Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Heartbeat, "lump" below sternum?

I was wondering if this is normal: below my sternum, between my rib cages, I can easily feel/see/hear my heartbeat. The area it's beating feels a bit like a fleshy lump. I'm a pretty thin person (BMI ~17.5), so I've been told this is normal, but I was wondering if anyone else can feel/see their heart below their sternum, and if this was normal?
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
886257 tn?1241369845
It's so strange you mention this thing.  I have thought about it a lot before I read your post.  I only became aware of my "thing" once my arrythmia started at night.  I was thinking to myself if they were correlated somehow.  Do you have an arrythmia or an irregular heart beat also??

Does anyone else have this fleshy lump on the left ribcage below the sternum?  Anyone else know what this thing is??
Helpful - 0
3 Comments
I do have a lump in my sturnum, left side, it hurts when I push on it. I have a wicked pounding heartbeat, often uneven.  I feel my heart beat in my whole body all the time.
I have this as well!! I recently started feeling my heart beating under my sternum and it’s kind of uncomfortable and a hospital is pretty far from me so i just get worried, do you guys have any updates?
Dunno, if it’s like, a “fleshy lump” that pulsates I would probably get that checked out at an office instead of just posting about it on the internet.

That could be just your PMI due to a very vertical heart orientation one may expect in skinny people.

Or it could be like.. an aortic aneurysms or some sort of tumor or herniation of some kind.

There’s a pretty dang large spectrum of possibilities ranging from “that’s normal” to “you’re gonna die in 5 minutes” to consider here when discussing “fleshy pulsating substernal lumps that hurt when I push on it”
Avatar universal
If I lay on my stomach the area juts out and doesn't "beat", so I think it's my xiphoid process (where the cartilage of the ribs joins together)...I guess that would explain why it beats?

I'm 5'10, male
Helpful - 0
886257 tn?1241369845
I have that too!  It's like my heart is pressed tightly against my skin with no rib cage protecting it.  I feel it a lot when I sleep on my left side, which is almost impossible due to the irregular beats.  Just curious, how tall are you??  I'm a 6'4 male.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community

Top Arrhythmias Answerers
1807132 tn?1318743597
Chicago, IL
1423357 tn?1511085442
Central, MA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Are there grounds to recommend coffee consumption? Recent studies perk interest.
Salt in food can hurt your heart.
Get answers to your top questions about this common — but scary — symptom
How to know when chest pain may be a sign of something else
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.