***Welcome to the Palpitations Room***

Dear to all Heart Rhythm Community
I am trying to come up with a list of "What causes your palpitations?"

Okay here's mine:
- Lack of sleep/rest
- Not enough water
- Caffein
- Anxiety
- Bending down position to stand up position

Your list would might help others realize that they are not alone, so please feel free to add in.

Life is good, so lets all enjoy it by living healthy.
Cheers!

[Celeste77]

Hi Danny!
Great post...It's always interesting to see what others triggers are!

Mine are:
~Severe stress (usually a delayed reaction, starts 24 hours after a stressful event and PVC's can last months)
~Big emotional events, good or bad (PVC's start immediately)
~Severe Pain
~Hypoglycemia
~Dehydration
~Overheating/Heat Stress (big trigger for me)
~Bending over or twisting in certain positions (pressure on the vagus nerve)
~Low magnesium and/or potassium (another big trigger)
~Overeating or eating too many carbs (pasta, breads, etc.)
~Being startled
~Over exercising/exhaustion
~Hormone changes/menstral cycle
~Uncontrolled GERD
~Vomiting
~Paying way too much attention to what's going on in my body makes them worse!(psychosomatic)
~Prednisone
~Epinephrine
~MSG
~Cilantro
~Heavy tabasco
~Certain beers, wines
~Red Bull

Take care!

[Momto3]

Great post........

Large meals, spicy foods
Fever
Cold medicines
Laying on left side
Adrenaline rush
Lack of sleep (big catalyst for me)

[Momto3]

Before the post got deleted I copied the post from Michelle12a (hope she doesn't mind, but I didn't want to lose the contribution)

Hi Danny,
I've suffered palpitations since age 7 (I'm 35 now!).  I agree with you, my palpitations were brought on by lack of sleep, stress, not eating, upset, dehydration, competition, stress, STRESS AND STRESS!!!!!  

However, I could control my attacks once they started by controlling my breathing, lying flat and afterwards passing water!  However, I had a pacemaker fitted at the end of January and that seems to have really upset things.  Now my palpitations come on for any reason and aren't controlled by me (only by A&E and the wonderful drug, Adenosene).  

So now I can add bending over, pulling out a drawer, picking up something from a table, coughing, sneezing, opening the front door to the list of triggers - I'm just lucky I guess!!  

Hope this helps?
Michelle

[Donnaheaps]

Anything with artifical sweetner in it.

[jsuter69]

What exactly is the vagal nerve? What does "it" feel like when you "aggrevate" it...
And to add to the post....
Bending over
Laying on either side
Caffiene
Stress
Over eating
Alcohol
Sex
Exercise
Laughing(hysterically)
Crying(sobbing)
Breathing in deeply(strange...huh?)
Anxiety
Getting overly excited
Waking up and just being still....maybe I shouldn't wake up...lol...

[sueinns]

Stress and alcohol are the biggies for me.  Will bring them on instantly.  

Other than that, they are just there and I can't really pinpoint any other causes.

[Momto3]

I always forget about this one (it is/was a trigger for me)....LOUD concerts!

Does anyone else notice their HR goes bonkers with the loud volume and vibrations at a concert?  My heart definitely reacts to the "rhythm" of the music!!  

[kim62]

I think the biggest thing is the stress that the PVCs/palpitations cause makes me more stressed out to the point where I have more PVcs which isn't near as stressfull as trying to explain to the doctors how frustrated I am! (oh... caffiene, decaf products and chocolate too)

[BLM_56]

mine were completely idiopathic.  I never found a significant correlation to any environmental factor.  If I got really upset that could set off a bout of PAT but I could have a bout with no discernable environmental trigger.  I did find out recently that I probably got my atrial arrhythmia from my Dad's Mother.  Also it does not appear to be sex chromosome linked.  If you guys have found a strong correlation between palpataions and any environmental factor(s) you are very fortunate.  If you know what can set your heart off, you have a leg up on avoiding the problem.  It's like the old joke "Patient: Doctor! Doctor!  It hurts when I do this! Doctor: Then don't do that!".

Momto3, you have a perfect excuse for banning that kind of music in your house.  Or at least banning it being played out loud.

Bill

[Momto3]

Good one!!  hahahaha!!  

[MistyMum]

First...Hi to everyone.  Great site and a big relief to find I am not alone with this.  I can have them on and off all day for no partcular reason but I can guarantee that as soon as I lie down to go to sleep they start and keep me awake.  They used to be the worst when lying on my left side but now they start as soon as I lie down in any position.
Thinking back over your messages while i am trying to get to sleep help me so much...thank you.
Irene

[Momto3]

Helloooooooooo and welcome to a great community!!

You are definitely not alone and we're here to keep you company : )

I know what you mean about lying down....all's quiet, really tired, ready for sleep........BAM!!  Fortunately, they are almost always benign, just a nuisance.

Please stick around; there are always people to talk to and new people who need to know they are not alone.

Connie

[worried784]

Good post, there are so many things.
-stress
-anxiety
-worried about the high HR, causing higher HR
-deep breathing
-lack of sleep
-too much coffee
-out of the blue---no reason, HR just raises
-certain foods, spicy, sodas, chocolate,
-nervousness
thank you

[Sammie4258]

Hormones
Medication
Conversion Disorder
Bass sounds
Car signal lights-figure that one out.  
Eating

[dannyMH]

~Uncontrolled GERD

Yes..GERD has mimic Heart disease..and if you Google "GERD and Palpitations" or "GERD and Heart attack" you will find many useful links.

I wonder how many people actually have GERD but they go visit heart speacialist instead.

[dannyMH]

~Paying way too much attention to what's going on in my body makes them worse!(psychosomatic)

This is a good one...LOL....I know exactly what you mean! I think we're all been in this situation.

[debola53]

I agree with all of the above-what a great list! It makes me feel like I am not crazy when I tell the doc what wierd things trigger me. I also find ginger,licorice, MSG, soy sauce, autolyzed yeast (in a million things),overheating myself, smoke fumes and very cold weather trigger me. It is such a drag-however, I feel much better having read this list and knowing I am not alone-thanks!

[dannyMH]

I am waiting for some one to mention "hot bath or hot tub"

[iamfaithful]

Hi All,

My triggers are:

Lack of sleep
Excitement-good or bad
Stress
Laughing
Nervousness
Obsessing about body, mainly heart
HORMONES-time of the month-ugh

I hate it when I am having a good time and laughing and getting real excited.  After a couple of minutes of that-bam, I will have a PVC.  It takes my exitement away quickly.

[paige109]

I also get a higher HR when I'm in hot shower and I've noticed that it rises in the morning
right after I get up I'm usually very hot which may be the cause

[Momto3]

Another trigger for me is raising my arms above my head (drying my hair, exercising)

Great thread!!

[dannyMH]

thank you all for the replies... glad many of us found this thread so helpful

anyone else like to contribute?

[allaflutter1213]

I have read all of these triggers and I find the similarites interesting to say the least.
Most of all the ones about food, eating or GERD.
I have been disgnosed with GERD and I take Nexium for that but I still have the PAC's and PVC's.
My triggers that I have noticed are:
Eating
Deep breathing
Spicy foods
Alcohol
Also when I first get up in the morning my heart starts beating really hard like I had just ran a marathon or something, not sure what causes that.
Sodas
Chocolate
And then of course there are the "out of the blue" kind. I am not sure if these are hormone related or not. I had a partial hysterectomy several years ago and I really don't have any indicators to tell me if its that "time" or not.
I go to my GYN today and hopefully she can run some tests that will tell me more but due to my age and when my palps started I can't help but think its possible its hormore related.
Bending over
Stress ( common for all)
Not enough sleep ( I wake up alot during the night)
Alot of mine seem to be centered aroung food and/or eating and I do have GERD so I wonder if there is a connection there as well.

[jkfrench]

here is my list

Lack of sleep - pvc's always
stress - pvc's always
public speaking - pvc's always
doctor visit - pvc's always
laughing - pvc's sometimes
yoga  (certain positions) - always
deep breathing in - pvc's sometimes and sometimes nsvt
hormones - pvc's flutters, tachy, always
eating big meals - sometimes
alcohol - sometimes
chocolate - sometimes
bending over - sometimes
msg  - always
caffiene  - sometimes (figure that one out)
out of the blue (usually when I'm relaxed so go figure again)
empty stomach - bad ones if I am really hungry
twisting - sometimes
This is why it is so hard to figure it all out.  There is no rhyme or reason sometimes.
The most helpful thing is all of you!  Love ya
Frenchie

[Crickett559]

With all these triggers, its a wonder we can function at all.  According to all these posts, it pretty much covers everything we do in life. Wow what great lists :)

[SassyLassie]

Well, think I will add my triggers too, they will be close to everyone Else's.
Dehydration
Stress
Anxiety
Thinking about having them
Low blood sugar
Hormonal change (about a week before menses and during)
Walking in cold, windy weather
Eating
Bending down after I eat
Drinking lots of water and then slouching in a chair or lying down
Indigestion (GERD)  
I have a hiatal hernia and it really makes the "flutters" act up big time.
For no reason at all, they are just there, right out of the blue
Being up-tight and worried over things
Lying down, especially on my left side and especially after I have had a glass of water
Twisting a certain way
Raising my arms up

The list goes on and on, but these are the main ones. In other words, almost ANYTHING can cause mine. Dog-gone things.

[jkfrench]

I get mine when I drink too much water at once too!  They are really pronounced too!
Plus I also get them if I drink water and slouch in a chair or lie down.  
I think I might have a sliding hiatal hernia too.  I take protonix for my reflux but the wierd thing is there are times I can eat and eat and there are times that I feel really full up high in my stomach.  Then I get the problems.  I'm wondering if it is the hernia.
Thanks for sharing
Frenchie

[SassyLassie]

You sound like me, Frenchie. Sometimes I can eat tons and feel ok, and other times, only one bite and I feel sooooo bloated and full in the upper tummy, and bingo, in march the flutters. Ugh, I hate them so much.

I can sometimes tell when they are coming too, for awhile, I will have this uncomfortable feeling in my stomach and sort of like water is swishing around, then a little later, the PVC's start, it is almost like a warning. It could be that I am starting to get anxious about them and that is what brings them on, I don't know, all I know is they make life so miserable.

[SassyLassie]

This is a good thread and I wanted to "bump" it up for any newcomers. I have been re-reading it again, man, there sure are a lot of triggers, sometimes, I do not need a trigger, they just come uninvited. UGH.

[daniiiii]

great post....

we are not alone.

[steelers7509]

Hello,i get these really hard thuds in my chest and then a pause some times when i bend over ,sometimes for no reason,if i drink grape juice, if im stressed......i hate it ! does anyone know what they are called? it makes me very nervous i was put on metoprolol for it but they never really said what it was. thank you

[lasvegasgirl6]

okay here are mine
reading this forum!
anxiety
lack of sleep
fighting or disagreements with spouse
anything medical
coffee
lack of food
not enough food 4 or 5 without food!
positions lying bending
having to use bathroom #2
fear
anger
crying
laughing to hard
some sexual positions
not enough exercise
thinking about when the next one will come
taking my pulse for checking purposes
sugar
white foods bread pasta
anxiety attack
not enough water or too much
I am so glad this post was made it has been comforting but not a cure for my palpitaions I actually got more writing abut them now but I feel better in my mind that Im not alone been in and out of hospitals my whole adult life and the best doctors adice I got was that is your normal heart beat not everyone has the same beat. So differant Strokes theme song was right differant strokes to move the world ! it takes differant strokes to move the wooooorllld! (singing) the best thing I founf to stop them and it's the hardest do something with your mind and don't pay attention easier said than done I know but I am so tierd of these things that you start to give up on worrring about them after a good bout with them thanks great post! Lori

[LindaTX]

I've seen all my triggers in the above posts, except one, the big "O."  Bummer!  I hope, in the name of  science, its ok to include that.  I do still feel the common denominator in all of these  many different areas and the common question as to "why" lies in the Vagus Nerve.

[claytex]

I have had AF off and on for ten years.  Using my arms above my head will trigger my AF.  Swinging an ax, lifting above my head and at times even sleeping with my arms above my head.  Als Tequila will trigger it.. no marguaritas!!!

[LindaTX]

I agree,  for me its not only alcoholic drinks, its carbonated drinks, and I've found after many yrs of drinking nothing but Perrier, its any carbonated water!

[michele1999]

Thank goodness for you guys! All of the above I hate having palpatations but atleast I'm not alone.

[AlwynB]

Before mine disappeared alcohol was the biggest trigger...

[Beachbum27]

It's good to finally find some forums that are up to date.  I've never seen a forum with so many people with so similar symptoms and triggers.  I had a nice exercise induced episode of pvc's today that ruined my whole day so now I've been researching online.  Briefly, I'm 27 and started getting pvc's about 8 years ago.  I don't let it control me, I've been an airline pilot now for 3 years.  It's tough when vacationing though somewhere overseas and getting episodes of these demons.  My triggers include:

alcohol (especially the 24 hours following even just 1 drink)
caffeine
sugar
being in a reclining position after eating
jet lag
crouching position (usually when reading a putt at the golf course)
exercise occasionally
greasy food
cigarette smoke
screaming babies (must be stress related)
thinking about pvcs
out of the blue
fatigue
eating salty or sugary foods after a round of golf or exercise over a long period
nervousness
There are probably more.  At least I don't feel them when I'm asleep!

[lizliz40]

It is so comforting to find a community of people who are experiencing similar things as myself.  I'm 39 and just started experiencing palpitations a year ago.  I seem to have a bad week of pvc's every couple months.  Have had a stress test and worn an event monitor for a week and my cardiologist doesn't seem to think anything is wrong.  The palpitations are so annoying and worrisome though.  I'm otherwise a healthy and active person, so it really has bummed me out/stressed me out that I've started to have this problem.  They've made me afraid of exercise!  I don't know all my triggers yet, because I often feel they start out of the blue, but here are a few:

- yoga positions
- jogging
- gas buildup/burps
- albuterol (maybe?)
- thinking about palpitations

[shannonm75]

What causes mine are other than sometimes they start for no reason here are some triggers:

PMS (big time!)
After eating (because my heart rate picks up)
Tiredness
Physical stress
Anxiety
Sometimes leaning over and back up triggers mild ones.

I have been put on metoprolol or actually it was increased last week by an EP who said I have supra venticular premature beats and they were not dangerous or deadly.
I can feel sensations in my neck and he said some people have that too from them.

I avoid caffeine because it is also a trigger so I cut it out of my diet.

[shannonm75]

Have you seen an electrophysiologist? or EP? He or she might find it is something to do with the electrical part of your heart. My cardiologist alone could not figure it out what it was on the Holter but the EP was really good. he knew what it was and this was my second Holter with the same results so I am convinced they are right.

[Bon-Bon]

Cold.  Rather it is eating icecream, drinking cold beverages or cold temperatures.

[soxfan12]

Great post with lots of good information.  I have been dealing with PACs for about 10 years.  I can go for months with none or at least very few then they come on with frequency.  I have also had a few episodes of A-fib which tend to last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.  I currently take flecanide 150mg 2X per day.  The triggers that seemed most common for my PACs are eating, anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes afterward they can begin.  Some of the A-fib episodes were brought on by drinking any liquid quickly.  My rule now is no matter what I am drinking or how thirsty I am I sip it slowly.  Stress and lack of sleep are also factors.  It has been great to find this site and reading everyone's comments have made me feel better about my situation.  

[lizliz40]

To:  shannonm75
Sorry to reply so late.  I have stayed off this sight for a bit, thinking it would help me not think about my palpitations.  Well, my heart has been doing some funny things the past week or two, so I'm back to reading up on the issues!  I have not seen an EP yet, but I think I will call my cardio next week to get a recommendation.  My pacs and pvcs haven't been bad, but I think I'm having some svt (svt showed up on my holter test back in the beginning of this year, even though I don't recall feeling anything odd).  I've been getting short bursts of rapid, steady beats that last for about 5 or 10 seconds.  It is so scary.  I need to talk to an expert about what's going on.

[Petya111]

I want to add - flu season. Right before I feel sick with a flu I have the worst PVCs. Another things for me are - PMC, indigestion, too much or not enought sleep and sudden jumping or twisting my body.

[jonaz]

It's already mentioned but i would like to emphasize this one as it can be a subtle one easilly missed:
- bending over and not sitting with a straight back give me PVC's and tachycardia,
caused by pressure on vagus nerve probably.

[Pino10]

Did anyone memtion just sleeping. I have palpitations them I'm asleep only and so long as I sleep, never when awake.

[fargon]

I have much to say that may help all of you.  My journey has been this, I started having palpitations like 10 years ago or so.  I definately get major physiological reactions to my environment.  Anxiety attacks, heart rate increasing etc.  I am tall and thin and I think I'm a bit deficient for one reason or another nutritionally.  I have been putting this puzzle together for many years and where I'm at right now is this.  I have many of the same triggers as all of you anxiety, stress, food, positions, breathing, hormones etc the list goes on.  I feel that the reason the heart rate goes out of rhythm is deficiency in key minerals that help regulate heart rate.  It explains many of the symptoms and triggers.  Now I know this isn't true for everyone some people have heart abnormalities, genetic stuff but I think for a lot of us it's a touchy mineral/electrolyte balance in our bodies.  Many many things have taught me this and I think I may have begun to get this rollercoaster ride under control a bit.   I did all this crazy stuff to myself that exacerbated the problem but in doing so it showed me what was happening I think.  Like I said I've always had palpitations for many years but about a year ago I started to do something called The ****** Therapy.  This is when you drink a lot of freshly juiced juices and do coffee enemas and it's supposed to heal everything under the sun as well as cancer.  So because i have had many health issues i thought i'd try it.  What it did was pull tons and tons of water out of my body daily.  The juices and coffee enemas created a powerful diuretic effect and I was peeing all the time.  I did this for almost a year and things got really bad for me, my palpitations went from frequent and occasional to daily to hourly to every five minutes it seemed.  Everything would throw my heart rhythm out, bending over, walking, absolutely anything that altered my heart rate in any way caused irregular beats.  I was terrified.  Then it got worse, i started to go into a fib when i would walk up gradual hills, or sweat.  If any of you have ever gone into a fib it makes a palpitation look like a walk in the park.  Terrifying, this started happening daily, my heart would start to malfunction then it would speed up to a shockingly high rate and my breathing would go crazy.  I was at my wits end, I had been to the hospital, had ECG, blood tests, ultrasound, holter monitor, all "normal" I felt totally alone.  Then i went onto a forum and a lady was saying she was having the same symptoms she said she started taking magnesium and the symptoms that were nearly out of control, daily and horrific simply stopped (like right away!) so of course i went right out and bought myself a ten dollar bottle of magnesium citrate.  The day I started taking the magnesium I was feeling 60% better which was astounding.  It's now been about two months things have been getting steadily better.   I haven't had another a fib episode, the palpitations I get are nowhere near as frequent or severe.  I feel like how I used to feel yes get the occasional palpitation but I am no longer constantly feeling like I need to go to the hospital.  So I have concluded, that I took an already deficient body and then with my crazy detoxing diuretic diet I did pulled like crazy tons of minerals out of my body and it created an exaggerated mineral electrolyte imbalance.  Even now it's touchy I have to be so careful to drink enough water, take magnesium, and a mineral supplement (potassium has a lot to do with heart rate too heck they all do) if I get at all dehydrated my heart lets me know promptly but also if I don't have enough sodium my heart get's weird, if I have too much sodium it gets weird.  But if I keep up with lots of water, the supplements and have not to little or too much sodium I feel almost completely  normal!!!!  You guys too may have mineral imbalances definately try the magnesium right off the bat.  But you lose tons of minerals in urine, sweat, hot baths, etc.  If you already have a slight deficiency then it makes sense that anything you do to further pull minerals out ie, caffeine (which is a strong diuretic) alcohol, exercise, sugar.  Also eating too many carbs or grains suck up water in the body and cause dehydration, your body and heart need proper water, mineral and electrolyte balance to function properly. It's electrical activity and it's very touchy if it somehow gets out of balance.  The triggers your describing, the heart should be able to handle stress, and blood pressure changes, positions etc without going out of rhythm.  I think it's the imbalance that keeps your heart from acting normally when it's under any change.  For the most part I can do things without worrying now that my heart will start malfunctioning.  I mean even changing my body temp would cause palpitations not so anymore.  We all have different reasons most likely for the deficiencies for me I think I may have something called diabetes insipidus which causes me not to absorb water properly it just flushes right through me and along with it my minerals.  Man was it a bad idea to do the ****** Therapy if I have that condition!! lol.  Anyway, some of you it may be digestive stuff, your just not absorbing your minerals properly.  Anyway I hope this helps, please write me and let me know if you have success with this idea.

[MaryLL]

I really love this site as it reminds me that AFib is a "one size doesn't fit all". Sometimes I can't pinpoint why I have an episode but some of the triggers i know are:
Caffeine
Diet soda w/artifical sweeteners
Alcohol
Too much sodium
Not enough rest
Stress
Stuffing painful feelings
Trauma or death anniversary dates
Doing lots of weed pulling in the yard
For some reason, I often have them when I lie down to sleep or wake in the middle of a nap with them
Not taking my meds at the same time each day
and after reading this, I am wondering about hot weather? We have so little hot weather in Seattle but I often get them when it is a hot day.
When I get to the ER or the Urgent Care, I am often dehydrated.
With AFIB it's critical that we take good care of ourselves I'm learning. Have others found this too?

[demps123]

well my list would be:
*being tired
*stress
*having more then 2 glasses of alcohol
*sometimes exercise
*walking up hills or flight of stairs (try to avoid)

Hopefully my ablation in September will do the trick and get rid of my extra pathway. fingers crossed.

[demps123]

oh also time of the month can sometimes set it off, usually the week before i am due. Odd really.
and if i have a cold bug.

[jamie455]

Has anyone heard of the multitude of "Dysuatonomias" out there?  There are different types, and not enough is know about some of them, but many on this post are fitting the description of one type of dysautonomia or another.  I got mine post viral.  It is time for these conditions to be taken seriously, as they cause significant disability and distress for many affected.

[LindaTX]

I still think the Vagus Nerve has a lot to do with creating ...or a least affecting or influencing arrhythmias.

[SwanSong]

My list in order of worst offender to least offender:
Nightmares about my father's abuse (********* and sociopath)
Insomnia
Lack of sleep (needing 7 1/2 hours and only getting 6 hours)
Not enough magnesium
Thyroid disease out of whack, either hypo or hyper
Too much exercise
Too fast cycling
Stress

[SwanSong]

Amazing, that was censored. Okay, no problem, the guy was the creepiest and scariest man I have ever met.