VAGUS NERVE and STOMACH or HEART LURCHES (spasms)

[petestrand]

I'm a sixtish male with a history of mitral prolapse/systolic functional murmur, PVCs and PACs. I take very low dose Atenolol. I was told that I have mild acid reflux, but decided to restrict diet rather than take a prescription for that.

I often get what I call "lurches" that seem to be centered in the area of my diaphraghm. These lurches (spasms?) seem to correspond to the old phrase "my heart leaped into my throat." When they were first noticed about 25-30 years ago they were closely correlated with eating spicy food, but were quite infrequent.  Over the years they have varied in frequency of occurence, from a good many days with none, to several a day, to several an hour, to one every few minutes. (Generally, more often as I aged.) About 18 years ago I had them more or less continuously for about 4 hours. A Holter monitor test about that time indicated PVCs and PACs, but no treatment other than the minimum dose Atenolol, and I have never had activity/exercise restrictions.

I have long been convinced that most, if not almost all, of the lurches are STOMACH SPASMS. Doctors have seemed very sceptical of that, insisting they were irregular heart beats. This week I had left arm pain that occurred while having fairly frequent lurches. In the emergency room, bloodwork and EKGs were normal. The doctor (an internist) indicated that the left arm pain might have come from a nerve problem in my neck, and when discussing my "stomach spasms as cause" theory said that the vagus nerve could possibly transfer stomach spasms to the heart.

What is the possibility that my theory is at least somewhat accurate? I would worry a lot less about stomach lurches than if the lurches were from a heart problem!! I have asked several doctors if I could try having my heart monitored aftr eating known "too spicy" foods such as mustard or hot sauce, but got no agreement.

Could the stomach/vagus nerve be a significant source of the lurches? If so, could the lurches  be mistaken for irregular heartbeats? Or, would they almost always/always trigger irregular heartbeats? If the irregular beats are triggered by stomach/vagus, does that mean less cause for anxiety than if they  originate solely in the heart itself? I'd greatly appreciate any information/suggestions/referrals to other info sources, etc. Thanks.  Pete

[mat47]

A related discussion, VAGUS NERVE was started.

[r2studios]

Hi guys. I have been experiencing similar symtoms such as missed beats for many years and saw 2 cardiologists in that time. The symtoms were so distressing that it affected my physicoligical well being until I became to scared to leave my house (aggoraphobic). Last feb I had a take out and within 5 hours woke up to find my heart was fluttering continually and thought I was going to die. My wife called an ambulance and when I got there I was quickly diagnosed with 'atrial fibrilation'! At that time I told the doctors there that this is what I had been experiencing in the past but only for a few seconds at a time and not the 7 hours this attack turned out to last. I was sent home within a day with no diagnosis as there was no physical problems with my heart and a mystery. Firstly I believe that prior to this I was having vagal problems. I visited a dietician and when I mentioned the attack the first thing he asked was 'did you eat take out that day?' I said I had pizza hut in the afternoon and chineese in the eve as it was my wifes birthday. He told me to find the ingredients of both meals as he suspected I had eaten a large amount of MSG or monosodium glutamate. So I checked and sure enough both had E621 which is MSG! He put me on a strict diet of low glutamate (no cheese no poultry or beef and NO MSG) sure enough a year has gone by and no major attack yet. I still get the short flutters like before but some times not for days. I tend to get them if I eat chicken and tomatoes which was what I used to eat a lot of. I am also on a very low dose of tambocor but only half a tab a day when usual is 2 or 3. I hope you guys may find this usefull as I am not the first to be hit by the MSG bullet!

[Hypersensativevagus]

A related discussion, Over Sensative Vagus was started.

[vickid63]

A related discussion, How about Asthma? was started.

[INHIM709]

A related discussion, vegas nerve was started.

[Mozartcowgirl]

i would love more information.. please!! contact me through my myspace.. which you can find me.. under the same name.. Mozartcowgirl. THANKYOU SO MUCH