Gurgling sensation

I found this forum thread by googling "gurgling heart," and my symptoms (if that's what they are) are strangely similar in some ways to the details in the original post.  I have the same gurgling sensation in the upper left section of my chest (my upper left), consistently.  It's not the same sensation as a hunger or digestion rumble.  It's kind of bizarre feeling.  Mine happen at night, but also sometimes during the day.  I also have the same heart rate issues.  I'll wake up with a loud/hard heartbeat, get up and go to the restroom, go back to bed and have a barely-there heartbeat (which is strange having just walked back from the bathroom).  In addition, I feel like I'm forcing myself to breathe during these episodes, almost as if there's nothing in my chest if that makes sense. I start freaking out because I can't feel or hear my heart beat, and the gurgling sensation freaks me out even more.  And so then, I think to myself... I'm scared right now, so my heart should be beating harder right now... but it doesn't.  It just pitters very softly along with the gurgling.  I don't really have any other symptoms.  I don't know if this is something I should have examined, or just let it go.  I haven't been to a doctor in several years, so it's probably a good idea to go anyway.  I just find it interesting that someone else has something very similar going on.  But I'd really like to find some answers about the gurgling issue.

By the way, I'm 30 years old, fairly slender, non-smoker, non-drinker, average/poor American diet, and hardly ever exercise.  I know, I should exercise and eat better.  I plan on starting to exercise this spring!


This discussion is related to Gurgling Sensation / Slowed Rhythm.

[pookie970]

i have that same gurgling feeling i hate it went to er was told i have anxiety , i think it has something to do with reflux or gas..if you worried  go to a dr.its probally nothing . good luck let me know how it goes

[SassyLassie]

It is probably nothing, maybe gas or, if you have a hiatal hernia, that might be the culprit. I get that feeling sometimes myself, it is the pits. I also get a sinking feeling sometimes right before I notice the "flutter". Sometimes, I can press an area in my tummy, right above the naval, close to the sternum, and when I do, I get a "watery" feeling in my throat, then, it might even bring on a PAC. I tell you, having things like this are no fun.

[jess345]

i have been having this exact feeling minus the light heartbeat. i get the gurgling in my chest upper leftside and i swear its with my heartbeat. i have had all sorts of tests, including halter moniter, ultrasound and ekg but it never happens during those. i wonder if mine is anxiety but it happens when im not anxious...so... anyhow i share your anxiety over this. i have occasional panic attacks and pretty severe anxiety. im 30 non smoker should excersize more also. im just glad to read that someone else feels this strange sensation because it really scares me. i have a moniter that i place on there now when i get the sensation and it records it and sends it to the cardiologist so if i get info i will make another post! good luck!jessica

[JerseyGirlNB]

Hi - I have the same gurgling feeling. Did you ever find out what it is?? Thanks

[Noonahs]

Hi.  Thank goodness I've found someone else with the weird hardness between navel and sternum.  When I push mine it sort of squishes and goes away - I wondered if my bowel is a bit lazy at that point..? (I had an op when I was smaller, so perhaps the muscles got damaged or I've got an adhesion).  I also get the gurling sensation.  Never been to a doc, but do get anxiety so maybe it is related.  Did you ever find out what the lumpiness below sternum is?

[hope_16]

I have the Samee thing , mine keeps gurgling over and over and a tangle feeling with IT ! And a really quite heartbeat ... Its almost like i didnt have a beat so thenn i freakout even more so thenn my heart rate goes up even more and I startle myself oh and im 16 BTW , and when I get up in the muddle of the night to use the bathroom and my heart will be pounding like crazy so hard IT feels like its goona burst , does anyone else feel this way?

[dawnd1988]

Im 24 and about four and a half years ago i developed panic disorder having full blown panic attacks every single day from a traumatic things happening to me.  Anyway, around that time i had also started taking Zyprexa for bipolar disorder which helped in many ways but i started having bad side effects.  I had severe muscle spasms and my heart would gurgle every so often.  It would normally happen when laying on my side and my fiance could feel it if he touched my chest.  Itd only last a few seconds then sometimes happen again right after.  Also had the palpitations and fluttering like my heart was skipping and sometimes slowed almost to a stop.  When having a panic attack it would race for the most part.  I went to the ER and i told them about a gurgling/swishing feeling and they looked at me like i was nuts, ran tests, and everything came back normal.  All i know is i had started taking lower mgs of my zyrexa over time till i was hardly on any and i havent had it happen since.  It could be possible muscle spasms of the heart, our heart is a muscle.  I thought heart valve because that medication causes high cholesterol but it didnt show up on tests plus it wasnt consistent.  Any thoughts let me know thanks    ***@****

[dawnd1988]

How would you have acid reflux or gas in your heart?? My heart gurgles as it beats, has nothing to do with gas.  And heart valve issues or heart problems can cause panic attacks, panic attacks are unlikely in my eyes to cause heart gurgling do to the fact that ive had full blown panic attacks for 5 years and everytime it happened i wasnt anxious, i was sitting/laying in a wierd position.  On top of that, it got better over time but i still have panic attacks.  Panic attacks are proven not to hurt you in any physical way, unlike a heart attack.  Panic attacks will make you pass out before doing any damage if intense so how would they cause heart problems/gurgling?  I dont believe all what doctors say, sometimes they have no common sense.  When i had tests done, it wasnt happening at the time.

[Papa_R]

I experienced a gurgling sensation one evening after eating dinner. I didn't think much about it as I thought it was indigestion. I went to bed and got up the next morning and went to work. After I arrived at work I still noticed the sensation. I decided to make an appointment to see the Dr. over my lunch break. I walked in the Dr. office and described my symptoms. They immediately hooked me up to an EKG to monitor my heart. To make a long story short, they discovered I had an irrgular heartbeat and later found I had a 95% blocked artery in my heart which required an angioplasty and a stent placement. That was 15 years ago. My advice is always if you think something is out of the ordinary, better safe than sorry, go get checked out. Good Luck.

[starphlo]

I've been having this same gurgle...also have panic attacks. For those of you who say that this happens when you aren't anxious, I can tell you that just because you don't think you are anxious, it doesn't mean your body is't reacting to anxiety. My last panic attack caught me completely off guard. I didn't think I was anxious at all...I've been to the doctors, who also never take me seriously, it seems. They say it is due to anxiety. Also, I would caution anyone to be very careful with the new drugs, ie psychotropics...maybe good for short periods but they are not permanent answers and can be very dangerous. Explore other answers to your panic attacks and anxiety, like meditation, changes in environment, etc.