Tight chest and fluttery heart.. what on earth could this be?

[nonotquite]

For the last couple of days, in the evenings especially, I've been having a really painful tight chest. It feels like someone is sitting right on top of it / putting an immense amount of pressure on the top of my chest.

I have also had a strange fluttery feeling in my heart.. I don't know if this even makes sense!! It feels like I'm skipping a beat / catches me off guard and is just awful and really unsettling. I'm sat here as I write this and am hyper aware of the way my heartbeat feels, it just doesn't feel right.

I did have the Moderna booster around 2 weeks ago. Could it be this..? I feel terrified it's something worse.

I do suffer with anxiety but this is definitely not anxiety driven, I know the difference and usually get a bad tummy ache / pain with anxiety. I don't know what to do! It feels like I have to take a really deep breath to try and re regulate my heart rate 😣

You need A&E review op. It might be something or nothing but you should never ignore these type of symptoms and you’ll be taken seriously.

@nonotquite

Well the clinician called and the ambulance would be 3.5 hours minimum due to delays apparently. They asked if I could get myself there but then also advised I can't drive, and DP has had too much to drink throughout the day.

I am going to try and go to sleep and see how I go, but will go if anything persists. Maybe via taxi.

Call a taxi? Of course they've told you not to drive because you'd be dangerous to yourself and others.

You've been assessed as meeting the threshold for them to send an ambulance. The lack of availability because of delays doesn't mean ignore and go to bed.

Get a taxi, call a family member to take you if you have to. Go to hospital and be seen.

Don't take the risk, this is your heart were talking about. You have serious symptoms that need checking by a health professional, what if it does get worse? What's the plan then? It's not always linear process where it just gradually gets worse. These are symptoms that can occur, and bam you're out cold on the floor.

@nonotquite

Well the clinician called and the ambulance would be 3.5 hours minimum due to delays apparently. They asked if I could get myself there but then also advised I can't drive, and DP has had too much to drink throughout the day.

I am going to try and go to sleep and see how I go, but will go if anything persists. Maybe via taxi.

@nonotquite Hi, I had this a few days ago, a few hours after my booster. My GP told me to go to A & E. I got an ECG, an x ray and bloods to check for the chemical marker for pericarditis and myocarditis. All were normal. The feeling is exactly as you describe. It has mostly gone now as once I knew there was not a cardiac issue my anxiety lessened. Since then I have heard of 5 friends all having this exact symptom. Best to get checked out but dont stress or you will feel worse. It felt awful for me. Take care and remember it seems to be common and temporary but do go get checked.

How are you this morning? @nonotquite

Thank you all.
I have just woken up and so far feel absolutely fine. The exact same as yesterday morning! Awful tight chest and flutters / skipping beats in the evening.. manage to get some sleep and wake up absolutely fine. It's the strangest thing. I'm hoping the pattern doesn't continue this evening where it all comes back. I'm going to be really closely monitoring it today and will go down to A&E with any doubt.

@Friendviv1987

As a cardiac nurse I think it is probably anxiety.If the problem continues get an ecg .X

I highly doubt this. If you are this is highly dangerous advice and you should rethink your profession/look up NMC values and code of conduct.

I hope you’re ok op.

As someone who actually is a specialist cardiac nurse, chest pain is never something that should be ignored. Without taking a full cardiology history and examining you including an ECG, bloods and CXR, there is no way to tell whether this is cardiac or not.

I know it isn’t what you want on Boxing Day op, but going to A&E really would be the best thing. People die because they believe their symptoms aren’t anything serious.

You’re young, it’s likely isn’t. But vaccines have been linked to peri/myocarditis and like I said, a full cardiology history and examination would be needed to determine this.

If it is anxiety, then at least you would have had the required tests to make sure it isn’t anything worse.

Wishing you the best!

@nonotquite

Thanks all. I am overweight but actively trying to loose it. I think my weight scares me when it comes to things like this as I think the worst 😣

I am due on my period in the next few days but honestly I've never had this around my period or ovulation. I wish I could pinpoint it to something so that I could avoid it.. eg a certain drink for example. It's just driving me insane!

Caffeine can make palpitations/ectopic heartbeats.worse, and it is common for these to be more noticeable when you lie down at night. Overeating also gives me palpitations. Echoing others that you do need to seek medical advice on this though.

I had this. I had moderna booster 2 weeks ago and developed a cough and heart flutters! I was panicking and put it down to a cough/cold upsetting my asthma or possible anxiety as finding a few things very difficult at the moment. I had a negative pcr and continued with negative LFTs. I'm 42 so could be menopause but it was awful.

@nonotquite you need to get to A+E now rather than monitoring.
You sought medical advice and they were going to send an ambulance, I’m a bit baffled as to why you didn’t get a taxi or wait for ambulance?

Theatre nurse here. Did the ambulance turn up?

Given her age it is pretty unlikely to be a heart attack, isn’t it? Much, much more likely to be linked to her vaccine.

She should get checked out by GP or at a walk in in case it’s carditis, but I don’t think she needs an ambulance given that she’s fine during the day.

I'm on the way to A&E now. I woke up feeling okay but it's started again now.

Hoping you get sorted @nonotquite

Better safe than sorry - hope it's not too long as wait.

@ Friendviv1987 no, you’re not a cardiac nurse.

As someone who has regular dealings with various cardiology professionals there is no way that anyone who was qualified would be giving out that kind of information. In fact most of the cardiology professionals I’ve spoken to are horrified that so many people are listening to information given by nobodies on the internet.

But I’m an alien, so maybe I’m just on another planet eh? ;)

OP fingers crossed they can get to the bottom of this for you :-)

Hope all ok OP, absolutely the best plan of action. X

That sounds very similar to what I've been experiencing for the past year or so. The missed heartbeats cause an almost constant cough, I find, which can be very wearying.

A couple of weeks ago (interestingly, it was after I had my booster jab) it seemed to get a lot worse, so much so that I called my GP. She seemed to think it was nothing much to worry about but booked me in for an ECG a few days later.

I did say to her that it doesn't happen all the time. I can go for a few hours without noticing anything odd. The missed beats mostly happen in the evening and at night (although I'm actually experiencing them now). They often stop me from going to sleep. I find that when they're very bad, sleeping in a slightly sitting position helps whereas lying flat makes them worse and makes the coughing harder to deal with.

My ECG was in the morning and lasted all of 60 seconds. In the meantime, I struggled to get off to sleep again last night because of the missed beats.

My GP hasn't been in touch with me since the ECG, so I assume that she thinks all is OK (she as good as implied on the phone that I was making it up, said I was over anxious! Hmm).

Good luck, OP. You're doing the right thing to get this checked out. I would be very interested to know the outcome. I'm wondering whether I should persist and ask for more investigations myself.

@carrottopper

I had this. I had moderna booster 2 weeks ago and developed a cough and heart flutters! I was panicking and put it down to a cough/cold upsetting my asthma or possible anxiety as finding a few things very difficult at the moment. I had a negative pcr and continued with negative LFTs. I'm 42 so could be menopause but it was awful.

@carrottopper Thats interesting you mention asthma. I have asthma too and thought I was having a flare up. It starts as a cough/ short breath but only in evening. Is that what it was like for you and has it gone away?

@Cardio101 As a cardiac nurse do you find all these reports troubling? I find it odd that so many people on this thread and others are having this. Do you think it goes away. In my case and hopefully the OP's case there will be a clear x-ray, clear bloods and ecg indicating no cardiac damage. So what is it then? So strange.

I hope you're OK, OP. You've done the right thing going in, chest pain should be investigated. Take care.

I know you think it is not anxiery.I belief it is a panic attack.possibly reflux issues.it most likely also has to do with being overweight.A good reason to start the new year with a healthy diet.good luck and best wishes.

@Janeandjohnny no I don’t find it troubling, it’s impossible to say whether any of these reports and linked to the vaccine or not, and whether they are even cardiac related.
The incidence of pericarditis or myocarditis is very low, more common in under 25’s and as far as I know, haven’t led to any more serious complications.

I'm still waiting in A&E at the moment. I've been given a wrist band so wondering if I'm going to be admitted. 😞

Everyone gets a wristband in a and e - it's not an indicator of admittance. As a frequent flyer, the average time of being in a and e before admittance is around 12 hours with the longest being 27

I hope it doesn't take that long for answers