Rapid heartbeat caused by jolt or sudden movement

[dave1986]

Since i was about 10 years old I have had times where, due to some form of sudden movement (whether it be landing from a jump or being knocked when playing sport) my heart starts racing with no warning or gradual increase. During these periods I feel as though I have just been sprinting and I can get short of breath if it lasts too long.

It was a fairly regular occurence when I was a teenager and played a lot of sport, however now im 24 and no longer play so much sport so it only happens occassionally, maybe once every 10 weeks or so.

To be honest I have never worried too much about it as I discovered a method to stop it. Again it stops suddenly rather than gradually and returns to a normal pace.

Im really just after some kind of explanation as to what it is and whether I should in fact be seeking a medical opinion on it!

[2210485]

I wouldnt jump right into svt, other possibilities exist, although svt is likely. I also wouldnt suggest a 30 day monitor.. 24 or 48 hour should be fine, or a 14 day cardiokey..

Definately sounds like an issue with heart rhythm but you need to see a cardiologist so more data can be collected.

As for svt being converted in a hospital, i wouldnt recommend that either, unless the symptoms are like, really concerning and the episodes are typically very long.

Reason being: svt's with the exeception of junctional tach and afib are always self limiting, it always kills itsself eventually.

That means if it is svt the odds pretty unlikely that youd be able to get to a hospital, check in and be cardioverted before the thing stopped on its own.

[tom_h]

I had 54 years of SVT.  My episodes were NOT self limiting.  They would run on for over 24 hours if allowed to.  Unless these are daily events, a 24 or 48 Holter will most.likely be useless.  Trust me and dozens of others here on the forum.  Use a 30 day monitor.  It will greatly increase the chances of capturing an event.  A recording of the event is key to a cure.  Im 7 years free of near lifetime AVRT.

[tom_h]

zathnany, you sound like you have some form of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) as you're describing classic symptoms of this condition.  An EKG will most likely reveal nothing.  To treat this, you will most likely have to capture an event.  To do this you A: Need a 30 day monitor, B:Be symptomatic at least once during this 30 day period.  Seeing as they say is believing, and once the physician seesbthe evidence, a cure is usually accomplished with catheter ablation. A 30 day monitor can be worn in any setting except bathing. It udually has 2 or 3 sticky electrode pads that are replaced daily by the user. This is usually the only way it can be captured.  I had the run on variety, amd my physician begged me to come down to the ER for an immediate EKG.  But i always managed to convert mine or was never near a hospital when it occurred.  Best of luck to you.

[zathnany]

I am grateful for finding this thread. I have experienced the same thing since I was about 9. I was a competitive gymnast and it would happen when I landed hard after a large flip. Immediately my heart would beat insanely fast and very hard and then I would wait for the big reset, which happened with an even larger palpitation and then back to normal pace. You could see my heart pounding through my leotard across the gym.

In college our athletic trainer was concerned about it happening so I wore a holter monitor for a day. I tried to explain that it doesn't happen just walking around and I was in no position to do any flips wearing the monitor and it also didn't happen every day. The last time this happened was when I was coaching and did a flip. I really did not like it happening, so that was the last day I did gymnastics.

I'm now in my early 40s and came here today because I experienced something similar, but not quite the same and I think it's due to medication I'm on, which is clarithromycin (antibiotic) and dulera (inhaled cortisteroid and a long-acting
beta2-agonist).

During work today my heart started the hard and rapid beat but instead of resetting, it would beat 10-20 times fast, skip a beat, followed by a really large beat, and then continued to repeat the pattern of fast beats, skip, extra large beat. This lasted 30 minutes. It was not as fast as when I did gymnastics but it was much faster than normal. I didn't mind the palpitations so much, but I didn't like that it didn't reset the way it used to as a gymnast. Now I'm completely fine, but I am concerned about taking either medicine, so I'm stopping until the doctor figures out what I should take, if anything. PCP wants to see me tomorrow and they'll likely do an EKG but I don't expect it will show anything since it has resolved.

Have any of you had problems with medications, could it be related, or perhaps something entirely different? I really can't believe I've found other people out there who have experienced what I have. I never knew what it was until finding this thread.

[Alikashif]

Dave 1986. Brother we are having same problem if you could any soloution let me know as will . At first it didnt ok i wast afraid but now it feel like i am daing.

[tom_h]

A 30 day monitor will let you participate in any activity that does not submersed it in water.  The device is about the size of about deck of cards and uses 2 or 3 leads which about replaced daily.  Recordings are phoned automatically into a monitoring lab.  The extended wear period is often enough to capture an event.  You may find that as you age, your events will become  more numerous, and will occur more easily and thus can be more easily captured.

[vickiwa]

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this post but it's just nice to know I'm not alone in this "torture".  My episodes started when I was 17.  Not sure what started it back then but of course the doctors told me not to worry about it.  By the time I was 28 and pregnant with my daughter I had complete heart failure in the 8th month and wasn't expected to live more than a year.  I am now 47 nd my daughter is 18 and I was never able to have more children as I was told I wouldn't make it through again.  I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 1998.  Although my heart is back to it's normal size, I still suffer with episodes of rapid heartbeat with arrythmias.  I have noticed that they usually occur when I'm laying in bed and twist my body to move into a different position.  As soon as it starts I can barely breath, can't stand up for more than a couple seconds without my head spinning, and feel as though I've run a marathon.  These episodes usually last for a day and occur about 6 times a month.  My cardiologist never sees anything on the heart monitor of course and make me feel like I'm making sh*t up.  I'm so tired of being scared and thinking "is this the one where my heart stops".  And tired of having to lay in bed for every episode.  I never knew there were ways to help stop or slow them down.  The worst one lasted 3 days and I was taken by ambulance to the hospital with a heart rate of 248.  I am so frustrated and beginning to think I won't live long if this continues.  Seriously thinking about looking into an ablation but when your doctor says there's nothing wrong, what the heck can you do?  Anyway, thanks for listening whoever is reading this.

[tom_h]

There is probably no reason you need to live with this.  Have your physicians suggested cardiac ablation?  Have you had an electrophysiology procedure to find out what's going on?

[vickiwa]

My cardiologist has not suggested any procedures to help me. They say they see nothing wrong when I wear the holter so therefore they tell me I'm normal.  Maybe it's time to change doctors.  I've been seeing the same one for 18 years.

[Moodyticker]

Tom_h, Thanks a ton for your speedy response and follow up to my post. Your reply and assurance has made me feel a lot more confident that I am indeed suffering from SVTs and not something more ominous. That being said, i am still faced with the task of capturing and properly diagnosing it, which in itself is quite tricky, and also because all of the episodes that i've experienced self-terminates within 3-5 mins.(not nearly enough time to get to a hospital to have it documented).

I still have to deal with the ectopic beats that come and go day in day out, but i guess thats part and parcel. The Doc had recommended a low dosage of bisoprolol 2.5mg to see if helps but i am somewhat reluctant to get of betablockers due to the adverse effects it has on endurance and sports performance.

Due to the infrequency of the episodes of tachycardia, i am trying not to let the condition ruin my life and i am also trying to return to full activity/sports without any treatment, however, at very much lower intensities than before. Not sure if that is just being reckless but i do hope to get my fitness back and be able to race triathlons again.

Thanks again for the huge support and advice Tom-h!

[tom_h]

Just a followup: Cardiac ablation usually allows you to return to competitive sports.  As a youth and young adult, I skated and cycled at very high national levels all while having SVT.  It was a crap shoot though. You never knew if and when an event would occur.  I finally had mine fixed as I approached 60, and have been SVT free for 6 years now.  I still skate in the old mans division they respectfully call the Masters and Veterans division.  When our divison skates, that's when the crowd heads for the snack bar and bathrooms!  If I could offer you one bit of advice, it would be to capture and event, and get it fixed.  Don't wait as long as I did.  Life is too short!

[tom_h]

Moodyticker, you are describing all common triggers of supraventricular tachycardia.  Stepping off a curb and landing flat-footed, or perhaps a jump on which you land hard will often initiate an SVT event.  For me this became a more common trigger than hard workouts that raised the heart rate naturally.  As a kid and young man, that would sometimes cause my heart to break into SVT.  Rates of 200 to 240 and higher are common with SVT.  Most times in normal sinus rhythm, and EKG will reveal nothing but a perfect waveform.  The only way these events are seen is with a 30 day monitor that you wear until an event is captured.  That is often the only way of proving what you have.  Once a physician sees this, quite often a cure is relatively easy.  A number of of here have had it fixed after near lifetimes of having it.

[Moodyticker]

Was beginning to think that I am the only one who suffers from rapid HR brought on by a sudden jolt/movement before stumbling across this post!

Similar to dave1986, mine also seem to be triggered by a stomp of my foot on the ground or when I make a sudden movement/jolt as a result of the sports that I am involved in. Triathlons, football, rock climbing, rugby, cycling, the sorts. Ever since the first episode, it has taken all the joy out of doing all these activities and resultantly, I've put on a ton of weight.

First episode occurred during swim training while warming up and I suspect somehow the kick turn off the pool wall had triggered the rapid HR which feels like strong, pronounced and very rapid beats felt in the chest. Since then, I've had maybe a handful of episodes over the span of maybe 1 and 1/2 years, fastest HR occurring while exercising, exceeding 200 maybe 230s recorded on my HRM. Oddly enough, every episode of rapid/racing heart rate that I've experienced have all occurred only during exercise!

Ever since then, I have been feeling ectopics, I say Ectopics because I am unsure whether they are PVCs or PACs which I sometimes get at rest, sometimes during exercise. ie. Running. Some days more than others. Some days none, and I've been told by my cardiologist as well as Google, that they are mostly benign. :(

Ive done a plethora of tests, ECG, echo, holter, stress test, cholesterol, thyroid, blood work, which all came back quite clear. So even the doctors could not tell me conclusively what it was that is causing all the fuss with my heart. it got to a point where I would get so annoyed and I would intentionally try to trigger the rapid HRs, just so I could capture an event on the holter or stress test for the purposes of a diagnosis, but to no avail so far, almost as though the heart knows it's being monitored and decided to behave.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most at this point is, 1. not knowing for sure whether it's an svt or something more sinister, ie, v-tach, and 2. Whether I am able to participate in competitive sport again without the risk of having the heart give up on me.

[Nakkybukky]

I have the same problem with racing heart, but it only happens when I golf. I'm a 70-year-old female, and my problem started 5 years ago. My episodes last 10-14 hours or so and my heart rate goes up and down: 120, 140, 170, 180, 130, 150,,etc. I figured my problem was caused by an imbalance in my electrolytes (I live in Florida), so I started taking a multi-mineral pill (calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese). Potassium is also an important electrolyte and helps regulate the heart's rhythm, but I could only find supplements that provided 3% of the RDA. So I researched and found that white beans and coco are high in potassium (more so than bananas). When I had my next racing incident, I opened a can of white beans and ate the entire thing. That made my heart go back to regular in about 45 minutes (as opposed to several hours). So I thought: I like chocolate more than white beans, and I bought Ghirardelli's 72% chocolate squares. The next time I had a racing incident, I ate the chocolate and my heart stopped racing within 5 minutes. Honest! That was 2 or 3 years ago. The chocolate worked like magic for several incidents after that but, lately, it doesn't stop the racing completely, but it does certainly reduce the intensity and the time of the incident.

[paulc8125]

I am amazed that I saw this. I have had a lot of PVCs lately and that is why I did a Google search and ended up here. The original poster's description is exactly the same thing I have been going through since I was about 8 years old. My first SVT episode happened around that age when I fell off the top of a fence while playing with a friend. My mother took me to my Pediatrician but no big deal was made of it. The next time it happened was during a youth league football game when I was about 11. It was kind of freaky but maybe it didn't scare me too bad because I was still very young and probably didn't know enough about mortality in general to be stressed out about it. As I got older I would get episodes here and there and found that if I put my legs up at steep angle it seemed to help it stop. It is strange how the simplest thing can sometimes start an episode such as bending over. In basketball practice during my senior year of high school I was running up court and when I turned back to see where our guy was with the ball, the ball happened to be just about in my face. The way it made me jerk real suddenly to get my arms up started an episode. I was made to see a Cardiologist before I was allowed to was told what it was and that it was benign.That is good to hear but it is quite unnerving while it is happening. I just tried to deal with it on my own over the years. I was a champion track runner in high school (48.76 400m) and ran in college as well. Played football, basketball and ran track in high school so I never let it get my down as far as sports at all. Well, as I have gotten older, I am 44 now, each episode makes me very anxious thinking "What if this is the one where my heart just stops?" I don't get a full blown episode very often, maybe 2-3 a year. I have had them last as long as 30-45 minutes or so. The feeling is horrible. Sometimes putting my legs up doesn't stop them as quickly as I like. Maybe I should try some of the other maneuvers I have read about. I have heard about the squatting and bearing down thing but whenever I would start to try that I could never really commit to it because that chest tightness freaks me out and makes me feel like my heart will explode or stop. Maybe I should just push through and try it. Anyways, sorry this is so long but it was cool to see a topic talking about the exact same thing I have gone through for so long. My last episode was back in June and lasted about a half hour.

[tom_h]

You're describing common triggers of SVT.  A sudden twisting of the torso such as done in a gold swing, swinging a baseball bat, or even twisting the torso as you get out of an automobile seat, along with the sudden jolt or jarring as mentioned above can initiate an SVT event.  As a teenager, I enjoyed boxing, but found that taking a hit to my chest would sometimes put me instantly into SVT; other times, nothing.  It's hard to explain.  I found that cardiologists are more understanding to this phenomenon.  Do not be surprised if your triggers become more sensitive as you get older.

[ama75]

I have the exact same thing but mine is caused mainly if I miss hit a golf shot and it feels like all the air is sucked out of me and my heart races. I instantly feel ill but can remedy it by straining as if to go to the toilet and within 30 seconds feel fine. Have explained it to doctors but that don't seem to recognise that it is caused by the vibration or jarring of miss hitting the golf ball. The only other time it happens on a minor level is if a run down a hill and the jarring or vibration can induce a similar feeling especially if I have consumed alcohol the night before.

[sflint]

Long dead post, but what the heck:

I'm the same.  Mine were triggered when I played basketball, went skiing, jumped down off of a farm truck, etc, etc....   I learned to stop them by taking a long, long, deep breath (usually while crouching on 1 knee).

My heart would be beating triple-time, then skip a beat (sort of), then return to normal.  Then I would get a very calm, peaceful, relaxed feeling for a few seconds.  Odd thing.

Also, like you, I don't get them much any more - I'm 50.

[tom_h]

Sorry, make that 3-5 to times permonth.

[tom_h]

I had it about 3-53 times per month until i got it fixed late last year.  See my post about doing Valsalva to slow it.  You are very close to performing it now.

[dave1986]

My trick for slowing it is crouching down as low as I can and taking deep breaths. That usually works. In some more extreme situations where I that hasnt worked I have laid down and held my breath. However it seems the older I get the easier it has become to stop it.

How often does it happen to you? Has it ever seriously worried you? My girlfriend thinks im crazy not to have seeked professional help as it is a problem involving my heart. Maybe I just avoided it as I didnt really want to find out if it was a serious problem!

[tom_h]

Dave, tell me, how do you slow it? I held my breath and squeezed.  Others do a headstand.  Some put their face in ice water.

[tom_h]

Hi Dave.  You are describing classic symptoms of Supraventricular Tachycardia, or SVT, or sometimes PSVT (paroxsysmal).  I had SVT for nearly my entire life (I'm 60 now) and often describe episodes being triggered by a sudden jarring vibration, such as landing flat footed, or even steping down hard off a curb.  There are certainly other triggers, but that was one.  SVT starts and stops suddenly within one beat.  The type of SVT that you could have might be AVNRT or AVRT.  Only a cardiologist could diagnose, certainly not myself; just a guess.  If it gets to be a problem, it can be controlled somewhat thru drug therapy, or cured by a process known as ablation.  I've given you enough terms to keep you busy for am evening of Googleing. Many of us here on the forum either experience it or have been cured of it.  Shoot us any questions you may have, but it might be good to discuss your symptoms with a physician.