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palpitations when laying down
Could you please tell me the heart has to adjust in any way when you go from standing to laying down? I have noticed that when I am busy doing things and then go to lay down my heart seems to have to adjust itself and I feel it sort of skip or beat harder every three or four beats. This happens until I stand up again. Why would my heart be doing this? I do have palpitations throughout the day that I notice (maybe 3 or 4), but I really don't like these ones when I lay down. Thank you for your time.
I too notice my heart skipping more when I lay down. Usually when I first lie down or when I first wake up. It tends to happen more when I lie on my back. And if I take a deep breath sometimes the early beats will come in pairs or in triplets. I hate it. It seems that if I turn over or stand up, they go away.
I've been told not to worry but it really is annoying and uncomfortable.
I've been told not to worry but it really is annoying and uncomfortable.
It's like a vicious cycle. Panic attacks bringing on skipped beats. Skipped beats bringing on panic attacks. Who wouldn't be exhausted and depressed by all of this? Meds don't work for everyone but some seem to work miracles for some people. That's great. Staying physically fit is the most important thing I think because not only does it keep your heart (and all the missed beats that go along with it!)healthy, but when you are physically fit you tend to feel better emotionally. It's scary to work out and worry at the same time about going into cardiac arrest. But if your doctor does the proper testing and you learn that you have a healthy heart and get the green light to do it: EXCERCISE!!!!!!! It may take a while to get fit but the way you react to arrythmias will be changed. They will no longer have the control.
Hi Everyone. - I too have PVC's (and I'm male, 32 yrs old). Mine started at about 24 yrs of age as single, massive "thuds" that ocurred more frequently on some days than others. I have the exact same symptoms a lot of you have (laying on side, at night, 2 to 3 in a row, etc) except I'm on no medication. In general, they seem to be getting worse over time, they freak me out more now becaues I never know exactly how they'll feel, and some really feel weird (I miss those single thuds!). Occasionally, they feel like what an irregular heart beat would feel like and I get very briefly dizzy (2 or three in a row).
The only thing I can add is that over the past year and a half, I can count on getting the awful sitting up to sleep episodes whenever I get a virus or infection that includes a fever. Doctors have mentioned that adrenaline (Sp?) may be the culprit. This makes some sense to me for the big episodes, but not the day in and day out PVC's.
I've had a 24hr holter (twice), EKG, Treadmill, and Echo. Nothing outstanding on any of these tests (PVC's, brief Tach) So, my medicine has been to live every day to the fullest (easier said than done), enjoy my kids/family, and be thankful for what I have. Hell, I almost got hit by a truck taking out the garbage the other day (seriously), so anything can happen...
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. Reading these boards has helped me very much. I guess for a lot of us, we're just going to have to live with these things.
The only thing I can add is that over the past year and a half, I can count on getting the awful sitting up to sleep episodes whenever I get a virus or infection that includes a fever. Doctors have mentioned that adrenaline (Sp?) may be the culprit. This makes some sense to me for the big episodes, but not the day in and day out PVC's.
I've had a 24hr holter (twice), EKG, Treadmill, and Echo. Nothing outstanding on any of these tests (PVC's, brief Tach) So, my medicine has been to live every day to the fullest (easier said than done), enjoy my kids/family, and be thankful for what I have. Hell, I almost got hit by a truck taking out the garbage the other day (seriously), so anything can happen...
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. Reading these boards has helped me very much. I guess for a lot of us, we're just going to have to live with these things.
Tom,
Please don't accept having to live with your PVCs. Everyone is a little different so we each have to learn what triggers them.
Read earlier posts (mine and others) on what helped and try some of the solutions that worked for others. For example, have you had a thyroid (TSP) test? It just requires a little blood and if your thyroid is not functioning correctly, that could be an answer.
I too had the extended PVCs and it felt like my heart was wheezing - strange, but that is how I can best describe it. Getting the thyroid in check took care of that problem for the most part.
I think your doc was right about the adrenaline thing. I have PVCs when I am under a lot of stress and in particular have an emrgency type experience. This seems to go away when I get myself calmed down.
Hope this helps.
Please don't accept having to live with your PVCs. Everyone is a little different so we each have to learn what triggers them.
Read earlier posts (mine and others) on what helped and try some of the solutions that worked for others. For example, have you had a thyroid (TSP) test? It just requires a little blood and if your thyroid is not functioning correctly, that could be an answer.
I too had the extended PVCs and it felt like my heart was wheezing - strange, but that is how I can best describe it. Getting the thyroid in check took care of that problem for the most part.
I think your doc was right about the adrenaline thing. I have PVCs when I am under a lot of stress and in particular have an emrgency type experience. This seems to go away when I get myself calmed down.
Hope this helps.
Its amazing that so many heart patients have the same symptoms, yet there has been no believable medical explanations from the Cleveland Clinic!
I see my symptoms in many of the posts here and would like to contribute my experience and solutions to the PVC problem.
I had a CABG May 1999 (8 grafts). For several months after surgery I had bigiminey (weak heatbeat every other beat) which in effect shut me down. I don't have this problem anymore. I still have some PVCs, but they have been greatly reduced. I still have an irregurlar heartbeat when I lay down to go to sleep. This stops if I lay on my right side.
What I have found that works:
1. My thyroid was overactive. TSP <0.03. I take Tapazole to control this. Now I am slightly underactive (TSP ~ 7) and the bigiminey stopped and the PCVs were reduced substantially.
2. I avoid ALL alcohol and caffiene. Whenever I get thirsty for a beer and give in, I have some additional PCVs.
3. I take a small dose of beta blocker which slows my pulse to around 60. This seems to help reduce the PCVs.
I do aerobic exercise 3 X a week for an hour. I don't think this helps to reduce PCVs, but it helps to make you feel better.
The docs all tell you not to worry, the PCVs are not a big problem. But we who have them know --- they are a problem.
I hope these observations help.
I see my symptoms in many of the posts here and would like to contribute my experience and solutions to the PVC problem.
I had a CABG May 1999 (8 grafts). For several months after surgery I had bigiminey (weak heatbeat every other beat) which in effect shut me down. I don't have this problem anymore. I still have some PVCs, but they have been greatly reduced. I still have an irregurlar heartbeat when I lay down to go to sleep. This stops if I lay on my right side.
What I have found that works:
1. My thyroid was overactive. TSP <0.03. I take Tapazole to control this. Now I am slightly underactive (TSP ~ 7) and the bigiminey stopped and the PCVs were reduced substantially.
2. I avoid ALL alcohol and caffiene. Whenever I get thirsty for a beer and give in, I have some additional PCVs.
3. I take a small dose of beta blocker which slows my pulse to around 60. This seems to help reduce the PCVs.
I do aerobic exercise 3 X a week for an hour. I don't think this helps to reduce PCVs, but it helps to make you feel better.
The docs all tell you not to worry, the PCVs are not a big problem. But we who have them know --- they are a problem.
I hope these observations help.
I too suffer from PVCs. I've had all the std tests, EKG, holter monitor, heart scan and the cardiologists say there's nothing wrong. Yet, as Susan and others have mentioned, these still happen, especially at night. I too have found that lying on one side or another can make them worse. Lying on my back, or sitting up does seem to help. I've spent more than 1 night propped in a chair trying to sleep. I'm on 150mg Atenolol a day, but it doesn't really seem to help much. I don't get any elevated heart rate, just the PVCs. In the research I've done so far, it seems like a large majority of folks suffering from whatever this is are female. I wonder why that is? Could hormones play a factor? I've also noticed that bending over can cause them to start in. odd. I'd love to find a good explanation as to what causes these things.
This has been one of my complaints for such a long time.
Sometimes I go all day with no pvc/pac's and then as soon as I lie down at night time or sometimes even just leaning comfortably to one side they start.
Sometimes when I lie on my side they actually won't stop until I roll over or sit up.
It's scary to be able to "control" them this way.
There have been several questions to this forum regarding this weird thing but no-one has ever given a reasonable, scientific answer!! Does anyone else have the same thing. Some nights it gets so bad I actually have to sleep propped up and then wake up with a sore stiff neck!! I really need some answers here - I live in Australia so can never post a question direct to the doctors on this site - the post is always full before I can get to it.
Susan
Sometimes I go all day with no pvc/pac's and then as soon as I lie down at night time or sometimes even just leaning comfortably to one side they start.
Sometimes when I lie on my side they actually won't stop until I roll over or sit up.
It's scary to be able to "control" them this way.
There have been several questions to this forum regarding this weird thing but no-one has ever given a reasonable, scientific answer!! Does anyone else have the same thing. Some nights it gets so bad I actually have to sleep propped up and then wake up with a sore stiff neck!! I really need some answers here - I live in Australia so can never post a question direct to the doctors on this site - the post is always full before I can get to it.
Susan
The heart rate is often slower when lying down. This may make your palpitations more noticeable. There is no particular remedy for this, other than the standard sort of treatment for palpitations, such as beta-blocker medications
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Well this is all interesting... I started having palps when I was about 38. It started with thumping when I laid down to sleep. Freaked me out since my dad died a day after his 40th birthday of a massive heart attack. Anyway...I didn't say anything for a while...just lived with the fear, knew it wasn't normal.
I went to drs for years, they said "we don't know why these start, most of them are benign, we can give you a beta blocker, you should see a cardio," I saw my OB, my family doc, the endos, the cardios...the echo was fine, the holter monitor a pain. One skinny little doc said, "you just need to loose weight" (oh yeah exercise while your having palpitations every other beat, they obviously had not tried that) The palps were much worse during sex as well,.. so that which I had always enjoyed became a source of great fear.
I mentioned many times to my drs I thought there was a hormonal connection, they all "nahhhhed" me.
Finally after echos showed nothing, after the holter showed "nothing to worry about", after I had tried all manner of vitamin, herb, minerals. I tried Progesterone cream. I'd had constant palps for years and within ONE WEEK, they were almost gone! with time they trailed off to almost never.
I wanted to shove this in the face of my all knowing docs who had been so indifferent to my suffering, whose only answers were spend lots of money and give me chemicals... who didn't give me credit for seeing there WAS a connection to my hormones. Progesterone cream, I could have spent the previous 8 years with almost complete normalcy. When will they listen?
I went to drs for years, they said "we don't know why these start, most of them are benign, we can give you a beta blocker, you should see a cardio," I saw my OB, my family doc, the endos, the cardios...the echo was fine, the holter monitor a pain. One skinny little doc said, "you just need to loose weight" (oh yeah exercise while your having palpitations every other beat, they obviously had not tried that) The palps were much worse during sex as well,.. so that which I had always enjoyed became a source of great fear.
I mentioned many times to my drs I thought there was a hormonal connection, they all "nahhhhed" me.
Finally after echos showed nothing, after the holter showed "nothing to worry about", after I had tried all manner of vitamin, herb, minerals. I tried Progesterone cream. I'd had constant palps for years and within ONE WEEK, they were almost gone! with time they trailed off to almost never.
I wanted to shove this in the face of my all knowing docs who had been so indifferent to my suffering, whose only answers were spend lots of money and give me chemicals... who didn't give me credit for seeing there WAS a connection to my hormones. Progesterone cream, I could have spent the previous 8 years with almost complete normalcy. When will they listen?
I have used the adenocarb more times than I like to admit. I walk into the emergency room and ask for it by name! I tell the admitting nurse exactly what I need & how much. I have corrected them on where the iv needs to be etc. They now think it's pretty funny. The first time I was given the drug was in either 88 or 89. I have even gotten it to stop an attack when I was pregnant. It gives me a slight dizzyness and the pressure in my chest changes which is always weird. It has never failed me. I love it.
I am so glad to have found you guys and don't have to feel like I am crazy.. I have wierd palpitations when I lie on my left side as well as times when I am not even stressed out. I get almost a "Jelly" feeling in my chest and sometimes get so tired that I have to lie down. My doctor just called saying my echocardiacgram came back normal. I was actually wondering if they got the wrong chart by accident!! The doctor said that females because of their hormones get this alot. I diagnosed myself years ago with chronic fatigue. Maybe this is why the palpitations? I don't know what to think. My email is ***@****
I am so glad to have found you guys and don't have to feel like I am crazy.. I have wierd palpitations when I lie on my left side as well as times when I am not even stressed out. I get almost a "Jelly" feeling in my chest and sometimes get so tired that I have to lie down. My doctor just called saying my echocardiacgram came back normal. I was actually wondering if they got the wrong chart by accident!! The doctor said that females because of their hormones get this alot. I diagnosed myself years ago with chronic fatigue. Maybe this is why the palpitations? I don't know what to think. My email is ***@****
I am so glad to have found you guys and don't have to feel like I am crazy.. I have wierd palpitations when I lie on my left side as well as times when I am not even stressed out. I get almost a "Jelly" feeling in my chest and sometimes get so tired that I have to lie down. My doctor just called saying my echocardiacgram came back normal. I was actually wondering if they got the wrong chart by accident!! The doctor said that females because of their hormones get this alot. I diagnosed myself years ago with chronic fatigue. Maybe this is why the palpitations? I don't know what to think.
WOW! We must all be related...but somehow not to any Doctors or Doctor's wives with our symptoms or someone would figure this out! I also have irregularities especially when lying on left side, about every 5-10 beats irregular then one very strong beat. I have a heart murmur which is probably my culprit. All test neg. 3 yrs ago but symptoms more severe now so just hanging on like you all and know we'll probably still make it to 95 regardless of caffeine/chocolate withdrawals and sleeping on 3 pillows or propped in chair. Don't give up!
A brisk 5 to 10 minute walk shuts off my PVCs almost every time. If I lie down and they start, I get dressed and go for a walk (even if I am very tired). After meals, I take a walk and pre-empt the PVCs. If stress brings them on, a walk shuts them down for me. My overall number of PVCs has also dropped a lot by eating smaller, balanced meals, taking a multi-vitamin and mineral every day, a little extra vitamin E, and avoiding carbohydrates and sugary foods in the evening.
Starting about 5 years ago, I began feeling "weird" feelings in my chest and neck from time to time. It is very difficult to put the feeling into words but after reading your comments, I am sure you all know the feeling. I felt like my heart was missing a beat and I would have to take a deep breath. It would only last a second or two but in that short time, I would feel weak and dizzy. This started happening more and more frequently and then it would stop for a while but the feeling always returned and lingered a while. I have been to numerous doctors and have numerous tests. They all tell me I am perfectly fine and healthy. For a while I began having additional "anxiety" symptoms which I believe were caused mainly by worrying over my other symptoms. I learned to control the "anxiety" but the "missing heart beats" are still occuring more frequently than ever. I feel this "sensation" at least 25 times per day lately. They only last a second or two at a time. Right now I have no health insurance so I do not want to put more money into more doctors who will only tell me I am fine, anyway. I have gotten more information from this board than any "medical" specialty website and I thank you all for it! It is nice to know I am not alone in this. I like many of you have suspected all along that the problem stems from something hormonal but have yet to find a good medical explanation. I, like many of you, would love to hear from anyone with more concrete information. I would really like to get rid of this problem for good. With the exception of this annoying and scary problem I am a generally healthy mother of two young children. Anyone with additional information, please email me at: ***@**** Thanks!
I am sort of new to all of this but my problems seem similar. I recently developed what the doctor called an extra beat. I thought it was a skipped beat but not so. I have been under great stress for several years, also had several panic attacks and developed reflux disease. I have taken medication on and off for reflux. It's been 3 weeks since these extra beats started and they show no sign of going away. I will have them when I lay down at night but once I fall asleep I sleep very well all night. If fact this is the only time that I don't have the weird beats. Once I awake in morning they start about an hour later, once I get active. I have cut out caffeine, haven't smoked in 10 years and up until 3 weeks ago I worked out at the Ymca 3 or 4 X's a week. I went to ER with my heart beating so fast that they took me in right away and did some tests then sent me home. Went for a stress test the next day which was normal. The cardiologist smiled and and said nothing to worry about, everything was normal. Said it was probably caused by stress and would not prescribe anything except regular exercise for my condition. This is miserable. I also feel fatigued most of the time. Have resumed some exercise cautiously. I have wondered whether reflux and PVC's can be related. I always feel a little worse when I eat. Anyone else in my position?
yes, in your position....and eveyone elses position here i guess. we suffer from vagally mediated pvc's and psvt. there
is basically nothing they can do for us except for an ablation and/or beta
blockers for the psvt.
as far as pvc's....lotsa luck
.......just a little insider knowledge from someone "in the know"
is basically nothing they can do for us except for an ablation and/or beta
blockers for the psvt.
as far as pvc's....lotsa luck
.......just a little insider knowledge from someone "in the know"
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