To be worried about my heart?

[avocadotruffleoil]

I'm a 28 year old female and for the past two weeks have been experiencing what I can only describe as a fluttering and heart palpitations every 30 minutes or so. I also notice that when at rest my heart rate goes down to around 50 bpm, this would be fine if it weren't for the fact it gives me an uncomfortable sensation in my chest when my heart rate goes that low. I do exercise 4 to 5 times a week but am in no way athletic.

I went to the GP yesterday about these feelings in my chest and he discovered I have a heart murmur, this has never been picked up so must be new. I am now booked in for bloods and an ECG tomorrow and referred for a heart scan.

I am incredibly worried as I have noticed for a few years that when my heart rate drops low I feel very uncomfortable and it drops especially when I am laying on my left side and I just never gave it much thought but now I'm worried that the sensations I've been feeling as well as the heart murmur may be something serious.

I just can't relax, am I be unreasonable for worrying so much about this?

@Cuddling57 yeah I do drink loads of water actually, about 4 litres a day.

@crocoonimper no problem at all, happy to answer them - there is no history of heart problems in my family whatsoever, I don't have diabetes but I do have PCOS and so I do need to get a diabetes test (can't remember what it's called) yearly as it's closely linked and do suffer from low blood sugar at times. I've had the new symptoms from around 3 pm but they seem to come and go, so I feel fine and then they start up again. Not sure if it's relevant but have checked my blood pressure several times today and it is in the normal range. Thanks 😊

@crocoonimper the bloods that I'm getting done tomorrow, will they check my thyroid level?

Have you lost a lot of weight recently? I'm reading your posts thinking 'this sounds like hyperthyroidism' - I had that and honestly thought I was going to die when I didn't know what it was. I still get palpitations now (thyroid was eventually removed) but I try to ignore them. Hope you're ok - anxiety is horrible. X

@avocadotruffleoil
I reckon then that my advice would be to sit tight until tomorrow. You have said that you suffer with anxiety and I think that you will be hyper aware of anything unusual now too. Having said that I would echo what others did - please speak to a GP tomorrow if these symptoms are still coming and going. Ring 111 overnight if you are waking up with chest pressure or breathlessness xx

@avocadotruffleoil I would think they would check everything tbh - but ask the nurse/phlebotomist as it’s easy to add in if needed. At a minimum they should do a full blood count, kidney function and troponin level (that’s an enzyme released by the body if there’s any heart damage) xx

@Leafy2018 no I've actually been struggling to lose weight recently. Had been trying really hard for past year, got into a great exercise routine and was eating pretty healthy and really couldn't shift the weight and have went off the deep end over lock down with my eating, it has been horrendous! That's why I was thinking it was more likely to be hypothyroidism rather than hyperthyroidism.

@crocoonimper thank you! I will definitely phone if symptoms persist or get worse overnight and will say to the nurse doing the tests tomorrow!

Sweating and nausea on top of palpitations shouldn't be ignored. It is almost certainly nothing but you need to get it checked now.
Please get off this thread and go to your local hospital. You'll be back in an hour and don't forget to let us know how you got on.

Go.

So I'm just back from the doctor. Got my bloods taken and ECG done. The nurse went and checked the ECG results with a doctor and came back and said the doctor had noticed some "flutterings" in the ECG and that is probably what I am feeling. I have no idea what that means but google says could be AFIB?

The doctor will call me with all results on Friday morning.

Glad you’ve got seen and will get some answers. Just wondering if you may have had covid at all? I’m on the long term covid sufferers Facebook group and lots on there are having breathlessness and heart palpitations. I’ve got the breathlessness and dizziness but have always suffered from erratic heartbeat as I have SVT. Just thought I’d ask. Hope you get answers soon

@Katkincake thank you! I doubt it very much as had no other symptoms and breathlessness only happens when I am active, as in walking, climbing the stairs etc

So pleased to hear you have been checked out. Very best wishes for good news on Friday. We will all be thinking of you.

Thank you @TrickyD

Hi @avocadotruffleoil
Atrial flutter is different to atrial fibrillation. Flutter is regular but the atria are beating faster than the ventricles, typically 4 or 5 beats to one. Fibrillation is irregular and random. But on both of them the ventricles both work properly so the heart pumps normally generally. Treatment for flutter can sometimes be ablation where they find the abnormal electrical pathway and kind of laser it away. A fib responds better to controlled shock treatments or medication.
It’s kind of useful that the ECG showed something in that they can now decide what to do next. Please don’t worry, you are in good hands and I am sure that it will be sorted once you have all your results. Hope you are OK tonight ❤️

AF is very manageable, IF that’s what you have. Are your palpitations linked to stress? If it is AF you will learn what is your normal, don’t google, wait for your results and then deal with it. Heart problems seem so scary but modern management and treatment is good. Good luck OP.

So some of my bloods came back so doctor phoned me this morning. My blood sugar levels are really high so have to go back in for further blood tests tomorrow for that.

It makes sense because I have been majorly thirsty and have constant dry mouth the last couple of months and feeling sick in between meals along with fatigue. Sleeping 8 hours plus a night then needing to nap during the day which was never like me. I have PCOS so can all be linked I've read.