palpitations

[Caroline]

I suffer from severe heart palpitations (female - age 39).  Five to six times per day I feel funny things going on in my heart.  Sometimes I get three hard beats followed by a pause and then a thump. Other times I just get a thump and yet other times a fluttering feeling.  I have been through every test imaginable and the doctors cannot find anything wrong with me.  They once caught a short run of v-tach on a holter monitor but I have had two EP studies and they could not induce anything so they told me not to worry.  I WORRY!!!!!!  I have read terrible things about v-tach and it really scares me to think that my heart can go into this rythum.  They say that I am super sensitive and too tuned into my heart.  Who wouldn't be when they feel all of these weird things going on?  Do you think the doctors could have overlooked something with all of this testing I have had done - or am I just making a big deal about nothing.  These things have really taken over my whole life. Should I really be ignoring all of the bumping, thumping, fluttering etc?

I was prescribed atenolol years ago (which I go on and off) - I hate being on any drugs.  I have very low blood pressure (90/50).  I started on 25mg of atenolol but I get terrible headaches and my heart still skips like crazy.  I thought atenolol was supposed to help people with migrane headaches as well so I can't understand why I get the awful headaches when I am on it.  Would 50mg of atenolol not drop my blood pressure too much?  I have heard of people that are taking atenolol that say their palpitations have stopped completely? Why some people and not others. My EP doctor said I could try mexitil if I really wanted to but it was not necessary (I think she was trying to pacify my because I have become such a nuisance worrying about these things).  I am too scared to try mexitil as well though.  I would like to try to get to am American Heart Clinic (one such as the Cleveland one), but I don't know how a Canadian would go about getting to be seeing in one.  I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Thank you for any information you can give me.

[kelly]

I'm a 37-year-old female. My heart is doing flip-flops even as I'm typing this. Mine started several years ago. Then, it was just an occasional flutter every now and then. A couple years ago, I had a bad episode when I got home from work one day- it flopped around for a couple hours- I just laid on my bed and it really scared me! Since then, I've had 2 EKGs from two different doctors and they both assured me my heart is fine and palpitations are "normal". For the past year or so, I haven't been bothered by them at all, but now, 2 days ago, they started up again. This has been the third straight day and my heart's been flopping and fluttering almost continuously. In fact, my chest now even feels somewhat sore, like when you've overworked a muscle. Does anyone else feel this? This is more than an annoyance...it's very scary! I'm a single mom and I keep thinking what if I'm about to have a heart attack? I'm very overweight and am desperate to lose, but like another message-poster, I'm afraid if I start exercising, I might drop dead!

Does anyone know what exactly causes these?
Can they be associated with anxiety and/or depression?
If it's "normal", why doesn't everyone have them?

Thanks everyone for listening.

[Craig]

Someone mentioned their palpatations happened when they went to bed. I experience these usually early in the morning as I'm waking up or getting out of bed. Also, they seem to happen more frequently when I lay on my left side. My sister is a nurse and she mentioned that your blood pressure lowers when you lay on your left. I'm not quite sure how that relates though. Anyone experience these unique situations?

[murray]

I have had a history of flutterings, skipped beats and general heart flopping  for most of my adult life; I'm 53. Usually, I just lived with it as best I could as any single episode did not last long. I noticed that stress was a cause, also alcohol. I suffer from fairly regular migraines, and have always experienced palpitations during the severest period of the headache.

Recently, the heartbeat irregularities have increased and I have them periodically throughout the day, and most certainly at bedtime. Like most of you, I am somewhat frightened by them although my GP assures me that most of these problems do not increase mortality rates. I am awaiting results from a Holter monitor 24 hr. test.

I would like to know if anyone else has a migraine/palpitation condition, and if there is a drug therapy that deals with this condition specifically.

[lauri]

Last October I began having pvc lastings several minutes several times a day.  This lasted for a week and went away for a few months.  Then reappeared for a month and dissapeared again.  Needless to say each time it comes back it feels longer and more severe.  I go through the days now without hardly ever feeling my heart beat "normal".  I have had the 24 hoour monitor and they told me I had some occurances (I beg to differ) and that I was just very accune to my heartbeat.  I was told not to worry that it was just benign and they threw in some xanax to calm me when it really acts up.  Thanks for informing me of atenolol and beta blockers, I will look into that.  Thanks for helping me feel better.

[Betty]

I, too, suffer from heart flutters, which can be very disturbing. I tend to notice that they are much more common at night when I do to bed.  Would love to know why that is the case.  I can go all day and hardly notice them at all.   They seem like a sudden rush; and feeling seems to come up into my throat.  Sound familiar to anyone?

These flutterings have bothered me off and on for years not; they will disappear for months (sometimes even years), then for no apparent reason, they will reappear.  To this point, my doctors have not found there to be any problem with my heart.

Is it safe to be unmedicated for these conditions?

[Marie comment to Kathy]

Kathy,

I too experience these PVC's in runs that can last for mintues at at time.  I had a terrible experience about a month ago where I had 6 different episodes all in within a few hours and each episode lasted a few minutes.  It felt like they lasted for hours though!!  They finally all settled down and by bedtime I was only having occasional missed beats.  It scared the heck out of you though!!  I absolutely hate these things.  The doctors all say that there is nothing they can do and that I just have to live with them.  On bad days, I sometimes feel like I can't live with them though.  I teach school and have two young children.  I am such an independent, outgoing person and when I'm having these episodes I become just the opposite!!  I just want to go home and crawl into bed until they stop bothering me.  I'm also a long distance runner and it scares me to death now to go on runs by myself.  I'm so afraid that I'll have an episode while I'm out on a long run by myself!  It is nice to have this forum available.  When I'm having a bad day it always helps to log on and listen to other people.  I wish you the best Kathy.  I just wanted you to know that there is someone else that experiences them in "runs" as my doctor calls it.  Take care!

Marie