Heart palpitations (skipped heart beats all day)

[Banananutella]

About 1 month ago I went to the ER because I was having chest pains, at the ER they did several tests (2 EKGs, chest X-Ray, blood work, urine sample, and used a heart monitor for a about an hour.) on the first EKG they told me i had arrhythmia, which freaked me out (I was already panicking just by being at the hospital) and that is when they decided to do blood work and a chest X-Ray, in the meantime they gave me a Xanax to calm me down, while i was waiting for the results from the blood tests they hooked me up to a heart monitor, they came back with the blood test results and told me that everything was normal except my potassium levels were a little low but everything else seemed fine. After that they gave me another EKG, on the second one they told me it was completely normal. They then gave me some potassium supplements and sent me home. I set up a doctors appointment and got in about 3 days after the ER visit, they tested my potassium  and calcium levels and both were normal, my doctor listened to my heart beat and said my heart beat sounded irregular. About 4 days after that doctors visit I started getting lots of heart palpitations, lasting all day (during this time I also changed my diet and was only eating plant based foods, no meat or dairy) the palpitations feel like a thump, i checked my pulse during an episode of palpitations and it seemed like there was a pause in between two heart beats and then the thump. This happens all day usually, especially when I'm lying down or sitting down. It's the worst when I'm lying down to go to bed at night. It doesn't bother me when I'm sleeping though. My doctor ordered me a Holter Monitor, I wont be about to get it for a while, until then all I've been doing is worrying about it. Here are a few details about my background. I'm a 23 year old female, in relatively good health, I don't exercise much, I spend a lot of time at home (i don't have a job right now), I have extreme Hypochondria (Health Anxiety), and I also have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). So maybe some of these things could be causing the palpitations but I feel like that's crazy. Or maybe I'm crazy??? I feel like I could have some sort of deficiency, possibly magnesium (but I feel like I get enough of that in my diet), protein maybe, I know my potassium levels are normal, it could be iron, vitamin D (i don't know if that can cause heart palpitations), or B12 possibly, but I've been taking B12 supplements for about a week now. I'm really just at a loss and I just want to know what is causing all of this. I know I'll find out with the Holter Monitor but I guess I just want other people's opinions and stories so I don't feel so alone.

[Rosemary349]

Banananuttella, I know how horrible it is when all this is happening but nothing you're describing sounds dangerous at all, I'm not an expert but I've had all the same symptoms.  And a whole bunch of tests for the last 7 years.

I'm interested in one thing, you're diet was mainly plant based....Mine is.  Another poster here, who posted about stopping his skipped beats, mentioned that he ate a lot of eggs and a low fat diet and this seemed to help.  I have noticed if I increase my fat intake, eat eggs or have milk, etc, the heart skips are less.

I've been an avid follower of plant based diets and still believe they are good for preventing coronary disease, but I'm beginning to wonder if they also cause some deficiency that affects certain people, especially if strict vegan.

All the best with your holter.  I expect at your age there will be nothing wrong, but it's still important to have the test as you know.  I was told by my doctor that the only time to seek help is if there's a very fast pulse, above 140 bpm for longer than ten mins and if there was no obvious reason for it (ie a fright or something), obviously if there's any chest pain that's not just a brief, localised pain - more a heavy, widespread pain, and if the pulse is completely irregular, not just beat, beat, pause, thud, beat, beat....

There's a doctor on you tube who is really good at explaining all this, if you're able to view him in your country, search for York Cardiology, Dr Sanjay Gupta.  He's brilliant for explaining skipped beats.

All the best.  :-)