How to eliminate or reduce Heart Palpitation

[Dick501]

I'm so happy to find this site. Last night, I called 911 because of palpitation and it's been an ongoing problem for me for about 8 yrs. I tend to get nervous when it hits while being alone specially when  my wife is out working nightshift. It usually occur at night when I get up suddenly to go to the bathroom to urinate or just waking up in the middle of the night. My feet and hands gets cold and I always quick to grab the telephone and get ready to call for help. I probably called 911 six times here our little community in Alaska. The symptom goes away in 5 to 15 minutes. Like for so many people, I've gone through all the test (EKG, echocardiogram, blood, X-Ray, Stress test) and all was NORMAL. I am an athletic type person and own a BOWFLEX machine and have a manual treadmill. Always workout regularly but recently I stop jogging outdoor and reduce my cardiovascular exercise into one half my usual routine  hoping to minimize the occurence of PVC. I am not sure if this is the right decision.

[Patbellsmith]

I was diagnosed with a bad case of afib.  I realized that the afib (irregular heart beats) kicks in after eating and when I lay down to sleep.  After investigating, I realized that this is due to a problem with my vagus nerve & not a heart problem as my doctors were saying....so I turned down all medication.  I instead kept searching for an answer.  I started taking ReMag magnesium (1/4 tsp. In water sipped throughout the day).  This got it under control but I still had some flare ups.  I found that taking 1/4 tsp of ground ginger from the spice aisle in a small glass of water stops it in 10 or 15 minutes.  I almost have no problem now.  A blood test revealed that my vitamin D was very low & since I think this could be a problem I now take 5,000 of vitamin D with K per day.  I also read on this site that probiotics & digestive enzymes helped someone.  When I remember I try to take Bio-K (a probiotic you can get at Whole Foods) and I take enzymes if I think of it.  I went from very bad problem & being in the hospital to basically no problem at all.  Hope this helps.

[Kimberlybrown]

I suffer from anxiety disorder and heart palpitations even when not having an attack.  
The best way to explain the issues I have is that I get overstimulated too quickly and Bam an attack etc.  
solution for me is.  
Wake up all of your senses.

Smell:  several strong but refreshing things like coffee, natural oils like lavender etc.

Taste: eat something tart like a fruit

Touch: rub feet in the floor, splash cold water on your face

Hearing and mind:
I hold my nose and pop my ears
talk to yourself or pet etc
  Do math in your head or name states or read something.

Sight: look at yourself in the mirror n smile. Watch a relaxing video etc.  pet talk and look at a pet is amazing too.

Yoga or stretches can be if great help too.  Get back in control.

My attacks only last 2-3 min now instead of an hour of that fear if (I’m dying)

Good luck

[bigE1969]

Anyone ever feel like everything was going dark? Like you were gonna go down? I have had that twice and it was terrifying!

[viperron]

Stop drinking coffee and start taking Natural Calm magnesium 2 to 3 times a day. This is from a 68 year old that doctored for 40 years before discovering the answer. For those who say mg doesn't help they either never tried it or they are doing it wrong

[BlendedPlanet]

Over the past six months I have been able to try a lot of things. Coffee does not seem to be a trigger, but if palps are present caffeine amplifies them. But in mid january and again now I have tested going several days of near-fasting followed by one day of fasting to sort of "flush out" my system. In january I did thins after 2-3 months of the supplement regimen listed above. I had ten days in a row of normal rhythm.

To be scientific, I let my diet slide again (knowing it might retrigger me) and indeed it did. Now I have done the same thing diet wise and sure enough, the palps have gone quiet.

This time I have NOT been using these supplements for three months. It has taken 6 months of close observation and experimentation, but at this point I am convinced there is either a food allergy or else simply overloading my digestion causes my body to experience electrical disturbances.

I'd say anyone with PVCs should take a real hard look at giving their gut a solid rest and see if symptoms reduce or even disappear, because from all my observations, it appears this may be more in our control than we think, but there's a fair amount of discomfort you have to be willing to tolerate to get your system cleared out.

I'm pretty slim to begin with, so someone who's overweight may have to mod their diet for months and possibly even explore a prolonged fast.

There's an old saying that "we are digging our graves with our teeth" and another that "death begins in the colon". Might be some real wisdom there.

[BlendedPlanet]

I have observed the same thing. Sometimes caffeine seems to be negative, sometimes positive. I'd like to report some good news that you and others may find useful. The regimen (noted above) of Taurine, L-Arginine, Niacin, Magnesium, & fish oil I have kept up for over a month. I also added daily CoQ10. I have tested various violations of common sense in regard to diet ; ) just to see what my tolerances are. In all cases I have seen that moderation in all things seems to be the best rule.

I DID go see a doctor and she was great. The EKG indicated a PAC/PVC cocktail. She noted sinus inflammation and wheeziness that indicated allergies (no surprise there) and possible undiagnosed asthma. As a test I started taking singulair and flonase. If you follow the chain from allergies to sleep apnea to palpitations, there is some apparent cause and effect that's worth exploring.

In all cases, changes have resulted in temporary reduction of PAC/PVCs and certainly occasion reduction in my perception of them. However, NOTHING I have done has gotten rid of the skips and periods of fairly active (and annoying) symptoms still come and go.

That is to say, NOTHING I have done (until now) has resulted in a complete cessation of PAC/PVC activity - until now. Yesterday I started supplementing with Eniva VIBE (google it). I weigh ~215lbs so I took 1.5 oz spread throughout the day. This morning when I woke, I had NO skips for the first time in over 2 months.

VIBE is a highly scientifically formulated nutriceutical product (ie liquid vitamin) and I have been a dealer / occasional user for a couple years. I want to be clear that this is NOT a plug for VIBE. I can't say for certain that VIBE made the difference, only that this is unprecedented and VIBE was the only change.

To be fair, maybe the Singulair is kicking in or I have finally been taking fish oil long enough for it to have an effect. It's impossible to be sure without continueed testing for the next couple months.

What IS certain is that the body IS capable of reversing a serious electrical cardiac malfunction IF the right curative combination is discovered, if only temporarily.

If anyone wants to explore this, google Eniva Vibe. It's a worthwhile $40 experiment. I will say again - at NO time in the past 2 months have I experienced even an hour with no palpitations at all (based on frequent pulse testing) and at this point I have been symptom free for several hours.

I will go forward alternating between the previous supplement regime and VIBE for the next few days and report if my cessation of symptoms continues.

[RNRita]

I have been having more good days than bad and I have posted before that when I drink MORE coffee, I get less PVCs.  Also, I must say that when I went completely off sugar and cut carbs, I not only lost weight, but I also had a lot less palls!

[BlendedPlanet]

sorry about that boogered link (is posting links a violation here?). it was at medhelp dot org. Search arrythmia...

[BlendedPlanet]

RNRita, So true. After a couple weeks of testing various combinations and stresses, I've come to the conclusion that the supplement regimen I outlined above is useful but *not* decisive in whether or not I perceive PVCs (if that is in fact what they are). My two key triggers seem to be eating a good sized meal of not-so-great food (such as a church pot luck) and caffeine.

I have been finding that under-eating (and favoring veggies) and laying off coffee makes me not really notice them at all. I don't think coffee triggers them as much as makes them noticable.

Hzasrf, I'm in very good shape for 45 and either pump iron or bike every day. I have found that a *really* intense workout seems to be a trigger as well. (Google PACE training regimen for an example of a workout style that seems - for me - to be more detrimental than helpful).

The next thing I plan to explore is going to a no-gluten, no-sugar, mostly raw diet and seem if it has an effect. I feel so much better eating that way anyhow, so it's a win afaiac. Right now I seem to average 15-30 clean beats then a skip and sometimes (especially after eating) the skips might stack up (every beat, every second or third) for awhile.

btw, I found this forum /  dialogue to be very informative and encouraging to get some perspective on the non-consequential nature of these types of arrythmias.

http://www.*****************/cardiology/forums/backup/topic-24286.html

[RNRita]

Jumping on the bus.  1 calcium in the AM and 1 magnesium at dinner.  If I try to take fish oil, my PVCs will get worse.  Do you see how different our bodies are?  I have also had these (and I'm talking TONS and all the different arrhythmias, for over 30 years, too.  Also glucosamine chondroitin makes mine worse, go figure.  I could really use it!  

[hzasrf]

You are certainly right that everyone has elements in common yet have differences.  Need for magnesium is probably common for all while calcium is not (some use calcium channel blockers such as Verapamil in lieu of beta blockers to reduce the freq or intensity of palps). Recently BlendedPlanet posted an amino acid and fish oil regime which is providing some relief for me from my PACs as well. With the growing numbers of arrythmia sufferers (note how many are younger than 40) medical interest and research (heck if someone were to just tabulate all the symptoms posted on the myriad of help groups over the years with medication and treatment results and analyze) may accelerate so answers with more pragmatic therapies (in lieu of RFCA) can be dispensed.

[hzasrf]

The niacin is to lower triglicerydes which help with BP and prevent plaque build up. Back to the Tur and Arg.  I started the regime you suggested and within 2 days my sense of the PACs was significantly reduced with the occurance maybe 2/3 of pre supplement.  You are onto something.  May I suggest daily exercise (something that gets your HR up to at least 100 bpm for at leat 1/2 hr).  Also, see if pinching your nose and pursing the lips (vagal man) helps.  It resets my rythm every time for about 15 beats b4 the PACs return. Just an interesting result. Also, pressure point in the cleft where the neck joins the chest below the Adams sometime relieves. I didnt catch if you get your palps more laying down and on a particular side.  Standing for me is palp free and sitting about 50% free. Lying worse on left side. I think it hs somehting to do with HR, vagal, and possibly irritation of a focci when pressure is put on the heart.  I just read where expansion of the esophagus can put pressure on the atria to excite foci.

[BlendedPlanet]

Mag 400 mg morning and night
Niacin 500 mg morning and night

After my reams of research I don't remember what the purpose of the niacin was.

I should mention that last night I didn't sleep as well and palps were more noticable, but I have been testing my limitations to see how things change and yesterday I did have two drinks and 2 cups of coffee throughout the day. It seems 1 of each per day is fine, but 2 is too much.

[hzasrf]

what mag and niacin dosages are you using?

[BlendedPlanet]

I had an afib episode about a year ago. I had an echochardiogram, tons of EKGs and a nuclear stress test, all of which indicated no underlying heart issues. I'm 45, a regular runner, weightlifter and biker, healthy as a horse.

Recently I got an allergy that  gave me a tenacious cough for several weeks. At one point the virus triggered about 3 days of afib, no big deal. Immediately following was allergy season and I was more sensitive than usual following the virus. I used an inhaler a few times to clear some haziness (albuterol). During the same 6 week period I had a very stressful work situation. Plenty of coffee.

Coffee + stress + albuterol + virus = ALL well documented arrythmia triggers. Over a weeks time I developed an increasingly distracting arrythmia I assumed was another afib, but it seemed different. I measured my heartbeat patterns carefully (the old fashioned way) using a sensitive microphone and examining the wave file on a computer. The pattern did not match afib. After considerable research I determined my arrythmia pattern and symptoms matched what others describe as PVCs.

I did not seek medical assistance. My afib hospital experience is documented here:
http://www.blendedplanet.com/?Planet_Blog:My_Atrial_Fibrillation_Adventure
You will understand why I approach conventional medicine (both from the standpoint of efficacy and expense) with a jaundiced eye.

I was led to George Eby's paper on this (search "PVC Taurine Eby" on google) and decided to give his recommended protocol a try. Over about a week of gradually increasing doses I wound up here :

    * Morning - 1 magnesium, 1 fish oil, 1 niacin, 2 Taurine, 2 L-Arginine
    * Mid-Morning - 1 Taurine + 1 fish oil
    * Lunch - 1 fish oil, 2 Taurine, 2 L-Arginine
    * Mid-Afternoon - 1 Taurine + 1 fish oil
    * Dinner - 1 fish oil, 2 Taurine, 2 L-Arginine
    * Bed - 1 magnesium, 1 fish oil, 1 niacin, 2 Taurine, 2 L-Arginine

The Taurine is 1000mg per, the L-Arginine is 500mg per (gelatin capsules as recommended.)

Result - no constipation issues and all is very calm. The skips still exist, but they are less frequent and probably more important, most PVC sufferers would be satisfied if the phenomenon were so 'light' that they couldn't feel it. The sensation and accompanying distraction and stress seems to be what bothers most people if they can intellectually accept that PVCs pose no real danger.

In may case that's a satisfactory result as well, and it's been achieved with the regimen above, with slow improvement over a week as I gradually increased the daily intake of Taurine and L-Arginine. Basically, I can no longer feel any flops in my chest, but if I take my pulse, skips are still there several times per minute. Half an hour after dosage there are only a few per minute. Three hours after there might be many more, even though I have to be very still to feel them.

Over the past 24 hours I have noticed that the supplementation effects seems to last longer and longer. For example I experienced >100 non-skipped beats first thing in the morning, 8 hours after my last dose. I attribute this to increasing blood or tissue levels of Taurine, EPA and DHA.

[riverwide]

How often do you get them and what is the frequency?  In other words, do you get them twice a day, like every 10 beats?

[Skycam]

To set all of your minds at ease, I have been having arrythmias like  Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia and PVC's for over 40 years. My grandmother used to have what she called her spells. and had them as well and lived to almost 90. Her heart was  very strong.
I have kept the racing  and extra beats at bay all this time  by using a whole food form of calcium and magnesium... Finding the correct amounts that your body needs is key. Our  recommended daily allowances on bottles are just to prevent disease and many of us with such fun genetics like mitral valve prolapse and disautonomia need far more to keep our hearts in rhythm.
Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and in balance with calcium will help the heart contract and pump as it should. Often those of us with arrythmias are lacking in that nutrient and even if test results seem normal they may not be NORMAL for our bodies.
I use so much more than most people and as soon as I feel that uncomfortable extra beat which can come strong every few beats or so... I take a calcium and magnesium whole food form tablet of the minerals  and boy it is such a miracle because sweet relief is close at hand.
I wish you well in your journey to find your own healing... Your solutions is nearby and tomorrow you can find the perfect combination of minerals/ vitamins and possibly supplements like flax seed and fish oil or adaptogens  like Ashwaghanda or calming herbs like kava kava ( roots only never leaves)  that will help you feel that you have your life back.
Calcium Magnesium has saved me and I wish you all great success in your search.

[matt_s]

Take comfort if they caught them on the monitor and told you they are ok.  I have been there to.  A few years ago when these palps got nasty I was checked out OK.  But I really could not come to terms with it.  I applied for some new life insurance as I felt the end was near!!  The life insurance company reviewed my medical record and approved my insurance at normal rates with no questions asked!!  Anyway, read this forum, there is a lot of people in your exact situation.  

[aliciabug26]

hi, im 26 yrs old and i have been having heart palpatations on and off for over 2 yrs until tuesday of last week they havent gone away. ive had them non-stop. i went to the er on friday and had an ECG and was on a heart monitor and they both caught them and they told me that it was in the diastolic(bottom part of my heart) that it was an extra beat before my regualr beat. they told me as well as my regular doctor they told me to relax and not worry. how can i not worry when your heart isnt suppose to do it. i just dont know what to do. i have them almost every minute sometimes several in a minute. how can that be normal. can anyone help me come to terms with these pvc's.

[EmpressofQ]

It sounded strange to me when they were having me do it in the ambulance 3 times.  But this or coughing sometimes works.  Mine did once but then it just went right back to 215bpm.  They gave me meds to do this also and it stopped heart and they restarted it but it still didn't work.  I do know it works a lot though.  It is a well know procedure in the medical world.

[bgrimes86]

Taurine and arginine, usually taken together. They can completely eliminate PVC's, most PAC's, and sinus pauses. This method is practically unheard of, but there are scientific studies indicating that it works. Taurine stabilizes the heart's cells by controlling the flow of electrolytes into the cells, destroying free radicals, and dampening the sympathetic nervous system. It's an amino acid found in all human beings, and is especially prevalent in the heart. I'm very tired so I can't type anymore, but if anyone has any questions or needs more info, just post it and I'll get back to you.

P.S. In several studies, they injected animals with arrhythmia-provoking drugs, thereby producing all sorts of weird rhythms. Afterwards, they injected the animals with taurine, which switched the heart back into a normal sinus rhythm. I hope to try this soon with my Adderall prescription, just to see if it really works.

[isukathis]

Hi,

Do you drink anything with caffeine? I have found that I was usually getting my SVT episodes on the weekends which is the time I was drinking 3 cups of coffee a day.

I have since given up caffeine and not had an episode since. I do however get 2-4 false starts each month where it feels like a palp is going to start but doesn't.

I'm also very active and would never consider giving up my jogging, 8km/4 times a week... My cardiologist has assured me I am doing my heart more good by keeping it healthy and strong.

Hope this helps...

[Jerzeegal]

I've tried that method...I'm glad it worked for you... it sometimes works for me if I am in tachycardia but seldom works for my pvc's pac's if I am at a "normal" rate.

[upbeat633]

hee, hee, I wasn't laughing at your recommendation, just at the thought of so many of us trying it.

Sadly, it didn't work for me, I'm still in trigeminy at the moment, but maybe it will help someone else.