quick sharp pain with overwhelming sensation?

[BTOWN]

hello all this is my first post... i am 24 and i guess u could say i am healthy but a little overweight.... i train MMA(mixed martial arts) and i have a serious question.

I was in 11th grade when this happened. i was laying in bed one night and all of a sudden my heart did this trippy skip of a beat. i jumped up out of bed and ran to my mother saying whats wrong with my heart!! ahhhhhh!! she said i was fine..... after a while i didnt notice them any more. then after maybe 2 and a half years i got really bad panic attacks and got scaared and went to the doctors. the doctor diagnosed me with mitral valve prolapse. i was a little releived after that. then i got over anxiety as a whole for a long time.. but in between that period of time i did construction and i noticed it alot then...THE QUICK SHARP PAIN that feels like a skipped beat and i get this overwhelming sensation on top of it. those have been happening since and its been years now.

Now they happen when my heart rate gets up high from running or jump roping or when i train for that matter....it used to be just out of no where when i would be sitting there... basically i am petrified that it means something is wrong and my body is warning me of a heart attack or something. im young! i dont want to die! so does any one have any idea what this could be?

i went to my doctors yesterday and i explained this to him finally(since i barely just got health insurance for the first time in almost 4 or 5 years)and he says he is sending me to a cardiologist. and by the way it also happens when i go in the ocean or a pool or when its hot. just like my run in the hills with my team last saturday. it was tons of incline and when i was walking it off IT HAPPENED... TWICE! bu dum bu dum bu dum bu dum BAM buh dum buh dum buh dum buh dum buh dum buh dum BAM1 ya it happened twice. and also i get anxiety on top of exercise whenever i do decide to work out.... can that harm my heart? i know this was long and i seem nuts but any one.. if you have the knowledge or are for certain u have an idea of what this is please talk to me

btown

[BTOWN]

HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

[be still my beating heart 13]

Ryan has given you such great advice!!  It's actually great advice for me too, as I have been having those "extra" beats for almost 3 years now, and only recently developed what I call a painful pressure-filled beat.  It is totally unsetteling to say the least, but I can speak from experience that the more you think about them happening the more of them you will get, and if you can manage to ignore them, the less they occur.  I too get them during the cool down after exercise, and while swimming.  In fact the first time I ever felt my heart have an irregular beat was while surfacing from a dive to a depth of about 25 feet.  I have already done as Ryan suggested and had an Echo, Stress Test, and over 20 EKG's and have been told by my cardio not to worry that they are PAC's/PVC's and will not harm me.  I hope you recieve the same diagnosis and can begin the daunting task of ignoring these irritating, and sometimes painful :-( , heart rhythms.  Good luck to you!

[zen11]

HI,

Once the doc finds out your ok, check out the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmond J Bourne.  It has a section on Deflating the Danger.  It explains all the common anxiety symptoms and defuses the danger associated with them.

[BTOWN]

thank you guys soooooooo much!!!!!

so basically its just a painful irregular heart beat?

[be still my beating heart 13]

Yes exactly!  To some it's painful, other can just feel an extra thump, or a skipped feeling, and some experience many in a row.  Every time your heart beats an electrical current is traveling through it that causes the chambers to contract.  What we experience is one of the chambers contracting out of turn either in the atria (top) or the ventricles (bottom), hence they are called Premature Atrial Contractions, Premature Ventricular Contractions, AKA PAC's/PVC's.  They are fairly common in anxiety disorders.  Barbarella responded to one of my posts concerning "extra" heart beats and stated that she has experienced them for 45 years!!  I've only had them for just over 2 years, which seems like much longer, and I can't imagine what it's like to live with them for that long, but I hope to find out!  :-)  Please keep your appointment with your cardio, get checked out, and if they say you're fine like the probably will, you can begin the process of trying to live with them.  I think of them as an unexpected houseguest that's taken up residence!  I hope this helps you and that you felt better today!  Good luck at the dr!

[BTOWN]

cant anxiety eventually over the years cause me to have heart problems in the future?

[Raine9]

You had your MRI already right?  How did it go?  Is everything alright?  You don't have to respond if you don't want.  I understand it's a personal matter.  But I was just thinking about you. Hope it went well.

[BTOWN]

ok... well i know u said not to reasearch but i had already knew about this so i would like you to check it out....... http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arrhythmias/a/PVC.htm

basically what i want to know is if i have pvc's (among many others) does it mean i have heart disease? it seems if thats what the article(that i posted above) is trying to say . but i dont know maybe i dont get it. some places are saying if u have shortness of breath alot its a sign of heart disease.... gosh.. is it? and another thing.... like i said ryan i train mixed martial arts so i am getting the best and intense most vigorous workout u could imagine and i exercise often and during the day i just feel like shat. and it says that fatigue and lethargy is a common symptom of heart disease..and during the day (while driving, since i have a mobile job)i am just always soooooo tired... i always wake up in the middle of the night too. they say that waking up alot in the night is a sign too.... gosh i am freaked.. i know i know i am paranoid.... but you help me alot man and i hope u continue to do so and next week i go to the cardiologist so u wont have to hear my whining much longer. sorry man i have such a fear of dying. and sheesh i am a christian. i sound retarded

[BTOWN]

ok u got it i wont research them any more. and about saying i wouldnt be able to do mixed martial arts...... i am usually gassed really quick after the first 15 minutes. but usually that includes the warm ups and my crazy coach pushing us. like i said we ran in the hills and i seriously was huffing and puffing sooooo hard.... but that doesnt mean i have cardiac problems right? it means i am still a little out of shape?  i hope so. but like u said u cant say that i do or dont over the internet. i jump rope on my nights off that i train and i hope that helps my heart. is heart disease reverseable? im sorry i ask alot of questions ryan. u just take the time to respond and it gets me stoked so i feel comfy talkin your head off hahahaha. but any ways its 10 30 here...... is it too late to jump rope if i am pretty tired?

[BTOWN]

and p.s.  i do sweat alot when i train and i do get lightheaded when i train.... and what is angina?........

[BTOWN]

its ok man dont be sorry your great man. my wife gets pissed at me too for worrying so much.and any strategies on not getting anxiety during training? i am douing good with the whole not being attentive to my heart beat. i am doing real good with not paying any attention to my heart beat.

but any thing i can read on conrtolling my thoughts? and being normal again?

and i take fish oil every day is that ok?

[BTOWN]

i mainly think think what bothers me is before i even get to training, i start getting worked up thinking.." uh oh my heart rate is gonna get real high and i get anxiety on top of the cardio wont that cause a heart attack?" then i constantly check my pulse during training then i think my heart rate is too high then it actually does get higher because i get anxiety from checking my pulse....


and one last question,..... when my heart rate is super high....... from training.... and i get anxiety on top of that cardio... is it dangerous? or could cause heart problems?

[BTOWN]

ya im not really checkin my pulse any more. its just scary but that helped alot man

and like i said sorry for constantly worrying... u gotta realize i know i am going to get help soon and just sitting here waiting for my referal in the mail is just making it worse.

i have a question(as usual)...... i was just sitting here on the comp this morning... i had my fish oil a multi vitamin and anti biotics(anti biotics due to getting staph from dirty mats, yes i know, gross).. im just sitting here and my heart did that stuff...... my thing is, you said in an earlier post that anxiety can aggrevate PVC'S but i wasnt even worried about a thing and my heart just spazzed out and felt like it was skipping beats(but 2 in a row) and then i can feel it causing an adrenaline surge. like my heart beat is fine, and then when it happens my heart beat gets faster and races. its calm now..... but basically what i am trying to say (i meant to ask you earlier) is how are we sure its PVC'S? im alot less worried, trust me... i just cant control asking questions when i am sitting here waiting and waiting and waiting for the referal.. i know you cant diagnose me..... but you basically already have....... so i ask you are you sure these are just benign PVC'S?

[be still my beating heart 13]

I am sorry to butt in here but I think I might be able to help you.  I know how frustrating the waiting game can be!  I have gone through this many times myself, just a few weeks ago actually!  Your best bet is to remain calm!  PVC's, benign or not, WILL increase with excess worry.  I speak from experience.  Just a month ago I had gotten myself into a constant state of anxiety and panic because I had convinced myself that I had a life threatening arrhythmia.  One day I had over 100 of them and that night I finally called an ambulance and went to the ER! (Without insurance! )  But you know what?  As soon as the ambulance arrived at my home they stopped, and I never had another one the ENTIRE three hours at the ER!  They did 4 chest X-rays, a chest CT scan, a twelve lead EKG, and had me hooked to their heart monitor that was a continuous EKG as well.  They found NOTHING wrong with my heart at all!  I was so pissed!  At first I was mad at them for not finding out what was wrong with me, and then a few days later I turned that anger on myself for making myself so sick with worry.  I know now that the reason they disappeared when the paramedics arrived is because I finally felt safe knowing that someone who could save my life was with me.  I have gone to the ER for anxiety and it's related symptoms 11 times in seven years, and have been seen by 2 differnent GP's and had a full work up by my cardiologist (echocardiogram, stress test, one month event recorder, etc).  And after all of this they have found absolutely nothing wrong with me and have gone so far as to say that if anyone SHOULDN'T worry it's me, because I appear to be in perfect health.  I have had PAC's/PVC's for almost three years now, and through trial and error I have found and eliminated many things that trigger them.  Refined sugars of all kinds (High Fructose Corn syrup, especially), caffine (this includes tea, coffee, sodas, Mt. Dew, chocolate, energy drinks, etc.), heavy meals, meals with high MSG's (ie. Chinese Food), and inactivity.  I find the more I am inactive the MORE PVC's I have.  I think it's because along with inactivity comes an increase of the adrenaline level in our bodies, creating stronger symptoms.  And above all, when you find your mind is stuck on worrying about the PVC's, DISTRACT yourself!  Journaling and drawing help me alot, but others here on the forum say that reading an inspirational book, watching funny movies, listening to upbeat music, taking long leisurely walks, talking on the phone, or even playing solitaire are great ways to distract yourself.  The point is to engross yourself so deeply into something that you don't have a chance to think of your symptom and you'd be suprised to find after a few hours that you haven't felt funny the entire time.  Don't get me wrong, it is hard work, and takes a while to get good at distracting yourself, but with practice you'll see it really does work!  I have been following these rules and have gone from having between 50-100 PAC's/PVC's per day, down to having one or two a day with a few days here and there where I have NONE!  I hope this helps you, and wish you luck at the doctors!

[BTOWN]

p.s. and another thing.... its so hard to distract my self. it feels like someone took a knife and stab me in the chest. basically u guys say that some people notice them and some people dont. well it hurts enough to take my mind off everything. no joke. so thats why i wanna know if i even have pvc's

[be still my beating heart 13]

What were you watching on TV?

[BTOWN]

see the thing is..... how are we sure i am having pvc's? cuz i had no anxiety today at all, wasnt even thinking about the pvc's and it happened. and i am actually on here right now because i i was laying down watching t.v. and then this really sharp pain just hit my chest real hard and quick and it shot this warmth through my whole body with a hot and cold flash and it was crazy..... does that mean its pvc's?

[be still my beating heart 13]

I asked what you were watching because I can no longer watch supsenceful or upsetting TV shows or movies because my adrenaline level is already so high that my body cannot handle the adrenaline dump from the "imagined" threat.  And to honestly answer your question about how do we KNOW you have PVC's, we can't say for certain that it is what you are experiencing, only your doctors can order the tests needed to determine if what you are feeling is a benign or life-threatening arrhythmia.  I went back to the top and re-read your original post where you stated that you have been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse, and I have come across it's symptoms many times in my symptoms searches.  What you are experiencing sounds like it's related to that.  Please go the the link that I have pasted here and tell us what you think.  I hope this helps.

http://www.wright.edu/nursing/practice/mvp/default.htm

[BTOWN]

ok ill check it out... and if i have a life threatening arrhythmia does it mean i could drop dead any day?

[wmac]

I know what your saying you sound like me. Its weird I have seen cardio after cardio and I have had all the test mri, tilt table, several echos, several tread mill test, two epstudies, But the intresting thing is I have never had a thallium stress. intresting uh. I have nonsustained vtach, pvcs, pacs, svt had ablation for dual av node. So I often wonder if they missed something by not having the thallium test. And even today each and every palp or run of nsvt scares me to death. I cant get over the fear.
wmac

[be still my beating heart 13]

I see alot of myself in you BTOWN!  As I've said I have had a very thorough cardio workup, and been seen in the ER many times while I was "symptomatic", and even tho I've been told by every doctor I've seen that I am fine and in no danger I still worry that the pvc's will kill me!  But deep down I know that mine are anxiety related.  For example I have not had ANY pvc's for the passed two days but since I've been thinking about them because I'm trying to help you I have had about 3 today.

I noticed that you mentioned you are waiting on a referral, and I am assuming this is to a cardiologist.  I recently played the waiting game myself and can speak from experience when I say that you REALLY need to control your responce to the pvc's or you'll just make them worse.  I allowed my fear to overwhelm me so much that I became convinced I was going to die any moment.  And the moment I accepted that my heart was responding to the adrenaline I was continuously dumping into my system the frequency of them reduced drastically, from 50-100 per day everyday for almost two weeks to 1-3 a day with a few pvc-free days in between in the matter of a month!  It takes a little while for your adrenaline levels to fall back to near normal so be patient and remain calm!  I worry about you so much because I have been EXACTLY where you're at.  I had made myself so sick with worry (literally "scared to death", or so it felt) only to be told that I was fine and then felt so let down by my doctor's and finally feeling like a fool when I realized that I was only making my anxiety symptoms worse.  I still wonder if my doctor's have failed me by missing some problem with my heart, but what possible good can come from worrying?  More pvc's???  Be calm and wait for your doctor's appoinment.  If you can't wait for that then you'll probably end up in the ER and I hope you have good insurance.  Good luck to you!

[rasticle]

I have a couple of ER docs in my family.  I have horrible anxiety and I'm ALWAYS asking them about my anxiety symptoms.  They have both told me that almost everyone experiences PVCs or PACs, just some people are more intune with their body and can notice them.  They are common.  One piece of advice that they have given me is that someone who isn't a doctor shouldn't look up health issues on the internet.  If you aren't a doctor then lack the ability to use the information you find on the internet in the correct context.  There are so many variables with diseases and EVERYONE is different.  If you HAVE to look stuff up, make sure it is one a peer reviewed or government website.

I had a holter monitor a few months ago that said I was experiencing heart block.  Well that scared the hell out of me.  I started looking stuff up and I got even more worked up.  Called my cousin who's a doc and she said it was probably nothing, usually in a 26 year old heart block is nothing.  But thats not what I saw on the internet.  It could be caused by underlying heart disease, like coronary artery disease.  I was sent to a cardiologist.  Guess what?  Turned out to be nothing and my cousin could just tell me that over the phone without seeing anything.

Sorry about the rambling, just had to share my story.

[debaser23]

This has been an interesting read, for sure.  I'm not a mental health professional of any kind, but I can tell that BTOWN has some pretty serious anxiety issues at least for the moment.  I remember when I was sick to my stomach all the time and scared to take my meds.  I was doing the same thing he is...constant questions.  I'd space it out over a bunch of forums, though.  This one, two others, and even Yahoo Answers!  haha.

Hysteria's a good word for it, although I don't mean that in a condescending sense.  Like I said, I've been there.

A cardio workup seems like a must-do.  Oddly enough, my panic attacks never caused any major cardiac symptoms, but if they did I'd react in the same way.  What I wonder is, would a holter monitor be benificial for BTOWN?  Those things just seem like a really good tool.  I know they can't measure everything, but it might one provide some useful data?  I wore one once when I was having ocular migraines and didn't know what they were yet.  First stop was a cardiologist and he had me wear that thing for several days.  It was way back in the nineties and it was like carrying a notebook computer around.  Hard to be inconspicuous like that!  These days they're probably a whole, whole lot smaller.

Anyway, BTOWN, I wish you the best of luck.  Listen carefully to what RCA says and try your best to stay calm.  I know it's difficult, but try.

[BTOWN]

damn looks like im causing a feud on this forum. im sorry guys. i dont have major major problems with anxiety. i just worry too much about my heart. i mean i aint in the bestest of shape but i am in enough shape to train mma and jump rope for 15 minutes on my own time and not drop dead. as ryan says i am fine if i can do mma and all that without croaking. so i take that evidence and realize yes i am in good health. my thing once again is just the waiting process. it sucks because i am stuck with wondering"is it a benign arrhythmia?" or "a fatal one?"

bottom line.. they happen even when im not having anxiety. cuz i notice every one is saying oh anxiety aggrevates it blah blah blah. ok . well what about when i am enjoying life and just laying down resting and this sharp sting happens in my heart? wtf am i supposed to think? oh benign whatever i am fine. no sorry. if its enough to take my attention off EVERYTHING

that still wasnt answered when i said:"if i have a life threatening arrhythmia does it mean i could drop dead any day?"