Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Fast Heart Beat
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-CRC, Apr 04, 2002 12:00AM
Dear Tee,
In general food allergies do not cause rapid heart-beats. There are many causes of tachycardia (fast heart beat) and they can be divided roughly into sinus (originating from the sinus node or heart’s natural pacemaker) and non-sinus tachycardias. Nonsinus tachycardias are either supraventricular (coming from the upper chambers of the heart) or ventricular (coming from the lower chambers of the heart). Supraventricular tachycardias include: paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and AV nodal tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardias are more serious in nature and are due to a rapid depolarization of the ventricles.
Sinus tachycardia is defined as a heart rate of greater than 100 beats per minute originating from the sinus node. Sinus tachycardia is classified as either appropriate or inappropriate. There are many causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia such as exercise, anxiety, panic attacks, dehydration, deconditioning, volume loss due to bleeding or other loss of body fluids, hyperthyroidism, electrolyte abnormalities and many other conditions.
Inappropriate sinus tachycardia can only be diagnosed when all causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia have been ruled out. It is not clear what causes inappropriate sinus tachycardia but possible etiologies are an increase in the rate at which the sinus node depolarizes and an increased sensitivity to adrenaline. Once the diagnosis has been made by ruling out all of the potential causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia there are several treatment options. If the symptoms are not overly concerning no treatment needs to be done. There is no increase in morbidity or mortality in persons with this condition and they can expect to have a normal life-span. For persons in whom the symptoms are unbearable medications such as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers can be used, usually with good results. In the rare person unable to tolerate medical treatment catheter ablation (burning) of the sinus node with insertion of a pacemaker or surgical removal of the sinus node have been used in the past. Newer techniques are being developed using catheter ablation to modify and not destroy the sinus node thus avoiding the need for a pacemaker. This procedure is still in it’s infancy and should only be undertaken at a major medical center after consultation with an electrophysiologist.
In general food allergies do not cause rapid heart-beats. There are many causes of tachycardia (fast heart beat) and they can be divided roughly into sinus (originating from the sinus node or heart’s natural pacemaker) and non-sinus tachycardias. Nonsinus tachycardias are either supraventricular (coming from the upper chambers of the heart) or ventricular (coming from the lower chambers of the heart). Supraventricular tachycardias include: paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and AV nodal tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardias are more serious in nature and are due to a rapid depolarization of the ventricles.
Sinus tachycardia is defined as a heart rate of greater than 100 beats per minute originating from the sinus node. Sinus tachycardia is classified as either appropriate or inappropriate. There are many causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia such as exercise, anxiety, panic attacks, dehydration, deconditioning, volume loss due to bleeding or other loss of body fluids, hyperthyroidism, electrolyte abnormalities and many other conditions.
Inappropriate sinus tachycardia can only be diagnosed when all causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia have been ruled out. It is not clear what causes inappropriate sinus tachycardia but possible etiologies are an increase in the rate at which the sinus node depolarizes and an increased sensitivity to adrenaline. Once the diagnosis has been made by ruling out all of the potential causes of appropriate sinus tachycardia there are several treatment options. If the symptoms are not overly concerning no treatment needs to be done. There is no increase in morbidity or mortality in persons with this condition and they can expect to have a normal life-span. For persons in whom the symptoms are unbearable medications such as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers can be used, usually with good results. In the rare person unable to tolerate medical treatment catheter ablation (burning) of the sinus node with insertion of a pacemaker or surgical removal of the sinus node have been used in the past. Newer techniques are being developed using catheter ablation to modify and not destroy the sinus node thus avoiding the need for a pacemaker. This procedure is still in it’s infancy and should only be undertaken at a major medical center after consultation with an electrophysiologist.
Related discussions
-
Palpitations, panic disorder, excercise (29 replies):I would like to know why it is during activity as simple...[more]
-
Anxiety or Heart Problem (18 replies):I was diagnosed with anxiety/panic disorder 3 years ago....[more]
-
Heart racing out of control... (14 replies):Please help. I am 39 years old and have been diagnosed ...[more]
-
can tachycardia kill you? (18 replies):Hello, im a 25 yr enblish girl and have just recently fo...[more]
-
Do panic attacks increase cardiac risk? (22 replies):Hello, I am a woman of 26 years old, from Spain.I start...[more]
-
Sinus Tachycardia caused by anxiety? (1 replies):I have had severe refractory anxiety for 12 years along ...[more]
-
Will panic attacks cause PVC's to become serious? (26 replies):I have been having PVC's for several years. I have devel...[more]
-
Anxiety or physical? (18 replies):Um, I've had panic attacks for about half a year. Then t...[more]
I wasn't really sure what was happening, it happened often. I took an EKG and it came out normal, and the 24h Holter Moniter came back as I have a few APCs in my sleep, which the doctor said was 'normal'.
During these 'spells' I had a shortness of breathe. The doctor also told me this could have been in my head, I came down with a Ear/Sinus infection, and after I got on Antibiotics it went away.
A few days ago I had a similar spell, sweating (was wearing a heavy coat), tighting breathing, but no palpatations. It died down after awhile when I could relax. I have a feeling it's all in my head, but I'm not really sure.
I'm currently on a prescription cough syrup because of a chestcold that I've been having. Cough and Phlem; which I was on a antibiotic for. I wanted to know how long prescription cough medication takes to work? I've been on it for about four days now, and my cough -seems- to be breaking up... breathing feels a bit more congested; I'm told that this is because it's breaking up.
Any help would be thankful!
Vitals: 16; Male; 265 pounds (I've went down from 285+ in the last month or so)
My sternum hurts to the touch, and this makes me feel better, that I can feel the pain. I don't know what to do anymore! Because everything was normal on my EKG's and my stress test, does that mean that I am fine, and I should just start to relax and get back to normal when I didn't worry about these things? Please help me.
You'll be ok Krista
hugs
Ray.
Hankstar...interesting theory. Here in the UK they dont bother too much about us, in fact my local hospital in Romford Essex (oldchurch hospital) has one of the highest mortality rates in the whole of the UK...I think I'd better move house lol.
I get the burning sensation and a fast heartbeat most often when I go to sleep. The only way that I can fall asleep is on my back. I often wake up in the morning with my heart racing. But sometimes, like today, it happens during the course of my regular routine. Today, while I was exercising, my heart started beating so fast that I had to sit down. That was at 6pm and it’s still racing. Sometimes, the palpitating heartbeat also occurs when I get angry or excited. Then it stays around for hours.
My mom has high blood pressure and also has the occasional fast heartbeat. Is this hereditary? My dad also has high blood pressure and his father, my grandpa, died after his third heart attack.
I’ve been meaning to go to the doctor about this, but I don’t have the time. Is there anything I can take to slow my heart down?
Thanks.
Right now I'm still fighting this cough, feels like I've got deep chest congestion and my head still has some sinus pressure.
It's been like 1 1/2 months now, really frustrating, but I finally think it's breaking up.
It's just wierd, my breathing feels tight because of the congestion (atleast what the Dr. says). And the medicine I was on (just finished it) prescription version of Robitussin DM; I had constipation for awhile... which is one of the side effects (that I wasn't sure about).
I feel somewhat better; just want this chest-cold to go away!
i read your posts and can certaintly empathize. 17 yrs ago i had my first tachycardic episode. shortly after this i developed panic disorder which was a living hell. it is the most terrifying thing to live with because it begins to control you at every level of your life. after i had my first child 13 years ago my symptoms became so much worse and i also developed pvcs which scared me so much. after an echo was done i was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse with moderate reguritation. after reading about mvp i discovered that many people with it also develope panic disorder because of a kink in the nervous system. i was so glad to hear that i was not causing the panic disorder. that it was not all in my head..it was very real. after the birth of my son 3 yrs ago i developed an arrithymia and put on quinidine. then 9 months later i had my last child and things got really bad. it is so frightening to feel like you are about to die at any minute. things are better now but i still have lots of pvcs. my new electrophysiologist wants to perform an ablation on me but i do not have medical insurance so that's out of the question.
when i first became symptomatic, i too developed a preoccupation with my symptoms which i know made them seem worse. it is not an easy thing to ignore the fast or wierd thumping in your chest or the dizziness, sweating, spaced out feeling, or the intense fear that can consume you. i have been panic free for 6 years now but i still feel the wierd symptoms i felt with it but without the fear or panic. i took paxil for 2 years and have not had one panic episode since.
i hope you two will begin to feel better again. my heart goes out to you because the fear you are feeling is very real.
Blessedx4
i think my problem is that with the panic and anxiety came a dreadful feeling that i would have an heart attack(even though there is no reason for me to think this).so,with the skipped heart beats-my mind races and i do the "what if" scenerio.
anyway,i have alot of sympathy for what you are going through,and i feel bad because my prob are all in my head.i hope everything works out for you.congrats for being panic attack free for so long....there is hope for me too.thanks again and take care.
why do you think your problems are all in your head? panic disorder can be caused by a chemical imbalance (serotonin) or from a kink in the autonomic nervous system. for the first 11 years that i suffered with severe panic disorder, which came out of the blue, i too thought i was somehow causing it. it is easy to believe you are responsible for the panic attacks when the drs can find nothing physically wrong. after living in torment for 11 years i contemplated suicide because the thought of living in constant overwhelming fear was just too much to bear. thankfully, i did not go through with it. i finally mustered up the courage to see a pyschiatrist. i was so ashamed to do so, but i had no reason to be ashamed. after explaining to him that i thought i was going crazy, the constant fear i felt and the loss of desire to live he told me that i was suffering from chemical imbalance and depression. he prescribed paxil and told me that i should be feeling better soon. he was right. for the first time in yrs i heard myself laughing. i took it for two yrs and weaned myself off it. i have been panic free since. i am not sure what paxil did for me, but i know God heard my prayers when i thought i could bear no more.
please don't feel that you are some how causing your panic attacks. i know what it feel like to be swallowed up by an all consuming fear. no one could be capable of causing that to themselves. it is almost impossible to sit back and ignore the waves of fear without help.
have you asked your dr about an taking an ssri such as paxil?
please let me know how you are doing!
Blessedx4
i think i may have caused a misunderstanding about that statement,"it's in my head".what i meant was my overwhelming fear of having a heart attack.i know deep down that i'm not going to have one(especially since i've had every test done).it's in my head-for me i think it is more of an emotional or mental state more than physical.i have been on paxil before,for almost a year,but i didn't like the side effects.actually,this was the time i started to notice the skipped heart beats.i took myself off it and all the panic and anxiety that the paxil had surpressed came rushing forth.now it's like i almost look for reasons to think something is physically wrong with me.i don't know,maybe i feel better if it was something physical that they could treat.having panic and anxiety depresses me to the point where i don't enjoy life anymore.it sounds crazy,but everyday i think i may have a heart attack.and then somedays i'll feel fine and i'll get a wierd pain or my heart will skip a beat,and then i'm back feeling anxious again.i hope u can understand this,i think u can.i'm going back to a phyciatrist this month-hopefully they can help me.today was a good day-not too much worry or anxiety.i'm glad to know i'm not alone with this.thanks so much for your answers.and i do look forward to hearing from u again.
glad to hear you had a better day today. i do hope the psychiatrist will be able to help you. i first developed the fast heart rate and skipped beats then i developed panic disorder. after a while it was very difficult for me to distinquish if the panic disorder was causing my symptoms or if it was the other way around. either way, i became hypervigilent to the slightest changes in my body. one of the worse things i did was to become conscience of my breathing. this caused me to alter my normal breathing pattern which then caused me to hyperventilate. i also use to constantly take my pulse. which of course made me very aware of my heart rate etc. i use to also take my blood pressure over and over again because i was so fearful it would be high and that i would have a stroke. i use to also avoid any place that i had experienced a panic attack. soon there weren't many places i could go to. just the thought of getting into the car and driving sent me into an intense panic. i literally became a prisoner in my own home. i had to quit college three times because the panic was so severe i couldn't concentrate. i was certain i would collapse at school or worse make a total fool of myself. it became a torture trying to sit during class because the whole time all i could feel was my heart thumping wildly and erratically in my chest, my hands sweating profusely and my head spinning to the point i felt i would pass out. i remember every time i experienced chest pain, palpitations, flushing, dizziness, blurred vision , tachycardia etc. i thought i would have a heart attack. in fact i would not go anywhere if i knew an ambulance could not reach me immediately. i always felt better if someone was with me, but of course people have lives so that was not always possible.
i am sure you can relate to some of things i mentioned. it certaintly is a terrible way to live. i use to get so angry to think of all the valuable years i lost to this disorder. but i stopped thinking that way because it was only robbing more of my time.
let me know how you are doing. hopefully, the drs will be able to provide you with some help.
Blessedx4
I've just been reading some of the anxiety comments. I understand what you mean by thinking its in your head. Like I said I am very fearful of having a heart attack. I am 22, and have had a few tests and everything is normal, but sometimes my whole left arm hurts, my left shoulder or even my chest. I get constant pressure on my chest most of the time. I know how horrible anxiety can be, thankfully I can still go outside and to different places, although every slight pain or weird feeling can make my mind do the 'what if' thing.
I'm on paxil as well. When my mother first died, they put me on paxil because I was slightly depressed. I took it for about 2 weeks, and noticed that I couldn't breath normally, or sleep. I'm on it again about 5 years later, and now I feel like I can't breath normally...would this have anything to do with the paxil, or is it something that I should ask more about. I've told my doctor about my breathing problems, but she isn't concerned about it.
i don't think i want to get back on paxil,but we'll see what doctors.sometimes, iknow that nothing physically is wrong with me,but it only takes 1 negative thought to change that.or some kind of annoying pain,and like we discussed,my mind starts doing the "what if",thing.
anyway,thanks so much for all your help,and hope everything is good with you.till next time-take care.
Blessedx4 I went through all of that as well, chronic pulse checking,bp monitoring..
it can be quite dehabilating..
If it is any comfort, I've had the symptom picture that you describe, and in my case I can assure you that it was all caused by anxiety. A feeling of breathlessness is very common and commonly caused by hyperventilation. Your O2/CO2 ratio gets to high because your breathing pattern is 'wrong'. It turns out that we anxious people often breath with our chest and not our stomach and this is a bad habit that makes us hyperventilate. Chest-breathing also strains our chest muscles, a common cause for chestpains. I would also like to add that anxiety is well-known to cause almost any somatic symptom you can think of, I don't think there is any limit to what it can cause. If you are dead-afraid of a heart attack (like I used to be), thrust me you can think-on the symptoms (chest pain, sweating, pain in your arm, palpitations, I've had them all). If you are afraid of a brain tumor, you can get headache and dizzyness and so on. If you still have the negative destructive thought pattern while on Paxil it can mean that this is not the right medication for you. There are so many SSRI's out there, and you may respond much better to another one. From my own experience, SSRI's work best in addition to good councelling. I wish you the best of luck and I understand how terrible you feel. Just don't forget that anxiety is highly treatable!
Thank you, your comment does make me feel a bit better. Since you said you've experienced anxiety, I was wondering can it be there all the time? The sensations that I feel all day are just a result of my anxiety?
Believe me that anxiety can be there day and night. In my case, I couldn't get my thaughts away from that there was something wrong with my heart. Those thaughts completely ruled my life and seriously prevented me from doing what I liked to do. I've been to numerous doctors both here in the US and in Norway and they all gave my heart an A+. Nevertheless, I couldn't believe it and I kept feeling for palpitations. And, why did I do that, because I was CONSTANTLY ANXIOUS that there was something wrong. This anxious state gave me of course more palpitations, it made me constantly lightheaded/dizzy and fatigued. I am convinced that anxiety is the problem for many of us palp sufferers and I have read much about it. I have read and my therapist have told me that if you constantly have negative and destructive thaughts your brain chemistry gets out of balance, in particular your serotonin levels become too low. There are two ways you can fix this. A therapist can help you change your pattern of thinking so that you think more positively and reject/correct your negative thaughts whenever they occur. If you can do this your serotonin level will gradually rise. This is in my experience difficult if you have been worried for your health for a long time. The best in my opinion is to find a SSRI THAT WORKS WELL FOR YOU, in combination with councelling. A SSRI makes it easier for you to change your negative thaughts into positive. This way both will help get your brain chemistry back to normal. I think it is very important to understand this.
That is also wy I almost never use xanax, valium or klonopin. They do nothing to restore the chemical balance in your brain (unless you have good councelling that works) and when you stop using them your brain chemistry is still out of balance and it all starts over again.
Right now, I'm on Effexor and it helps me alot. Understand that being on Effexor doesn't mean that I never experience palpitations and think destructively. The important thing is that because Effexor changes my brain chemistry it so helps me to refuse and reject the bad thaughts. On Effexor I never allow them to take control, and please realise that is how a SSRI is supposed to work. These meds will almost never remove all your anxiety (which is caused by your way of thinking negatively), but YOU will be able to stop the negative thinking spiral. Thereby I can live a normal life, not being afraid and avoiding things I like to do, I can exercise very vigorously again like I love to do. But on the medication it is of outmost importance that you are always alert and ALWAYS use the strength you have to reject the negative thaughts. For me it has also helped to realise that sooner or (hopefully!) later I'm gonna die and the world is going to continue just fine without me being around
Be aware that anxiety can mimic almost any disease, it basically depends on what you beleive is wrong with you. However, it is of course important that your doctor(s) come to this conclusion. Nobody should assume anxiety without first getting a medical exam.
Tell me if I you want any further info from me, and I'll be happy to help you
What could it be?
Please e-mail me at ***@****.
Thank you.
Tom
Sorry I will be back with some info for you.
But,it definately helps to know i'm not alone.Thanks
What I would like to state is that I was on a beta blocker (Toprol) for over a year and it helped my tachycardia greatly. It was a little rough-going getting used to it in the beginning, but after about two months, I didn't notice anything. I am prone to depression, also, but I don't recall that Toprol affected me in this way. It made me tired in the beginning and I felt a bit out of sorts, but that was about it. For what it's worth, I think it also changed my bowel habits, too.
For those of you suffering from depression/anxiety, I do HIGHLY RECOMMEND Celexa, a newer anti-depressant (AD). I was SO VERY FEARFUL of going on an anti-depressant due to my heart history. I was petrified of having an AD affect my heart rate, as I believe I had heard this was a possible side effect with SSRIs. However, my psychiatrist told me that Celexa didn't have the CARDIO side effects that other SSRIs did, and sure enough, I did fine. Being a depressed person, who suffered DAILY (yes, daily) with panic attacks for 13 years, I have to say Celexa REALLY helped me.
I am currently off all medication (YAY) because my husband and I are thinking of having a child (though my cardiologist said Toprol should be safe if I really needed it.) So far, praise God, I have not had any effects of coming off the beta blocker that I was on. I thought my heart would act up, but it didn't NOT AT ALL. In fact, it was harder getting of the Celexa. I am starting to feel irritable and not as even-keel as I was.
I could really relate to so many of the posts here, especially "blessedx5" (or was it 4?) Been there done that, over and over again.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!
This is my first post on here, and i just have to say what a relief it is knowing were not alone.
I have suffered from anxiety attacts and had all the symptoms with the fear of having a heart attack and all. I am fortunate (knowck on wood ) to not have as many episodes in the last year or so.
I really believe that PANIC DISORDER is nothing physical.
I have taken no drugs and had no councelling at all to help me with this problem. What is it you ask that helped me?
My mind!!! Its Mind over matter baby! I believe that if you think long and hard enough that something bad will happen to you, it eventually will. So ya need to relax. Think positive!
Now if something happens to me like some discomfort in my chest i just shrug it off and keep my mind on something else positive that i have intrest in. You may want to take up a hobby or something. The point im trying to make here is You have to keep yourself busy! Make no time for panick on your schedule. Just be mentally pre-occupied with something else.
It worked for me, and believe me i was a classic case of panic.
One day i just decided i had enough of losing this battle and got mad every time panic happened. I DID NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU! you can do it people! you can beat it!
you know you can, and so do I.
Get mad!!! get smart!! and get back to a better life!!
I will see you all at the winners circle. :)
peace!
So,positive thinking is a good theory,but for most people with anxiety and panic(and even depression),we need a little help getting to that stage where we can think positive.I'm glad this worked for you and it's great you're doing good.
Take Care.
since last august i get this weird thing happening but only about once a month...
im asleep and im dreaming that my heart just suddenly starts pumping fast...
and it wakes me up....
when im awake i realize that its really beating fast....
then i totally freak out cause i suffer from anxiety too...
the first time it happened i was convinced that it was a heart attack....
i do get palpitations...
but not as often anymore since i quit coffee and milk and try to get 8 hours of sleep....
the weird think it i never have the fast heartbeat when im awake...
anyone else have this symptom?
My second questions is this. When I first went to the hospital after dizziness and numbness in my left arm the doctors ran multiple tests on my heart. After being unable to lower my heart rate (it was at about 100 bpm) and an "abnormal" EKG they brought in a cardiologist. If my EKG came back "somewhat abnormal" (as it was explained to me), doesn't that indicate that something else was wrong? However, as soon as the cardiologist saw me he immediately told me that I have inappropriate sinus tachycardia and sent my for my first Tilt test. I have not heard any mention of anyone having an abnormal EKG. Since I share in most of your fears of having a heart attach I constantly worry about that abnormal EKG over 3 years ago. I have had over 10 EKGs since then and they have been fine.
My second questions is this. When I first went to the hospital after dizziness and numbness in my left arm the doctors ran multiple tests on my heart. After being unable to lower my heart rate (it was at about 100 bpm) and an "abnormal" EKG they brought in a cardiologist. If my EKG came back "somewhat abnormal" (as it was explained to me), doesn't that indicate that something else was wrong? However, as soon as the cardiologist saw me he immediately told me that I have inappropriate sinus tachycardia and sent my for my first Tilt test. I have not heard any mention of anyone having an abnormal EKG. Since I share in most of your fears of having a heart attach I constantly worry about that abnormal EKG over 3 years ago. I have had over 10 EKGs since then and they have been fine.