Aa
zoloft and racing heart
Hi. I am a 28 year old female, non smoker, do not drink. I was prescribed zoloft for anxiety and after taking it I began having episodes of my heart racing and pounding, these episodes would wakemeup throughout the night. I wore an holter moniter and I had an episode of a racing heart, but the cardiologist said that he saw nothing out of the ordinary. My question is, would a cardiologist be able to detect if my racing heart was svt? Also, after stopping the zoloft, I have not had an episode but I have had some palpitations after eating or while nervous. I have high anxiety from the fear of what my heart did while I was on zoloft. I have also had a stress echo done and a 2 d echo. The stress echo was normal, but I won't know the results of my 2 d echo until tomorrow. The 2 d echo was ordered after my doctor heard a murmur. He said that he wasn't at all.concerned about it and that it sounded like a physicological murmur. He is a cardiologist.
I stopped taking the zoloft about three weeks ago andi no longer wake up with my heart racing. I do have some palpitations still but I don't think they are related to me having taken zoloft.
"My question is, would a cardiologist be able to detect if my racing heart was svt?"
Sure. That is a cardiologist's specialty. They take extra training after med school to learn to read rhythm strips like what your Holter monitor showed
http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ecg-library/basics/vt_vs_svt/
and to perform other types of sophisticated exam processes as a matter of course. That's why we go to cardiologists rather than to GPs when we have heart problems.
Two things about Zoloft and other anti anxiety medications: It often, quite often, takes a trial of several of them to find the right one. Also--and this is important--you have to take the drug as directed for a minimum of two weeks straight (a month is more usual) to see its true effect.
I'd suggest contacting the doc who prescribed your Zoloft to talk with him about the trouble you're having.
Sure. That is a cardiologist's specialty. They take extra training after med school to learn to read rhythm strips like what your Holter monitor showed
http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ecg-library/basics/vt_vs_svt/
and to perform other types of sophisticated exam processes as a matter of course. That's why we go to cardiologists rather than to GPs when we have heart problems.
Two things about Zoloft and other anti anxiety medications: It often, quite often, takes a trial of several of them to find the right one. Also--and this is important--you have to take the drug as directed for a minimum of two weeks straight (a month is more usual) to see its true effect.
I'd suggest contacting the doc who prescribed your Zoloft to talk with him about the trouble you're having.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community
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.
