Near constant palpitations?!

[TheWorminLabyrinth]

Has anyone had this? I've been having them for months and months now (probably more like a couple of years on and off) and honestly i've put it down to perimenopause (i'm 44). The last few days they have really ramped up and start almost as soon as I get in bed and last for 1-2 hours. Fluttering, weird feeling in throat, occasional absolute thumps in the chest, then I seem to fall asleep and all normal again in the morning.

For some reason this evening has been worse than they have ever been before. Started around 5pm and haven't stopped since! I am otherwise fine, (I do have severe anxiety and health anxiety so I am obviously working myself up into a state now) but am torn between trying to ignore, and then looking to get a GP appt. in the morning, or going to A&E!! I think I want talking down <wibble>

A type 2 heart attack or sudden cardiac death (caused by arrhythmia) can happen but it is far less common than coronary artery disease and type 1 heart attacks.

Arrhythmia is simply the broad term for an irregular heartbeat, and heart block is when electrical signals are delayed or inhibited to the ventricle. Neither are typically fatal in their common forms.

The majority of serious heart related problems are creeping problems as opposed to sudden.

So treat every event seriously but not need to think the worst.

Sorry @brownglass , my last answer was to you

I had this and it turned out to be an overactive thyroid. I hadn’t realised how unwell it was making me until it stopped. Definitely sounds like a GP appt to discuss is in order.

Sorry, just finished reading whole thread and seem thyroid ruled out. I hope you get this sorted soon OP, you have my sympathies as it’s such a horrible panicky feeling when you get the palpitations. For what’s it’s worth, when mine used to get reallly bad I would get my husband to rub my back gently, about bra strap level, and it used to help me regulate my breathing better and calm my heart rate down because I would find the panicking about it made it worse otherwise.

I just know someone who did die this way and another who was very lucky to survive an arrythmia so from my perspective it's a valid concern although hopefully not something anyone here has to worry about.

Sorry to hear that @brownglass

As I said, treat every event seriously but no need to think the worst.

This can be serious as it may cause a stroke . It’s DH’s field of work and he treats at least one or two people a month with severe stroke from AF, some quite young . Don’t ignore it

I really don't know what more I can do. I'm certainly not ignoring it, but if my GP is telling me the wait list is 4-5 months i'm not sure what else I can do. Other than worry about it every minute of every day.

OP hasn't been diagnosed with AF. Even if it is AF, her risk of stroke would be remote due to her age and lack of other risk factors (OP says she is otherwise healthy). The younger people your husband treated may have been in a very different situation.

Believe me OP, I went through all this worry when I first started having palpitations. Especially as my mum had AF. This helped me stop worrying so much. And I am quite a bit older than you!

www.mdcalc.com/calc/801/cha2ds2-vasc-score-atrial-fibrillation-stroke-risk

Thanks B12Stuff
I did have to step away last night when people started talking about heart attacks and strokes, as it set me off and I only got about 2 hours sleep last night.

When I was in A&E the doctor was muttering to himself whilst reading my ECG and said aloud "no AF" - which I assumed meant no atrial fibrillation. He didn't clarify though and it hasn't been mentioned since.

We are off on our usual cycle of missed beats for the last hour, with no sign of ceasing. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I'm afraid to sleep, afraid to go in the shower.

Hi hope you are feeling ok today
few months ago I started having these awful episodes some at night others in the day my heart would race sometimes 140 beats per minute I’ve been checked in A&E. I was advised to attend when I called 111 as it was ongoing for 30 minutes

I have a pre-existing heart condition though called pulmonary stenosis I’ve always had palpitations in varying strength, also feeling butterflies in my chest or like missing beats but this was much worse and at times was waking me at night. My mum suffered very similar before diagnosis of atrial fibrillation I was concerned I’d got that.
I saw my cardiologist he suggested an a&e trip every time I had an episode like this because it’s the only way to know what’s really going on seeing it on an ecg , he also advised a Kardia which I’ve purchased which I feel helped the raised anxiety it’s been causing, could check all was ok.
cardiologist did 12 lead ecg then arranged an echo, 24 hour monitor and then results all happened within 4 weeks. it appears my pulmonary stenosis has got worse first time in 30 years.
Have you been referred to cardiology? If you have chase them you also have pals etc if things get worse to help with being seen faster.
if you decide to see someone privately maybe see a cardiologist rather than a GP tests etc will get done much quicker & you are getting specialist advice from the outset

do you suffer from acid reflux? For years I’ve found when it’s not under control makes my palpitations feel so much worse especially at night. I find talking does help worrying alone makes it worse anytime you need that reassurance call 111 or go to A&E let them check you over they can also chase things if you need to keep attending for similar things.
( I’ve found this since I started having seizures I’ve needed 2 trips to A&E for that)

There are so many things that make palpitations worse, such as dehydration, tiredness, where you are in your cycle, certain foods (gluten, sugar, I find oats and other non gluten grains, dairy etc), and coming down with any kind of virus). By all means chase up your referral, keep a record of it with a decent sports watch like a Garmin, but in the interim I would try to manage it by looking at the things that can exacerbate it. Take a high strength magnesium supplement too. Cut back on coffee. I find tea makes mine worse but not coffee, but I think it might be the milk. Chocolate affects mine.

if you look at the combination of these factors eg. Period is due, not slept well, plus ate some chocolate - you could see a pattern. All the tests will do is ask you to wear your heart rate monitor and jot down what you’re doing at the time over a 24 hour period. I had a scan on my heart as well, like an ultrasound. in the interim with a good sports watch track your heart rate and write down when you get them what you were doing. The consultant told me that the HR reading on a Garmin was as accurate as the halter reader. Some Garmin also have an ecg function.

try not to worry about them constantly, but speak to your gp. Not all are caused by arterial fib. Speak to them about hrt if you’re of that age. And I would suggest to give up gluten for a few weeks and see what happens. I am so much less anxious since giving it up, I cannot tell you the difference. It’s a complete game changer for me.

I totally get where you are coming from, I had extreme health anxiety and the constant rolling palpitations made you feel like you’re seriously ill/ dying sometimes, especially if you’re relatively fit and young and “healthy”. HRT helped me massively. I still get them, but I know they are my body saying I need to slow down and take some rest.

thenewaveragebear1983 - thanks for the reply.

I have tried most of that. I have cut out caffeine entirely. I am taking magnesium, and iron. I've tried to note patterns, but there don't seem to be any. Currently going into hour 2 of about 5 missed beats roughly every 2 minutes.

I am constantly dizzy, which could be anxiety or could be something related to the palps - who knows!

At this point I am seriously considering paying to go private and have an echo.

Currently going into hour 2 of about 5 missed beats roughly every 2 minutes

Which is absolutely nothing to worry about. Get those fingers away from your neck! When mine are bad I get lots more than that, if that helps. Sometimes I get them (missed beats and then the big thud) every couple of beats.

Eta: did you watch the video?

Is that really not a lot? It feels like it's a huge amount! Thanks for the reassurance (and how did you know that my fingers have been on my neck for the last two hours ).

I didn't watch the video - only because I got myself into a shocking state after seeing all the heart attack/stroke comments on this thread. I am going to watch it shortly for definite, and I appreciate you sharing it.

So, your husband is a cardiologist and treats people with heart disease every month. This is by definition what a cardiologist does. What did you expect him to be doing with his time? Fixing patients' cars? Bravo for adding to the anxiety.

I had this too and they diagnosed asthma after a heart monitor and ecg. Inhaler stopped it all (for me though, I’d say go through everything to be sure. I had assumed peri too and was all ready to ask for hrt)

I’d really push for a cardiologist appointment, but you’ll need an ECG and a heart ultrasound first anyway. That’s what I did for my palpitations (atrial fibrillation). They offered me an ablation, but honestly… I’m still on the fence. I looked it up online and, yeah… it’s a bit scary

Thanks - really not sure how to, that's all.

During the telephone appt. with my GP last night, I directly asked what are we looking into with these palpitations and she said "we are treating you for anxiety". Hence why I am thinking of paying for a private echo. If the wait list is 4-5 months just for a 24-hour monitor, I dread to think how long it will be for an echo

Maybe this is just health anxiety and there's nothing wrong with your heart.

I really hope that it is. It's just so difficult to deal with because these symptoms are real, and so frightening.

Tell the GP you don’t agree with them labeling it as anxiety and insist they look into it properly. Honestly, I’d just nag them—after three times for the same problem, they usually give up.
I had to wait about four months for a cardiologist appointment after a really nasty AF episode that landed me in A&E. I had an echo one week before the appointment, and the ECG was done on the day

and how did you know that my fingers have been on my neck for the last two hours

Because that is exactly what I was doing a few months ago @TheWorminLabyrinth ! I still do it sometimes, but have mostly trained myself not to.

It's horrible, isn't it! I know I need to stop, but it's compulsive.

I've just had to give in and take a propranolol so now i'll be panicking about my heart rate going too low.

I would do anything to feel well again. I've never suffered so badly with mental health

Thank you for your replies - it is really helping me.

I had this and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I was so ill. Came to a head after GP sent me to A&E.

OP have you had your thyroid checked?