GAS

[superman7]

I have noticed that when I have gas moving around, I often feel that my heart may skip, or when I am laying down a spasm may occur near my heart with no pain but gives the feel of a slight skip. Though I have a heart murmur, I was tested and have no heart disease. Can gas cause this skiping sensation in the heart, or by pushing against the heart actually cause a skip, I heard this is posiable. If so what can I so to lesson the gas and the skipping or spasm sensation?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I am unaware of a disease where gas can cause palpitations.  It is possible that pressing against the heart can cause arrythmias - but this is rare.  

You may want to evaluate for these entities seperately.  The gas can be evaluated with tests for malabsorption including fecal fat tests and serum tests for celiac disease.  Endoscopy (i.e. upper or lower endoscopy) can be considered if your physician feels this is necessary.  If there is no clear cause, you may want to discuss OTC gas reducing medications such as simethicone or Beano.

For the heart "skipping beats" - an EKG would be a good place to start.  If that is not revealing, you may want to inquire about a cardiac event monitor.  This is a device that monitors your heart rhythm when you press a button - whenever you feel these skipping sensations, you can then record your rhythm.  I would also check your electrolytes and thyroid function.  Treatment would depend on what is found during these tests.  

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[Basket of Bears]

I am a 41 year old female. As I get older I have noticed that more and more food  and beverage items tend to give me gas. Lately it has become unbearable. I try and eat as sensible as I can. Which food items tend to give you more gas...besides the obvious things like cabbage, beans and onions? Is there anything (medication or over the counter) I can take for this besides seriously altering my diet?

[belcher]

Even though the good doctor is unaware of such a disease, I too have experienced changes in my heart rythym as a result of stomach gas pressure.  I'm a 46 year old male in pretty good health overall and I've been living with the same condition you describe for several years now.  When I'm really bloated, my heart rate at rest often becomes rapid and shallow and every so often feels as if it's skipping a beat.  What's really unnerving however, is when it suddenly slows way down to a much slower than a normal rate and then just as suddenly begins to race again.  This last symptom doesn't happen often, but it happened to me this past weekend.  Scares the hell out out me when it happens, which doesn't help matters any.  Contrary to the doctor's opinion, I don't believe that what you're experiencing are separate cardiac and gastrointestinal problems. I believe that the stomach gas pressure is directly responsible for the heart symptoms - at least in my case it is.  The reason that I say this is that I've never experienced these heart symptoms unless I was also severely bloated.  Also, the symptoms disappear completely within a few minutes of purging myself of the excess gas.  I do this by forcing myself to belch repeatedly.  (Fortunately, this is something I learned to do back in grade school.) I don't know if the symptoms are caused by pressure on the heart itself or on the nerves leading to the heart, but after all these years, I'm convinced that there's a connection between the bloating and the heart symptoms.  I should also mention that in addition to the heart symptoms, the bloating has also caused all of the following symptoms at one time or another:  dull headache; lightheadedness (probably due to the rapid, weak and/or erratic heart rate); a tickling sensation on my cheeks and nose; an itching sensation at the base of my skull; an itching sensation on the buttocks; distorted (blurred) vision.  I know that these don't sound like things that could be related to excess stomach gas, but as with the heart symptoms, my proof is that they all go away completely within minutes of releasing some of the pressure.  My theory is that certain nerves near the stomach - possibly including the vagus nerve - are somehow being irritated or stimulated by the pressure being exerted on them by my bloated stomach - much like accupressure.

I've had every imaginable test performed, including: upper endoscopy, gastric emptying time, gall bladder sonogram and function tests, various blood and stool tests, thyroid, EKG and cardiac event monitoring.  All results have been normal.  (The cardiac event monitor test was done when I first started having symptoms and I had not yet made the correlation between the bloating and the heart symptoms.  If I were to ever retake the test, I'd first injest a bunch of sugar to make sure I got really bloated.)

In my case, the bloating usually seems to be caused by certain foods, especially those containing sugar or starch.  I can eat meat, eggs and certain veggies all day without a problem, but if I have a regular soft drink or eat a bunch of grapes or a bowl of rice, I'm going to have a problem.  A recent study done by the University of Iowa suggests that many people unknowingly suffer from fructose intolerance.  A simple breath test can diagnose this condition.  I've scheduled an appointment to get checked for this disease.  Unfortunately, diet modification is the only "cure" at this time, but I would at least like to know the name of whatever disease it is that I've been suffering from all these years.

I don't know if we're both suffering from the same condition or not, but it sure sounds like we could be.  If I were you, I'd practice my belching technique and get some of that gas out of there the next time you experience the heart symptoms.  I usually have to belch anywhere from 25 to 200 times (really) to get lasting relief (a few hours).  Oddly enough, I usually don't feel an urge to belch, even when I'm severly bloated.  In fact, because there's never any pain associated with this, I often don't realize that I'm bloated until one or more of the aforementioned symptoms manifests itself.  For some reason, the purging process usually goes better if I continually massage my stomach or the area just below my breastbone.  I wish I could get it all out with one big 30 second burp.  

Sorry for rambling on, but personally I prefer too much information as opposed to not enough.  One thing's for sure - this condition has my doctors completely baffled.  For all the wonders of modern medicine, I think we're still in the dark ages in many respects when it comes to diagnosing and treating digestive disorders.  (Don't let them try to tell you that you're swallowing too much air.)  Good luck superman7.

[Lami]

Dear belcher:
    
    There is definetly a connection between gas and skipped beats
The upper part of the heart and parts of the gut are both innervated by branches of the vagus nerve. When you eat certain foods, especially very seasoned ones,there is sudden hyperfunction of the vagus nerve to stimulate movement of the stomach and gut and this inderectly acts on the heart,producing
hyperexcitability and skipped beats called atrial premature contractions or APCs. This can be complicated by other related heart conditions as tachycardia and even something called auricular fibrilation which is ussually transitory. If you ask 10 thousand doctors about this 99.99%,including cardiologist and gastroenterologist will tell you there is no connectioon. There ar ways to control and avoid this problem,one is being careful of what you eat and there are also meds to control this imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. I am a physician interested in this subject and I have treated many patients. I will be happy to give further advise ,but I would like to mention that I am not interested in any kind of compensation.

[burp]

I am a 38 year old male in relatively good health and I too suffer from Skipped Heart Beats due to intestinal distension or gas. 1 to 4 hours after eating usually does it. Within that time I will experience missed beats followed by several quick follow up beats. Sometimes it has been so bad I have started to black out. Limiting what and how much I eat is the only thing I know of to help the situation. I have had some cardiac work done but everything comes back normal. I would like to have some gastro-intestinal work done to see what issues might be uncovered there. If anyone has any other information on the "Gas/Heart" thing, I would appreciate it....

[Proteus42]

I found this site, and its comments after a long search. I'm a 42 year old Male, and I've been suffering with the same things it seems. I had been having chest pains from gas. And twice I'd gone to the hospital to be checked for heart attacks. The second occurrence gave me a numbness down my left arm, and up into my neck and chin. I was checked over and released .. It was gas. With this knowledge the stress went down, and I was able to calm myself and burp for twenty minutes. I work in the film industry and stress from deadlines is very much a part of the job. I would have repeated gas attacks that would not let me sleep. Standing up in the bedroom and belching for ten minutes at a time.. only to lay down and have it return. In May I was working very hard, and exerting myself. My Heart rate was up, it was very hot.. and I heard and felt a very audible "Pop" in my chest .. right smack dab in the middle. It was like the snapping of a knuckle, or joint. I also had an abscess flare up at the same time. About a week later, I was struck amazingly hard with something that has baffled my doctors. It started with very strong headaches on the back of my head on the lower right. Any exertion on my part brought amazingly strong pain. They started on the Tuesday.. by Thursday of that same week I could barely see, or stand. My Head was pounding with my heartbeat, I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sit still.. Any food that I ate turned into excessive gas and caused tremendous chest pain, as well as discomfort in the liver region. My Abdomen was sore, and it would flare up every few days. Being self employed, I had no insurance, and had to call a local clinic.
Thankfully they saw me right away, and were alarmed to find my Blood Pressure was 190/140. I hadn't eaten in days, and I was severely dehydrated. They suggested I check into the emergency room, and I was given Enalapril, and Hydrochlorothiazide. This brought my Blood pressure down, but the symptoms remained. Over the next two and a half months I lost a total of 54 pounds. I couldn't eat, or I would go into a terrible distress, my heart would race, I would get terrible gas and chest pains, and a head pressure that felt like there was something trying to press my face out from behind. My Vision has blurred to the point I need to wear magnifying glasses that I bought in the supermarket. I haven't worked since, going through all of my savings, and the experience has been very stressful, which does not help. The Symptoms persist about an hour after eating, and  some nights I lay in bed when the gas is bad, and I feel those Double beats and skips in my heart as well.. No pain is involved, but it is very unnerving, and causes more stress. The only time I feel really well, is when my stomach is empty. But it doesn't last, because any exertion on an empty stomach, starts producing the gas and symptoms as well. I went to the doctor yesterday, and brought print outs from these pages to show him, and he actually chuckled at me, and refilled my prescriptions. He didn't even look at them. This time though, he gave me gas/antacid medicine. This isn't in my mind, and it's not because of a full stomach. I can eat certain foods with no problem, but any exertion, walking, running, working, brings about the symptoms, gas or not. I feel the doctors are only treating my superficial symptoms, and have no interest in locating the cause, or finding a cure. Is there some way to treat this? And if so, what can I do in the meantime, to get myself going towards being well again?   Thank you

[Proteus42]

I found this site, and its comments after a long search. I'm a 42 year old Male, and I've been suffering with the same things it seems. I had been having chest pains from gas. And twice I'd gone to the hospital to be checked for heart attacks. The second occurrence gave me a numbness down my left arm, and up into my neck and chin. I was checked over and released .. It was gas. With this knowledge the stress went down, and I was able to calm myself and burp for twenty minutes. I work in the film industry and stress from deadlines is very much a part of the job. I would have repeated gas attacks that would not let me sleep. Standing up in the bedroom and belching for ten minutes at a time.. only to lay down and have it return. In May I was working very hard, and exerting myself. My Heart rate was up, it was very hot.. and I heard and felt a very audible "Pop" in my chest .. right smack dab in the middle. It was like the snapping of a knuckle, or joint. I also had an abscess flare up at the same time. About a week later, I was struck amazingly hard with something that has baffled my doctors. It started with very strong headaches on the back of my head on the lower right. Any exertion on my part brought amazingly strong pain. They started on the Tuesday.. by Thursday of that same week I could barely see, or stand. My Head was pounding with my heartbeat, I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sit still.. Any food that I ate turned into excessive gas and caused tremendous chest pain, as well as discomfort in the liver region. My Abdomen was sore, and it would flare up every few days. Being self employed, I had no insurance, and had to call a local clinic.
Thankfully they saw me right away, and were alarmed to find my Blood Pressure was 190/140. I hadn't eaten in days, and I was severely dehydrated. They suggested I check into the emergency room, and I was given Enalapril, and Hydrochlorothiazide. This brought my Blood pressure down, but the symptoms remained. Over the next two and a half months I lost a total of 54 pounds. I couldn't eat, or I would go into a terrible distress, my heart would race, I would get terrible gas and chest pains, and a head pressure that felt like there was something trying to press my face out from behind. My Vision has blurred to the point I need to wear magnifying glasses that I bought in the supermarket. I haven't worked since, going through all of my savings, and the experience has been very stressful, which does not help. The Symptoms persist about an hour after eating, and  some nights I lay in bed when the gas is bad, and I feel those Double beats and skips in my heart as well.. No pain is involved, but it is very unnerving, and causes more stress. The only time I feel really well, is when my stomach is empty. But it doesn't last, because any exertion on an empty stomach, starts producing the gas and symptoms as well. I went to the doctor yesterday, and brought print outs from these pages to show him, and he actually chuckled at me, and refilled my prescriptions. He didn't even look at them. This time though, he gave me gas/antacid medicine. This isn't in my mind, and it's not because of a full stomach. I can eat certain foods with no problem, but any exertion, walking, running, working, brings about the symptoms, gas or not. I feel the doctors are only treating my superficial symptoms, and have no interest in locating the cause, or finding a cure. Is there some way to treat this? And if so, what can I do in the meantime, to get myself going towards being well again?   Thank you