palpatations and tachycardia in early pregnancy

Hi! I asked this last week on the pregnancy forum, but got few responses. It's gotten worse, so i thought i'd ask here.
I know that both tachycardia and palpatations can be normal during pregnancy. i experienced them with my last pregnancy and had a full cardio work-up. everything looked good. but last time, i had those problems much later on in pregnancy. this time, it's starting much earlier and it's worse. i almost went to the ER last night when after laying in bed for an hour, my pulse was still 120. It seems my pulse is generally 100 resting these days. I called my doctor (first time i ever called after hours) and he said that i would be fine and to stay home, but that he wanted to get me in to a cardiologist in the next few days.

for those of you who experienced these symptoms, were they this bad this early? was it worse in second pregnancy than the first? i'm staying home today, and if i don't get in to a dr i'll stay home tomorrow too. i do have a cold too :(

[mikaleen]

Hi,
I had palpitaions in my first pregnancy as well, but no tachycardia.  It was later in the pregnancy and I was also sent for a full cardiac workup which showed everything to be fine.  With my subsequent pregnancies one of the first things I noticed was having palpitaitons again.  I don't know why it would be different, but for me it was.  If I hadn't m/c I would have brought it to my Dr's attention again though.  Have you had an appointment made for the cardiologist yet?  If anything should change before your appointment I would call the Dr. again, and depending on how you feel or how worried you are, if it's after hours or they can't get you in, the ER is always an option.  Take note of how you are feeling and I wish you luck!

[jenstam]

I had them worse in my latter pregnancies too, also early on. They were really scary!!! I was so afraid I was going to have a heart attack! Some of it was anxiety, too. Anxiety then makes it worse, which also made my blood pressure go up. I never had a work up over it though.

[cantwait4baby]

I had this with my first pregnancy and it resulted with going into atrial fibrilation.  I was hospitalized at 9 weeks for 9 days and then medicated for the remainder of my pregnancy.  I was healthy/average weight person when this happened - -they said it was the overflow of hormones and blood that caused it to happen to me.  I am currently 19 weeks pregnant and THANK GOD - this has not happened this time but I do have to see my cardiologist every month - I actually go today.

I am certainly not an expert but a resting pulse of 100 is not normal - it should be between 60-80 and when I was in A-Feb mine would go from 120 - 180 in seconds so you sure dont sound as bad as I was - you sound somewhere in the middle.  Just go with your gut and if you think something is wrong - head for the ER.

[tiredbuthappy]

i called my cardiologist and got an appointment with the cardiologist on Monday. in the meantime, he advised i get a home blood pressure/pulse monitor, and if it gets bad to go to the ER. i asked, what's "bad"? seems there's no concrete answer to that question... he also told me to drink more- which i know is a problem i have and can contribute to my problems. thank goodness my morning sickness is taking a break yesterday and today- otherwise i am sure i'd be in the hospital! one of my aversions has been water, and pretty much everything else.

[cantwait4baby]

From my personal experience I would say bad would be if you get dizzy, lightheaded or loss of breath go to the ER.  If the palps are coming and going I would say just rest.  Remember you are pregnant so you have no control over your body - it is going to do what it wants to do so just make sure you go with your gut and get yourself to the ER if you think something is wrong.  

Me personally - if my heart starts racing I wait a few minutes to see if it stops - THANK GOD this pregnancy it always stops.  If it were to ever not stop within 15 minutes I would send myself off to the ER.

[RockRose]

tired,  are you anemic?  It does sound like your heart is racing which can be caused by anxiety,  but anemia also often causes the symptom of "awareness of heartbeat".  Have you had your prenatal blood work up yet?

Good luck with your cardio appointment on Monday.

[tiredbuthappy]

I had a full blood work up done at my annual in November... so unless a lot can change in 2 months, i'm not anemic. i LOVE my meat :)

i considered anxiety, but i have been having such a great week- everything was going so well. i do have a history of mild tachycardia, which is why i have seen a cardiologist in the past. this was just so much worse than normal.

i haven't heard the term awareness of heartbeat, but that really does describe what i have been experiencing, in addition to the racing and palpatations.

i spent the day on the couch and no longer feel a tightness in my chest. before i wasn't sure if it was tightness, but now that it's faded i can see that it definitely was. my pulse is down to 100. thank you all for your input- between your thoughts and words and those of the doctors i've spoken to today, i'm not as concerned. cantwait4baby- thank you so much for sharing your experience. i haven't decided if i'm staying home tomorrow- i think i'll wait and see how my evening and night goes.

[peekawho]

Be sure you are not taking any medications for your cold that could increase tachycardia.  You can call your pharmacist and ask what might be safe for you to take.  Many cold medications worsen tachycardia.

As was said, if you are dizzy, lightheaded, short of breath, faint, or have chest pain, then you would certainly want to go to the ER.  Otherwise, increase your fluids and take it a bit easier until you see the cardiologist on Monday.  

[tiredbuthappy]

i felt better by last night- even got a pulse reading of 95! this morning i felt good so i tried to go to work. BIG mistake. i'm back home now. As i was driving, i started to feel my chest tighten and my pulse was so high at a red light, i had trouble keeping count- i think it was around 130. i suspect part of the problem was that i took a nice hot shower (which can raise the pulse) and went out in to the 10 degree weather. I also had my usual morning vomitting which probably pushed my pulse up too.

so, with the baby at the sitter and the house to myself, you'd think i'd get some rest. probably not- i just called DH to let him know i made it home OK and he informed me that he has been vomitting and having diarrea (diarrhea) all morning and may be coming home. i pray i don't get that, because that will surely put me in the hospital. argh.

[cantwait4baby]

Sounds like husband has the "BUG" and trust me - you will get it.  It went through our house like tornado.  Put my 20 month old in the hospital for two days and put me in just for fluids (because I am pregnant I had to go).

That being said - vomiting and heart palps dont go well together.  My cardiologist actually believes that is what triggered my A-Fib last pregnancy.  

95 still is not a normal heart-rate, what does your doctor say about that?  It is not awful but still not normal?

[tiredbuthappy]

for me, 95 is normal, especially during pregnancy.
i have had mild tachycardia for years- maybe even all my life, who knows? i first noticed over 10 years ago, which was when i had my first cardio work-up. all came back completely normal.
all came back normal during my last pregnancy as well- the halter showed a consistent high heart rate, but they decided that's just normal for me since i've had it for years and they cannot find anything wrong. during my last pregnancy the cardiologist sent me for a full renal workup since i do have a tendancy to get dehydrated. he thought that perhaps the way my kidneys were processing was leading to dehydration and consequently the tachycardia. all tests showed my my kidneys functioning well.

good news is after sitting on the couch for an hour, i am feeling much better and my pulse is down. guess i'll have to take it easy this weekend til i see the dr on Monday. i'll just have to figure out how to convince my toddler to let mommy drool on herself all weekend :P  actually, she's gotten very good at it. She mimicks my coughs and sneezes and brings me tissues. poor thing has even learned how to mimic my wretching noises when i puke. Thank goodness she has learned to play on her own very nicely. the house is babyproofed well enough that i can even dose off while she plays.

[tiredbuthappy]

So, I went to the cardiologist today, but did not get any answers. Apparently the doctor is quite befuddled because my symptoms do not fit any profile. My blood pressure has been consistantly low, and in general, when a pregnant person is tachycardic, they have blood pressure problems as well. He was equally befuddled last time, and I can tell it really bothers him.

I asked about limiting activities- he said he can't make any recommendations either for or against. very helpful. I am wearing a halter which will hopefully help determine at what point i am physically bothered by my symptoms and to look for correlations between events and level of discomfort.

he is wondering if perhaps there's a problem with return of blood flow, and suggested that when i have an episode, i see if it corrects itself by elevating my legs. He was also wondering if it is related in some way to having preeclampsia last time, but i doubt it based on what my OB says about preeclampsia. I see my OB tonight- maybe he'll have some more helpful suggestions.