arrhythmia and heart pain

[swegirl]

Last night I woke up with my heart racing and at the same time I felt pain at the back of my heart and it was a spasming feeling around. Is this dangerous? I have also noticed that my heart beats  very fast when I exercise - around 170-180. Is this normal? Some times my heart race during  stretching at the end of exercise and I feel like I would nearly faint. I exercise a lot and I

[yellowrose]

goodmorning all, just need to hear its ok, ive been having flutters and beats for 5 weeks now on the hour, been to dr did ekg was good had a heart monitor wore for 30 days about 6 months ago when it was doing same thing said pvc/pac, had heart ecco they said nothing wrong looked good, but why is it happening now foe weeks and all day have had them since i was 23 now 46 but never like this they now come and stay for weeks and not just one here and there they are all day. do they  get worse as you get older, trying not to freak out but after weeks of it its driving me nuts. thank you for your comments. barbara

[joe h]

can you tell me what bio feedback is please.

[codeblue1018]

Hello all.  Nice to see others have the same annoying problem that I have.  I am 33 years old and have irregular heartbeats (PVC) for approximately 3.5 yrs.  Mine occur frequent and as everyone knows, it is irritating.  Since that time, I have had every test under the sun with the exception of invasive and nuclear tests.  All the tests came back negative for heart blockages etc. The cardiologist says my heart is fine - no problems.  For some reason, I cannot except that.  Since September of 2005, i have had "soreness" near my heart area.  Not chest pain relating to that of a heart attack but like a faint pain directly on my heart.  Happens whether im relaxing or exercising.   Cardiologist cannot explain this besides saying my heart is ok. I'm confused and frustrated.  My father passed from heart disease at 67.  Our lifestyles were different.  I exercise, he didn't.  My wife thinks it's anxiety but I don't feel anxious.  My cardiologist gave me medications to try in attempts to slow down the palpitations - digitek .25 mg once a day and altenol 25mg - once a day.  I stopped taking the digitek because my pcp scared me saying she didnt understand why the cardiologist gave me such a "strong" drug for only palpitations, although it seemed to help.  Altenol made me tired.  Dont know what to do.. Any suggestions??   thanks you for any input.

[joe h]

i have had an mi when i was 38 yrs old. and a mid heart attack when i was 56. i am now 60.i was left with a left ventricular anyuerism. over a 5 year period i had several fast rythams, and went into vt while i was in hospital.i was stented(2) and an icd was fitted. in the 3or so years since i have felt great. going to the gym etc. the last week or so the fast rythams and fluttering have returned, and on 18 april after 6 hrs rapid beats my icd had to shock me. why would the vt return after 3 years. i take warferin metropolol, and amiodorone.

[CollegeGirl143]

ya.. i just had an RF ablation for AVNRT... during the course of the EP test they only found that one pathway and it was a successful ablation, but since then ive had a few battles with sinus tach, everyones best bet is just the stress of it all. i hate taking medicine, which is why i opted for the ablation in the first place, i appreciate your reassurances though. Its always nice when someone takes time out of their day to make you feel better :)

[tickertock]

I'm not a doctor, but as I understand it beta blockers like toprol and atenolol for example are safe drugs . I take up to 100mg of atenolol daily without any problems whatsoever! Sometimes even after a successful RF ablation , beta blockers are given to quiet the heart during the healing process in some .

[upbeat63]

I have been prescribed toperol XL (extended release) at 25mg for high frequency PVCs. My blood pressure and heart rate are just fine, for the most part, some ups and downs, so I was worried the toperol would make BP and HR go way down. But not so for me, or maybe just a little, or maybe it stabilizes and stops the ups and downs.

The thing toperol does make me, is really tired. So I tried taking it in the evening 7 or 8pm and I think it helped me sleep a little better.

Some people on this board have said they've had really strange dreams from toperol, and I think that is one of the side-effects, but I've not experienced that.

I still get a higher sense of day time fatigue on toperol even when I take it at night, so I'm going to try a different beta-blocker-extended release inderal--I think it's called propanolol. But the doctor said that make me feel even more tired! Yikes. So I haven't tried it yet. Actually went off toperol to "see" what would happen to the PVCs. But whether I've been on it or off of it, the PVCs are unchanged. I think I feel the PVCs less on toperol, but I also feel more tired. I don't know which is better anymore. Hope it works for you.

[dmil241]

Flet,

Yes, I have had episodes of rapid heartbeats known as tachycardia. Mine have lasted anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. These days they are rare for me and last only about 20 minutes. For me it seems as though they started out and then I paniced and helped them to last a long time. I learned biofeedback to help with these and it seems to have helped considerably.

I am not a doctor and my cardiologist never caught one on monitor. They just didn't happen when I was wearing one and I was never smart enough to go the the ER to get it checked out. I just sat at home and worried myself to death.

My cardiologist felt they were SVT-supraventicular tachycardia-meaning that they originated above the venticuls in the atria. They would always start suddenly and stop suddenly. Having said all that-you should DEFINATELY call and tell your doctor about the episode. This is the kind of thing that needs to be checked out but is probably nothing much!

[Momto3]

Hi and welcome aboard : )

A PAC is a premature atrial contraction.  It is similar to a PVC except that it originates in the atria rather than the ventricle.  The atria are the upper chambers of the heart and the ventricles are the lower chambers of the heart.  You may be feeling either, or both.  They are both extra beats, it's just that they originate from a different place.

When you had the fast heart rate, was it regular? I am not a doctor, just a fellow cardio patient.  It may be worth getting a monitor to try and pinpoint the rhythm.  

Have a great day!

connie

[CollegeGirl143]

Hi everyone... my cardiologist is wanting to put me 25mg of toprol one a day.. i was just wondering if anyone else is on this drug and if so.. whats it like? anything i should be cautious about?

[Flet]

Hi.  I'm new to this site and had a question about PAC.  Guess I don't know the lingo yet but I'd love someone to explain what a PAC is.  I was diagnosed about three years ago with PVC's.  I have also had boughts of very rapid HB usually only lasting for a few minutes -- until Saturday night.  I had been under a lot of stress last week, smoked several cigarettes in a row with several glasses of wine, ate dinner and after dinner the "episode" began and lasted for one and a half hours.  I was on my way to Emergency when they stopped abruptly and totally went away.  I have PVCs quite often, sometimes a few in a minute, and I take 25 mg. Atelenol for them.  So if someone could define PACs for me and also let me know if anyone else has had a rapid HB for that long.  It was so upsetting I couldn't sleep that night and still worry that it could return -- although I have QUIT smoking and drinking wine.  Any info on this subject would be appreciated.  Oh, and I'm 60 and have been in menopause for ten years, still experiencing hot flashes.

Thanks, all.

Flet

[PikaPika88]

I wonder anyone here exercise with the rate response pacemaker?

While I'm doing the exercise, seems the heart rates have increased.  Pacemaker kick in (big strong thump continuously), I feel pain, messy beats every where and very exhausted.  Looks like my chest was having a "WAR" Or someone was playing drum in it!  Would it be the pacer fault? Can it be fixed?

Thanks.

Pika.

[tictock]

I've been getting pain with my bigeminy rhythm for almost 3 months now, it's now decided to calm down just when i'm due to have ablation done 18th April.I'm still going to have it done as they may be able to provoke it. All i know is i just don't want to go through this again the pain was so bad that i couldn't even walk fron the front room to the kitchen without the bigeminy starting then the pain then the breathless.it has stopped me from working, it's never been this bad it's never stopped me from walking. I am now walking ok as the pvc's are 10 to 15 min but it's taken 3 months even though i increased bb 3 times it made little difference.has anyone else had this rhythm with pain?

[swegirl]

Thanks for your reply. I have had a lot of  tachycardia before but this is the first time when I feelt pain at the same time. I have had a 48 hours holter and it showed some tachycardia but nothing else and my heartrace went up to 170 when running with my dog when wearing the holter. Some time ago I  had problem with spasmangina but not now. I take cardizem to prevent this.

[yellowrose]

thank you i went through menopause when i was 24 had all took out so been through that, yes i take a beta blocker been on it for 15 years,and it helps up until this last two times they have really been driving me crazy. i hope it does pass soon, not used to having them everyday all day long, starting today am going to take more of my beta blocker see if they will calm down i take timolol 5mg am-pm so dr said i could take 10 both times going start with taking half pill, see if that helps. thanks so much ,for talking to me it seems to help have a great day

[yellowrose]

forgot to say they are not singles now they are a few at a time

[Erik36]

I am not a doctor but it is possible you are either pre-menopausal or going through menopause right now. The hormones associated with such can wreak havoc with these beats. Hormone replacement can help as can drugs such as a beta blocker. This is just my opinion based on my own research. THE CCF Doc and your own doc should be who you take the advice from. I can tell you that this flare-up should pass. I wish you the best of luck!

Erik

[Erik36]

As far as I know an Angiogram only checks for blockages in the Coronary arteries. I am no doctor, but you may need other tests such as an echo to assess full cardiac function, which you may have already had. Just wait and see what the CCF Cardio says.

Good luck!

Erik

[catattack15]

I have had it a few times b4 where at the time of the "skipped beat" a pain like a hollow or feeling like when u mash a bruise pain.

[Cleveland Clinic]

swegirl,

Thanks for the post.

I cant really diagnose you over the internet with the snippet of information. If you really have normal coronary arteries and are in good health, it would be difficult to attribute your episode last night to a cardiac origin. You dont mention what your cardiac function is, but it is often checked with a cath or an echo There are a lot of causes of chest symptoms, any time you are concerned about chest pain you should consult with your physician.

The levels of heart rate you mention are at the upper end, but arent out of the normal spectrum with vigorous exercise. I dont usually use heart rate to monitor exercise, but generally use stress level and fatigue to better guide programs.

good luck