Skippy heartbeat & flutters

[Ihatepalps]

Hello doctor.  I get a few skippy and fluttery sensations daily.  I have had my heart checked out and they say it is fine.  It does a few strange things though.  

Some days it will feel like it stops and does a hard bang.  Other days it will flutter and sometimes it goes into a fast beat for a couple of seconds and then just goes back into its normal state.  There are some days I don't feel a thing (those are few and far between though).  

I would say on an average day it would skip, flutter or bang around about 5 times.  Some days it will skip every other beat for an hour or so and then just go back to its normal state as well.  Would that be considered a normal thing for a heart to do?  It is just such a horrible sensation and I don't know if it is normal or not.  I have almost called 911 numerous times but then it stops.  The other sensation I sometimes get (maybe once every couple of weeks) is that it goes bang, bang, bang, bang (like really heart beats) and then goes back to normal.  I get really worried when that happens.  Do you think that is okay as well?

Oh by the way I am a 45 year old female.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

The every other best sensations is not uncommon, but I have selection bias -- these are the type of people that are referred to me for an EP eval.  In people that are aware of their rhythm, it does cause significant symptoms.

it all comes down the same question -- do you have a structurally normal heart?  If you have a structurally normal heart it should not matter.

I can say it is probably ok, but I cannot see the rhythm strips and it is hard to extrapolate from a description of symptoms.

Thanks for posting.

[michaelgaul]

Well, im 17 and i get them at night (PACS) i had tons of test done, so far, and they say im fine, if i were you i would just go for one more apt. to the cardiologist and get this all checked out, dont let it get to you, if you have anxiety this will get close to ruining your life when theirs nothing to worry about, I feel like i've wasted a year of mine from losing sleep and bieng nervous, dont do what i did and just get that closure, i'm sure you're ok but just get it checked out so you can relax and be happy.

[tbog]

I had this same thing for years, but I was so young that every time I mentioned it to the doc it was sort of brushed off.  He did do an EKG once and sent me for a stress test, which were both normal.  This was probably in my late 20s early 30s.  At any rate, when I was 38 my symptoms became much more severe suddenly.  I was having light headedness, asthma type symptoms, horrific pain im my rib, bad coughing spells,and other things along with the irregular heart beats.  I went to the ER in severe pain one night and had an abnormal CT scan of my lungs and was told to fu with the pulmonologist the next day, which i did...after much questioning he decided i needed to have an echocardiogram which i had the next day.  It revealed that my mitral valve was in foul shape and needed to be replaced.  I saw the cardiologist the next day, had a heart cath and was on my way to open heart surgery within the next week.  So, my recommendation would be that if you continue having these weird sensations make them check it out.  Be persistent.  If my problem had been checked out more thoroughly with my first complaints maybe I could have avoided this...or at least I would have known my valve was damaged and it woudl not have been so emergent.  After the surgery the doc said he did not know how i made it as long as i did, the valve was in really bad shape.

[BondyinOz]

Wow... it's amazing to hear this from other people. I've been posting in the neurology forum because a lot of my main symptoms fell under that category but now it's starting to become ridiculous!

I'm a 24 year old female and I've had heart palpitations for some time now, although they didn't start until a few years after I had a murmur located at 13. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 2003 and was quite sick for a couple of years, with mild heart palpitations happening more often. I have now been unwell again for almost 6 months and am getting heart palpitations almost daily. They have been quite severe, although I had an ECG done (for about 30 seconds) after a large episode and it was fine.

I have since been to my CFS specialist who has said that I have an 'irritable heart' as a complication of Fatigue secondary to Nasal Inflammation and I also have Postural Hypotension, but nothing has really been done. Maybe it's nothing but it worries me when it happens - sometimes it's beating so rapidly I can feel the beat resounding around  my body, sometimes it does 'somersaults' and sometimes it just flutters, or seems to stop for a second and then kicks back in.

I'm starting to wonder whether I should get it checked out properly rather than assuming it's just a smaller part of the big picture. What do you think?

Mel

[dmcel23]

Wow, really intersting.  I'm a 29 year old male. I've had these palps the doctor determined were PACs. I've them throughout every day for about 10 days now. I've counted 30+ instances today alone. I went to the ER two days ago. They did a quick scan and sent me home with an anxiety prescription. I'm trying real hard to get as early an appointment as I can with a good cardiologist. How do you get these doctors to take you seriously and not just pawn it off on stress because I'm young. This just doesn't feel right and it's tough to get someone to really investigate. Are there specific tests you can ask for? Just starting down this path and any advantage I have info wise and what questions I should ask would be a huge help.

[BondyinOz]

Hey, I would ask for a 24hr Holter monitor (which should pick up all the activity you're having) or an ultrasound to be done.

[palpgirl]

can you  describe the flutter feeling to me.  i get them very rarely and just had one.  they scare me so bad.  I didnt know they were normal, or that anyone felt these.  does it feel like a machine gun and then it just stops?  

[palpgirl]

I didnt mean to say flutter, I meant the one that you said goes really fast and then goes back to normal, please tell me more about this one.  I am about sick worrying about this that happened to me.  I usually get the skipped beat feeling or the flopping feeling.  This thing I felt about 3 or 4 times ever and it was never recorded on holter or anything.  Is this a type of palp?  Exactly how does this feel for you?  

[corakey]

I've lived with the same problem for most of my life and after trying many things the doctors said would help but didn't, my mom came across a news program about a child who was having lots of palpitations all day long and how this doctor helped her with vitamin therapy.  Well, I tried those vitamins and the one that worked was chelated magnesium.  It has helped me sooo much over the years.  I take 400mg to 500mg a day depending on how bad a day it is.  It has cut down on the episodes a lot.  Try looking into this, it has helped me.  Also, make sure that your electrolytes are balanced. I developed gastroparesis after I had my daughter and I found that I got dehydrated a lot because of it and my palpitations got worse so I found that drinking a glass of pedialyte a day helped keep those electrolytes balanced so the palpitations were a lot less often.

[RickerRick]

  Guys! and Girls...You have to try this amazing homeopathic remedy for pvc's and palpitations it works wonders.  The one i use is  'Hawthorn' in liquid form from a company called A.Vogel in Canada it is derived from berries and designed specifically for heart disturbances  and works pretty fast too. the minute you have the flip flopping heart which is horrible but not dangerous (i keep telling myself) i take like 20 drops in a half glass of water and the arrhythmia goes away. I hope it helps  and i heard of something called 'biofeedback' which you CAN control your heart rythme but i don't know anything about that......Maybe someone can research it  try it  and make a post here to help others.............have a great day!!!

[AndriaG84]

I believe I have been getting PVCs as well.

I pretty much diagnosed myself because my doctor is pretty much fed up with me (i'm a hypochondriac).

I'll just be sitting down or laying down and I'll feel like a pause and a hard thump in my chest. I'll immediately get paniced and start checking my pulse. Then they will happen for hours.

I also cough a lot with them, it worries me.

[BondyinOz]

Yeah, that's what happens with me! Sometimes they are a one off and sometimes they will happen a lot over a few hours. Weird! I don't cough with mine though.

[Lucy4550]

Does anyone know if your heart can stop beating during the skipped beat part of a PVC.  Twice when I had a PVC, I almost passed out.   I was also taking a lot of cold medication such as sudafed and cough medicine as well as drinking a lot of coffee.  Has this ever happened to anyone?

[sonny372]

I have experienced these palpitations like you wouldn't believe of recent and have been to the emergency room for it. You need to refrain from drinking coffee immediately and anything that contains caffeine.A lot of these cold medications have chemicals that can disrupt the electrical impulses that you heart sends out.I know because i have asthma and have taken primatene mist which has epinephrine in it which seriously disrupted my life while taking it.Anything with a stimulant can give you skipped beat or flutters especially if you are sensitive enough to it and have had these in the past.My advice stay clear of all stimulants and check labels to see what is in whatever you ingest be it food or drugs.You don't know what is wrong and you don't want to take chances doing things that you know might be of nuisance to this problem.Go see a cardiologist and have them do a holter monitor or ultrsound, or a echocordiogram, as ekg don't help with a symptom that happended an hour ago

[dentedkev]

i have experienced weird heart rythmn over the past month, on three ocasions my heart was skipping jumping for an hour to an hour and a half, the fear and stress you feel at the time can be too much, i think it makes things worse. I have been to hospital for ECG and the echo scan, i have also worn the 24 hour monitor but did not have any acivity during tests,Will see doc next week for results. ps. I get the odd skipped beat on a daily basis and can live with them but not the prolonged hour long and more. the whole thing seems to be draging me down, Can this problem kill me?

[karenmbaby]

Im 19 and ive been having skipped beats and fluttering heart for about a year now.i dont know what makes it worse or makes it better but my doctor told me to get magnesium pills and i did.it did help after taking them for 3days.i didnt have it for a week then it started again but its less.I know it gets worse if i dont do anything all day and be a couch potato,or carry heavy stuff,or if i dont eat food.It sucks though cause i was able to carry stuff and work out at the gym now i just cant.i hope there is something to fix it cause it really worrys me.

[karenmbaby]

what i heard and read about this is that if you have a normal structured heart there is no risks for you although its annoying.and you shouldnt take cough medicines if u have pvc it will make it worse also caffeine and stuff like that will also make it worse.did you ever check your blood pressure when you have pvc.if its low blood pressure it also causes skipped heart beats which can cause you to pass out.

[BondyinOz]

I've been put on Magnesium as well for my heart, which is interesting. I have low blood pressure - actually I have Postural Hypotension which means it drops even lower when I stand up - and since I've been on tablets for that my heart has been a heap better! I'm taking fludrocortizone.

[jkfrench]

anyone know a safe over the counter drug to take for sinus/allergies that doesn't aggrevate the skippy/fluttery/racing issues?  That is of course if the heart is structurally okay.  
Is benedryl okay?
Frenchie

[finetilthree]

NO benedryl is NOT OKAY!!!!!! You will be a mess if you touch the stuff.  I hate to tell you this but the only safe thing is a saline only nasal spray.  

[jen678]

well guys i just read all the post because ive had the same feeling of pausing and sometimes fluttering and would go to the doctor and the would listen to my heart and tell me it was fine and that it wasnt pausing i would usually feel this when i was laying down to sleep but i did also happen in the day time i on day my doc finnaly heard the pause and sent me to the hospital to get a sonigram done on my heart it got sent to a cardioligist and they said all my valvues looked fine but my symtoms come and go they went away for almost a year and i just had a daughter and she is 2 months and now they have come back  the pausing gives me terrible anxiaty attacks sometimes which dose not help the situation i really feel better knowing that there is so many others that are dealing with the same stress as me i just hope that everyone can get there lifes back to normal and not have to stress over this annoying problem o yea by the way im 20 going to be 21 in feb this has been going on off and on sence i was 17 or 18  if you have any tips let me know please!!!!

[2 Sensitive]

Hi Everyone,

I came across something that has drastically changed my life for the better!  I have suffered from P.V.C.s and other heart problems for years now and nothing seemed to help me..At 49 I felt my life was practically over until I tried Goji juice..I am a new person today and I cannot say enough about this wonderful juice..I hate to sound like an informercial but,I want the world to know that GOJI juice has trully saved my life!  Anyone else with heart problems tried it yet?

[2 Sensitive]

I came across something that has drastically changed my life for the better!  I have suffered from P.V.C.s and other heart problems for years now and nothing seemed to help me..At 49 I felt my life was practically over until I tried Goji juice..I am a new person today and I cannot say enough about this wonderful juice..I hate to sound like an informercial but,I want the world to know that GOJI juice has trully saved my life!  Anyone else with heart problems tried it yet?

[Carlski]

I also have PVC's. I have as many as 800 a day!!!! I am not kidding. They are absolutely awful. I had them a year ago and now they are back. I go tomorrow to talk with my Dr again to see what I can do. I am tired of hearing they aren't dangerous. That may be true but they are enough to drive me crazy! Your heart kindof stops I guess...it more or less misfires and then catches itself up with a double beat. Feels like a hard flop in your chest. I also get the little cough with them and feel it all the way up into my throat at times. If I am busy and my mind isn't on them as much then I don't feel them as much. I also find they are worse after I eat or when I am sitting down..I have quit drinking, smoking, caffeine and I still get them! So, I don't have a clue as to what brings them on. But they sure are terrible to have. Any pointers would be great from anyone!

[Carlski]

I am releived to hear that I am not alone. I also get the cough and I have jumped right out of bed on numerous occasions. They are awful. I am hoping to get some tips on here to help. I am ready to switch Dr.s over this because they are so unsympathetic about these. I go tomorrow for my new results on my holter monitor . As I said in the above post..I get as many as 800 a day. And it is a definate flop in the chest. Like your heart is doing a flip. I used to think I was a hypochondriac also until I had the proof I wasn't!I was tole that the heart kindof misfires and catches back up. Scary! I hate them also!!!! However, they say don't worry...if you are getting faint you need further checking out though.

[Acapulco]

I had atrial fib back in Jan and was hospitalized.  They were going to do a cardioversion the next a.m. but thankfully after 8 hrs of severe pounding and an extremely rapid heart beat, the medication they gave me enabled me to convert on my own.  The electrophysiologist at the Cleveland Clinic told me to start taking a full strength 325mg aspirin.  I already take a cholesterol pill.  But since then things haven't been the same.  I constantly feel this jerking and pulling and hesitation and fluttering.  It's draining at times to have to constantly listen to your heart.  I went to a cardiologist last week and had a stress echo and wore the 24 hr monitor.  Stress echo was basically normal, but after wearing the monitor it showed 500+ extra beats during that time period.  He said they are all from the lower chamber of the heart.  He started me on Toprol XL 25 mg just last night.  Supposed to suppress the extra beats, we'll see how I feel.  No different yet obviously as it's too soon.  I too feel it more after I eat anything, why is that?  Will my heart every go back to normal?  (Laurie)

[Carlski]

I don't know if it ever "goes away" hopefully it will in your case Laurie! That sounds worse than mine with the racing you experience. I went to the Dr. today and she put me on Lopressor. Has anyone else ever taken that? My concern is that it's a blood pressure pill also and I already have low pressure. She told me that it isn't about stopping them at this point. They are Benign and not dangerous supposedly. It's about quality of life she said. So the Lopressor is supposed to stop me from feeling them as much.
As far as the eating...I have read this in many postings. I think it has to do with the Vegaus Nerve or something like that..That it aggitates this nerve??? Anyone else have any clue what I am talking about? Or trying to talk about! :)

[kf1919]

I started noticing my palps when i was probably 19, and after i went to get them checked out they noticed that i had over 200 PVC's through out the day. They say I have a normal sinus rhythm and that it is nothing to worry about. Well of course once i found out that my heart has an arrhythmia i started spinning myself into panic/anxiety attacks....then it made it worse and more prominent. I get yearly checkup (or try to) and everytime they say normal. Although all I have had is an EKG done, and a cardio test done to make sure i can still excercise normally. Those attacks actually got better as i started "living" with them. But recently over the last month i have had major anxiety attacks which have brought back those hard palps again. As well as chest pains like i have not experienced before. Tomorrow is my appt to see a Dr, and possibly a therapist. I am hoping any tests still come back normal, I feel that my recent attacks are bringing on a lot of these influences (hard palps, chest pains, etc.) I have never fainted or felt dizzy or anything too hyped up. The attacks do make you feel like your going to die and give you a tunnel vision effect....for all those above who have had them, I feel for you =) I guess to actually ask a question, is there a really good anxiety medication out there that won't just make me groggy or knock me out that I can bring up to the Dr?

[Bobby47]

About 25 years ago I started having heartbeat misfires for several months. Wore a Holter monitor, which showed the skips, but other tests (blood pressure, stress treadmill, EKG) were all normal. Was told I'd just have to live with it - that some people have this problem.

That led me to research on my own. I learned that magnesium is a muscle relaxer (heart's a muscle) so tried it and found it really quieted things down.  For more on magnesium check out these websites:  http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium.asp   -or-   http://www.krispin.com/magnes.html  

I learned that women are often deficient in Magnesium.  Some symptoms mentioned in this forum may also be caused by a magnesium deficiency.  I realized that my body has an ongoing need for magnesium and that I don't get enough from food alone. When I forget my supplements for a few months, I start having muscle fatigue, anxiety, irritability, irregular heartbeats, insomnia, carb cravings, and loss of desire for good food. Recently the heart skips started again and this time are very pronounced. Well... I haven't taken magnesium for about three months!  By the way, I do best on Magnesium Glycinate. Have tried other types, but with too much stomach upset, especially on oxide.

Hawthorne is known as a heart tonic. I've used the herbal capsules, but will try the liquid RickerRick mentioned.

Caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate) and pseudoephedrine (read OTC med labels) can really be problematic. So can alcohol. About 30 years ago I had a Hot Buttered Rum. Almost instantly my heart started jumping all over the place - skipping, misfiring, feeling like it was going to burst out of my chest. It was the hot alcohol!  Haven't had hard liquor since.

These are things I learned about myself. I did much research on my own. I DID NOT neglect getting a thorough exam.  Seems every 5-8 years I go through some sort of chest pain/discomfort. Get it checked and always is okay. Usually, I've been forgetting to take magnesium.

[reets80302]

Yep.....I have had flutters on and off for the past 2 yrs. After a recent virus I started to have them almost daily. I always thought being it was below my chest (2 in above belly button) that it was just some funky stomach flutter. Well, today I had a nuclear stress test. Luckily I a few of these same flutters while on the treadmill. I alerted the nurse/tech to the flutter and she calmly looked over at me and said ...."Hmmm. you just had a PAC. They are perfectly normal....I surprized you can feel them".
Yikes!!!! harmless??? They feel so funky and  threatening. So I guess I need to simply try to relax while my body / heart has an agenda of it's own.  Wow !!! So, here I sit typing this and I just had another flutter. I will try to R*E*L*A*X*..........

[Acapulco]

I recently started on Metoprolol -- haven't noticed a change yet.  The PVC's keep coming and coming and I feel rotten.  I may go back to Cleveland where I lived all my life to get a second opinion and outstanding care -- see link below, they have an excellent department -- at the bottom is a "meet the doctors" where you can click on names, see pictures, bios, etc.

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/about/specialties/electrophysiology.asp