Vibrating in my chest?

Does anyone know what this is or has experienced it. I have a vibrating, tremor-like feeling in my chest that can last for minutes but usually for hours. Sometimes at the same time I have the sensation that my heart is beating fast but when I check my pulse, it is normal. I sometimes feel palpatations at the same time but the vibration seems to be independent of heart rhythm.  Initially it would occur about 30 minutes after laying down to go to sleep. Now it also occurs during the night, when I wake up, and now it has began to happen in the evening sitting on the couch. It is troublesome because it keeps me from getting good sleep and therefore I am exhausted and have trouble taking care of my kids during the day. I am 39 years old and in good health. I have had an echocardiogram that did not show anything but I was not having an episode at that time. I have also been on a halter monitor and nothing has shown up on it either. If anyone knows about this please let me know. Thanks.

[CollegeGirl143]

Sounds like a muscle twitch :)

[arthur]

Please see the postings on the regular heart forum, 1/31 (bangi).  Those vibrations are real.  Many people experience them.  They are not due to a heart having "skips", but definitely feel like they are.

There are only theories as to how they get produced and how it is you can feel them.  

In my case (as for many others), they show up when there is even a slight elevation of adrenaline (due to sudden movement, a quick run and then stopping, returning to bed after getting up at night, ...)

After talking with many EPs and reading through the literature, there would appear to be at least two possible causes: (1) they stem from a tiny portion of the heart muscle which is overactive, whose electrical activity is picked up indirectly by surounding nerve tissue, or (2) there's a nervous system tick (short-circuit) which gets picked up by nearby muscle tissue.

I like theory (1) because these vibes are not easily felt by hand at the surface of the chest, but are "sensed" near the heart.

-Arthur

[mariop]

Yes, I have had it for almost 6 months.  It's a buzzing, simmering type of sensation.  I went to neurologist and he said it is not a neuro problem.  He believes that the irregular beats aggravate the diaphragm and cause it to undulate.

In my case it got so bad I started feeling a quiver in my throat.

The cardio doctors denied this.  They said it's anxiety (Baloney)

Now that my heart rate has become normal the vibration has totally disappeared.

This is a scene that I've gone through several times in the past six months.

[arthur]

It looks like the forum (this one and the MD one) have some technical issues going on...so this message is a test.  -arthur

[jetzs]

Your comment is interesting.  I was paying close attention to the vibration to determine what was causing it.  It seemed like it might be some sort of artifact associated with a very hard heart beat but independent of the heart rhythm.  It is really difficult to tell.  Thanks so much for your input.

[jetzs]

Thanks so much for your comment.  I read the 1/31 forum on the Dr. forum (bangi) and it was really helpful.  Do you know if this vibration is a sign of a more serious condition?  Or is it just an annoyance?  Thanks so much for your input.

[arthur]

As far as I can tell, they are only an annoyance.
Even considering the worst case scenario, ie, they are located on part of the heart (usually in the atria), as long as they produce no heart arrhythmia, there's no reason for them to present any risk.  There's always the hope that like other muscular ticks, they simply die out with time.
-Arthur

[EdwinMc]

I have a tiny little vibration sensation in my upper left chest area from time to time.  But it is no problem.  Maybe I should see my doctor.

[PingPongGerald]

I just got that since 3days ago. Adrenaline may be key. First I thought coffee. The start was an exciting sport competition that I was in all day...Stress. Is the adrenal gland overproducing or these muscle neuron cells just got over-sensitised? It was alarming and hard to fall asleep with. Today no coffee, no competions but I still have it.  ???