What is it?

[Jaloney]

Not so much of a question but would like to get some input on what others think I may have......

I am 33 years old, a stay at home mother of 2. I have never had a serious health issue in my life. I did have extremely high blood pressure during delivery of my first child but it was controlled with iv fluids and has not been a problem since. Last August of 2008 I was sitting on the couch playing on the computer when this overwhelming feeling came over me. My heart was racing, I felt like a hot pressure in my chest, light headed, felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I went to the hospital and they ran some test. My heart rate was 136 bpm and all my blood work came back normal. At the time I was a heavy drinker, beer mostly usually every second day I would have anywhere from 6-10. BUT as of today I have been sober for 6 months..yay! At the time my doctor contributed it to alcohol abuse and because I am a smoker she believed this was also a factor. After that attack and up to this day I have only been to the hospital for the same symptons once more, (twice in total within 1 year). Now that I am a recovering alcoholic my doctor has ruled out the alcohol but has now said it has to do with smoking and caffine. I do not drink coffee, never have and have never been big on pop until I quit drinking as I kinda substituted the beer for Pepsi but I only have a max of 3 pepsi a day and most days less than that. Since my first attack I started getting, what I have now discovered to be, ectopic heartbeats where I am aware of my heartbeat and sometimes it skips or something where 1 beat feels really hard and then normal again. For the first few months after my first attack these ectopic beats happened very seldom, or at least I noticed them very rarely. Now and for the past 2/3 months I notice them everyday usually when I'm laying in bed just before I go to sleep. I may feel the hard heartbeat 6 or 10 times in a 20 minute period and then normal again. I have a heart ultrasound scheduled for the end of next week and a Holter monitor for Dec 1 so I have no definate answers yet. when I read about all of these heart conditions I am terrified, especially when some say you could go into cardiac arrest and die. I just don't understand how a generally healthy person can one day get something so serious. To this day my doctors say I am a very healthy 33 year old so what could cause all of this? It has totally scared me and I am on the verge of picking my quit smoking day but I have an addictive personality (so I've been told) and I was hoping to fully recover from the alcoholism before I jumped into getting rid of another huge part of my life. Although anything that will make me feel better I'm all for it, Living everyday not knowing if your going to have an attack is the scariest thing especially with a little 3 year old running around.

Thanks for listeneing and any suggestions anyone may have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
Jaloney

[Yvette BG]

I agree with BobRBob that quitting smoking and cutting back on the Pepsi may help. I have heard of a few people having palpitations and other unpleasant reactions to soda with caffeine and sugar. I believe, if memory serves me correctly, there is close to 10 teaspoons of sugar in a regular (non-diet) soda. If you drink large-sized sodas, more than one in a sitting, or on an empty stomach, your body may be reacting. Good luck!

[BobRBob]

LOL!
Not sure a poll is the best approach to a diagnosis anyway. Better to seek medical advice which you are doing. The upcoming tests will probably confirm your doctors opinion that you are heart healthy. That said, you should probably do your best to complete your transition to a healthier lifestyle - quit smoking and cut back on the Pepsi. The link between heart disease and smoking is well established.
Best of luck.

[Jaloney]

Just to let everyone know, I am new to this forum and didn't understand what the poll ment until my question was posted. Sorry just looking for any advice anyone has on this. Thank you.
Jaloney