffeinated tea- not sure about why that is) then I can feel an increase, so I back off the coffee a bit, and they lessen again.
I will go weeks at a time without feeling any, then have weeks on end where I am constantly aware of them. I am so glad that I have found this to be a normal part of this stage in my life! My practitioner said that most women going through peri or meno will have these, just not all pay attention or notice them.
Peace-
Cali
WOW what a relief to have found this website and this forum today. I am 55 years old and had my last period in 1999. So I guess I am post meno. I started having the skipped beats about 20 years ago and they weren't much. Back then I noticed them when I was relaxing. They have since gotten much much worse and the only way I seem to be able to control them is to lay down and relax. They drive me crazy and they are extremely annoying. I used to get them about every 3-4 months, now I m getting them every other month. My doctor says they are benign. I was on a 24 hour Holter that showed minimal PVC last fall (because the darned things weren't strong the whole time). I had my annual in March with a full CBC. The doctor was impressed with the status of my health. I don't take any meds for anything except a daily asthma controller. No diabetes, cholestrol 166, BP 138/80 (usually its 117/75) liver good, etc etc. The only serious problem I have ever had was a gallbladder attack last fall and was hospitalized with asthma problems about 15 years ago. My doctor says I am very healthy and to keep doing whatever I am doing.
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
Hi,
How has your digestion been? I have terrible palps if I get indigestion or feel gassy. If I eat certain foods they are much worst too. Of course, anxiety is the #1 cause for me.
You mentioned that you had to pee alot too. If you are retaining fluid it can aggravate palp and also cause some high blood pressure readings.
Hope that helps,
DianaJJ
How has your digestion been? I have terrible palps if I get indigestion or feel gassy. If I eat certain foods they are much worst too. Of course, anxiety is the #1 cause for me.
You mentioned that you had to pee alot too. If you are retaining fluid it can aggravate palp and also cause some high blood pressure readings.
Hope that helps,
DianaJJ
QUOTE (SuBar @ May 11 2009, 07:25 PM) 
WOW what a relief to have found this website and this forum today. I am 55 years old and had my last period in 1999. So I guess I am post meno. I started having the skipped beats about 20 years ago and they weren't much. Back then I noticed them when I was relaxing. They have since gotten much much worse and the only way I seem to be able to control them is to lay down and relax. They drive me crazy and they are extremely annoying. I used to get them about every 3-4 months, now I m getting them every other month. My doctor says they are benign. I was on a 24 hour Holter that showed minimal PVC last fall (because the darned things weren't strong the whole time). I had my annual in March with a full CBC. The doctor was impressed with the status of my health. I don't take any meds for anything except a daily asthma controller. No diabetes, cholestrol 166, BP 138/80 (usually its 117/75) liver good, etc etc. The only serious problem I have ever had was a gallbladder attack last fall and was hospitalized with asthma problems about 15 years ago. My doctor says I am very healthy and to keep doing whatever I am doing.
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
QUOTE (SuBar @ May 11 2009, 07:25 PM)
WOW what a relief to have found this website and this forum today. I am 55 years old and had my last period in 1999. So I guess I am post meno. I started having the skipped beats about 20 years ago and they weren't much. Back then I noticed them when I was relaxing. They have since gotten much much worse and the only way I seem to be able to control them is to lay down and relax. They drive me crazy and they are extremely annoying. I used to get them about every 3-4 months, now I m getting them every other month. My doctor says they are benign. I was on a 24 hour Holter that showed minimal PVC last fall (because the darned things weren't strong the whole time). I had my annual in March with a full CBC. The doctor was impressed with the status of my health. I don't take any meds for anything except a daily asthma controller. No diabetes, cholestrol 166, BP 138/80 (usually its 117/75) liver good, etc etc. The only serious problem I have ever had was a gallbladder attack last fall and was hospitalized with asthma problems about 15 years ago. My doctor says I am very healthy and to keep doing whatever I am doing.
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
Anyway, yesterday I had the worst erratic heartbeats that I have ever had in my life. My DH has been working out of town for the past 6 weeks so I am alone with the dog and other animals on a 10 acre farm. DH was getting bad headaches last week and I started worrying about that because he won't go to the doctor. I'm not sure if this started stressing me out or not. So yesterday about the time he was leaving, 3pm, my heart started skipping just mildly. I have come to try to ignore them or talk to them, "Hey is that all you've got for me today?"
Well they did not stop for 8 hours. They were constant for 8 hours. My pulse was skipping about every 3rd beat for 8 hours. I went outside and tried to do some yard work and it did not stop, but became more erratic.
When I came back in the house I noticed that my heart was pounding, like it was going to explode. So I sat down and decided to see what my BP was doing. While I was putting on the cuff I noticed that my hands were shaking. At first my BP registered 150/108. Yikes I was horrified. Thinking there was some mistake tried it on the other wrist and it was worse 165/132 with a pulse of 100. It has never been that high in my life. I was hot too. My face was flushed and I thought I had a fever. My temp was normal. I was jittery and shaking and downed a cup of tea and sat there wondering if I should call 911. I did not want to go to the hospital. I had a little chest heaviness but not bad and I wasn't sweating and had no nausea. I thought maybe there was an error in the reading because of my pulse skipping beats, so I tried a different cuff altogether. This time it read 156/80. I did notice that I stopped shaking after I drank the tea and drank some more water. So I just sat there for awhile feeling really really tired. My heartbeat was back to normal and I kept taking my BP until it read 127/75. I also noticed that I was peeing alot. I don't know if that had to do with anxiety or the fact that I had drank more fluids than eaten food.
I am thinking that I had a panic attack and when I saw how high my BP was it just made things worse. I remember my doctor telling me to try not to worry about the PVCs because it would just make them worse and bring on adrenaline spikes. He also told me to keep on exercising even though I was having these and not to hold back on any activity whatsoever. I do water aerobics 3 times a week.
I have also had the racing heartbeat that feels like a real fast machine gun. Those only last for 1/2 a second at the most and have not gone on for hours and hours at a time. Those are what my doctor calls palpitations
The peeing alot happen to me before i think its anxiety i had the shaking too although i didn't have the heart palps. but i did feel faint and weak and hot it could of been a hot flash .
Hi Sarah, and welcome to PS.
These same symptoms are what initially brought me to PS, and believe me, they were ruining my life. Several ER visits, many cardiac tests, huge health anxiety about it, couldn't sleep due to the racing heart and palps. BP would spike, it was a nightmare.
First, I want to agree with Diana about digestive issues triggering some of these heart things. Finally, one day after I bent over and experienced the most terrifying heart palp episode I ran to my cardiologist and frantically begged them to get me in. They did an EKG--normal. Then when I explained exactly how it happened, the doc laughed and said "you have GERD" (acid reflux) Which sent me on an internet search for several weeks, and I discovered that the heart and digestive system share the vagus nerve, and digestive issues can trigger the palps. So I took many supplements, avoided foods known to trigger it, and slept with the head of my bed elevated, since the symptoms were worse at night. Eventually it all resolved.
Another trigger for me was dehydration. I started drinking 8-10 glasses of water/day and it took almost 2 weeks to get rehydrated again. If I remain hydrated, I am less likely to get the arrhythmias.
Low estrogen also triggers it for me. I noticed if I reduce my Estrogel, I start having problems again.
If your arrhythmia are PVC's orginating in the ventricle (the lower chambers of the heart), magnesium can be quite helpful. In fact, we would give IV magnesium in the ER for some ventricular arrhythmias. It didn't help me, since mine originated in the atria.
And finally, low thyroid can be a factor. Once I went on thyroid meds, I rarely have a problem. (Unless one of the other things is off)
It took a lot of time and lots of confusion before I finally sorted out all these things. It would have been so much easier had it been just one factor, but it seems (for me) that several things can cause the whole palp and pounding heart nightmare to begin again.
Geez, I just realized the original post is from March 1. Oh well, maybe this will help someone else.
These same symptoms are what initially brought me to PS, and believe me, they were ruining my life. Several ER visits, many cardiac tests, huge health anxiety about it, couldn't sleep due to the racing heart and palps. BP would spike, it was a nightmare.
First, I want to agree with Diana about digestive issues triggering some of these heart things. Finally, one day after I bent over and experienced the most terrifying heart palp episode I ran to my cardiologist and frantically begged them to get me in. They did an EKG--normal. Then when I explained exactly how it happened, the doc laughed and said "you have GERD" (acid reflux) Which sent me on an internet search for several weeks, and I discovered that the heart and digestive system share the vagus nerve, and digestive issues can trigger the palps. So I took many supplements, avoided foods known to trigger it, and slept with the head of my bed elevated, since the symptoms were worse at night. Eventually it all resolved.
Another trigger for me was dehydration. I started drinking 8-10 glasses of water/day and it took almost 2 weeks to get rehydrated again. If I remain hydrated, I am less likely to get the arrhythmias.
Low estrogen also triggers it for me. I noticed if I reduce my Estrogel, I start having problems again.
If your arrhythmia are PVC's orginating in the ventricle (the lower chambers of the heart), magnesium can be quite helpful. In fact, we would give IV magnesium in the ER for some ventricular arrhythmias. It didn't help me, since mine originated in the atria.
And finally, low thyroid can be a factor. Once I went on thyroid meds, I rarely have a problem. (Unless one of the other things is off)
It took a lot of time and lots of confusion before I finally sorted out all these things. It would have been so much easier had it been just one factor, but it seems (for me) that several things can cause the whole palp and pounding heart nightmare to begin again.
Geez, I just realized the original post is from March 1. Oh well, maybe this will help someone else.
QUOTE (DianaJJ @ May 11 2009, 07:14 PM)
Hi,
How has your digestion been? I have terrible palps if I get indigestion or feel gassy. If I eat certain foods they are much worst too. Of course, anxiety is the #1 cause for me.
You mentioned that you had to pee alot too. If you are retaining fluid it can aggravate palp and also cause some high blood pressure readings.
Hope that helps,
DianaJJ
How has your digestion been? I have terrible palps if I get indigestion or feel gassy. If I eat certain foods they are much worst too. Of course, anxiety is the #1 cause for me.
You mentioned that you had to pee alot too. If you are retaining fluid it can aggravate palp and also cause some high blood pressure readings.
Hope that helps,
DianaJJ
Hi Diana,thanks for your reply. I had terrible gas last week but got rid of it I thought. I'm not sure I am retaining water. Because of my gallbladder and nothing but surgery to get rid of them, I drink lots of water to flush them out when I get the pain, but I haven't been getting any stone pain so I haven't been drinkng any water. Maybe I was dehydrated. Can your BP spike from dehydration? Since I wasn't feeling well I didn't eat or have anything to drink since around noon time and the palps started about 3pm and got steadily worse. I also have never had a hot flash in my life. Gosh maybe this was a combo hot flash, anxiety, panic attack all rolled into one. What a treat! NOT lol.
Yesterday I had palps all day, today nothing so far.
there is no doubt about what brings mine on- and thats a full stomach !!!! they must some how coincide witheach other !!!
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