very strange heart sensation followed by adrenaline rush and fast heartbeat - very worried about this

[Wundergecko]

Hi. I'm a 26 year old female, neither fat nor skinny, no smoking, only occasional alcohol use. Prior to what I'm about to describe, the only heart issues I had were: occasional flip-flopping feeling which knocked the wind out of me but only happened maybe a few times a year, and a sort of flip-flopping or difficulty beating when lying down on my left side (sometimes, not every time I lay this way - started around age 13).

Background: Three years ago something happened to me that I still haven't figured out - my heart started beating very fast and my BP went way up (so high that with every heartbeat I could see the tiny capillaries in my eyes as an overlay on my visual field). Paramedics couldn't bring them down so took me to "A&E" (aka the ER - I'm American but live in England). Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened (that I'm aware of) prior to this incident, except for insertion of Mirena IUD one week prior - I do still have it but now think I'll have it removed.

Thus began months of seemingly random 'attacks' during which I'd get varying combinations of tachycardia, high BP, tremors esp in left leg, lightheadedness, inability to fully inhale, feeling of not getting enough oxygen even if I could breathe properly, and the list goes on. I also had a terrible feeling of physical anxiety (churning stomach, agitation, etc) but with no mental anxiety as the apparent cause!!! Attacks could last minutes or hours and any combination of symptoms would happen. And in between attacks, my heart would regularly do many strange things - tachy, brady, irregular rhythm, extremely forceful beats, 'flip-flopping' feelings, etc.

I also sometimes experienced a sensation of the heart stopping and restarting - immediately after the restart I would feel a MASSIVE, uncomfortable surge of adrenaline and the heart would beat very fast for a little while. I could never figure out if I was getting an adrenaline surge that caused some odd heart behaviour that I felt before I actually felt the adrenaline, or what. Sometimes my heart would also start beating EXTREMELY fast from resting for no reason at all - it was literally immediate - this was also accompanied by an adrenaline rush but no preceding feeling of the heart stopping.

These incidents gradually decreased in frequency over time, along w/ the other symptoms, until after three years I was feeling mostly recovered from whatever got me. I viewed myself as not entirely back to normal, but almost there. UNTIL a couple of days ago, when I had another (random as always - I was just riding in the car reading, no stress) heart stoppage -> restart -> adrenaline event. This one was the second most severe one I've ever had and I thought I might die. Luckily the heart DID start pumping again so I'm still here. By now I'm pretty familiar with flip-floppings and extra-strong beats, etc, and this definitely feels very different and much more worrying. I am afraid that if it happens again, the heart might not start on its own.

I should also say that when I say it 'stops', I mean it seems to stop pumping blood...I get the impression there is still activity going on in the heart but that blood is not being circulated. Could it be ventricular fibrillation, or ...? Maybe adrenaline is not causing this, but rather my heart goes into an abnormal rhythm and my body releases adrenaline in an attempt to self-shock into proper rhythm?

During the most severe incident in '06 or '07, my colleagues said I turned "white as a sheet" while it was happening. That time, I was clawing at my chest (reflex reaction, I didn't actually think that would help) and thinking "please start please start please start", knowing I'd die if it didn't. That time, it felt like the heart was quivering/fluttering but not pumping. All other times including the one a couple of days ago, it has sort of felt like the heart is contracting in extreme slow motion, or having some sort of muscle cramp.  

I cannot figure this out and would welcome any insight anyone has to offer. After it all began in 06, I had a stress test (slightly above avg exercise tolerance), echo (normal), stress echo (normal) and many ECGs. The cardio said my heart was perfectly healthy. No evidence of MVP (which I thought I might have). He said the only thing to remark on was that the heart was smallish, but not abnormally so.

My GP diagnosed me w/ 'anxiety attacks' w/out finding it necessary to order any physical testing whatsoever. (The above cardio is a friend of my parents who saw me while I was on vacation in the US). GP put me on citalopram which I went along w/ just to be cooperative, and propranolol to help regulate what he viewed as anxiety-induced tachy. Did not seem to find it significant that symptoms did not occur during periods of actual mental anxiety. Said it might be pheochromocytoma, but that he wouldn't bother testing as that's so rare. Ashamed to say I didn't and still haven't actually demanded said testing.

All ECGs were normal except once at A&E when they caught random very hard beats interspersed w/ regular beats - v. hard beats could be seen as an extra-long downward spike on the readout. Of their own volition (as opposed to at my request), A&E sent this to a cardio (different one) who didn't bother to look at it and just told me not to worry. Thanks, buddy! So, not really knowing how to interpret these readouts, I still don't know if that was significant.

I'm currently seeing a neurologist for delayed sleep phase syndrome. After hearing all this, he very kindly volunteered to arrange for me to use the clinic's Holter monitor; he'll then send the tape to a cardiologist. Not sure when this will happen, though, as it's the NHS (meaning things do not tend to happen promptly).

At the time of the latest incident, I was on amoxicillin but no other meds continuously, although I have been taking lansoprazole at night only, for a week and a half to two weeks. A few days prior to the incident, I had taken myself off of the pramipexole that I'd been on for a week, as I was having trouble swallowing (for which the amoxicillin and lanso were prescribed - possible sinus/throat infection or gastric reflux - doc and I wanted to attack on both fronts in order to avoid the return of the laryngospams I'd had during recent respiratory infection).

Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help...

[RichAMcC54]

WOW.. can't believe I found this article.  I'm a 54 year old male.  Earlier this year I had this really weird thing happen when I drank a protein shake after getting home from work.  I live in CA, like many, our weather systems are off here so it was in Feb of this year (2015), hot day, really hot so I thought I'd rather have a nice cold protein shake than cook.  After I downed it I got this horrible rush, heart palpitations, dizziness, clammy all over, sweating and this headache that I thought was going to bust through my skull.  Lasted about 2 hours... Freaked me out but I got on with life and swore off that brand of shake.  Next time I did a protein shake, same thing but this time 11 hours, the next time was a yogurt drink, 13 hours.  Sent myself to the Dr.  EKG and all the blood work came back fine.  Fast forward to a couple of months ago.  I was well on my way to getting well, or so I thought. One night I was laying there in bed and I got this huge rush of adrenaline that woke me up.  Heart was racing like that whole "fight or flight" thing.  I'm an insomniac as it is so getting back to sleep that night was useless so I laid there with these rushes that kept coming.  Over time, through mediation, a little THC too (nice to live in a state that allows the use of medical cannabis) I thought I was on my way to health once again.  Two Thursdays ago (June 18th) had a bad night.  Got up in the AM to the bathroom and start getting ready for work.  I had an attack that caused me to crash to the floor.  I really thought I was having a heart attack.  I crawled to the back door and opened it up to yell for help but I was too weak so I just opened the door and laid there saying my goodbyes to the world.  My heart slowed a bit and I managed to get to my cell phone and called 911.  So at the ER they ran all the usual tests and EKG.. all was fine according to their findings.  Since then I've felt weak and shaky all the time, out of sorts like I have this perpetual cold.  My bowls are a mess but I live with IBS too so that's not helping all this one bit.  But reading Wundergecko and allot of the replies afterwards it's like there are other folks, with different circumstances and origins to how it started, here and posted.  This thread is pretty old but it's continued to be read and posted too... so I post too!  

I have some theories but not sure if any will be found useful.  Thyroid or Adrenal gland issues?  Anxiety attacks... well OK.  I guess that plays into it all.  IBS side effects?  Some articles I've read even have folks reporting similar issues when talking about IBS or Leaky Guy Syndrome.  So I'm sort of out of ideas.  I can't continue to live my life like this.  On top of all I have going on I'm also HIV POS, long time survivor, 30 years.

Hope folks get theirs figured out and if you have ideas post them.  I'm going to keep tabs on this thread!  Richard

[hyd3rzz]

Hello Every one-----i am suffering from the same condition since fron dec 2012----it was a bad day of my life i was sitting with my friend and we take a heavy lunch with chicken and lots more-----i was talking to my friends and suddenly my breath stop and i feel i was dieing and feel black on my eyes..it goes for 4 to 5 second after that i feel well and drink water----i go to the hospital where the doctor say me it happened bcoz of my stomach problem--bcoz ihave a gall bladder surgery in 2010-----well i come back home and eat my dinner i eat lot of rice---after half hour i feel again the same and i think i was dieing any ways i sleep bcoz i think my life is almost finished------in morning when i awake i go to doc again i tell him every thing he give me some of medicine but i m not satisfied----after that every time i sit in hospital like a crazy person bcoz i think if heart attack will come some one take me to emergency-----after a week my gf come from Japan to meet me----i spend 2 weeks with her but i really don,t feel well----some time i feel my heart stop working------i go to the Top hopsital of Pakistan where i tell the story to the doctor----and the doctor laugh at me--he say its only my thinking my bp is fine ultra sound ecgs,liver test every thing is normal---i feel to sad bcoz i have shortness of breath and lot of burping----any ways i stop eating any thing for a week and after one week i feel my heart escape beat----i go to emergency i think i have heart attack there they check my bp every thing is normal-----again no medicine no thing----after a month i apply for a visa of Japan to go to meet m gf----on the mean time my cousin need some of the money and he asked me for a help i tell him that im going to Japan and i don,t have he say few sentence to me--by which i feel hurt and i suddenly start feel pain in my chest---i go to doc he say me i m fine and i to young for heart attack as i was 26 on that time----in 2013 i visit to my gf to japan but there i feel scared every time that may b i have heart attack and if i m travelling in car or in train i feel scared and my heart escape beat---i spend 26 days there and got married to her but really don,t enjoy then i come back to my country---i went to a medical specialist and i tell him i have lot of burping and facing that problems---i have a white mucus to from my nose--he do x ray for me ecg test,ultrasound,he say its bcoz of stress he give me medicine for stress by which i feel well like 10% but every 2nd day my heart escape beat------and i m tired to take depression tablets every time feel sleepy and lazy----i decide to go to cardiologist---while telling him a story he ut ? mark on me and he say to me that come tomorrow we will do ech for u-----while he was doing echo for me i feel my heart has low beat---but got surprised while he say me my heart is fine and i have chest infection---any ways i m happy and think i will never face it again---after a week i feel the same-----i try to convince my self that every thing is ok but after 2 months again i take an appointment with doc-----he do for ecgs ultra sound,tyrod test which comes normal----he give me some vitimans tablets and gastric tablets---i use that for 4 months i feel well and some time i fac minor bubble burst in my chest----but after 4 months i notice my stool  colour become greenish----i was worried and take appointment again of a doc.while the doc give me medicine and perfome billurbin and typhiod test which comes normal-------he tell me that i use medicine for a week and after one week i do a stool test---so i go for stool test result come normal----i feel scared and take again cardiologist appointment---the doc react me normal and also prescribe me same medicine for stomach that i have infection-----well i got tired to be very honest and evry time i was searching on net there is lot of threads of cancers and lot of more disease----i decide to take an appointment is a big hospital and expensive here in Pak--i go there to my gp and while i go inside i start a story from very begining and doc is listening me----in last he say me that u have tyrod test stool test and tyhpoid test i say yes and all is negative-----he check my all previous test and he tell me that he want to repeat typhoid test and cbc blood test---cbc test come normal and typhoid is negative-----well he give me a sensival 25 mg for depression---Inderal tablets for heart escaping beat---and lansoprazole 30 mg and fleet D tablets for stomach bcoz he think i have anxiety-----while doc prescribing me the medicine i asked like a crazy person from him that tell me sir  if i have a cancer-----bcoz i want to do endoscopy or biarum x ray--- doc laugh at me he say me that u have a good health don,t think that-------now from 2 months i m using the medicine  i feel fine but every day i go to toilet for stool bcoz of my bowel------and today again i feel  same that i have heart attack bcoz suddenly i feel hot and sweating and feel dizzyness like black on my eyes-----again i m afraid now thinking what should i do-------i eat yougart and after that 1 to 2 hours i eat water melon------but after i feel that i have heart attack suddenly burps starts and again i think i have anxiety problem---such a **** don,t know what to do for it

[C_Lexus]

This sounds exactly like mine. I went to cardiologist. He looked at me funny and asked if I was having a spring in my heart. Not to worry and exercise... Useless.

[researcher09]

Really frustrating to read all these comments when it should be easy to get an EKG from electrophysiologist and specify the problem.  Don't take "anxiety" as your diagnosis when you can feel for yourself that the heart is not beating in sinus rhythm.  Better yet, spend $75 on the AliveCor smart phone heart monitor and bring the results to the specialist.  Not a GP unless that GP is willing to refer you to the EP.  Depressing here to read how far behind some doctors are.

[kristegm]

I was just randomly looking up more info on my condition(s) last night and I came upon this forum. It was SO weird to hear anyone outside of my mother and (when she was alive) grandmother experience the symptoms you describe to a T: feeling like your heart has STOPPED and then being flushed with an intense amount of adrenaline and ... everything goes back to "normal." From my family history I know that my grandmother told my mom (who has the same thing happen to her as this) was born with a hole in her heart - this was in 1923 & she just died about 6 months ago (Nov.2014) from nothing having to do with her heart so I don't want to cause any worry there - and my mother was told by the doctors as a child (in the 1960s) that she had mitral valve prolapse, but this was never able to be confirmed because those *specific* set of events, the heart-stopping-adrenaline-surging 'feel like you've been defibrillated' restart of the heart' did not happen at any set interval or with any warning at all. Like I think you mentioned a couple years ago, it can happen when totally relaxed and it's even MORE of a shock because you know you aren't taxing your heart in any way. Anyhow, point of my story is that since I can remember, probably early childhood, I've had these episodes every few months. No warning, no trigger, nothing. Just feels like my heart stops beating in my chest for (what feels like 10 seconds) a few seconds combined with that horrible fight-or-flight surge of adrenaline. And then nothing like that for months ... so I can only go on my family history of "minor heart irregularities that had no effect on overall health or length of life." BUT I have been told by two specialists that women are more prone to MVP especially if they also have anxiety. Also I have no idea what you look like but supposedly "long" arms (for your height) and long fingers/palms are very very common among those with MVP. Just something you might look in to in case there is a family history b/c this thing does not always happen often so it is very hard to test for.
Now the anxiety thing, with the heart flipping and rising BP/HR and chest pain, etc, I have also experienced this, separate from the heart-stop-adrenaline-surge thing, including when exercising in front of other people, or doing something new in the gym, or even coming home after going out with a large group of people. Job interviews have been the most consistent (not surprising in the economy today!). And also, I'm 1 year younger than you, basically the same 'medical age' so while I don;t think I can give you advice per-se, I can share what have been VERY similar experiences. I would NOT tell you that yoga or acupuncture or even seeing a certain specialist will help decipher what you're going through (I've been to 5 specialists other than my neurologist and PCP since about 2009. The *only* solid advice I could give is that -to me- it sounds like you have two separate conditions, perhaps similar to me. And if this is the case, it is actually easier to treat the 1 (anxiety) and either continue to seek other specialists (I am not familiar with BHS, I speak from a US doctor standpoint so this would be up to you? the BHS? I'm not sure).
I know it's been about 5 years since you first posted this but on the off chance you still get updates from this forum, I thought I'd chime in with my experience & who knows, maybe someone will read this and have a similar experience, too. Hope you're doing well. I actually have been taking low-dose proponalol, the beta blocker, for anxiety surges and that helps with that but I still get the heart-stopping scary as heck event every few months. I've learned to differentiate from the two though and that has given me a lot of peace of mind. If you haven't already, perhaps this can give you some too :)

[Cindy3265]

Hi, I also had similar symptoms and for 8 months, I was in and out of doctors offices trying to find out what was going on and every test they would give me would come out "normal". After testing came back "normal" I was told to see a counselor because it was probably anxiety. She told me that when doctors cannot find the problem, they say it's anxiety.......to make a long story short, I wound up going to a party one night and had a bit too much to drink and wound up in the emergency room the next day and my "racing" heart finally showed up on the monitor........I was then sent to a heart hospital and had an EPS Study to find out which nerve was making my heart race because they told me they could actually burn it so it wouldn't cause me any other problems, but unfortunately, mine was in an area where I would need a pacemaker if they burned it so I told them to leave it alone........I found a cardiologist that specializes in heart "rhythm" and diagnosed me with "AFIB".  He put me on "Rythmol" and now I am aware of what is going on and what to avoid. I'm on meds that actually work. I now have a life again........keep going with your testing until you find what you're looking for :) Good Luck :)