Childbirth with palpitations during pregnancy

[Wmoejg]

Hi all,

I've been experiencing palpitations and a high heart rate since about a month before my pregnancy. It was enough to scare me and I went to a&e on 4 occasions throughout my pregnancy and 1 prior to pregnancy. They have no knowledge as to why I'm experiencing the palpitations, some doctors said low vitamins, some said electrolyte wastage, some said post viral, some said pregnancy itself causing them. Either way, I've had no answers really. I've been to the GP and they've been someone helpful, ordered ECG's that have returned normal and have just been observed as having tachycardia (a high heart rate).
I am 26 weeks pregnant now and as my pregnancy progresses and I still have no answers about my heart (and still have them every so often at rest) I feel very very scared about childbirth and fear that my heart won't be able to handle it - the reason I feel this way is because my palpitations can last up to an hour and be triggered by seemingly nothing at all!
I am going to push forward my cardiology referral by asking to go privately (and paying for it) but I just feel like I need some answers on how pregnancy and childbirth will impact my heart as I'm just terrified to give birth. If my heart can go loopy when I'm just chilling at home, I'm terrified to imagine what it'll be like during something big like childbirth.
Has anyone else experienced palpitations / tachycardia during pregnancy? How did you navigate birth? Is there anything safer to do during birth?

I had this exact same thing in my second pregnancy, I actually stopped working because of it! I also had normal ECG, bloods (other than mild low iron) and it would happen constantly, even if I was lying down doing nothing watching TV. Eventually they put it down to panic attacks even though I had no reason to panic nor had I ever suffered them before or since.

Anyway, I’ve given birth naturally twice with no issues at all. The heart palpitations didn’t happen during birth, or if they did I was concentrating on so much else that I didn’t notice!

Since the birth I’ve never had another episode either!

I suffer with SVT which is a heart condition that causes a really high heart rate and comes on really suddenly. I was worried about giving birth too so I opted for an elective c section which they allowed me to have not just for this reason - I had other worries such as tearing etc and I’m glad I did have a c section as I had a big baby and it was a really positive experience.

@Phoneshea how did you get a diagnosis for SVT as I do seem to have a lot of the symptoms. I wanted an elective c section but wasn't sure if they'd allow it without the diagnosis.
I'm glad you had a good experience x

@Whoneedsleep thank you for sharing! That's so reassuring, I wonder why they suddenly start? X

I suffer from palpitations and fast heart rate during pregnancy and took beta blockers each time to get them under control. When in labour I didn't notice a change in heart rate but that may be because my focus wasn't on it.
However I would definitely advise pushing it further to help you manage it in the lead up to birth

@fromcitytocountry would you recommend pushing it with the midwife/obgyn or seeing a cardiologist?

I went to the doctor about it and he referred me to the hospital where I had tests done and they diagnosed it. This was a few years before I was pregnant.

you can request an elective c section for any reason - have a look at the NICE guidelines about it. If it’s what you really want then just make sure you are firm with them about it and make sure you’re aware of all the pros and cons with each type of birth - vaginal and a section.

Mine went through a consultant obstetrician but a referral needed to be made to them. The midwives were open about not having knowledge of the condition and relied upon the guidance of the consultant as to how it was managed.
Honestly though, being on beta blockers made the absolute world of difference for me