Palpitations

[Kookie1]

I have been having occasional palpitations for a while, which seem to go away for days, sometimes weeks and then reappear with a vengeance. I am havign a particularly bad day with them today - on and off the whole day. Other times it is only first thing in the morning then subsides. The only pattern I am beginning to notice is that the last time I had them this bad was almost exactly a month ago when I had them for three days straight. No chest pain associated, just a racing heart which interferes however with everything I do. I can't concentrate on anything else beacause of this fast pounding or fluttering. Has anyone else had this? Has anyone had this assoicated with certain times in their menstrual cycle? I am 34 years old. Should I be concerned? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

You need to see your GP as this is not normal heart behaviour. It may be something simple like a chemical imbalance but it should be checked out. He/she may need to send you for an ECG, it is standard practice. In the mean time try to cut out caffine and see if this helps.

kookie just posted but then seems to have got lost - damn! in brief, i had this too and am a doctor which probably made my anxiety over it even worse - but to reassure you, though you DO need to see your doctor, in fact palpitations in your age group are rarely serious. because they occasionally CAN be though, it is really important to have them checked out, so do see your GP. in my case, triggers were insomnia (related to anxiety), stress, caffeine. alcohol (occasional glass of wine i mean) was a trigger too, sadly!! you may need a 24 hour monitor to pick them up as an ECG can miss them (since sod's law your heart will be fine when the test is done). definitely will need blood test esp to rule out an overactive thyroid. oh - and yes hormones definitely play a role so it is no coincidence you are noticing a link with your cycle.
good luck. mine are miles better a couple of years on, with a lot less stress and more sleep etc.

Kookie I have been suffering from the same problem as you on and off since the beginning of the year.

Sometimes the beats are so strong they make me feel quite giddy, then they go back to normal again.

I had an ECG at the GP's which showed no problems but was told to come back if they continued.

I have suffered once or twice since then, but only for a short period. Looking back, I have had a stressful year (building work on house and issues at work) so I think this is to blame.

I hope you get yours sorted or at least explained.

mrsmaidamess - ecg's are really a bit hopeless for diagnosing palpitations, so if you are worried, do go back and ask about 24 hour monitoring. even that isn't foolproof (mine showed nothing up even then and i had to bloody well diagnose my own in a busy casualty unit hooked up to monitor leafing through a book of abnormal heart rhythms trying to remember basic cardiology from years earlier in med school!!!) bcs lots of us don't get palpitations every day! but it's certainly better than an ecg which only shows what is going on for the few minutes of the test. but yours sound reassuringly stress-related which is more likely to mean they are nice and benign which is good news!

I had years of palpitations. In the end, they were happening almost daily. Although the palpitations weren't dangerous, they were extremely inconvenient. It turned out I had an additional nerve circuit in my heart which was causing the increased heart rate. It was called superventricular tachaecardia (sp?) if you want to google it.

I had an ECG and a 24 hour tape done to track the palpitations.

I then had the extra nerve circuit burned out of my heart using radio waves, under local anaesthetic.

This was about 10 years ago and I've had absolutely no problems since.

littlefish that's great that the ablation was so effective! v pleased for you. i gather it isn't always so that's brilliant.

I am about to have the 24 hour monitor for mine,but the gp was pretty reassuring that there is v. unlikely to be anything sinister going on.I think they are a tiredness thing,they have been worse when I am up a lot with the baby,and I think I tend to run on adrenalin when I am really knackered which makes them worse.I have cut out all coffee but I wasn't drinking that much of it anyway as I am bf.My heart was beating extra beats for about four days and it really frightened me as it felt so alarming but it is apparently very common.

helly that was like me - extra beats, sustained for long periods. frightened the hell out of me. mine were majorly related to fatigue and stress. hope yours settle down.

thanks katie123,they are scary aren't they? my gut feeling is too much adrenalin as I have felt stressed without any real cause other than not having had an unbroken three hours sleep in about 4 yrs!I do get them if I overdo the caffeine though.Sad that,as I love coffee and dark chocolate!

Thanks for all the info and experiences. I suppose you are right, I should get it checked out. However, having done some research on the internet (Ok, bad idea..) I don't have any of the associated 'bad' symptoms - chest pain, dizziness, etc. I just have this pounding heart. I took my pulse, and it is within average range, and does not seem to be irregular. It is just that I feel it pulsating througout my whole body and it is very annoying - as if someone had just given me a big fright by shouting 'BOO' sending my heart pounding. Just a couple more questions. If you have an irregular heart beat would this be obvious? I mean should I be able to detect this simply by checking my pulse? And, does it count as 'palpitations' if your heart rate is not markedly out of normal range but just pulsating very strongly.

When you're all talking about palpitations how long do they last for? Are we talking a few seconds/minutes/longer?

Its just that I experience strange fluttering/palpitation feelings but they only last for a few seconds. Just suddenly, from nowhere, I feel this odd increase in the strength/rate of my heartbeat. A sort of lurching feeling IYSWIM

Sometimes they can happen a few times over a couple of days, other times there can be weeks in between.

I've been meaning to ask on here about it but keep forgetting until I saw this thread

I have spent a few years with palpatations. They come and go. I can for days/weeks without any, the can have a couple in a day. They can last anything from a few seconds to several minutes, sometimes over 30-40 mins. Relaxation techniques and breathing exercises have no effect. I simply have to wait for them to pass.

I have been seen by a consultant twice and had many tests, inc 3 nights hospital stay. No known cause has been the result.

I have found that my palpatations are triggered more often if I have more than normal amounts of caffine (I now drink decaf),alcohol and chocolate. Stress/over tiredness can make them worse also.

After a bout of palpatations I am also left feeling very very tired.

My heart race can increase to as much as 200+ beats per minute at the time.

Mine used to be regular, but just very, very fast. A bit slower than Hulababy's - about 180 beats per minute.

No chest pain. Dizziness because it used to make hyperventilate before I learned to control my breathing.

One very odd trick that would sometimes make it stop.

Take a deep breath
Go to blow the breath out, but hold onto it instead, so that you feel like the pressure is building up in your head (we used to do this as children to try and make ourselves go red in the face).
Quite often I would then feel my heart miss a beat, and then "re-start" with a big thump, back in a normal rhythm.

No idea why it works, but my uncle who is a consultant told me to do it!

I was taught that technique also Littlefish, by the consultant. It would only ever work if I caught the palpatations right at the very very start.

That is called the valsalva manouevre.

I have AV nodal re-entry tachycardia, and am an ablation surgery candidate, though have to wait until I'm no longer pg of course

It's not triggered by exercise, but by excessive tiredness combined with cold. Being 7mo pg and getting up to a croupy toddler in the middle of the night tends to set me off!

Your GP can also get you referred for a monitor... which rather than taking a baseline ECG (which might not capture anything) can record an episode of tachycardia and thus give clues to the underlying cause.

A m/w I saw last week actually asked me if mine were hormonal (they're not) so it may actually be linked to that for you.

I had these for several years. I too had an ecg and 24 hour monitor (which didn't show up anything). The gp told me to cut out alcohol and caffiene, which I did. They stopped for about 8 months then last summer they came back with a vengence. I realised I had started drinking the odd cappucino. I also started having panic attacks as well and got taken into hospital with the first one because I was sure I was having a stroke.

The gp (in Cornwall because we were on holiday) was fab and gave me very mild beta-blockers, which I took when I started to feel them coming on. One of the hardest times was at night when I was overly aware of my heart beat and I would lie there almost waiting for it to speed up. The gp did say that the more you "listen out" for them the more you are going to get them.

I have weaned myself off the beta blockers now, but still have them in my bag for emergencies.

Wow EPPM - I never knew there was a proper name for it! Thank you.

They can be a sign of the peri-menopause. (sorry no link)

littlefish I was amazed when my consultant told me about it.... because I have been doing it since I was 14- it's the best way to stop them Glad to know my body knows what to do in an emergency

Kookie avoid stimulants when you have the episodes, and if you have asthma... do NOT take your ventolin!

I have cut out all caffeine (coffee, tea and chocolate). Did that a month ago because I thought the palpitations might be related. But I still have them! It is not so much that my heart beats very fast (only about 80bpm at rest), just very forcefully. I can take my pulse without having to touch myself anywhere. I can just feel it pounding. Has anyone else had this experience? I am not on any medication, nor do I feel particulalry anxious. Can't really work out what might be triggering it.

I had palpitations years ago, so bad that I eventually went to the GP. He said that it was one of those things and gave me no treatment. Fifteen years down the line, I now have high blood pressure. Is there a connection? i.e. is it something that kookie should be taking action about now to avoid problems in the future?

kookie, donna - no, often no strong link between palpitations and blood pressure, though it depends on why you're getting the palpitations and a minority are caused by problems that might also put your BP up. but in most cases palpitations are fairly benign, just alarming. kookie - to answer your earlier question - yes, what you are experiencing are palpitations, just as everyone else is - it's a very broad umbrella term for an increased awareness of your own heartbeat. in your case it sounds like this is your main symptom, in other people's there is irregularity (mine goes irregular - i can feel it in my chest then can confirm it by taking my pulse) and in others still there is racing and/or associated irregularity. in many there is a skipped beat, followed by a thump as the heart catches up. all of these come under the term 'palpitations'.

Kookie- have you made an appointment with your GP? Thats the first step to discovering what is causing them.