Heart Palpitations Anyone?

[sinead]

Does anyone else experience heart palpitations? as in skipped beats & thuds... I hear this is a common symptom for us, but would like to hear from some real people who have it. This has been a major issue for me lately & it is very scary. Thanks for your input.

[PlateletGal]

I don't know about fibro, but heart palpitations are common with CFS. You may be interested in reading Dr. Paul Cheney's articles on CFS and Diastolic Cardiomyopathy.

[keblergirl]

i 2 have heart pulp it makes me scared but i guess im getting use to it .

[alrightyroo1]

I had heart palpitations in the beginning, for the first couple years, with FMS. It might have been some of the various medications I was on, however.  Including, at one point, Elavil.  You're not on that one, are you?  It's so bad for your heart!  

[alaskanmom]

I just spent a week in the hospital after experiencing palpitatious serious enough to send me to the ER. I get them regularly and this is the 2nd time in the past year that I was hopsitalized for this. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia just a few months ago but starting to wonder if I don't have CFS in addition to or instead of FMS... It took me almost 5 years to get the diagnosis of fibromyalgia where I live. The doctors here don't take it very seriously and it wasn't until I was reffered to a visiting specialist, a Rhuematologist, (after having every test known to man and being told that nothing was wrong) that I suddenly told I had Fibromyalgia, mixed collagen vascular disease, osteoarthritis, and sjogrens. Needless to say, I was stunned... No one has said anything to me about a connection between fibromyalgia and my heart, but one doctor did say that there could be a link between the mixed collagen vascular disease and the heart issues because the MCVD causes problems with connective tissues and the vascular system... In the mean time I am dealing with constant PVC's and PAC's along with ventricular trigeminy... It has been recommended to me to get on a beta blocker like atenalol to help. I will be seeing my primary care physician on Monday and asking for a referral to a cardiologist just to be sure... I would recommend if it is becoming a problem for you especially if you are noticing it a lot even at rest, to make an appt. with your regular doctor and get it checked... A good doctor will talk to you about possibly having an EKG, a stress test and an echocardiogram if it continues to be a problem. I recommend keeping a log of when you have the palpitations, how long they last and what you are doing when you get them... I hope this helps! Good luck

[bngmm]

I get those also and stabbing twingy pains my dr says it is costrochronditis

[keblergirl1]

hi im not on any meds except 4 pain an i get them too  an i had a stress test  it turned out to be  fine but if ur worried you should always  talk to a doc  n make sure your heart is strong& healthy before letting it worries you to death!

[Curls]

Check out dysautomomias such as POTS, Posterial Orthostatic Tolerance Syndrome (I might be off on the spellings).  Dysautomias are very common in cfs.  One of them is POTS and includes sensations with the heart.  I think they call it heart palpations - I have the Neurally mediated hypotension, so I'm less familar with pots, but have known people with it.  It was originally tested by tilt table at Hopkins.  Cheney's info may be very interesting on it too to read - from Platelet.

[coaterman]

Rule one DON'T PANIC they called mine symptomatic atrial ectopics and said that no one has ever died from them, although I agree they are very frightening, I had a 24 hour monitor that I wore while moving around, and it recorded them, so yes they are common, but nothing to worry about.

[Curls]

i should add that if it is pots or another dysautonomia, those conditions cause other symtpoms beyond the heart palpations...and understanding them can help you do behavioral adjustments (like knowing when to elevate legs) that can made an impact on the rest of the CFS/FM symptoms.  So beyond just knowing what this is, tracking it down can be very useful.

[bunny1133]

I too have them and also fibro.  I've had them for over 30 years and I'm still here.  I did have them checked with the halter monitor and stress test.  I had them checked again after a bout with chemo.  I'm still fine, tho getting a lot of them just this week.  Guess it's the Christmas aftermath.
Good luck to all of you, but don't stress, go get it checked!  You'll feel better.

[susanandlarry]

I have been diagnosed with Fibro since 1997. My story is kinda long. But I just wanted to chime in and say that I too have suffered from heart palps. And have been checked out thoroughly in the hospital and was told it was electrical and not anything I would die from. I too was put on Elavil. I got a little better. But then I started paying closer attention to what I was eating. I noticed when I ate sugary things, candy,bread,potato chips,etc. I would get the palps. I have been able to get off of the Elavil by rarely eating these things. Don't know if it will help you but thought I would share.
A side note I have severe exhaustion. One of the foods that make me that way are foods with wheat in them. I was surprised how much of our foods have wheat in them until I started looking at the food labels.  

[patsy10]

I have constant palpitations.  My heart rate is 110-115 most of the time.

[FurballsMom]

I have something that happens in my heart that doctors have never been able to measure with all their tests.  It doesn't happen all the time, but I know very well that it's heart palpitations and not panic attacks, because it happens even at times when I'm not feeling the least bit panicked.

[VaBreeze]

I have that as well.  Palapations and what I can only describe as 'fluttering'.  I use to think it was due to anxiety, but your correct...sometimes it just happens when i'm not anxious and watching tv.  

[singerpoet]

Glad you posted this, I've had increased palpitations these last few months for some reason.  And as others said they do not come specifically in stressful times, as a matter of fact they seem to be the worst when I first lie down when I go to bed at night.  
I don't believe it has anything to do with meds because I've cut way back on meds and the palpitations seem more common than they used to be.
Aren't we lucky to be so special..........lol.

[FurballsMom]

Thank you for your comment.  It's so wonderful to know that I'm not the only one this happens to.  I do get tired of not being taken seriously with this.  Now I know I'm not the only one.  Not that I really want others to have this, too, but it's nice to know that someone else knows what I'm talking about and knows that it's not because I'm "nuts".

[VaBreeze]

lol, singerpoet...aren't we though?  

You're definitely not 'nuts' FurballsMom.  That is what is so wonderful about MedHelp and this forum...you'll find so many others who can empathize with the strange symptoms these ailments bring.  One day (hopefully soon) they will take us seriously and we will get the treatments we need.  Until then, at least we have one another.

Take care of YOU.

[ott70]

I have palpitations also or maybe the better medical term is PVC's. Most people have them to some degree but more of us become more attuned to them happening. I believe "palpitations" is more defined as the awareness of your heart beating. The flutters and skips can be more attributed to PVC's.

I had a recent episode where I was waking up at night with a raced pulse, around 80-100 beats. Not as fast as others have experienced but it's fast for me when my normal resting pulse is 60 bpm. One of those nights that I woke up, I could feel my heart fluttering. I felt the pulse at my wrist and could feel the beat "skipping" (which is actually a premature beat and then the heart catches up with the next beat). Freaky feeling to have at three in the morning! Doesn't help that I experienced a little bit of chest pain and some sweaty hands (which could have been anxiety-induced at that point).

I have yet to be diagnosed with CFS, but I have a lot of the symptoms with a multitude of medical tests that have yet to pinpoint anything else other then elevated EBV titers. I'm with the group that believes these symptoms are caused by an intracellular infection (bacteria, mycoplasmas) and that these pathogens are disrupting my electrical signals with my heart. I have also been taking some natural pathogen killers (same stuff that PlateletGal takes) so my recent heart flutters could be a result of some herxing. If the intracellular pathogens are located in my heart tissue, then it makes sense that my rhythm is going to be messed up if the pathogens are being killed off.

My last cardiologist thinks I'm nuts. She's a good doc, but all of the tests she has run indicates my heart is strong and healthy. I don't disbelieve her, but I also think something affects my rhythm. I tried telling her I have these chest/muscle spasms occasionally and I can swear it cause my pulse to "skip". She wouldn't have anything to do with it and mentioned to consider seeing less doctors and go to a psychologist -- basically, falling just short of telling me I'm nuts. I have an appointment today to see a different cardiologist and I'm going to request a holter monitor just to confirm the feelings in my chest.

[buriedinfur]

Oh, palpations have been a part of my life for a long time, but last year they went nuts for a little bit - I was having up to 40 of them in a minute. That's not very pleasant. I waited a day going through this before I went to the ER, got chewed out for not coming sooner, dazzled them with the amount I was having and went on my merry way after the blood work and whatnot came back ok. I was on a beta blocker for a month and it took them back down to the 'normal' level I get them now.

They are funny things. If you are having a lot, they need to get checked out - but once that is done I would just try and accept them as another oddity in our wonderfully odd lives. We have enough of them, eh? LOL

[lunylacey]

THNKgod i found this forum and this little bit of it, i have been having what i think are palpitations for so long and the last year they have been gettin worse i was too diagnosed with anxiety for numerous symptoms but never went to hve these checked as im sick of being told nothings wrong or its a panic attack cause lol when im the most relaxed as mny of you said at night mwatching t.v is when it starts, or too i notice any caffeine or alot of sugar and off they go, but at their worst is when i lie down especially on my stomach, or bend over really quickly....So most nights are spent sleeping sittin up in bed and when they get bad i think im going to die but after reading just how common this is and tht people dont die from this condition i feel a bit more comforted........
P.s i only found this as i was trying to go to sleep and started having those all too familiar sensations and thuds in my chest and got up to search to see if this is gonna kill me b4 the docs would listen, glad i did...thnks

[salbacore]

i also am battling with skiped heart beats/ somehow i feel they are linked to gerd.seems pvc gets worse when stomach acts up . have been having skips now for 6 months straight with only a handful of good days. allthough i have not been formally diagnosed ,symptoms are exactly as described by fellow pcv sufferers. most days i brush them off but other days they run my life. last week i had none for 3 days and i felt brand new . now they are back full force.  i am starting to lose this battle . only this web keeps me sane.good luck guys

[Caroline565]

I think it is very important to keep in mind that even though we have FMS, there are other problems that can arise. I suggest it is wise to allow the doctor to diagnose the problem because even though it may sound like the same thing someone else is describing, it could be something very different. One of the most frustrating things about fibro, at least for me, has been developing symptoms that mimic another illness. I would not like a doctor dismissing new symptoms as "just the fibro". I take responsibility for any new symptoms by reporting them to my doctor or seeing a specialist.

[Sonflower]

I have heart palpitations too....

I have never known what the palpitations are from?  I do have FMS/CFS/MPS and Hypoparathyroidism, Hypocalcemia and Hashimoto's an autoimmune Thyroid Disease too.  

This is the first time I have heard that heart palpitations are a symptom of CPS.

Thank for the info;  Sonflower

[suejay577]

Wow I am so glad to read all of this......been having those thuds and missed beats and flutters for years, particularly so at rest and when I am not stressed like you folks, just when  I go to bed and sitting watching tv in the chair and have just been referred to a Cardiologist who I expect will find absolutely nothing wrong as usual with us FMS  sufferers......at least I know I am not alone and not nuts...again. Came back from GP today feeling embarrassed and ashamed for even mentioning my weird and wonderful symptoms... he asked if they made me tired....silly question to ask someone with FMS lol.....
Such a relief to find someone else out there with the same troubles....all the best to you all from here in the Uk