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heart skips
I have been plagued with heart skips many years, but lately they are coming in a series. They come many at a time, lasting about 15 to 30 seconds. Of course, it seems like an eternity and I totally panic. I have had all sorts of tests, even going to another hospital for another opinion. They all say they are benign. This maybe so, but how long will this go on. Mentally, its taking a toll. What scares me is I think my heart will never go back to its normal rhythm. I am on 50 mg. of atenolol in the A.M., 150 mg. of avapro in the afternoon, and I cut myself down to 25 mg of atenolol in the evening, instead of 50 mg. My cardiologist thinks this is fine. I have stopped smoking, and everthing else they recommend. I know they claim is it not from the stomach, but I do have the gastro problem according to upper GI series. I burp sour after these are done. Any suggestion to get my life back to normal. Thank you for your interest.
A related discussion, what to do ? was started.
Im 16 years old, i basically eat whatever i want because im naturally skinny (6'3" 150 lbs), ive never touched a cigarette/beer, im in pretty good shape, i exercise fairly often, and ive had these weird heartbeats as well. They started less than a year ago, and i havent thought much of them, and it has never made me panic. When i stand up suddenly or quickly run up some stairs i get light headed for a second. My heart flutters fast for a second sometimes, and sometimes it beats one time much harder than normal. Based off of these comments, i guess i should just see a doctor and make sure i have a "normal" heart and theres nothing to worry about right?
I've been having the "Heart-thumps, Goosebumps" for about 7 months now and my situation is much the same as everyone else has described. Just knowing that I'm not alone has helped to dramtically reduce my anxiety over the attacks - and even to reduce the attacks themselves. However, I have noticed that posture does seem to set them off, particularly bending over. I wanted to tell you that I have found a way that works for me in temporarily stopping the thumping and throat fluttering. I stand up straight and take a really deep breath, to the point of feeling my lungs straining. Then I give a strong hard cough. I find that this gives me relief for quite a few minutes. I tried it because I read somewhere that if you are by yourself and you are having a heart attack, you can save yourself by deliberately coughing hard. It acts a bit like CPR. I reckoned that it was worth a try. Perhaps the coughing somehow jolts or massages the heart muscle???? Can someone else try it and see if it works for them? Oh yes, and I usually try to keep doing some deep breathing for several minutes afterwards. Please give me some feedback. Thanks.
Note to Flutterfreak.
I very much sympathize with exactly what happened to you. This happened to me around a year ago. I also was exercising (in my case squash) and when I finished could not get my heart rate to slow down. It gradually did after I rested at the gym but then after I showered and was walking out of the gym it took off again back to over 200 bpm or so and I felt like my heart rate was fluttering and flip flopping all over the place. I had the health club call an ambulance but all tests and subsequent stress tests, echo tests etc. were clear. When I was having one subsequent stress test done however, I did find that a similar thing happened - that is, my heart rate came back down to normal after finishing the test and then suddenly went up again.
In my case I have fairly much decided to myself that all this is due to some interaction between nervous system (I have suffered from panic attacks in the past) and heart. I believe that the nervous system gets alarmed by the signs of fatigue or heart rate increase from exercise and then kicks off the heart into tachycardia mode.
As for suggestions, I tried short acting beta blockers (Lopressor) for a while taken around the time of exercise and this definitely helped although I found that as my heart rate did not increase as much during exercise the cardio benefits were lessened and I also felt a bit strange. The short acting beta blocker wore off after a few hours but then I sometimes needed to take another one as there seemed to be residual effects from the exercise for quite a while. The reason I took short acting beta blockers was that my doctor was concerned that actually my heart beat was quite slow when not exercising so he was worried that a longer acting one may be detrimental by slowing the heart rate down too much. This may not apply to you.
I stopped taking beta blockers and then went back on anti-depressant Effexor (which I had previously taken for panic attacks) and frankly this almost eliminated instances of exercise induced tachycardia and panic attacks. I also take some Xanax from time to time. The only problem with the Effexor is that I have really started to put on weight and also has some sexual side effects so I am now trying to figure out what to try next (of course under doctor supervision - don't try any of this without talking to your doctor).
Another thing I noticed is that I am more likely to have a post exericse heart rate run if I have over exerted myself during the exercise. So I bought myself a heart rate monitor and now try to avoid letting my heart rate go above 130-140 bpm during exericse (I am 44) and try to keep below 130.
My questions for anyone reading this are:
1. Does anyone suggest an anti-depressant that has the same benefits in terms of panic/exericse induced heart problems but does not put on weight or have sexual side effects?
2. Has anyone experienced pvcs/pacs while flying? I find that a few hours into a trip on a plane (usually a few hours after eating airline food) I often get heart arrythmias/tachicardia. This has lessened somehwat since being on Effexor but not entirely - I am not sure whether caused by stress of flying (unlikely as I am usually relaxing into a movie when it happens), the airplane air or food?
3. The comment that you felt very well before all this happened rings a bell. I often find I feel great with lots of energy before an episode and the episode tends to knock me out. Usually the turn around in condition seems to be associated with eating, particularly after eating carbohydrates. Anyone else relate to this or can explain this?
Anyway, the good thing about reading your story was that you have experienced exactly what I had. I hope the above is some comfort!!
Keep well.
TokyoJoe
I very much sympathize with exactly what happened to you. This happened to me around a year ago. I also was exercising (in my case squash) and when I finished could not get my heart rate to slow down. It gradually did after I rested at the gym but then after I showered and was walking out of the gym it took off again back to over 200 bpm or so and I felt like my heart rate was fluttering and flip flopping all over the place. I had the health club call an ambulance but all tests and subsequent stress tests, echo tests etc. were clear. When I was having one subsequent stress test done however, I did find that a similar thing happened - that is, my heart rate came back down to normal after finishing the test and then suddenly went up again.
In my case I have fairly much decided to myself that all this is due to some interaction between nervous system (I have suffered from panic attacks in the past) and heart. I believe that the nervous system gets alarmed by the signs of fatigue or heart rate increase from exercise and then kicks off the heart into tachycardia mode.
As for suggestions, I tried short acting beta blockers (Lopressor) for a while taken around the time of exercise and this definitely helped although I found that as my heart rate did not increase as much during exercise the cardio benefits were lessened and I also felt a bit strange. The short acting beta blocker wore off after a few hours but then I sometimes needed to take another one as there seemed to be residual effects from the exercise for quite a while. The reason I took short acting beta blockers was that my doctor was concerned that actually my heart beat was quite slow when not exercising so he was worried that a longer acting one may be detrimental by slowing the heart rate down too much. This may not apply to you.
I stopped taking beta blockers and then went back on anti-depressant Effexor (which I had previously taken for panic attacks) and frankly this almost eliminated instances of exercise induced tachycardia and panic attacks. I also take some Xanax from time to time. The only problem with the Effexor is that I have really started to put on weight and also has some sexual side effects so I am now trying to figure out what to try next (of course under doctor supervision - don't try any of this without talking to your doctor).
Another thing I noticed is that I am more likely to have a post exericse heart rate run if I have over exerted myself during the exercise. So I bought myself a heart rate monitor and now try to avoid letting my heart rate go above 130-140 bpm during exericse (I am 44) and try to keep below 130.
My questions for anyone reading this are:
1. Does anyone suggest an anti-depressant that has the same benefits in terms of panic/exericse induced heart problems but does not put on weight or have sexual side effects?
2. Has anyone experienced pvcs/pacs while flying? I find that a few hours into a trip on a plane (usually a few hours after eating airline food) I often get heart arrythmias/tachicardia. This has lessened somehwat since being on Effexor but not entirely - I am not sure whether caused by stress of flying (unlikely as I am usually relaxing into a movie when it happens), the airplane air or food?
3. The comment that you felt very well before all this happened rings a bell. I often find I feel great with lots of energy before an episode and the episode tends to knock me out. Usually the turn around in condition seems to be associated with eating, particularly after eating carbohydrates. Anyone else relate to this or can explain this?
Anyway, the good thing about reading your story was that you have experienced exactly what I had. I hope the above is some comfort!!
Keep well.
TokyoJoe
Hi C43, I am new to the message boards. After having read your thread, that is exactly what I am living with day in day out. This started in May of 2002. I cannot believe that these cardiologists are saying to learn to live with it, that is, in my case. I really am scared and living a normal life has become quite a challenge. email me if you wish and we can exchange information. principessa_chi***@****
hope to hear from you.
hope to hear from you.
Hey Mike,
Do you feel that fluttering or spasms in your stomach when your heart is skipping? That's how I feel plus lots of indigestion. I'm trying the Gaviscon treatment from today. Two teaspoons after every meal and four teaspoons before bed. I'll see how it goes.
Hope you'll feel better soon.
Aaron
Do you feel that fluttering or spasms in your stomach when your heart is skipping? That's how I feel plus lots of indigestion. I'm trying the Gaviscon treatment from today. Two teaspoons after every meal and four teaspoons before bed. I'll see how it goes.
Hope you'll feel better soon.
Aaron
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