People who know about palpitations I have a few questions!

[6timesthemess]

I have always been prone to palpitations . My gp originally gave me a prescription for fluoxitene (for anxiety) which I still take. After a year or two I randomly collapsed and while I was in hospital the cardiologist said my heart was beating too fast when I was standing up or moving around and gave me ivabradine. Since then far fewer palpitations. Apart from being fast my heart was fine.

Anyway I have a cold the last week
Or so and I have been getting crazy numbers of palpitations. Is that from having a cold?? I am not keen at all to go to the doctor about it because I know that it’s harmless but tbh it’s getting annoying.

Oh darn I realised I have somehow managed to post in Aibu - I will ask for this to be deleted and repost somewhere else! Sorry!

Well if it is related to your heart condition, rather than simple anxiety only I think it might be worth checking with your GP or calling 111.

Your doctor will usually want to see you for a medication review once or twice a year, so you could book one and ask about it then?

Whowants- really I don’t think I’ve ever had a medication review, I didn’t know was supposed to get one the gp just keeps refilling the prescriptions

Are you taking any medications for your cold ? A lot of them contain drugs which can suppress the action of the Ivabradine. Which would explain the palpitations. They can also give you increased anxiety. I'd see the GP and get checked out.

OP have you been taking lemsip type medication for your cold? Some of them contain caffeine which can cause heart palpitations. It certainly does with mine.

No I haven’t taken anything at all for my cold - tbh it hasn’t been that bad just mild!

If you have a cold then that will transfer to your lungs in terms of fluid etc and that can affect your heart rate.

I have a heart condition and if I catch a cold then my heart rate becomes faster and more erratic.

Do bear in mind though that an increased heart rate can in itself cause anxiety so some of it could be anxiety related to the increase in heart rate iyswim.

So to put it into perspective: i don’t suffer from anxiety in and of itself, but if my heart rate becomes erratic and my breathing is affected then I find that thinking about it makes it worse because it makes me anxious not being able to breathe properly (natural reaction,) so in order to combat that I have to try to focus on something else or go to sleep preferably for a bit which then lowers my breathing and usually lowers my heart rate, iyswim. So with anxiety it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If you’re worried though go to your gp and ask to be referred for an echo to check your heart once and for all.

FWIW the full extent of my heart condition was discovered when I had the flu, and caught endocarditis. Some damage was done by the virus but other damage was already there through an inherited condition we never knew I had.

Have you ever seen a cardiologist? I think you should get a proper work up, it sounds like your treatment has been a bit of this and a bit of that over the years. I am assuming the cardiologist at the hospital was in A and E, they would just patch you up for the minute and not be able to really look at what is causing your palpitations.

I think to should get it checked out anyway, but if I have a cold I always get bad palpitations for a few days with it as well as the other symptoms.

You could try taking magnesium every day, the full recommended amount. It is needed for good heart rhythm and most people are defficient. If you have a cold, maybe it drops your levels of magnesium that bit more and your get . Take it at night, its good as a sleep aid too