Sudden Heart Flutter

[DennisJerner]

Hello my name is Dennis I am 18 I'm pretty healthy I'm 6ft 3 weighing 70kg I do not drink or smoke or take any other drugs, I take a daily medication I take Propranolol 10mg twice a day one in the morning and one in the evening they are to calm down my anxiety and heart palpotations wich I have been having for about 10 months now.

Lately I have been getting weird heart flutters which seem the same as palpotations they make my heart beat quick but unlike palpotations they dont make my heart skip a beat they feel more like a flutter. They feel very intense and feel like if they do not stop id have a heart attack or something they feel very fluttery! and are becoming a daily thing. They first started about a year and a half ago where I had one of these flutters and it was a very scary experience but i didnt take much notice of it and then it happened again and now its happening more and more it turned to maybe one every couple of months to a month and then to one every couple of weeks to one every couple of days and for the last couple of days they might not be serious flutters but iv had one nearly everyday. They come suddenly mainly notice them when im sitting down, they come on suddenly i dont feel them coming on and they last anything from 1-5seconds never had a long episode of this feeling but in those 1-5seconds i feel like im going to have a heart attack. I dont know what it can be either i have had probably around 10 ecg's in the last year so my heart should be perfect  the last ecg i had was probably about 4 months ago they said i am the perfect picture of health and i shouldent worry so much i have had two 24houre ecgs and i have done cardio while having my heart recorded the cardio came back saying i have a ectopic heartbeat , i never knew i had this and that is when i started taking propranolol for my palpotations that i have been having.

I would really like some advice i feel like i pester my doctor going there all of the time i have had 10 ecgs 2 24houre tapes 1 cardio test while being ecg'd everything came back saying i am healthy, i feel like if i am to go its not going to be any different result and i would be sent home, i try and keep as healthy as i can I work out everyday for about 30 minutes a day doing small things such as press ups and some weights sometimes i work out twice i day in the evening and in the day time i also go college and work so im usually pretty occupied.

I have sufford from bad anxiety and i still have anxiety but its not that bad anymore i still get worried from time to time but worrying alone cant be enough to be causing this sensation because it comes on when im not worried at all? please help i would really like to know if anyone knows what can be happening to me? oh yeah i had a weird idea that the propranolol might be side effecting or something ? the propranolol helps my palpotations and improves my everyday living. so i dont know why these flutter sensations are happening they are happening more offten id really like some answers i had a pretty big flutter today not a long one but it felt really bad it lasted about 4seconds

sorry for writing so much
Dennis

[r9c]

I think the critical thing is during ur flutter / palpitations did u experience other symptoms such as lightheadness or shortness of breathe.Like other said,get another holter monitoring,30 day monitor etc.often 24 hour holter means nothing if you do not have anything significant symptoms at that recording period,i know these very well as i have been two 24 hour holter and it came back very clean normal,the only time they caught my pvc thing was in the A&E department where the ER doc hooked up me to to ecg thing,and from there they could see a longer rythm of pvc compare to a normal 12 lead ECG which last like probably 10 seconds?

[tom_h]

Dennis, these type of arrhythias are unpredictable, and fleeting in nature.  Quite often, a 24hr. monitor will show nothing if you're having "good" day.  

If you feel these strange heartbeats, and if you're pretty attuned to your body, I'd keep on the doctor.  Make sure you accurately describe what you're feeling.  I'm not suggesting that you should "lead" your doctor.  But you want to make slear that this isn't related to your anxiety.  That may be coming after you feel the event.  If 24hr. monitor aren't catching the arrhythmia because it just didn't happen during the monitoring period, I'd ask for a 30 day monitor.  It's a small, easy to use device with two user replaceable pads that you change daily after showering.  You wear it 24/7 except for bathing. it has bit auto-record as well as user triggered recording capabilities.  Also, if you're drinking anything with caffeine, stop.  Caffeine that's in energy drinks, soft drinks, coffee and tea can contribute to your problems.  Finally, remember that you can be an excellent physical specimen, in perfect health, with a structurally sound heart, but still have some kind "electrical wiring" problem.

[ddm00767]

Hi Jerry
The flutters can be very scary. I can go days or weeks without anything and then flutters or like beat skips or gets too strong. Weird.
Anyway, I have found that taking magnesium supplements conntrols my episodes a great deal. I noticed this because I started taking calcium/ magnesium and I realized there were no more flutters, skips, fast beats or anything.  I looked up magnesium and read it helps regulate heart rhythem.  Yay! And if I forget to take magnesium for awhile the episodes start again. So I try to remember to take a pill at least every couple of days.  I just take the one pill, they are regular magnesium supplement found in drug store. Just make sure your doctor oks it but if he can't find anything wrong otherwise it should be ok to take them but don't over do them because one is fine.

[MichelleP_3811]

Did one of the 2 24 hour monitors you had catch one of these episodes you have that make you feel like you are having a heart attack?  Did you feel an episode while wearing the monitor?  If so then you really don't have anything to worry about.  If not then you might want to ask for an event monitor.  You wear it for a month and only record when you are having an episode.  This should capture what you are feeling and then give you a more definitive idea of what is going on.  That all being said, most arrhythmias are more of a nuisance than anything else.  Our heart really are pretty resilient.  If you can let the stress you are having go about what is going on it might help lessen the amount of episodes you are having.  Finally, don't ever feel bad about talking to your doctor.  You obviously have more questions so try to formulate what those questions are that will help ease your mind about your condition and then see if you can get them answered.  Take care and hang in there.  The fact that your heart is structurally fine is a good sign and take heart that there are many with heart rhythm problems that go on to live full active lives.      

[Jerry_NJ]

Sorry if I repeat myself, but you may get some helpful inputs from the anxiety forum:  http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Anxiety/show/71

I know we have exchanged ideas before, and sorry to read you are still suffering, but from the little I know about anxiety (yes, I too have some at times) it could be a major component of you heart symptoms.  This seems to be strongly suggested by the healthy heart diagnosis you have received, consider that good news.

I recall when I had an unexplained loss of hemoglobin (very low cell count, something like 6 where 14 is normal) 20 years ago and when the intestinal doctor couldn't find any problems, e.g., no colon cancer or ulcers, I was disappointed until I "woke up": hey, no colon cancer or ulcers is good news.  In my case some Iron supplement and the hemoglobin came back to normal and has remained so to this day.  It can be something simple, let's hope so.