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heart palpitations/ Like a Flutter

Hello,

I'm 29 years old and just wanted a little more advice. To start, I believe as a child i was born with a hole in my heart but it closed by itself. As a teenager, i was very active in sports especially basketball. I remember a couple of times feeling a flutter, almost like a skipped heart beat but it was very random and I didn't think much about it. The older i got, the less amount of basketball I played, going to school and working and then married. At the same time, this heart palpitation issue became more frequent and I started to become nervous and was afraid of playing basketball, so i basically stopped.

I'm now really out of shape. 6'1 and 250 pounds whereas when i played as a teenager, I was about 185. I wanted to start playing again so I decided to consult my doctor who scheduled a stress test for me, this was in December of 08. I took the test and my doctor called me a couple of days later and said that i was fine, basically just saying that my heart is out of shape and to take it slow at first. My main question is can they tell from a stress test that its okay? and can they tell if during the test, i actually don't have a palpitation? I asked the doctors and they said it didn't matter if I had one during, that they would be able to tell in terms of how my heart responds during the test wheather i had something to worry about, Are they correct? I had seen online that you need to experience one during the test for them to know for sure

Sorry for the novel, just wanted another opinion. Reading up on these forums, i don't have it nearly as bad as others. I may get several in a week or go 2 to 3 weeks without feeling it. Should i get more test done or is this sufficient?

Thanks
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967168 tn?1477584489
Sorry to hear you're going through this, it seems the past month that's all Ive heard - I went to my doctor not feeling well he told me nothing is wrong - happened to me too.

5 years ago I went to my PCP with various symptoms the dr did an ekg and tests and said you're fine - get up off the couch, lose weight, exercise and all your problems will go away

The next year I changed pcp's when I was still feeling the same and passing out more, increased dizziness, out of breath.  They did more testing and said nothing was wrong again, but the doctor was nice, informative & explained things like the other dr didn't, so I stayed with their practice.  I found out I had an infection and was put on Levaquin and felt so much better for awhile after.   We lost our health ins a few months later so I didn't go back.
About 6 months later, I started gaining weight and the PCP's office opened a "spa" weightloss clinic so I joined since he had been my pcp for 2 years.  He did tests, ekg's etc and had my files transferred from inside his clinic to the spa.  

The point of my rambling: I trusted this doctor, he knew my history and had all my test results in his file and completely denied telling me I may have a heart problem.  

I just found out in July that I have been having "serious"frequent pvc's, vt, svt & have mild tricuspid insufficiency, trace MVP, my left ventricle has been slowly thickening due to the pvc's weakening my heart.  My heart is beating 54,000 extra times a day and every 3rd beat feels like my heart stops for a sec.  

Luckily we got health insurance back this year and I broke 2 toes went in to see a new pcp and he picked up on my heart problem just by listening to my heart.  I don't even want to think what would have happened to me if he had not picked up on it - the drs say my heart would have failed/heart attack in a short period of time because of the stress on it, but thankfully I have a structurally normal heart.

You should definintely keep checking, doctors don't know our bodies like we do - if it doesn't feel right it probably isn't and I ignored so many symptoms because I was told by 2 doctors nothing was wrong.  

Get your test results and check them over, if you dont know what something is, ask or check here - web md etc - ASK questions I wish I had 5 years ago or even 3 years ago.   I'm scheduled for surgery in Aug; I went for a 2nd opinion & my EP will be out of the country now for 2 weeks :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think you should get more testing done. My husband is 48 and was feeling the same thing you feel. His, like yours, come and go and he is also out of shape. He just wore a Halter Monitor for 24 hours and we will see what that has to say. Of course, he did not feel the flutter when he wore it. I would also keep a journal as to what you were doing when you feel the flutter, date, time, how long it lasted etc. We were able to link most of my husbands flutters to stress. This was connection made by him and his doctor together but Dr still ordered the 24 hour holter. His doctor is wonderful. You need to be satisfied. Go for a second opinion or back to him with the data you gathered in your journal. To answer your question, yes, I believe that if you had a palpitation during your stress test they would have seen it. While you are working hard, every beat of your heart is being recorded and watched by a doctor. If you had any signs of trouble during the test, they would know. If you had something wrong with your hearts electrical system, they would know. I know that for a fact because that is how they found our 12 year old sons heart condition called CPVT. Keep us posted      
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I would definitely get more testing done.  A stress test  cannot tell the whole story, and with your symptoms, I feel it warrants further looking into.  Did you ask what exactly did he mean by your heart being "out of shape?"  Just look at Tim Russert as a good example, he had a good stress test the day he died of a heart attack!  Be pro-active and look further into this until YOU are satisfied.
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