Heart Palpitations are scaring me!

[case584930]

I am a 19 year old female in college.  I have been having heart palpitations for the last few months, but the last couples of weeks they have gotten worse.  I have gotten one almost every other day, where my heart beats really fast for a few seconds, and it feels like its going to pop out of my chest.  I get really scared when this happens.  Sometimes it happens when I am sitting in class, and sometimes it happens when I am running at lacrosse practice (not often though).  I went to the doctor and he took blood and did an EKG and those were both normal.  I am getting a Holter monitor but I have to wait 3 weeks for it and I'm really scared that something is wrong with me.  I am afraid to exercise or do anything because I am afraid something is wrong with my heart.  Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you

[LRon]

You're in good company. Palpitations freak a lot of people out, and I've been there many times. OCDman mentioned no caffeine, and he's right. Stay away from energy drinks, lots of coffee, etc.

Keep in mind that at age 19, the odds of your having a heart issue are incredibly small. And since the EKG and bloodwork came back normal, it's almost certain your heart is fine. And the holter monitor will probably come back normal too, except for some PVC's and/or PAC's which are normal and benign. Try some stress-management techniques like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, guided imagery, etc.

Finally, try not to hyper-focus on your heart. It knows what it's doing. Just let it do it's thing and it will take care of you. :-)

[ocdman999]

You're probably fine.  The ekg will likely tell you that but IF there is a problem it will pick that up too. Had similar experiences around your age. Freaked me out.  Đr said it was normal.  Stress causes them and they stressed me out so vicious circle.  No caffeine for a bit, exercise and relax. You're song the right things by getting checked.  Palpatations happen to everyone.  I still get them some days and they still unnerve me. Try coughing during one.  Might stop it. Good luck. And relax :)