Having heart palpitations- any words of advice?

[february2003bride]

To make a long story short- I started having herat palpitaitons on Monday and continued on Tuesday. It felt like my heart had an inconsistent hiccup. I saw one of the dr.''s in the practice I go to and he ran an EKG, It did catch a few palpitations during the 5 or so minute test. The scary part for me was, it caught some palpitations I didn''t even feel.

The Dr. said that my heart was having premature contractions and he wanted further testing. So tomorrow I''m scheduled for a stress test (jogging on the treadmill?).

Needless to say, I''m totally freaked out, which I think is adding to my palpitations! I had blood work done about 2 months ago and my thyroid, cholesterol, etc were perfect. My blood pressure is great as well. I should lose 20ish pounds (5''6", 172 pounds) but would an extra 20 pounds cause heart problems? I''m 30 years old, soon to be 31 with no family hsitory of early cardiac disease.

I''ve been given orders to scale back stress and my schedule, cut out caffeine, get more sleep than I have been getting and improve my diet.

Has anyone had this before? Any advice?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

I have no experience with this or advice to give, but just wanted to say that I hope all goes well tomorrow and your palpataitons are due to some innocuous thing that goes away quickly.

 

[sumbride]

Sometimes this is genetic.

Anxiety can make it feel worse and causes it''s own kind of chest pain, so try to be calm and relax about this. I don''t know if that''s possible, but you are doing everything you can, so remember that and let your doctors figure it out.

hang in there!!! and BREATHE!

 

[diamondfan]

I would also ask for an echocardiogram, sort of a sonogram of the heart.

Honestly, I doubt it is anything that serious. Eliminating caffeine, which is a stimulant, is not a bad idea. It could be anxiety as well...when I have an anxiety attack I feel as if my heart is skipping beats in a weird pattern.

 

[Miranda]

I don''t have any real medical advice for you, but, I do know that when I have lots of coffee I have heart palpitations. Cutting out caffine is a really good idea.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Hi there! I''m not a doctor, but I have some experience with heart palps. When I started college I was really stressed out and unhappy with my school. I started having heart palps off and on. The doctor did an EKG, but couldn''t catch any. Unfortunately for me I was rather calm and palp-less since I was home from school. Anyway, not sure what it is causing it for you, but for me it was stress. I say this because I learned to cope with my unhappiness (and I transferred schools) and they went away mostly. I do still get palps sometimes when I am VERY stressed or having an anxiety attack (recently, sigh). Makes me feel dizzy! Oh and ditto to what Diamondfan said! Caffeine makes it worse.

 

[marcy]

Good luck on your tests. I have them sometimes - used to have them really bad but after loosing a lot of weight they are better. Stress, caffeine, sugar and alcohol always made it worse.

 

[Kaleigh]

Best of luck tomorrow. I hope you are palp free soon. Caffeine is a trigger for me, so cut that out ages ago.

 

[Gypsy]

No advice here either, just bestt wishes that all goes well and you are palpitation free ASAP.

 

[AGBF]

Don't worry! Palpitations are extremely common and almost always completely harmless. Even if they are caused by mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which it does not sound as if your doctor suspects since he did not order an echocardiogram, one in ten women has it! Luckily I have it so that when an echocardiogram (done for other reasons) happened to find that my daughter had it I didn't stress ou!

Often a doctor cannot find the reason for palpitations. As long as he is checking out your health, you are in good hands .

Report back with the good news soon!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[Dreamer_D]

I had a similar situation when I was a teenager, and the first time I noticed it I panicked and had a full-blown panic attack! I had tests done and the conclusion was that I have a "lazy left ventical" and every once and a while it gets out of synch with the right ventrical. So every once and a while I have palpitations, but I have found that if I just breath and relax it will stop after about 2 - 3 beats. However, I also find that if I focus on it and tense up it will continue! So relaxing relax relax and breath when you feel it!

Good luck with your test, hopefully they will just tell you that your heart is lazy too!

 

[curlygirl]

Date: 5/8/2008 7:16:27 AM
Author: AGBF



Don't worry! Palpitations are extremely common and almost always completely harmless. Even if they are caused by mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which it does not sound as if your doctor suspects since he did not order an echocardiogram, one in ten women has it! Luckily I have it so that when an echocardiogram (done for other reasons) happened to find that my daughter had it I didn't stress ou!

Often a doctor cannot find the reason for palpitations. As long as he is checking out your health, you are in good hands .

Report back with the good news soon!

Hugs,
Deb

Yup, I agree 100% with Deb. I was having palpitations every once in a while (like maybe once a year) and went to a cardiologist who found NOTHING. About 2 years ago, I went for a regular physical and my GP sent me for an echocardiogram because he claimed he heard something irregular. My cardiologist checked the results and kind of blew it off as MVP which is extremely common in women, as Deb said. I hope they find the cause (if there is one) but try not to stress out too much about it since it sounds like you are healthy. And definitely scale back on caffeine if that is part of your daily routine. Keep us posted!

 

[isaku5]

I too am definitely not a doctor, but DH had similar symptoms a couple of years ago and wore a (Holten?) monitor for 24 and then 48 hours.

The diagnosis was a "lazy" valve. He was told to avoid three things: cigarette smoke (he''s a non-smoker anyway), caffeine and alcohol. No medical intervention was recommended, but his doctor told him that if he didn''t follow those orders, he might end up in emerg where the outcome might not be pleasant!!

. That scared him into compliance even though he has never consumed much alcohol, or caffeine.

 

[Lynnie]

Hey, Feb! I''m a nurse on a Cardiac Care Unit, and just wanted to let you know that PVC''s (premature ventricular contractions) are extremely common, and I am hoping that you are not stressing significantly about this! As others have already said, stress, cigarettes, caffiene, and alcohol can all be contributors. What happens is the heart gets aggrevated and doesn''t beat correctly, but usually goes right back into regular rhythm (I found a pic!) The funky, wide-looking beat is the PVC. I get them occasionally as well - probably caffiene induced from the "Mocha Alert" coffees from Wawa I buy (3x the caffiene) to stay awake on night shift! And I''m 5''7" and 145lbs. And 26. So, what will probably happen is this: Stress test (yes, walking/jogging on a treadmill). You''ll be hooked up to an EKG machine during this. IF you have some PVC''s during the stress test, they should order an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) - easier than the stress test cause all you do is lay there while they put the gel on and hold the camera up against the skin (just like when you''re preggo). That can evaluate that all your valves are working correctly. Also as others have said, MVP- mitral valve prolapse - is very common in women and there is usually no treatment other than dietary/lifestyle changes. I hope this helps, but I realize this is a very stressful time for you. Please, please try not to worry!!! I bet if we did a survey here on PS about half of us have had palps at some time or another! Good luck with everything, and keep us updated!!!

 

[diamondfan]

If you have MVP, you might need to take antibiotics prophylactically before dental work...I seem to recall my sister needing that, she has MVP. You should be reassured by having tests done and having a thorough work up...

 

[iheartscience]

I have premature ventricle contractions and it hasn''t been a problem for me. So try not to worry about it too much! (Easier said than done, I know.) I was diagnosed with PVC at about age 13 through an EKG.

They happen when I''m anxious, hopped up on caffeine or after I''ve had a few drinks. Sometimes they happen for no reason, though. They feel like a weird flutter in my chest, and they can sometimes go on for a while. Usually it''s just a few, though.

 

[Heidi137]

I''ve had PVC''s for many years. I''ve had an echo and several EKG''s and have been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse. I''ve tried beta blockers in the past but my blood pressure is low to begin with so I just have to put up with them. I''ve been off caffeine for many years and sugar and stress aren''t good either. It is no longer recommended to take antibiotics prior to dental work for MVP.

 

[diamondfan]

good to know, I do not have it so I was not sure.

 

[february2003bride]

Thank you all so much! I did have my stress test and while I did have heart palps (PVC''s?) at resting and slightly elevated heart rate, none were picked up when my heart was really pumping. The dr. I saw felt that they are benign, but that I should still cut back on fast food, cut out caffeine, get consistent exercise, etc. I don''t have any negative stresses in my life but we ARE busy. So I am canceling a couple of unnecessary plans.

I saw my OB/GYN whom I''ve been going to for 5 years and knows me better than any other doctor I have, and telling her my symptoms she feels I have a virus! She said if the heart palps don''t clear up in 2 weeks, she gave me the name of a cardiologist that she highly recommends. We talked at length about my diet and a couple of hormonal things tha have started recently. She suggested I start taking Ortho-Tricyclen LO next month to help clear those issues up.

So I feel good, knowing that as of right now, while I am having PVC''s, they aren''t going to kill me

And I''ve knows for awhile that I should cut out the crap food (Chick Fil-A anyone?)!

Thank you again!! If anything else happens, I will definitely update this thread!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/9/2008 1:58:49 AM

Author: Heidi137

It is no longer recommended to take antibiotics prior to dental work for MVP.

You are right and you spared me telling diamnondfan and everyone else, but the truth is that if you blink you may miss the latest change in the recommendations made by the American Heart Association! The recommendations keep changing! Years ago people had to take antibiotics for weeks before a dental appointment! I learned that from my periodontist! I can hardly keep up with what I am supposed to be doing nowadays (although it seems to be less every couple of years!).


I am glad you got reassuring news, febbride!


Deborah