Heart palpitations out of the blue?

[chris630]

Hi everyone,

I am 26, of a good height/weight ratio and have no existing health problems. I am prone to anxiety/panic disorder which I think is the culprit in my cardiac issues, but I'm hoping to find some clarification. Very rarely I will have an instance where it feels like I am inhaling and mid-way through my breath my heart sort of misses a beat and then is followed up with a VERY rapid heart beat. This first happened to me when I was maybe 17 and has happened infrequently since--sometimes years without this occuring to my knowledge, then sometimes it will happen every few months. I'd say I have had maybe a dozen occurrences since the first episode.

When this happens it will cause me to panic (breathing gets shallower, fear that I may have a serious health condition) so I will hold a few pressure points for easing anxiety and gradually breathe deeper. Over the course of a few minutes I can get my heart to slow and return to a normal pulse.

I've done some reading and I know supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a rapid firing of the heart after one single beat, then it slows down on a single beat. I did some reading on sinus tachycardia as well and, to my understanding, that is a gradual increase in the heart rhythm and a gradual decrease. It sounds like a little bit of both with me since the rapid beat occurs instantly but the slowing occurs gradually as I calm down.

After my last episode I went to see a cardiologist a few hours after my "attack" and the EKG came back good. My blood work, blood pressure and his listening to my heart were all fine, too. Any ideas on what this might be? Is it just panic since I can gradually stop the beat while calming myself?

Any help is greatly appreciated as this has been causing a lot of anxiety for me (anticipating that it may happen again).

Thank you,
Chris

[greenlydia]

You did EXACTLY the right thing by seeing a cardio. He/she has proven to you that your heart is fine, so accept their finding and move on. Everyone has heart palps now and then..................they can be very frightening and if you already have a leaning towards anxiety/panic, they can become the focus of every waking moment. Many of us can relate to your "anticipatory anxiety" regarding them. But the problem there is when you become hyper-vigilant about your heart rhythms, which anxiety can throw out of whack. Which includes inducing heart palps.
That you have been able to get your heart rhythm back to "normal" by using pressure points and deep breathing should tell you that it's your anxiety at work. It may also just be a heart palp which will resolve on its own and is nothing to be overly concerned about.
Since you saw the cardio, what did he/she tell you about your palps? If there had been ANYTHING that sent up a red flag for them, they would have sent you for more testing. That they didn't tells me they aren't concerned. Accept the fact that your heart is going to go wonky on you now and again just like it does for millions of us, and try to not focus on it. Obviously if your heart goes into an abnormal rhythm and does NOT resolve itself within a reasonable amount of time, I would get to an ER for an eval. Most heart palps are painless and one has no other symptoms such as sweating or dizziness or feeling a squeezing/crushing pain in the chest. You just feel the anxiety/panic.
Sounds to me like your cardio didn't take enough time with you to explain heart palps, and YOURS in particular. To make yourself relax about this issue, I would call the cardiologists office and ask to speak with his PA. This person will take the time to review your chart and the findings and then explain in great detail about palps. I think you will find an enormous amount of relief from your anxiety if you do this.
You may also want to hop over to the Heart Rhythm Forum and post there as well. You will see just how common your experience is and how others have learned to cope with them. You will get much support and reassurance.
I've had heart palps for years, have had many really nasty and scary tests done and they've never found anything wrong. I'm still alive and kicking. (And still having the occassional palp!) I've simply added it to the bag of tricks my body plays on me!
You're fine Chris..........you just need to relax about this, which I know is easier said than done. The only other solution I can come up with, if this continues to become a
real issue for you and begins to interfer with your daily life, then go back to your cardio and talk to them. Request further testing. But I don't think it will come to that. It's just another option to ease your mind.
Let us know how it's going and do check out the other forum! I really think you'd benefit!
Peace
Greenlydia

[chris630]

Lydia,

Thanks for the thoughtful response. The cardio told me that the EKG was normal but there could be something going on with my electrical system that causes the palpitations. I don't have health coverage and he said to really get to the bottom of this it could be $2000-$3000 but, no, he didn't seem overly concerned. He said I have lived a life of 26 years and if there was something wrong with one of the chambers of the heart I probably would have had a more serious event by now.

It just really scared me again  yesterday and I still feel "all shook up" today. Kind of PTSD caued from the palpitation and subsequent anxiety attack. I'm just trying to determine what I need to do right now. My EKG was normal that day but most electrical issues are intermittent and won't show up on an EKG once the symptoms subside. I am sure it is nothing life-threatening, but the anticipatory anxiety is terribly disabling.

I was making a lot of progress with my anxiety, but yesterday's palpitation really set me back. I've had some panic off and on all day but feel calmed now after a bit of xanax.

Have you had palpitations, too? What did your cardio say?  I'd love to stay in touch and exchange stories further as it is nice to know someone else out there is DEALING with and LIVING with similar conditions. I am a strong-willed person and I won't let this keep me from living for long, but right now I do need a little mental health vacation from many things.

Thanks again
Chris

[chris630]

I guess to further clarify--I can never get a clear answer on "palpitations" since there are so many different types.

Mine was a very SUDDEN and EXTREME racing of my heart. It wasn't gradual--it went from normal to rapid-fire in a matter of seconds. The calming process took me a few minutes. The palp that causes me to see the cardio lasted more like 5-10min because, in my panic, I convinced myself that "something is seriously wrong". Yesterday with the palp I told myself that it was just panic and that I can control this. It felt like I went into a trance-like state almost while holding the pressure point and focusing on breathing and I overcame the attack in 2-3 minutes. It's just the PTSD that I am still dealing with a bit. And the anticipatory anxiety of my next palp....

[scaredjo]

hiya i have had palps for 14 ish years since my anxiety started i have serious health anxiety concerning my heart even though all my tests have been normal. it is frightening when it happens i had a 24hr monitor and apparently i pressed the button you press when you feel a palp over 1700  times lol, once you start worrying you become over sensative to every minor beat which normal people dont even feel! try to relax. do the palps happen when your just sat around or exercising? and pls tell me where the pressure point is that calms you down x

[chris630]

Do your palpitations happen in a similar manner as the one that I described? Just out of the blue your heart goes from normal to hyper fast?

Do a google search for acupressure and you will find a wealth of info on anxiety and pressure points to calm attacks. I have a book "acupressure and emotional healing" I believe is the title. Look it up on amazon. Good book, and acupressure is helpful.

[JSGeare]

I'm not trying to tease you here -really I'm not- but that skipped beat followed by the tatoo and then restoration of normal is what I rely on after a few cups of coffee each morning to remind me that I am still alive. That, and a quick check of the obits. Tachy this, tachy that, they are all just names for what you and I know as a wacky behavior in our heart rythyms. And although my panic and anxiety is gone of many years now, I STILL have that amateur hour contest dance number thing going on in my chest every now and then. Only NOW, I pause to enjoy it (I couldn't make this up) in much the same way one enjoys that top of the roller coaster feeling or launching off minor hills in the road. "Thank you ma'am's," my mother always called them.

What the heck, if your doc says you are fine medically, next time one of those pitty-pats come along, imagine you are surfing a really BIG wave and see if you can "get into" the sensation as a thrill, rather than a threat. You'd be surprised how little difference there is between the two. The adrenalin doesn'tknow, after all, what you're thinking. A lot of folks pay good money to MAKE that happen and I sometimes wonder if Starbucks doesn't spike their coffee to produce the effect.

Be that as it may, the point is that what we THINK - matters.

Yes?

[scaredjo]

sorry i cant stop laughin at jsgeare`s post that man speaks the truth, he is so down to earth and says things as they are.....anyway yeah i have the banging heart and the missed/skipped beats they aint nice but now im gonna think of js`s post when i have them it is frightenin but i suppose we jus have to ride through it!!
i am deffo gonna check out the accupressure site sounds good