Heart palpitations

[xmrth]

I know seeing my doctor is the best way to figure out what is wrong, but until then I'm curious if anyone else gets heart palpitations and why you think you do... I have been getting them for maybe 8 years now and have seen my doctor for them, and had a monitor on me for 48 hours... all showed no problems, but that time itself was 4 years ago I think.

 

As of recent years, I have gone with no palpitations for a while, but maybe this past year it has been that I've gotten them again...

And right now they seem very bad. I drink way too much caffeine but try to cut down.

Right now my heart thuds and thuds if I breathe in deeply or move around too much. I put down my cup of coffee and drank two glasses of water this morning...

 

Anyways, I'm just curious if who else has this problem and if you found it directly related to caffeine. When I first started getting them 8 years ago, I rarely had caffeine, but in recent years (the past 2) I've had tons of teas and coffees... For a while it was 1 caffeinated beverage a day, to two... then to 5.

 

I just don't get why it's when I BREATHE in deep I get them right now, but some other times as well I get them too.

[xmrth]

I don't take any medications at all unless it's for pain, then it's just ibuprofen. I'm thinking caffeine is the only thing causing it but I've had them before I started drinking it... maybe it's just aggravating the condition, but it's scary. I don't want to get a heart attack or something... but I don't know if it actually causes one.

[xmrth]

hmm... I have had crazy anxiety, but have overcome it within the past month, but was overcoming it over the past 3. When I was really anxious I didn't really experience it, though.

 

aghh! They just will not go away. It's been hours straight, off and on every couple of minutes.

[LiquidCherry]

I have anxiety issues and have actually had heart paplations so strong I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER. It doesn't happen all the time though sometimes when it happens I don't even realize how stressed out I am. I think it has something to do with the fact that I internalize a lot of my emotions. Learning how to better manage stress has helped.

[Hope75]

Caffeine can cause heart palpitations, particularly if you drink too much. It happened to me years ago when I worked nights and was drinking way too much coffee. THe doctor told me to cut back or quit if I could. Nicotine is also a stimulant that can cause them if you smoke many cigarettes in a row.

 

If you can cut way back or stop drinking coffee entirely you would be wise. Anxiety can aggravate it too.

 

You should see your doctor and talk to him/her about it though.

[hosswhispra]

Hello xmrth,

 

You sound exactly like me...When I was in second grade jumping rope one afternoon my heart started to beat really hard and fast (palpitations). I was not diagnosed with anything until I was 16--because the doctors kept missing it on a 24 hour holter monitor (because I would never get the palpitations). For the longest time the doctors kept saying that it was due to anxiety.....

 

Then the doctors gave me a portable EKG monitor the size of an iPOD. That's when they caught it--my heart was clocked at 221 beats/minute and I was diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia . Later, I found out my brother has it as well as his son (my nephew).

 

I am 31 now and I still get it when I breath deeply, or when I have had too much caffeine; sometimes it is worse at certain times of the month (i.e. when I get my period).

 

xmrth, you need a good cardiologist that will perform a good work-up on you--electrolytes, electrocardiogram, and ultrasound imaging to rule out other causes of your palpitations. What really helped them diagnose me was when they gave me that portable EKG thing and when I had my episode--I just put the probe under my left arm and recorded the whole thing---then I played it over the phone and the doctor was able to get an EKG tracing and then officially diagnose me.

 

Good luck,

hosswhispra

[xmrth]

That's what I was given as well-- and I never had one during the 48 hours I had it on me! This time around I am hoping I can do it again as it's been 4 years. I am making an appointment for this week, so we'll see.

Is that heart disease? Or just the term for irregular heart beats that happen for no reason?

[hosswhispra]

Hi xmrth,

 

Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia is not heart disease. I work in a hospital and I have seen women in their 90's who have had this all their life (relatively speaking). And they were in the hospital for other reasons, not for the palpitations. Everyone's heart beat is triggered by the something called the SA node in the heart. People (like me) with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT) have another point in their heart (in addition to their SA node) that fires out of the blue causing the PAT episodes.

 

When I get an episode of PAT I can do two things (medical world calls them vagal maneuvers---vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system that regulates the heart beat) 1. bear down as if I am having a bowel movement (I know this sounds funny, but it works) or 2. put my face/or hand in cold water. Lying down also works (but sometimes I am some where where I can't lie down---work for example).

 

I hope this helps,

hosswhispra

[xmrth]

Thank you so much! It makes me feel much more calm to learn more about palpitations.. I can't even make an appointment until Tuesday so at least now I won't be as nervous. I have looked things up online but it seems like people themselves who have experienced it have more info. Thanks again!

[annie24]

I also have anxiety problems and heart palpitations are one of my symptoms. Talk to your doctor just in case, but I know that there's been a lot of stuff that's been upsetting you with your bf, so I think it may be anxiety related to the problems. get a checkup though....