palpitations when changing position? and also can it be related to neuro disorders?

[alison72774]

Is it possible that the heart sets off palpitations when I change position? I notice that I have a ton of palps when sitting in my recliner and am rocking, also when I lay down flat or on left side. They slow down or abate when I stop rocking and I have gone through a bunch of heart testing, only to show very strong vaso vagal(tilt table positive with a huge crash of both bp and heart rate causing passing out). I have had frequent near-fainting episodes now for almost a year where some days are much worse than others. Only had a few fainting like episodes prior to last year and those were years between. So last year they kicked in much more frequently along with other neurological symptoms and I am under three neurologist's care at the moment....all sub-specialty and dealing with a different set of symptoms.  Other symptoms I have had are: myoclonus, dizziness, vision issues(spots and flashers in field of vision, difficulty focusing at times and extreme light sensitivity that waxes and wanes), memory issues, some minor verbal issues(flip/exchange the wrong words when I talk at times-increasingly over the last few months). I have had two lower spine surgeries in the last two years(both fusions). I have muscle tenderness in most areas of my body but some areas much worse than others and can hardly be touched-crutches caused welts under my arms-it was the worst pain to use crutches, crutches also made my arms go numb. I have had my left arm that goes painfully numb on and off for the past 9 years. I have had a brain MRI(with contrast-no lesions were seen), and a whole range of heart tests-echo, tilt table, ultrasound, ekg, medicine induced stress test...all normal except my tilt table which showed vaso vagal. I also have had a sleep lab and an EEG, no seizures were seen but from what I have read, seizures are hard to catch on an EEG and can often be missed. However, my neurologist does not believe it is seizures causing my myoclonus. However, one of my three neurologists is going to be doing a complete re-evaluation in a few weeks as many of my symmptoms have appeared and/or worsened over the last few months. Any ideas as to why palpitations would start up when in a rocking chair? I also get them when I laugh hard or have any caffeine whatsoever. I am having increasing palpitations that make me feel nauseated and can go on for hours. My primary dr has said if they go on for hours again to go to the hospitalI...usually they are pretty brief but not always..it literally feels like my heart is flipping over and it can be rather breath taking. Very strange and I don't like it but my heart dr tells me to drink a ton of water(which I already do). I also heard him whispering to the nurse during my tilt table test that I was having a lot of "pauses" but he never explained those to me or even mentioned them directly to me... I have not had further advice as of yet and am scared of these palps and don't have a follow up apt scheduled for a couple months with my cardio...any advice? Thanks!!!

[Chemi1492]

Not sure if you ever got an answer.. I have somewhat similar symptoms and my doctor recently mentioned postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) as a possible diagnosis. It's a type of dysautonomia.. I don't know much besides that but felt like it was info I should pass along! I hope you have an answer already! And if you don't have one yet - I hope you find it soon!

[bethmo]

Hi Alison,

I don't know if you have found any answers yet, but it sure sounds like to me that you have Ehler-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  Please research it.  There are various types of this disorder with different manifestations, but in genera it is a genetic defect that causes collagen to be improperly formed, and since collagen is in all parts of your body, it affects everything!  

Muscle, joint, back, and neck issues are common in EDS, as well as numbness to various body parts.  Also, it can affect speech and balance.  Many people with EDS also have POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome - which can cause lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, fast heart beat, etc., especially when changing positions or rising from a sitting or horizontal position.  Heart palpitations possibly caused by defect in autonomic nervous system.  The symptoms for EDS are numerous and people have varying degrees of severity.  

And since it is a genetic disorder, it runs in families, which I noticed you have many relatives with various nerve issues.  Please research this out to see if this is a possibility in your case.  You can go to ednf.org (Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation) to learn more.  

When I read your posts I thought, "This sounds like me, my daughter, and others in my family."  So, I thought I would just drop you a line in case this would help you in your search for answers.  

God bless!

Beth

[bethmo]

Hi Alison,

I don't know if you have found any answers yet, but it sure sounds like to me that you have Ehler-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  Please research it.  There are various types of this disorder with different manifestations, but in genera it is a genetic defect that causes collagen to be improperly formed, and since collagen is in all parts of your body, it affects everything!  

Muscle, joint, back, and neck issues are common in EDS, as well as numbness to various body parts.  Also, it can affect speech and balance.  Many people with EDS also have POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome - which can cause lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, fast heart beat, etc., especially when changing positions or rising from a sitting or horizontal position.  Heart palpitations possibly caused by defect in autonomic nervous system.  The symptoms for EDS are numerous and people have varying degrees of severity.  

And since it is a genetic disorder, it runs in families, which I noticed you have many relatives with various nerve issues.  Please research this out to see if this is a possibility in your case.  You can go to ednf.org (Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation) to learn more.  

When I read your posts I thought, "This sounds like me, my daughter, and others in my family."  So, I thought I would just drop you a line in case this would help you in your search for answers.  

God bless!

Beth

[alison72774]

Thanks !!
I have had palpitations while laying down or while sitting or standing, sometimes it feels like it is actually flipping around like a fish or something. It is odd and I do agree that stress can make things worse, I understand this kind of thing with stress. However, I don't believe it is the culprit for me either, just may worsen symptoms. I am actually thinking of counseling because I have a large plethora of other symptoms, mostly neurological and auto immune in nature and I have virtually no support from my family. They don't believe in going to drs much and think that I should just ignore everything and it will go away at some point. I was raised by parents that believe in just letting kids learn everything on their own and  were somewhat negligent when I was growing up, they never took us to drs or even the dentist...I had whiplash three times growing up and not once did they take me to a dr..now I have had two spine surgeries as an adult and they couldn't understand or suppor those either..not an easy family to be surrounded by for sure..I can understand their limitations in thinking because some people are just limited...but it is tough to not have support when you know something is going on with your body and it is not normal and there is such a huge lack of understanding in those around me...makes it even tougher to experience all of this. Still odd because my mother's own father died from complications of rheumatoid arthritis at my age, 38, and she just lost her brother of complications two years ago and he was only 60... along with numerous cousins with all kinds of auto immune problems...she just can't be emotionally supportive and I struggle with accepting her lack of empathy or concern and her punishing verbal attacks towards me for seeking help with drs. So this may push me into counseling just because I need to get some of this off my chest sometimes, just need someone to listen and try to understand. I am also working on learning relaxation techniques, knew how to use these before but didn't utilize them much and now am making it a top priotiry to have silence and peace every day, even if for just five minutes, it helps a lot! Also important to try to surround self with positive minded individuals...Also exercise:) I have been walking on the treadmill a lot every day but my palpitations have actually increased as well as the near faints ...weird stuff!
Thanks again and I wish you luck:) I am here if you ever need an ear to listen:)

[Pooyan01]

The vagus nerve can affect the heart rate, it may simply be stimulated by the movement in the rocking chair. Its all very vague what can cause problems like this.

I have palpitations occasionally, ventricular bigeminy quite often. Anything seems to set it off, perhaps more often alcohol, chocolate or tiredness.

I know one thing that certainly makes it worse for me, and i suspect this will apply to you even more than I. Stress and anxiety, worrying and trying to discover what the problem is seems to have the side effect of causing stress. Adrenaline is released and we are on a slippery slope. I'm not saying the cause of all your problems is anxiety, its not for me. But it makes it a lot worse.

Have you considered help with relaxation or counselling? I eventually did, my problems remain and its early days yet for me. But I think I cope better now.

When you have the palpitations whats your heart rate? Mr doc said palpitations are heart beats you can feel and it doesnt mean that they have to be super fast or slow - just noticeable.

Hope you find a solution soon.