Heart problems (ectopics?) and breathing during sleep

[jfille]

Hi everyone,

I am a 25 year old female and I have had some problems with my  heart for the last 6 months or so. I can often feel my heart beating, have chest discomfort/tightness which can last for days at a time, and occasionally have episodes which last for an hour or two where I feel dizzy and faint and can feel my heart thumping. Occasionally this is also accompanied by a racing heartbeat, 160-180bpm. I feel very tired all the time and find it hard to concentrate. I often get dizzy when I stand up or move too quickly.

The symptoms seem to be worse at night or while I am relaxing, they don't seem to be stress-related.

I have had a lot of ECGs and a holter monitor but they haven't managed to pick up a bad episode while it is actually happening. The holter picked up some isolated supra-ventricular ectopics. My ECGs show that I have a slightly prolonged QT interval, apparently it is "just at the very upper limit of normal", the doctors seem distracted by this, I'm not sure whether it's the actual issue.

I am booked in for an exercise test and echocardiogram but need to wait a month or so before the tests.

Anyway, I can cope with the symptoms I have described above, but I have had three isolated episodes which really scared me -

1) I felt a very hard, sharp squeezing sensation (like a hand squeezing around my heart) and immediately felt so dizzy I almost blacked out. This was followed by hours of a thumping, irregular heartbeat
2) I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe. When I tried to breathe in, nothing happened. It wasn't like there was a block, or like I was wheezing or struggling to get any air in, I literally just couldn't suck in any air. This lasted for about five attempted breaths, again I almost fainted, until suddenly I was able to breathe again. Followed by an irregular and very fast heartbeat for an hour or two.
3) Again, woke up unable to breathe. This time I could breathe in a very small amount and after a couple of gasps I got breathing back to normal.

When I say I almost fainted, I mean my head was spinning for 10-15 seconds, I could feel myself spiralling out of consciousness, and things were starting to go black.

My questions are -

1) Is there any explanation for waking up unable to breathe like this? Both times my breathing has come back to normal but I am terrified of not waking up, or waking up and not being able to breathe at all and blacking out.
2) I have completely cut out coffee, alcohol and sugar, am taking multivitamins and trying to get plenty of sleep and do some light exercise every day. Is there anything else I can do that might help?

I have been to my GP about ten times, once to the emergency room, and to two different cardiac specialists. They are all unable to tell me what is wrong with me. The anxiety of not knowing what it is makes the symptoms worse when they happen. I just hope that the next round of tests will give some more certainty.

[joshua77]

I have the same problem as you all except pamela. The missed beats the heart rate for no reason up in the 160s cant breath Shaking light headed blind spots almost passing out sleeping way to much tired all the time and yea night the makes it the worst. I have no idea what the problem is but as you all I also have had alot of test with some positive but nothing to bad pots and nerocardiogenic sysnscope. What happened to you Pamela?

[pamela7777777]

oooohh! im 16years old weave have the same problem. my Dr. also don't know why my heart beat is beating fast it always happen at midnight ive  almost been 6times to the dr. to check me up.... but still nothing but he gave me some medicine to control my heart beat.... i just dont like the part like my is being squeezed its so annoying... and painful..... my question is when i get a direct attack how can i over come.... the bad thing is the Dr. told me if i didnt take a early check up then he was sure that i wil pass away thats the bad scene for me :(

Just dont give up hope have Faith in God his always there to help whenever were in need just seek and pray to God
he will do the rest God is the greatest Dr. of all times    

[playboy953]

i have had all loads test done in the last 5 months, had ecg, 24hr recording , echogram now i have 2 go on the 26thmay get treadmill test done plus on the 11th june i have 2 c heart consultant , i have got worse and it always seems 2 start around 8pm at  nite i cant breath i feel like iam drowning iam trying to breath and i cant , my heart is stopping like missing a beat , and when it starts again it goes really fast, iam scared incase my heart misses a beat and dosnt start again , your symptoms sound like mine and iam glad i have read your story , cause my partner looks at me if 2 say just breath and i tell him i cant iam breating but iam not getting a clear big breath if that makes sence,