Scary heart thingys??

I have anxiety and panic attacks that are slowly coming under control. I do however still get the palpitations which I know will go away but just wondering about this particular type of palpitation. I get 2 types. One is a skipped beat type one which I can just relax through but every now and again I will get a really odd one like my heart stopps then picks up too fast and a weird feeling washes over me, down my arms. I have been told adrenaline releases can do this. Is anybody else out there that has had these?

[greenlydia]

G'day mate.................(sorry, I've always wanted to say that!)
Ah.........heart palps. A subject near and dear to my heart. (Well....DUH!)
Palps come in all shapes and sizes and each of us can have one or all of them at different times. I personally hate the damn things...........spook me something fierce. What you describe, I've experience a hundred times myself as have probably most on this forum. The first one you describe sounds like a garden variety palp, the second one COULD be, and I repeat, COULD be, a bit of tachycardia, which can be helped with medication. But I'm NOT a doctor and that is only a guess, so don't freak out about that, OK? Like I said, I had the same thing and it wasn't tachy. I got so scared, my anxiety kicked up about 100 notches and it was a bit of adrenaline overload. You could ease your mind by going to a cardio, wearing a Holter monitor for a given period of time, and that will tell the docs exactly what is going on with your heart during the palps. My guess is that they are perfectly normal for you and nothing to worry about, but since you ARE, do something about it. Sitting there freaking out is only going to make them worse, or at least, more frequent.
I would strongly suggest you get on the Heart Forum here as those folks know everything there is know about palps and they are very supportive and comforting folks to talk to. Been a frequent visitor there myself and I ALWAYS come away feeling much better.
See your doc, ease your mind.
Peace
Greenlydia  

[Julie359]

I have severe anxiety with panic attacks and also get palps..... my doctor put me on Propanalol, which is a beta-blocker, bacially it slows the heart and stops the palps, great to stop that surge of adreneline which as you know causes a full on attack.  

Ask your doc, he may wana run a test or two like mine did, ECG on heart, blood test... but ask him/her about it, it may help you loads... good luck xx

[SassyLassie]

Oh, can I relate. I have those horrendous irregular beats. I, too, sometimes get all hot right afterwards or during and feel like I am loosing it. They scare me so badly, they run my life. Adrenalin rushes can certainly make them worse, they do me. I hate the kind that make you feel like your tummy is dropping, first you get the dropping feeling, then the flutter. I have had all the tests, they are normal, but, they still run my life. I am afraid to walk alone or do anything for fear of having a run of them and passing out, it is horrible.

As Greenlydia said, they can come in all shapes and sizes, and as far as I am concerned, none are fun. I am a member of the heart rhythm forum, I go there alot, post some but mostly read, I usually feel some better afterwards, it is great knowing there are support groups like that here, they are a blessing.

[Allicat77]

Wow, so great to hear others have the same. I have been to a cardiologists and had all tests and all is fine, but you know how you can still tend to worry over them until you hear from other anxiety sufferers get them too. Love you all..

[tweekie]

I've had those things before. I just had one last night. Sometimes when we become anxious our body releases chemicals that act as stimulants, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and this can affect the heart rhythm, usually where the signal originates in the atrium, causing the heart to feel like its skipping a beat. Even too much coffee can cause this. My doctor told me when I feel this just to cough, which will stimulate the vasovagal response, producing the opposite effect, slowing the heart rate.

[iamfaithful]

I just posted on the heart rhythm regarding that very thing.  I have had this over 2 years now and it still scares me pretty badly.  I get the skipped beats and sometimes I get the real bad ones where they make me feel tingly all over. It is NO fun.  I have anxiety/panic disorder BECAUSE of this.  Well, let me say that I probably have always had a bit of anxiety, but the I tell you, once I started having the palps it gave it a new meaning.

Mine get really bad during that time of the month.  

I agree with the other posts about making sure you get cleared by a cardio-it's nothing to it.  I really hope you feel better from one jumpy heart to another :-)

[Allicat77]

OMG. You are just like me!!!!! Mine get much worse at that time of the month too. And I have to say, I have always had a bit of anxiety on and off for about 4 years but when these bad ones happened when I was just kicking back on the lounge that was the day of my first panic attack. But reading this particular book it dod say that a build up of stress over time can have the same effect. my mum kept saying I was stressed and I kept saying no way. Not me. But since reading books, I look back on the month or so leading up to this heart palp, (the bad ones) I had other symptoms going on. I remember having a really dry mouth, feeling like I had a lump in my throat, not feeling like I could get a breath down and bowel problems. I just didnt have the panic attacks yet. But I guess the day O got these it was just too late and it put me into the old fear cycle. I just cant help but still look for reasons to how these bad ones happen.
I also seem to have my endometriosis back and bad this time. Very badly. I have only had surgery once before about 10 years ago and I have read this can cause heart palpitations. Any chance you may have this too maybe????