Racing heartrate at times

[mightymuppet]

Hello,i'm a 34 year old man from England,i don't smoke,don't drink,and i'm not overweight(i only drink de-caf as well).For about 7 months i've had various racing heartrates on and off and i have felt fairly nauseas from time to time(i've never actually vomited).I got myself an exercise HR watch monitor and i noticed my HR was at times during the day 105-115 at rest(it always went back to normal 60-70bpm late at night).I went to my doctor about this who told me to go to my local A&E to get an ECG done.The results were otherwise normal ECG and called sinus tachycardia(they had no idea what was causing it).I had that happening on and off for about the next 2 months.Over this time,occasionaly,i got what seemed to be pause(for about a sec)and then a big thud which left me sometimes brielfly lightheaded(for about a sec or 2, almost like a hot flush,(pac's pvc's?),but about 3 months after all this started, everytime i got a pvc? my heart started to accellerate on it's own from 70bpm to about 140-150bpm(no pain..lasted about 15 secs everytime)then went back to normal.Sometimes i would get a follow up attack or 2(sometimes more)which were always more minor than the 1st one(120,100,80)smaller ones basically,then that would usually be it for the day(i usually got about 1 a day).I saw a cardioligist who put me on bisoprolol 5mg and that totaly stopped the heart racing episodes(over the last 2 months).I've had a 24hr monitor done(nothing happened whilst on it),6 ecg's done,various blood tests etc(thyroid)and all were fine.Any ideas what this can be? because i'm totaly baffled.Thanks!

[Ianna]

Hi,
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Look at the bottom of the page under the thread SKIPPED HEARTBEATS, and look for the comment by Mikeb-nov 23 about Gastro-problems and skipped beats.
Lengthy but very clear answer!
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This might help you.
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Be well! - *Ianna* -

[donwil99]

With regard to some of the symptoms described by various folks, I have many of the same. One symptom I also have is a very distinct nervous type twinge or spasm (best way I can describe it is that is feels somewhat like when you hit your "funny bone")in my abdominal area that frequently kicks me into a racing rate. I have been to 240 at times.
Just given a diagnosis of Atrial Tach. Prescribed Cardizem. They don't want to try beta blockers yet due to childhood asthma history.
Anybody else have any symptoms like the one described above?
I have also had these symptoms all my life (I am 50), but as a younger person I ignored them. The severity is getting worse and the frequency greater.
The cardiologist says the nervous twinge "might" be associated with the AT, says everybody has different reactions to the AT, etc.
It sure feels like there is some kind of gastrointestinal activity going on contributing to the problem.
Any ideas?

[writersblock]

I am 45/female. I've been having a problem with palpitations but not sure if they are worrisome or not. They puzzle my doctor. I take premarin daily. I have high blood pressure (174/102, 174/98 avg) which has not been brought under control by taking atenolol and lisinopril each day. I have worn a holter but it didn't capture anything. They are going to try an event monitor for 4 weeks beginning june 6th.

My family history is worrisome as well. My mother, in her sixties, had a stroke in March. Both grandmothers died of stroke. Grandfathers died of heart attacks before the age 55. My father had a bypass 8 years ago at the age of 61. My sister is healthy and active but has high cholesterol at the age of 41. My aunt died of a heart attack last year and all of my fathers sisters and brothers have had heart attacks or died of them before the age of 55. My cousin, on my father's side died suddenly of a heart attack at 44. Very worrisome.

I was hospitalized in August 2002 due to palpitations along with a feeling of pressure along my jaw and neck area and just generally feeling lousy. I did not have a heart attack. They gave me a nitro patch right away and some medicine and kept me there 3 days. I had a stress test after 3 days and it was alright. That's all I was told so I'm not sure of any details. I didn't trust the stress test because I was taking my medications for high blood pressure and had a nitro patch.

When I go to the doctor, even though he is a wonderful person and concerned about the blood pressure, he feels I'm in no danger of heart disease or heart attack or stroke. I'm more afraid because of this I think.

I was started on atenolol and lisinopril before having an echocardiogram. Could it look normal due to the medication? I guess I'm worried about a hidden problem of some kind. I still have some arrythmias but very infrequently. And I'm not sure they are arrythmias.

Guess I just need confirmation I'm not wasting the time of my doctors...I feel like I'm making a big deal out of nothing but every person in my family who never smoked and did exercise regularly, like my mother, has had a heart attack or stroke...
The palpitations feel like a "rolling over feeling" in my chest and then I get a little disoriented or sort of dizzy (hard to describe) and I sometimes feel a little nauseated. Not really sick but uncomfortable. Then it passes. I may have 5 in a day but then not again for a month. Weird. Is it my imagination?

Thanks, and my sincere apologies for such a long post...

[alwenpol]

Just a Query; my 7 year old has had two boughts of 220bpm plus over a period of 4 years, but looking back I think it has happened more often. We were in the hospital this weekend with it, it happened 2 times this time. He had not been over doing it but he did just have gastro or something. (the last time 4 years ago he hadn't been sick) He is not too disturbed by it, and he tell's me now when it's happening. He had an ECG that was fine, no history in the family, and like others that have commented, he was then monitored with not much action. (although his normal heart rate appears to be from 80 - 130bpm. I guess we would like to know more, but because it is not so frequent (that we are aware of) the doctors aren't concerned. We will keep a record of when it happens again, but is there any instruments that can aid us with this, ie at night we don't know what's happening, and do you have more info?
ta, wendy

[lindyface]

I was diagnosed with SVT approximately 14 years ago; I am now 44.  I remember having episodes as far back as early childhood, but back then, they were few and far between, and I wasn't old enough to know to be worried about them.  Over time, they came with greater frequency, until by the time I got to be thirty, I was having SVT events 4-6 times per day, lasting several minutes each, generally involving an instant acceleration of heartrate to over 200 bpm.  By that time, using the Holter was a piece of cake, because we got lots of data in no time, and my doctor was able to see exactly what my heart was doing.  In my case, though my events could come at any time, for no reason, they were more likely to come while exercising.  I think the idea of logging your experiences is very worthwhile, not only for passing along to your doctor, but for figuring out how best to get good Holter data if you're going through the aggravation of wearing one.  My SVT has been largely controlled by 240 mg/day of Verapamil.  I have had way more than my share of pac's and pvc's, plus the periodic round of bradychardia, and the occasional mild break-through bout of SVT (but nothing like before the verapamil).  Like some others whose posts I have read on this site, I can feel any abnormal activity of my heart quite readily, and have been known to describe it as feeling like some wounded thing lurching about in my chest (pac's, pvc's).  During any kind of tachycardia, I feel hollowness in my chest, along with the speedy heartrate.  I decided to post this message because I was reading so much fear in other posts related to abnormal heart activity (not the ones in this thread, particularly, but in other, older posts related to arrythmias).  I wondered if my doctor wasn't just blowing me off when he said not to worry about all the weird things I could feel my heart doing, but I see the doctor on this site makes very similar comments about these conditions being benign.  All I can tell you is that after this many years of living with all of the above, I don't seem any worse for wear, though I would be if I had chosen to be fearful about it.  So I'll encourage anyone who is reading this to carefully document your experience, keep your doctor well-informed, take good care of your body, and spend your energy enjoying your life instead of worrying about whether it will be shortened unexpectedly.

[alexa's mom]

As I was researching the benefits of folic acid and pregnancy I came upon this website that many of you will find interesting. Latest research shows that folic acid does not only help prevent neural tube defects in babies but also plays an important role in cardiovascular health, mental health and cancer. The article specifically mentioned atrial fibrilation. I am currently taking 1mg of folic acid a day for pre-conception purposes but am hoping that it helps with my pvc's.

Check it out - http://www.pinc.com/healthnews/folate.html
The heart stuff is more in the middle of the page I think. As soon as I read this I thought of everyone on here and just had to share.

Michelle

[blondieblue]

I too, have these same systoms. over the passed few months and the 24-hour monitors has not shown a thing.  I haven't been pushing by doctor yet since the systoms are not occuring everyday but have started to keep a journal about my condition and hopefully, it will eventually say something to my doctor.

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Mightymuppet,

Thanks for the question.

I'll assume that you have an otherwise normal heart -- no history of heart failure, coronary artery disease, or congenital heart disease.

The most likely cause is an SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), which are usually benign and without sequelae.  Beta-blocking medicines are appropriate and control symptoms in many patients.  If they control symptoms and no recurrences of the episodes are noticed, then nothing further is usually done.  In the United States, many patients with your symptoms would get an ECG, but this decision is more because of the ready availability of the test than its need.  If your symptoms recur, a diagnosis should be more aggressively sought; a holter or event recorder should do the trick.

Good Luck.