Is it possible to "live" with palpitations??

[momabird]

I feel very fortunate to have found this forum where people have the same condition I do and share the same concerns.  I am wondering, after reading all of your stories, is it even possible to "live" a normal life while dealing with the constant fear and anxiety related to this issue??  I am a 40 yr old female whose palpitations started four months ago after 6 months of suffering severe panic attacks.  I have quit smoking, eliminated caffeine, am on a beta blocker, and walk 3 miles a day on a treadmill whenever I am able.  But nothing has stopped these palpitations.  EKG's were all normal as well as the 24 hr holter monitor results.  I don't understand how there can be no apparent cause or cure for this condition.  I, along with all of you, am frustrated and tired of living in constant fear!!  I am, however, glad to find people who actually understand what I am dealing with every single day.  All the "normal" people I know don't understand that if it is not life threatening how I can't just ignore it and get on with my life!!  REALLY??   If it were that simple, we would all be doing it instead of joining this forum for support and possible answers!!  Good luck to everyone else suffering as I do!!  I would appreciate any and all correspondence on this condition!!  Thanks in advance!!

[Lilymin]

I'm just wondering what kinds of arrhythmias you are having.  I started with ectopic beats when I was 40, and could deal with them.  Now 21 years later they have changed where I get my breath taken away and feel a little weak, scared after.  I've had one episode where for around 13 minutes I didn't have one normal beat, went to the hospital was seen right away, they took my vitals and was sending me to a room to hok me up to a heart monitor when it went back to normal rhythm, very scary and no one was able to see it, so don't know what kind of rhythm it was.  I told my Cardiologist who specializes in arrhythmias, but wasn't concerned, has not happened again and its been almost 4 years, and at the time my left arm was tingling and I could feel my heart beating hard in the upper left chest.  I take Klonopin to help when they make me nervous.  I have good days and it feels so good to feel almost normal again, its just not a predictable condition, some days I wake up and just know its starting off with pvcs, and sometimes tachycardia, I exercise, just don't like to plan anything because of the fear of pvcs, especially the ones that take my breath away.   I am a social person so I do try to get out and have fun when I'm not having a bad spell.  Maybe someday there will be a pill or procedure that helps all arrhythmias, until then I guess we need to all stay positive!

[BrokenH]

I also have psvt . I was diagnosed Dec 2013, but had palps for years.My last attack ended me up in the hospital with a hr of 236 bpm.I had an ablation Feb, 2014. Everything seemed fine up until a few months ago. I notice I get winded easy with palps . It normally only lasts a few minutes then everything goes back to normal.I have also notices over the past few months, flip flops, the feeling my heart skips a beat and then a strong one follows.I have felt this throughout my life,but now it seems to happen more and more. I will turn 53 this coming summer and I am having some symptoms of peri menopause.I'm wondering if its hormonal or does one arrhythmia follow the other...I've read alot about pvc's, plap's and menopause.

[BrokenH]

I also have psvt . I was diagnosed Dec 2013, but had palps for years.My last attack ended me up in the hospital with a hr of 236 bpm.I had an ablation Feb, 2014. Everything seemed fine up until a few months ago. I notice I get winded easy with palps . It normally only lasts a few minutes then everything goes back to normal.I have also notices over the past few months, flip flops, the feeling my heart skips a beat and then a strong one follows.I have felt this throughout my life,but now it seems to happen more and more. I will turn 53 this coming summer and I am having some symptoms of peri menopause.I'm wondering if its hormonal or does one arrhythmia follow the other...I've read alot about pvc's, plap's and menopause.

[scottishsusie]

I first stared having terrible heart palpitations beginning of 2015   I was put on medication and they stopped  Now 1.5 years later they are back worse than ever  After having lots of tests ie angiogram, wearing halter monitor, stress test etc my cardiologist has tried me on three different types of medication and nothing has worked  The palpitations are daily and really quite bad   I think I may have to learn to live with them which in this day and age, with all the modern medicine available is really quite daunting   Any feedback would be appreciated    

[Anthony_B]

I'm so sorry you have such terrible experiences with palpitations. :( I know what it's like to have that constant fear with all the "what if"s and being too afraid to even get up and do anything. It can be so overwhelming.

It isn't easy, but you have to keep going. They're terrifying, but you can't let them ruin your life. You should try to live it the best way that you can, despite the fear. Take little steps. One step at a time. Try to keep eating, even if it's just a little at a time and drink plenty of water. Slowly try doing some of the things you used to do, the small things first. See how it affects you, then take it in and adjust. Then do it again. It'll be slow and it'll be scary, but keep moving. Keep trying to do more and more of the things you used to do. start small and work your way up.

Enjoy the little things. Surround yourself with people who love you. When the palps hit, just breathe. Close your eyes and feel them out. Acknowlefge that they are happening, but realize you've had them before and you're still here. Talk it out with anyone who will listen. Talking always takes my mind off of them a bit. Keep breathing, slow and steady. Remind yourself that you've felt this before, but you survived.

I know this is a few days late, but I sincerely hope this helps in somw way. Don't give up. It's scary, but just take it one day at a time. Slowy push your boundries and try to do the things you used to do, little by little until you can do more. You'll have bad days for sure, but there''ll always be good days too. Try to enjoy them.

[achillea]

Wise words.

[jzdt]

I have been experiencing shortness of breath since july of 2016 and it's more than a month already waking up with palpitations and SOB. Im done with ecg and 2d echo with normal results. And tomorrow i'll visit the doctor for the results of my holter. I've read the conclusion on the results it shows a lot, the reason why I was on this page because of isolated PVC and PAC stated on the results. I've read all the comments in this topic and I can relate to almost all of the comments. Praying for good health to everyone.

[Iva_87]

Hi,
I ask often the same question! Whenever Im in some arrytmia, let it be skipped beats, heart block, svt or ist, I just cant do anything! I just spoke a bit about my svt experience on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHLgXxFl3K8&t=19s
I will sure speak more about the fears and palpitations. You are not alone!!