heart/ heart beat concerns

[ransomans]

im 18 weeks pregnant atm and even years before being pregnant ive had a fast heart rate usually always at 100- 120 resting hr I also get palpations
I have been to the doctor countless occasions about this as it really worries me and bothers me and makes me worry a lot even more that im pregnant as of course I keep seeing tiktoks of women who have died after giving birth due to undiagnosed cardiac problems that doctors brushed off

when I was younger at 18/19 years old im now in early 20s I would often go to a and e for my heart as it would absolutely pound away but I did have extreme panic attacks and anxiety I do still have anxiety but not everyday and don't have panic attacks anymore.

I have also recent back in may had a 24 hr heart monitor thing ecg its it called? and it showed I had sinus rhythm and my heart rate ranges from 79-120 no follow up as they said it's slightly fast but nothing need to be done ( I tried to take this as thats it stop worrying but I just couldn't )
I also had iron test thyroid, full blood count and showed nothing of worry to them.

I had a midwife app the other day and mentioned my heart rate still bothers me as its fast and I really recently feel it in my neck, and can actually see my heart beating at the base of my neck and on the sides ( also for context im not super skinny as I know for people who are this is common) im of average weight my bmi, blood pressure is good.

so after mentioning to midwife she said book an appointment too speak to someone about this as its obviously not anxiety related
so I got an appointment with doctor the same day a few hours after appointment the doctor I saw seemed annoyed that id been asked to come in so urgently as she didnt think it was urgent (like I made the appointment when its the reception that did)
she checked my blood pressure was fine, listened to my chest for a moment and did my readings on the little thing that goes on my finger, I explained everything and she just came to the conclusion that some peoples heart is just faster than others...
am I being silly to not accept this or should I just accept I have a fast heart ? as surely someone would of picked something up if serious?
also since being pregnant I don't drink caffeine, I try to eat healthy I eat lots of fruit I do take asthma inhalers which I know cause fast heart but its 24/7 I take a preventative inhaler in the morning thats all

sorry for the ramble I just worried something is being missed being pregnant has made me worry ill die

I have something called SVT, which is essentially a naturally fast heartbeat almost all of the time because of some electrical cross-wires in there. It's generally harmless, but bloody annoying. Sounds similar to the symptoms you're describing.
If I was you I'd keep badgering the GP until they give you a direct answer... that's what I did do, actually! I went to the GP about 5 times in the space of a year because it worried me so much. It got much worse during my pregnancies too, I was having palpitations every other beat.
You need them to put your mind at ease, be clear with them that the not knowing is causing you anxiety. X

Hi @ransomans it sounds like im experiencing something very similar to you.

I too have a high normal heart rate and obviously in pregnancy this has increased a lot.

At around 27 weeks I went to a&e after my Apple Watch was constantly buzzing that it detected a too high heart rate and after ringing triage and midwife's they told me to go there. Had 2 ecgs and bloods and was hooked up to a monitor for a few hours and in the end the doctor said the same thing you've been told- I just have a heart rate that beats faster sometimes...

As my pregnancies progressed it's got higher, I also recently had a chest infection which sent it off the scale.

I now get it where it reaches about 130/140 resting for short periods of time but I can really feel it. I've mentioned it to my midwife to triage when I've been in and to two doctors and no body seems concerned at all. My midwife said it's pretty normal to get periods where it will beat faster and palpitations.

I too am worried about labour which could happen any time from now really, but I'm just going to make sure I mention it and ask that it's monitored enough.

my nan actually has SVT, its honestly horrible as you cannot focus on anything but your heart rate/. beat
ive been to the doctors so many times they simply don't care, do nothing took me years to get the 24hr ecg and even on the report she put "I suspect its anxiety casing.... blah blah blah" they simply say its anxiety
just worries me as im pregnant :(
I give up going to the doctor the say the same thing every time, even a&e multiple times and nothing so makes me think maybe its fine just slightly fast and like the gp said some people just have fast heart rate some have slow

yeah thats the thing! they seem to say its just slightly fast which is no harm! like I think maybe I should believe them and accept maybe its just fast and try forget about it but its hard to when you feel it everyday you think to yourself how can this be normal ??

I don't know about you as well but the more I notice it the worse it gets then it seems to take age for it to come down to like 100 but when I walk up the stairs it pounds hard,
it does make you worry a lot but you think to yourself if professionals are saying its fine just slightly fast I should believe it

I also wont get an Apple Watch as I don't wanna see my heart rate haha even though I want one as it makes me more anxious seeing it high! also googling things sends me into a panic so I don't do that anymore!

o also think its true some people notice there heartbeat a lot more than others maybe we are one of those people as before when I had anxiety about it and I seek assurance from others ask if they can feel there hb they say no and they never think about it! wouldn't that be nice

I do not know if this could potentially relate to why you feel your pulse in your neck as I am not a doctor, but I know that during pregnancy our bodies produce and carry more blood, because of the baby inside us.
That means that the body is working more, the heart is pumping more blood, for reasons related to physics and the size of our vessels that could be the reason why you feel the pulse in your neck with your faster heartbeat. The body is working more.
I have the opposite issue, my average heart rate is normal, but my lows are too low, a doctor pointed that out once, but it hasn’t been looked into because I’m young.
by the way, where I come from there’s this term called vegetative dystonia which is an autoimmune condition which can be triggered by really various causes- stress, tiredness, lifestyle, hormones. It’s characterised by random tiredness, dizziness, heart palpitations, nausea. Usually an indication one’s body is overworked with something. It’s not really recognised as a proper medical condition in Western Europe. Maybe you have that…from your body working harder to facilitate the baby. Everyone’s organisms respond different to this huge change, we are literally growing an organ and a Human at the same time, while our body is also supplying normal function to the rest of the organs.