Heart palpitations

[mummybongo]

I'm almost sure this is a perimenopause symptom and I've only recently started HRT, but for around 3 months now I've been getting fairly frequent palpitations that are now starting to worry me.

It feels like my heart is going too fast and I can almost hear it banging sometimes. It comes and goes but can happen when I'm lying in bed or just relaxing (that's when I notice it most as I'm not distracted by anything else)

I do suffer from general anxiety (not health-related) so I know palpitations can be caused by that and take sertraline.

I'm 49 and have been having worsening perimenopause symptoms - night sweats, migraines, anxiety of course, restless legs, mind fog etc so started HRT in November. So I'm 2 months in, and do feel much better but the palpitations if anything have got worse.

Do I carry on with the HRT and hope that they improve or get them checked out now? I've scared myself this morning as I'm pretty sure the GP is going to send me to A&E if I call them, I did their online consultation and it kicked me out and told me to call them straight away as soon as I mentioned my heart.

I really don't want to burden the NHS with it if it's something harmless and a normal symptom of perimenopause but at the same time - do I need to get there pronto? Has anyone else had this? I've read that palpitations can also be a symptom of low iron levels which I may well have, but getting an appointment to get that checked is like hens teeth so not sure how to do that either!

Hi - I'm on permanent beta blockers for heart palpitations or ectopic beats. This is because I have a lot of them 18% on a 24 hour ecg. Get them checked. Usually they are harmless fortunately. I've found zero improvement with cutting caffeine or upping iron. Stress and anxiety definitely make them worse. I take a beta blocker called carvedilol. I'm almost 48 btw and my palps started when I was 46. I have no other symptoms of peri (other than my age) my palps started when I was given a course of metronidazole, which was also after I'd just had covid. So it's anybody's guess as to why! I'm classes as allergic to metronidazole now though just in case!

Thanks have the beta blockers stopped them? @urrrgh46

Hi @mummybongo - I genuinely think when it comes to heart or brain things you shouldn’t spend time wondering what it COULD be and fishing for info on the net. You need to go to your GP or A&E if the symptoms indicate (chest pain, crushing feeling, extended or increasingly frequent periods of palpitations) and get to the bottom of it. Asking about one person’s meds online is potentially dangerous, when cardiac medications can have incredibly dangerous side effects.

My heart palpitations (plus shortness of breath) turned out to be very serious heart failure. I'm fit and active so it came as a real shock. Under control now. Not something to mess around with, see your GP.

Ok thank you, I'll get it checked. I'm finding reasons to not go but you're right, it's something I need to take seriously.

I've done a 111 assessment and just waiting for a callback

I too am on beta blockers, OP, for heart palpitations and ectopic beats. They help. They don't stop them entirely but that is because I had a SCAD heart attack which permanently damaged part of my heart, so it's slower and sloppier now at 51. When I was 47, I had my SCAD heart attack, arrested, and survived, unbelievably. I went into cardiac arrest as I arrived in A&E which is why I am here, nearly 4 years later, writing this. I arrested at the right place and the right time and was brought back to life. SCAD heart attacks typically strike women in their late 40s (or women whose bodies are in hormonal flux- typically women who've given birth or women who are going into menopause). They don't understand SCAD heart attacks completely and their cause is unknown. You can have a totally healthy heart muscle, clear arteries, and still get a SCAD heart attack. People with connective tissue disorders are more at risk. And some people who have a connective tissue disorder don't know this until their artery tears... causing a SCAD heart attack sometimes. Swings and roundabouts! Fun and games!

I've always had ectopic beats and palpitations. But in my 40s, they got much worse. Two weeks before my SCAD, my heart was like an out of control ping pong ball. I also began not feeling well... weak, dizzy on my walks, slower.

Given my own experience (non smoking, non drinking, dog walking, cycle/walk everywhere, low cholesterol... you get the picture, I'm 'healthy'), I would tell every woman in peri and menopause to get a 48-72 hour holter monitor (see your GP) and fight hard for this. I was at NO risk of a heart attack and yet, I nearly died. I know my story is an unusual and scary one. But when it comes to the heart, don't sit around and wait. For your own peace of mind, get it checked out. The good news is that you can live a long and healthy life with palpitations and ectopic beats. Medical management of these symptoms is really important. Good luck!

Hello - sorry you're going through this.

Another thing to check is your ferritin levels (iron). I have previously had palpitations when my level dipped to 8 (that's very low!).

Just a suggestion as that could be the cause too.

: )

I had palpitations due to low iron. Probably no harm in nipping to Boots and getting an iron supplement whilst you are under investigation....

Don’t go and buy supplements like iron if you are having palpitations. You need to be investigated first.

It might also be worth getting your thyroid checked? Palpitations were one of the first signs when I had hyperthyroidism.

Yes get them checked. I'm 52 and mine started 18 months ago and I ended up in fast AF at 180 bpm and in resus. Had a cardiac ablation thereafter. Now on beta blockers for ectopic beats too, I still get them.
HRT, no alcohol or caffeine etc made no difference.
No idea why it happened but certainly worse after Covid vaccine.

I started getting a few hefty palpitations last year at 47, a few weeks later I had a massive heart attack. I am (and was!) fit and healthy, non smoker, very careful about what I ate and drank, regular runner and did a lot of exercise. My cholesterol was only very slightly raised and I’d had a brief ecg which showed no problems. I was told I was just very unlucky! So on that basis I always bore everyone to death if they mention ignoring their chest pain/palpitations. It doesn’t hurt to get them checked out.

My palpitations were caused by low ferritin.

As I said before, there are myriad reasons why you might be having palpitations. Don’t take anything new as that might mask things that could be found via a blood test or scan. I say that as a nurse and a patient with advanced heart failure.

Mine were caused by hypothyroidism. At around the same age as you. I got a fairly full cardiac work up. Levothyroxine has sorted them out.

Mines are caused by stress and a mild mitral valve prolapse. I have thousands per day, and also runs of them. I'm 44 and they started when I was 32, but never as bad as now.
All tests are fine and doctors are not concerned and tend to ignore me when I tell them they are only getting worse, which stresses me even more.
I'm terrified of taking beta blockers because I have very low blood pressure and my heart rate (resting) is lower than 60 and I really don't want to lower it. I have a demanding job and I need to feel awake.
Antidepressants didn't help either, so I quit them.

Wow, the heart attacks in otherwise fit and healthy women is scary!

I've had tacchycardia for 3/4 years now since I had covid in March 2020 (I think, no tests no never confirmed). I think stress and anxiety is also a cause. Mine is sinus tacchycardia which means the rhythm is normal it just goes too fast. I think due to chronic stress/anxiety my heart is very sensitised to adrenaline so overreacts to everything. I'm on beta blockers - 1.25mg bisoprolol - and feel so much better on them. I have very low blood pressure and Raynauds so my GP didn't want me to try them but I followed the cardiologists advice and feel so much better on them. They don't seem to affect my blood pressure but just make my heart behave more normally.

Did you get checked out OP?