Rapid heart beat at middle of the night

I really need help please, i am desperated.  I am 40years old.   Lately, I discovered a lot of rapid heart beat when I woke up at the middle of the night.  ( I have had history of  heart burn, acid reflux real bad.  I took Prevacid 40mg for that in years).  It happened about  once every 3, 4 months, i went to the doctor, he ordered a lot of test for me like : EKG, ultra sound my heart, x ray, ultra sound my belly, tress test, monitor of my heart wearing for 48 hours.....ect.....they find nothing......These are the symptoms: I woke up at middle of the night with rapid heart beat, palipatation, i can hear my heart beat in my ear , my hands and feet are cold......and nothing else.....so i walked up and down for 20 minutes, then it goes away, my family doctor said that i probably had tress  or anxiety attack.......NO, NO... i know i am not tress, i have a good life,  nothing to be concern.   For the last month to present time, i have been slept sit up 90degree all night, and one important thing i forget to mention that i can not turn to any side, when i turn on one side , i woke up with the symptom.  The symptom happen now like 2 times a week, I am scare, please tell me what kind of doctor or specialist i need to be seeing.  For the last 2 weeks, during the day time, i have had a lot of shortness of breath, only when i move, like working, cooking, if i seat down, it seem to go away.  my doctor sent me to test for ashma,with the machine to breath in, it takes like 45 minutes, but it came out ok, i don't know what to do, my familly doctor think i am crazy, my  familly think that i have anxiety too much , but I know there is something in my body is not right, i need your advise please , listen to me like you 're care.  Thank you very very much for reading this, and understanding my limited English.    Thank you.
ps.I went to ER 2 times in the pass, they ran the blook test to see if i have heart attack, it came out normal.

[CCFCardio MD1]

Its clear you have fairly profound symptoms, but they could be attributable to a variety of causes.  It sounds like you have had a reasonable work-up so far but perhaps a sleep study could further define your night-time symptoms.  I suggest you continue to discuss these issues with your physician.

[yarrow]

Stella, your symptoms are frightening, but rest assured, many of us on this forum have had your experience at least once.   You have had tests showing that your heart is normal, but your feelings are so scary that you cannot believe it's possible to be OK.

You mention that when you move around, work or cook or so on, your symptoms go away.  Does that not seem interesting to you?  That you can do all your normal stuff and your heart is fine?  It only acts funny when you are at rest.  You must understand that a sick heart will actually prevent you from doing your normal activities:  You would probably have terrible, crushing pain in your chest; you would be covered in a strange cold sweat; and you would be unable to walk around or even walk up a few stairs. That is not the case, is it?

You are probably having what are called benign PVCs or Premature Ventricular Contractions, which just means that your heart is giving you some extra, unexpected heartbeats that are a bit out of rhythm.  The next normal beat after one of these is usually somewhat stronger, and that's the scary 'boom' feeling you get in your chest.

Everyone--and I mean everyone--has these from time to time, but anxious people feel them more.  And being tense and frightened actually will tend to cause more of them.  

So your family is right.  You are healthy, but being so scared of these heartbeats which are not dangerous is making you even more frightened and ruining  the quality your life.

You will probably have more of these PVCs as you grow older (most of us do), and you must get a handle on your anxiety.  The best way to do this is to ask your family doctor for help.  Counseling can teach you ways to relax when you have this problem, and in addition there are medications called SSRIs that can reduce the fright.  Once you are calm enough to see that you can function perfectly well even while your heartbeat is going nuts, you will get your life back.  

[Flycaster305]

It will be interesting to read what the doctor responds to you.  I had the condition you described for many years, but it occured infrequently.  It's called tachycardia, and has a number of causes.  If it involves the ventricle, it could be a problem.  I eventually had a pacemaker inserted which solved the problem.  I would suggest that a specialist such as a cardiac electrophysicist be consulted.  If it is anxiety-related, I'd think a beta blocker would control the rapid beat. Best wishes, the doctor's reply will be interesting.

[lazz8478]

Sleep apnia (apnea). I had the same issues and found out i had sleep apnia (apnea). It was not suspected because i do not snore. doc ordered a sleep study. Got put on C-PAP machine and ive been good ever scince.