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possible arrythmias with chest pain and dizziness
Hi, I am new to this forum. I have been experiencing high diastolic reading from 85-90's and my systolic from 115-120. I feel like these symptoms are getting worse every day. I have palpitations and my heart rate gets pretty high just brushing my teeth and cooking. I have episodes where I will feel my heart flutter and go very fast and as this is happening, I get very lightheaded and feel like passing out. I also get very bad chest pains with numbness radiating to my left arm, left shoulder, and jaw. I get extremely nauseous when this happens. It is very scary and I have gone to the ER three times already and they have not found the cause of this. This is very frustrating!! Can it be I am experiencing SVT's? I just experienced an episode a couple of hours ago, ugh!!
Best Answer
Oh okay, thanks for the information as this helps to know.
Your slight enlargement is most definintely due to adaptive ventricular hypertrophy from all that physical activity since you were ten, which is great.
When they caught the arrythmia, was it a little blip, like a PVC or PAC? Or a string of ectopic beats? The only thing I think you could have had besides preatrial or preventricular contractions would be a general palpitation, spurred on by high anxiety perhaps? Anyway, if there were no other symptoms accompanying the arrythmia like dyspnea, sudden dizzyness or chest pain, then it could very well be due to some high stress levels.
As you know, certain foods (you said your eating habits aren't that great) can cause your heart to palpitate but the radiating arm pain and nasuea is kind of bizarre. How was your second stress test, any chest discomfort from that one?
We'll all be waiting to hear what's going on, hope all is well and Merry Christmas!
Your slight enlargement is most definintely due to adaptive ventricular hypertrophy from all that physical activity since you were ten, which is great.
When they caught the arrythmia, was it a little blip, like a PVC or PAC? Or a string of ectopic beats? The only thing I think you could have had besides preatrial or preventricular contractions would be a general palpitation, spurred on by high anxiety perhaps? Anyway, if there were no other symptoms accompanying the arrythmia like dyspnea, sudden dizzyness or chest pain, then it could very well be due to some high stress levels.
As you know, certain foods (you said your eating habits aren't that great) can cause your heart to palpitate but the radiating arm pain and nasuea is kind of bizarre. How was your second stress test, any chest discomfort from that one?
We'll all be waiting to hear what's going on, hope all is well and Merry Christmas!
Hi thank you for your response! Well I just turned 38. I have never had a problem with weight until about 3 years ago I started to gain weight b/c I stopped exercising and I feel b/c of nursing school my eating habits changed for the worse. I am 5'8 and my usual weight is between 135-150 at the heaviest, now I am up 30lbs.I have been exercising since I was about 10, I use to dance and would run about 4-5 miles daily. My sisters and friends would always comment to me that I was an exercise "fanatic". So I have always been active until I started the nursing program. I am planning on getting the records from the hospital to see what type of arrhythmia was caught on the EKG.I have dealt with high stress when my mom and dad passed away, which was about 14 years ago, and was way more stressful to me than nursing school and this feels different.When I did the stress test I only felt slight discomfort in my chest. I just did another stress test on Thursday so I don't get the results until January 7th. I will keep you all informed of the results. I am trying to lose the weight to see if it's my body that just can't handle the extra weight. It is hard for me b/c with all these symptoms I can't run and exercise hard like I used to. Happy holidays!
Thank you so much for your input!! I am planning to go get those medical records to see what type of arrhythmia was caught on the EKG. I am going to keep pushing to find out what these symptoms could be. I know stress can cause you to feel all sorts of things,but this just feels different. I will try to relax and try some meditation to see if that helps. I just worry so much b/c my mom died from a cardiac arrest after not feeling good for a couple of weeks.I don't find out my results from my Holter monitor till January 7th, so I will keep you informed. Also, on that day I will ask the Doc to put me on an event monitor. I HOPE it's just stress and not my heart. Happy holidays!
In a healthy heart most arrythmias are not a threat. You have had a number of tests that deem your heart to be in general good health so you are very well not in any sort of danger zone. That said, if you haven't caught the main symptom while on the monitor then ask for a 30 event recorder so you can catch the most troubling symptoms. This way you will know exactly what you are feeling. You can also request the records from the hospital on the day you say they caught an arrhythmia on the EKG. I suspect it was likely some sort of ectopic beats and maybe even some sort of pattern of them but of course we can't be sure until you see it on a monitor. If by some chance you are having some VT again, in a healthy heart it is not likely you will fall into a dangerous rhythm but considering the severity of your symptoms I would keep pushing to at least get the major symptoms documented.
What I will say is stress, even if you are really good at keeping it under control, can still be an underlying factor and make what you are feeling feel worse. As can having any sort of stomach issue like acid reflux. The heart and stomach are kind of close so when one is irritated the other can be affected especially in women.
Obviously there are no guarantees in life but just try to remind yourself that you have had some fairly good tests that deem your heart to be OK. Maybe relaxing just a bit about all of this will help you feel better but by all means keep pushing to get to the bottom of this. I wish you the best of luck, hope you can figure this out soon and feel better. Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing.
What I will say is stress, even if you are really good at keeping it under control, can still be an underlying factor and make what you are feeling feel worse. As can having any sort of stomach issue like acid reflux. The heart and stomach are kind of close so when one is irritated the other can be affected especially in women.
Obviously there are no guarantees in life but just try to remind yourself that you have had some fairly good tests that deem your heart to be OK. Maybe relaxing just a bit about all of this will help you feel better but by all means keep pushing to get to the bottom of this. I wish you the best of luck, hope you can figure this out soon and feel better. Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing.
Oops sorry I repeated it 3 times, I am new to this and I was trying to reply to all, thanks :-)
Hi, thanks for replying to my question. Well the pain is always there whether I'm resting or exerting myself. My mother passed away in her mid 50's from a cardiac arrest. So I do have a hx of heart disease in my family. These episodes have been increasing to almost every other day. I have had panic attacks in the past, and this is totally different from those anxiety attacks I suffered in the past. I have been prescribed Xanax and it does not help me when I have these episodes, so I'm pretty sure it is not anxiety causing this. This feels different and I feel it is with my heart.My first ER visit I was admitted right away cause by BP was 160/100 and they had told me I had experienced an arrythmia on the EKG that was done. They had me do a stress echo test and what was found was a slight enlargement of the left ventricle, but they said that was nothing to be worried about, and I had some mild valve regurgitation. After that first ER visit I continued to feel bad with these episodes. So I have been to ER about 3 more times and they have not caught any arrythmias when I have had the EKG done. So they have not done anymore test and have just sent me home. I did go see a cardiologist 2 weeks ago and I just did another echo on Thursday, and a stress test. I also asked to be put on a Holter monitor which I had on until Friday afternoon.What ***** is that yesterday is when I had the really bad episode again and I did not have the monitor on!! I am very frustrated with some doctors b/c they tend to blame it on stress from nursing school. I just finished nursing school and plan to take my boards in January and I feel this is getting in the way of me focusing on my nursing career. What I learned from school is that some arrythmias can give you chest pain and dizziness, especially A-Fib and SVT's. I just feel like no one listens and understands when I tell them about what is happening to me.
Hi, thanks for replying to my question. Well the pain is always there whether I'm resting or exerting myself. My mother passed away in her mid 50's from a cardiac arrest. So I do have a hx of heart disease in my family. These episodes have been increasing to almost every other day. I have had panic attacks in the past, and this is totally different from those anxiety attacks I suffered in the past. I have been prescribed Xanax and it does not help me when I have these episodes, so I'm pretty sure it is not anxiety causing this. This feels different and I feel it is with my heart.My first ER visit I was admitted right away cause by BP was 160/100 and they had told me I had experienced an arrythmia on the EKG that was done. They had me do a stress echo test and what was found was a slight enlargement of the left ventricle, but they said that was nothing to be worried about, and I had some mild valve regurgitation. After that first ER visit I continued to feel bad with these episodes. So I have been to ER about 3 more times and they have not caught any arrythmias when I have had the EKG done. So they have not done anymore test and have just sent me home. I did go see a cardiologist 2 weeks ago and I just did another echo on Thursday, and a stress test. I also asked to be put on a Holter monitor which I had on until Friday afternoon.What ***** is that yesterday is when I had the really bad episode again and I did not have the monitor on!! I am very frustrated with some doctors b/c they tend to blame it on stress from nursing school. I just finished nursing school and plan to take my boards in January and I feel this is getting in the way of me focusing on my nursing career. What I learned from school is that some arrythmias can give you chest pain and dizziness, especially A-Fib and SVT's. I just feel like no one listens and understands when I tell them about what is happening to me.
Hi, thanks for replying to my question. Well the pain is always there whether I'm resting or exerting myself. My mother passed away in her mid 50's from a cardiac arrest. So I do have a hx of heart disease in my family. These episodes have been increasing to almost every other day. I have had panic attacks in the past, and this is totally different from those anxiety attacks I suffered in the past. I have been prescribed Xanax and it does not help me when I have these episodes, so I'm pretty sure it is not anxiety causing this. This feels different and I feel it is with my heart.My first ER visit I was admitted right away cause by BP was 160/100 and they had told me I had experienced an arrythmia on the EKG that was done. They had me do a stress echo test and what was found was a slight enlargement of the left ventricle, but they said that was nothing to be worried about, and I had some mild valve regurgitation. After that first ER visit I continued to feel bad with these episodes. So I have been to ER about 3 more times and they have not caught any arrythmias when I have had the EKG done. So they have not done anymore test and have just sent me home. I did go see a cardiologist 2 weeks ago and I just did another echo on Thursday, and a stress test. I also asked to be put on a Holter monitor which I had on until Friday afternoon.What ***** is that yesterday is when I had the really bad episode again and I did not have the monitor on!! I am very frustrated with some doctors b/c they tend to blame it on stress from nursing school. I just finished nursing school and plan to take my boards in January and I feel this is getting in the way of me focusing on my nursing career. What I learned from school is that some arrythmias can give you chest pain and dizziness, especially A-Fib and SVT's. I just feel like no one listens and understands when I tell them about what is happening to me.
hello im new to this forum...not sure how it works ..hope my question apppears....im a 38 woman,,,and since nov 2010 ive what doctors say is extra heart beats..which is a form of arryithmia..they didnt feel the need for me to be on meds but i requested them so they gave me a beta blocker but it did nothing for me..then from april to june 2012 i experienced tthem daily and every moment of the day i think i had thousands!! they put me a holter monitor for 24 hrs and they told me not to worry....but i do...last two weeks ive gottne more..maybe is stress since im somewhat going through stress at work but nothing over whelming....i feel mostly my heart having a doubloe beat n a feeling in my throoat...sometimes i get hug jolts in my chest!! like a kick...its mostly a flare up i feel in my throat arising..not sure if this makes sense to u..but im so scared and wiht the holidays i dont need this...im afraid of cardiac arrest...n dont trust doctors no more...should i be worried? or when shld i worry?
BP isn't bad at all. If it's been evaluated by others, stop worrying about it. A little story about myself, I started having these symptoms in my late teens early 20s where I would get a pain in my chest like a truck was sitting on it and it radiated into my left arm and up my neck into my jaw. Many tests could not find a cardiac problem. This went on for 10 years before I finally figured out it was a digestive issue. I'm lactose intolerant. This was back in the 90s before it was common knowledge. I finally figured it out after seeing a Lactaid commercial for the first time and hearing that some people couldn't digest milk when they became adults. I never heard of it! 10 years of that crap. I used to work out a lot and would drink a protein mix late in the evening after free weight workouts. I was constantly waking up in the middle of the night with this pain. 10 years for me to figure it out!!
Anyways, as you can see, digestive issues or pressure can cause "referent pain" too. Your issue might be similar, or perhaps you are getting anxious over the body symptoms and making them worse.
Anyways, as you can see, digestive issues or pressure can cause "referent pain" too. Your issue might be similar, or perhaps you are getting anxious over the body symptoms and making them worse.
Your diastolic is slightly above what is considered to be normal but it is not something that I would be concerned with at the moment. You can discuss it with your doctor but I suspect that since your systolic is fine they wouldn't be too concerned about it. There are factors that could be affecting your diastolic such as caffeine, stress, etc. As far as the palpitations, it certainly is possible that it could be some sort of SVT but you would have to go see a cardiologist to figure out what exactly is going on. If you haven't already had it done at the ED, they are probably going to want to do an echo, stress test, lab work, and give you a monitor to wear for a while. SVT can cause all of those symptoms and different people experience it in different ways. They are concerning symptoms and warrant seeing your Dr ASAP. Have you been symptomatic while at the ED or it is usually resolved by the time you get there? Do these symptoms come on with exertion and go away with rest? Unfortunately we aren't going to be able to figure this out for you but let us know what your Dr figures out.
Your diastolic seems elevated above the normal range, but your systolic is fine. When you check your blood pressure, are you at all nervous or stressing? Just a bit of anxiety can cause a good spike in blood pressure.
You mention that you feel radiating numbness on your left side, and you have chest pain - what's the nature of your chest pain? Is it deep down, a crushing pain? Or is it localized? Also, does this pain increase with any exertion?
You also experience lightheadedness and nasuea accompanying the pain, yet you have been to the ER and all was well? If it was a heart attack they would have been able to tell immediately and would have administered proper treatment. Do you have any medical history, family history of heart disease? And have these episodes been increasing in frequency, or are they sporadic?
I don't believe SVT causes any chest pain, it can cause rapid heart rate, but I have not heard of it causing chest pain, nasuea, and radiating pains.
I would suggest you go and see a cardiologist about this, tell him or her everything, your concerns and all the symptoms, if you can, keep a log of the episodes to jot down anything different and see what they can do.
Now the only other thing I can think of, is that when you feel your heart flutter, you get extremely anxious, and the symptoms you feel are being created by anxiety - anxiety can cause some pretty bad ones.
Either way, keep us updated. And do go see a physician and cardiologist if necessary for a second evalulation.
You mention that you feel radiating numbness on your left side, and you have chest pain - what's the nature of your chest pain? Is it deep down, a crushing pain? Or is it localized? Also, does this pain increase with any exertion?
You also experience lightheadedness and nasuea accompanying the pain, yet you have been to the ER and all was well? If it was a heart attack they would have been able to tell immediately and would have administered proper treatment. Do you have any medical history, family history of heart disease? And have these episodes been increasing in frequency, or are they sporadic?
I don't believe SVT causes any chest pain, it can cause rapid heart rate, but I have not heard of it causing chest pain, nasuea, and radiating pains.
I would suggest you go and see a cardiologist about this, tell him or her everything, your concerns and all the symptoms, if you can, keep a log of the episodes to jot down anything different and see what they can do.
Now the only other thing I can think of, is that when you feel your heart flutter, you get extremely anxious, and the symptoms you feel are being created by anxiety - anxiety can cause some pretty bad ones.
Either way, keep us updated. And do go see a physician and cardiologist if necessary for a second evalulation.
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Your left ventricular enlargement is normal, did you get that from exercise?
What type of arrythmia were you experiencing when they took the first EKG?
If you're young then atrial fibrillation is extremely unlikely, I'm not sure exactly what it could be.
Stress can cause you all sorts of symptoms, but that I think would involve VERY high amounts of stress. More so than just school.
When you took your stress test, did you have any chest pain during it? If not, then I suppose you could rule out any or most cardiac causes. Could it be neurological perhaps?