Re: Palpitations - no straight answer

Posted By Julia on August 02, 1999 at 13:44:06
I am a 24 year old female and have been wondering about my palpitations since I was about 18.  
I used to have palpitations sporadically.  These were very exaggerated - like someone was knocking on my chest!  I have been to the doctor on this twice.  The first time I wore a 24 hour monitor and got an ekg - they said nothing was wrong with me.  Huh?  The most recent time (about six months ago) I wore the monitor and I got an echocardiogram.  The echo showed nothing but a murmur (they were looking for mitral-valve prolapse) but the monitor FINALLY showed them what my heart was doing.  All they said was they notice rare irregular beats, and that if they become more frequent I should return.  They also said they could medicate me if I can't stand the feeling.
What I don't understand is, if my heart feels like it is trying to get out of my chest, why don't they see anything prominent in their tests??  Yes, the palpitations are annoying - but I've been living with them for six years, so why would I medicate myself?  The only thing that scares me is that one of these days they are going to start hurting, or that perhaps these murmurs are causing slow damage to my heart.
Also, after all this time I have noticed a correlation between drinking alcohol and my palpitations.  If I go out and drink on Friday and Saturday, I have a HORRIBLE palpitation spell on Sunday night.  So (duh) I've laid off the drinking.
Comments?  Suggestions?  Ideas??
Thank you so much for reading my lengthy posting.  Take care!

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on August 02, 1999 at 16:38:15
Dear Julia
Alcohol and caffeine can definitely trigger palpitations, so avoid them. The palpitations will not hurt, nor will they damage your heart. Likewise, a murmur will not damage your heart, unless you have significant heart valve disease (which the echo would show).
I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.

[anonymous-user__0]

Posted By May I sgare something?-Nancy on August 02, 1999 at 21:59:57
Doctors,
Sorry to butt in, and if this info is NOT correct, please let me know, but this is what my cardiologist told me about PVC's and PAC's.  Julia, I am not a doctor, but  started having the heart flip flops this year.  I guess I would expect it more in an older broad like me (49)than a young person like you, but it's still scary as I still have young children.  Anyway, my dad was ill, as was my older son, I was in a 3-year training program at work and failing tremendously at it partly due to family and my own ilnesses), so there was stress, but these were different than any palpitations I had ever had.  After my father passed away 1 and 1/2 months ago, they stopped for the most part.  However, I had worn a Holter monitor and had about 2400 PAC's and 234 PVC's with no indication of a blockage.  My cardiologist said they were benign and explained the process like this.
He said the Holter monitor was made to keep track of the progress of myocardial infarction patients when they went home.  However, they wanted a normal "control" group so they used interns and residents.  They were amazed at the results which showed lots of PAC's and PVC's in these "healthy" specimens.  As most of us sufferers had heard, these folks usually did not feel the palpitations, however.  My doc said anything below 8,000 in the 24 hour period is OK.  
I question if some of us are just more "sensitive" than others to things happening in our bodies.  My son is 14 and was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome this year.  He has had severe pain but the pediatric gastro doc has no empathy as he states many of his little patients have much more serious conditions such a tumors and simply do not have the pain my son has.  So, he believes my son needs a shrink.  However, I believe that we all have different thresholds and varied responses to bodily sensations so that some of us are much more troubled by these feelings than others.   It's not that there is something wrong with us, but just different, and it may explain why we feel so weird but are actually OK.  You're not alone, Julia, so hang in there.

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on August 03, 1999 at 08:30:56
Dear Nancy
I agree with the gist of what your doctor and you have said. In people with no underlying heart disease, PACs and PVCs are not dangerous, and are in fact quite common. Why some people are so much more bothered by them is not entirely clear. Part of the reason is, as you suggest, different levels of sensitivity. Psychological factors, though, clearly do affect how people perceive their PACs and PVCs.
I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.











Follow Ups:


Palpitations - no straight answer kd 8/03/1999
(7)

Re: Palpitations - no straight answer CCF CARDIO MD - DLB 8/03/1999
(6)

Palpitations - no straight answer kd 8/03/1999
(5)

Re: Palpitations - no straight answer CCF CARDIO MD - DLB 8/04/1999
(4)

Palpitations - no straight answer Julia 8/04/1999
(3)

Re: Palpitations - no straight answer CCF CARDIO MD - DLB 8/04/1999
(0)


Re: Palpitations - no straight answer kd 8/04/1999
(1)

Palpitations - no straight answer CCF CARDIO MD - DLB 8/04/1999
(0)