Will these heart palpitations that were triggered by cocaine use go away? Please help.

[xstalkrx]

First, let me give you a bit of background information. I am a 21 year old male and I have been using cocaine for about 1 year. I would consider my use as recreational. Over the past year there would be months where I would not even touch the drug. Then, months when I was using, I would do about 6 lines on just one day of the week and wouldnt touch it for at least another week. However, this month, I have used once a week for 4 weeks. This is where my problem has started....

Last wednesday after being out almost all night using cocaine and drinking alcohol, I came home and began coming off of the drug. The next day, at about 5 pm, my heart rate shot up without warning to 120 beats per minute. Needless to say, I was freaked out but decided to wait it out and eventually it went down to 80 beats per minute.

However, every once in a while, I will think about it and it can cause the heart to go back up to the 120 beats per minute. I decided to go to the emergency room where they gave me a EKG and did some blood and urine work. They said the EKG showed an abnormal rhythm with my heart. The blood and urine work actually showed up negative for cocaine and everything else just 4 days after having used.

I left the emergency room with a diagnosis from the ER doctor. He said I have heart palpitations. They also told me that the effects of the cocaine could still be effecting my system even though blood and urine showed up negative for cocaine. It has been about 6 days since I used cocaine. I feel like I have swallowed a bunch of diet pills. I feel drained.

I am hoping that my heart palpitations will eventually stop. If not, I will be getting referred to a specialist to have an echogram done on my heart.

Please, if anybody has any insight on this matter, please help. Will my heart palpiations stop? Will the effects eventually leave my system? Did I just get a bad batch of cocaine? I'm desperate for help.

[xstalkrx]

I will never dabble in cocaine again...that is for SURE.

I did have an echocardiogram and the cardiologist said there is no enlargement and he said my heart was structurally perfect.  He gave me 2 echocardiograms.  One before exercise and one after exercise.

[Nurseheart52]

It may be because you notice it more when you rest (the heartbeat)-but could be some anxiety. I have cardiomyopathy, and one thing I have learned which I notice no one has mentioned to you is that cocaine users can develop cardiomyopathy. That is much worse that having a rapid heartrate, and is a very serious disease. The heart chamber that squeezes the blood out to your body (left ventricle) becomes enlarged, is unable to squeeze a normal amount of blood out to your body with every heartbeat, and because of that the heartbeat becomes much faster to compensate. It is a very serious situation, can kill you in fact, and if not changes your life remarkably. Lots of shortness of breath, swelling, and fatigue. I had to quit work. Believe me, I know what this can do to you--I have it. I got it from a virus which attacked my heart and damaged the heart muscle. Google it-because it is difficult to explain here-but if you are having any heart problems now related to your past cocaine use, I would read up on this-because it will inspire you to not dabble with cocaine any further, I promise you that! Take care and good luck

[xstalkrx]

feeling my pulse when i lay down still causes me anxiety.  my heart also seems to beat just a hair faster when i lay down?  is this because of the anxiety?  gah!

[xstalkrx]

i feel normal during the day now.

if i can just solve this night time anxiety problem i will be great. feeling my pulse in my abomen while i am trying to sleep sends me to the brink of panic.  but i control it.  it is still bothersome.

if i could just NOT feel my pulse then everything would be fine.

[mml78]

My sister used cocaine recreationally for a few years (just on the weekends) and she developed atrial flutter.  I don't think there is any way to say for sure that the cocaine caused her to develop that arrhythmia, but she never had any heart problems before that.  She takes flecainide and atenolol to contol it.  It's not deadly, but not fun, either, and the meds come with some pretty bad side effects.  I think you'll be okay if you lay off the cocaine.  Seriously, you don't want to mess with your heart.  A lot of people aren't lucky enough to develop just a minor arrhythmia from cocaine; a lot of people actually die.  Good luck to you.  (Oh, yeah, my sister quit using once she developed the arrhythmia but she continues to suffer from it, five years after the fact.)  

[Pum]

That can be normal esp. if you are slim. I find when I am anxious it feels like it is beating in my stomach and have always been able to watch it while lying back in the bath.

Float.

Good luck