Heart beating out of rhythm

[wilsonlaura]

I have had this for most of my life, I'm now 51.  I know my body and this is caused from gas and probably smoking and most recently drinking coffee, which causes the gas.  If I feel gas I can tell if my heart is going to go out of rhythm. Twice I've had to had a injection to get it back in rhythm once was 27 years ago and the next time was 16 years ago.  I can usually with the exception of twice get it back into rhythm by holding my breath.  I have found that when it happens to me now every once in a while I feel faint when it goes out of rhythm and this is new.  Why is this happening?  I've been stressed lately which causes more gas for me and it happens about once every couple of months.

[achillea]

At age 51, what with recent fainting and a background that includes smoking, you might be flirting with something bad--but also something that could be fixed pretty simply.

We forum members can make some guesses, but we're not physicians.  If you really want to know what's going on with your ticker, I'm afraid there's no way to find out other than by having a real doctor check it out.  

[MichelleP_3811]

When you say out of rhythm is your heart beating too fast or skipping around?  If it is beating fast how fast?  I had what is called avnrt.  My heart would start racing out of the blue for seemingly no reason.  It would reach rates of 230bpm and cause me to feel short of breath and feel as though I might pass out.  The episodes would start and stop suddenly.  I smoked for 25 years and thought I was just hyperventilating but as I aged the episodes became more frequent.  I guess the good news about it was it got me to quit smoking but the condition itself is actually a structural issue rather than a lifestyle issue.  Most congenital svts are caused by extra muscle fibers in the heart that conduct electricity and cause the signal to get caught in a loop.  In my type the most common reason for falling into an episode was from an ectopic beat.  The ectopic beats can flare up from stress and stomach issues to name a few reasons.  So as my ectopic beats became worse my svt episodes also became worse.  Where did you go to get converted and did the place you went give you any indication of what is going on besides your heart being ticklish?  I guess what I am saying, if you have simple ectopics, skipping beats that can be pacs or pvcs, they don't do much for them unless there are so many you can't function.  However, if you are experiencing some sort of tachycardia/svt and it is congenital in nature it is likely it won't go away and may get progressively worse as you age.  I had the episodes all my life but by my 40s I was having them at least monthly if not more.  I know it is scary to go to the doctor but the tests they run to diagnose you are not that big a deal.  You may be asked to wear a monitor for a month to try and catch an episode and you may be asked to do a stress and/or echo test to look at the general health of your heart.  If your heart is healthy what is going on is really not necessarily a threat to your long term health but unresolved svt episodes, especially if they get frequent and start to last hours, may put some undue stress on your heart that could cause it to get a bit tired as you age.  You do not sound like you are in any sort of an emergency situation but you may want to keep your options open in seeing a cardiologist.  In any event, if you do actually just have ectopic beats working on your stress and any stomach issues may help alleviate your episodes of those.  Take care and if you have any further questions there are many here who would be happy to help.

[wilsonlaura]

Hi Michelle, I've never been diagnosed.. I have never been to a heart doctor.. my family doctor when I was about 20 told me I had a ticklish heart and when gas comes up and hits my heart it knocks it out of rhythm.  I'm not very good with going to doctors they scare the heck out of me...  Thanks for your response.

[Midijane]

Aree with the above. You sound like something is progressing enought to cause new lightheadedness. Sometimes when our heart rate speeds up, we can break the rapid hear rate by coughing hard, holding our breath etc. This is called a valsalva maneuver and is actually something nurses can ask a patient to do when a rapid rate develops in the hospital.

However, I would not use that as a means to control something as serious your cardiac rhythm. You really need to have this evaluated by your Cardiologist so he/she can determine the exact arrythmia that is causing your symptoms.

Keep us posted. Marell

[anacyde]

When you start having new symptoms with an arrhythmia, you really need to get that checked out by your doctor.  While it could just be that you're not tolerating it as well, it could also be a new arrhythmia.  I would request a Holter monitor to see what's going on when these symptoms occur.  Good luck.

[MichelleP_3811]

Have you been diagnosed with a particular condition?  Was it an svt?  If so what type?  I would say though, no matter what, if you are experiencing new or worsening symptoms you should go back to your cardiologist and get reevaluated.  It may not be anything to worry about but your doctor has your case history and will know if what you are feeling is anything that needs to be addressed at this time.  Take care and do whatever you can to try and reduce your stress and I am sure you will feel better.  Keep us posted on how you are doing.