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Avatar universal

Palpitations

I would like to ask a follow up question.

I'm a 33 yr old male with a 3 year history is palpitations, but I have a 1 year period in between which I was symptom free....can't explain it.

But here I sit now for the third time...yes, the third time with a 30 day event monitor attached to me trying to catch it happening.   It just doesn't seem to want to happen when I have a monitor attached!

Basically my heart begins beating both forcefully and highly erratically...feels like dozens of extra beats in a row, the soft beats alternating with hard beats, and random, and very hard fluttering  in my chest....sometimes it makes me feel like I'm on the verge of fainting.    And it can last up to 3 minutes strait.

It has happened to me 3 times in the last 3 weeks, and now I've had the monitor on for 3 days.

But, the thing is,  strangely I know when I am more likely to have the arrythmia because I will have this constant, all day feeling in my upper stomach like I'm falling on an elevator.  I know it sounds strange,  but when my heart goes out of rhythm, it feels like my stomach gets warm and flushed, and I'm left feeling nauseated afterwards, and then  my stomach continues to feel strange all day

I was wondering, is there something I could do to provoke the symptoms I have been naturally having, just so the monitor can pick it up?    

Also, can you confirm what my doctor tells me ... that this doesn't souind life threatening, with my normal echo?  

Also, what do you think about the feeling I have in my upper stomach?

Finally, is there anything I can do to stop the irregular rhythm once it starts?  Isn't there a trick you can do with your stomach and breathing?

Please try to answer all 4 questions if possible,  thank you so much
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Avatar universal
Okay thanks.....I guess if nothing happens this month then I'll ask my cardiologist if I could wear it another month  (ehhh,  I hope my insurance would cooperate with that)...... I definitely feel quite a bit better now hearing all this.   I wish I knew what made me more susceptible to it happening....I'm telling you, it's this weird feeling I get for hours before in my upper stomach (like dropping on an elevator) and for some reason I know it's going to happen.   Who knows.  I wish I did.  
Helpful - 0
1551954 tn?1294270311
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
If nothing shows up in the first month then yes, I might recommend wearing it for one more month.  If nothing after two months then I would rest assured that these are very rare and benign! I already truly think these are benign but this is being safe!
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Avatar universal
In other words is the really important to know what the rhythm is?   If you can answer that one last question, I promise I'll leave you alone
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for the reply once again.... yes, I'm having what feels like continuous extra beats/fluttering that starts suddenly and lasts for up to 1-3 minutes nonstop  (perhaps hundreds in a row),  and one time I got very lightheaded and my vision started to fade out on me, which was (pardon my French), scary as hell!     Right now, I'm only worried that with my luck I won't have the rhythm again in the next 27 days I have the monitor on.....  

If you happen to read this again, should I persist and wear this monitor until it happens again, even if it's months from now?
Helpful - 0
1551954 tn?1294270311
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Answer 1:
No, there really isn't anything you can do to provoke the symptoms on your own.  I would have you wear an event monitor for multiple weeks in a row (3-4) if you are only having it once a week; the longer period will definitely allow one to catch something.
    

Answer 2:
Because I am not seeing you in clinic I cannot absolutely confirm.  But, I remember your case and in the setting of a normal echo and baseline EKG it would be rare to have a life threatening arrhythmia.  

Answer 3:
I think the feeling in your stomach is related to the palpitations and the abnormal feelingi n your chest is likely radiationg down into your upper stomach.  There is no association with GERD and palpitations except that if you have a lot of stress or pain with GERD this stress-response could cause more palpitations.

Answer 4:
From what I understand you are not having an abnormal rhythm you are just having a few beats every once in awhile which are PVC's. If this Event Monitor actually shows an arrhythmia (multiple, abnormal beats in a row for multiple seconds) then there could be something you could do but this is not something I could tell you over the Internet without seeing your strips myself.  You would need to ask your own Cardiologist. He/She should be able to help.  

Thats all I got! Hope this helps.
Helpful - 0

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