how do they feel?

[Bamajoe]

I see terms on here like SVT, PVC, Afib, and a lot of other terms or abreviations to discribe our heart beat problems. I would like for some of you that have been going through this for a while to discribe your symptoms as best you can.

For me I clinch up all over and feel like a spasm in my upper abdominal area. I feel like a flopping sensation in my chest sometimes or maybe like a spasm in my upper throat. I get clammy and sweatty some too.

[MichelleP_3811]

Hmm, have you been checked for asthma at all?  Well really try your best to relax into the episode.  Tell yourself that this isn't going to kill you because odds are great it won't.  Really just stop and sit down and tell yourself to release the tension.  Refuse to allow yourself to tense up.  See if you can gain some control over how you respond to an episode and they may not feel as intensely bad as you are experiencing.  I had svt all my life that got worse as I got older to the point of getting it every week but I never felt any pain or major discomfort unless I tried to do too much.  Towards the end before I got it fixed I was trying to ignore it and carry on like normal but that isn't really wise.  I know anxiety isn't necessarily something a person can control but give it a really good try. I am not sure all the dynamics of afib but I really think if you can try and relax into the episode you will find you feel much better.  Though still be mindful of any afib that doesn't resolve on its own going to the ER if necessary.  Well good luck.  Maybe conquering your anxiety is the first step to gaining some control back of you life over these arryhthmias.  Take care.

[Bamajoe]

Thanks Michelle, When I get my stuff (not sure what all I get) I feel like I want to run through a wall. I get mild SOB or should I say I feel like I am breathing hot air.Then when the anxiety sets in I get shakes and very tense all over I almost feel like I am a really big spasm.

[MichelleP_3811]

I at one time or another have had just about the gamut of arrhythmia problems.  I had an svt, avnrt that got corrected last year.  I have pacs and pvcs and have had some sinus tachycadia especially after a night of heavy drinking.  The svt felt crazy manic and made me light headed and very short of breath.  The sinus tachycardia feels like a normal but very fast beat.  I get short of breath with it but not as severe as I did with the svt.  The pacs and pvcs are different all the time.  Sometime I don't feel them much at all.  Other times they are very strong with a big thud.  Some can really hurt while others just feel like a fizzle.  Some feel like they are causing a fast beat but it could just be that they have fallen into a pattern of some sort or it could be that my heart temporarily speeds up in response to the beat. When that happens though it doesn't last that long for me. Some take me by surprise and take my breath away.  I think like ireneo said it all depends on where in the beat cycle they happen and maybe where in the heart they flare up.  Different spots may feel differently as well.  I think with the difference between the manic beat of the svt and the regularness of the tachycardia those are easy for me to distinguish differently but I can't say the same for ectopic beats.  I think there are just too many variables to say this is exactly what one of the beats should feel so you can likely feel all sorts of odd things when they are happening.  I don't know what afib feels like so if you have that maybe someone else will jump on and give a description.  I would say if you sense your chest tensing up when you have an attack try to do your best to breath as deep and as slow as possible so you can relax and release any extra added tension.  It may not stop what is happening but it may help relieve some of the chest discomfort you are feeling.  Take care.

[Bamajoe]

I understand what you are saying I feel like I have multiple arrthymias. I am trying to track them all down because they are intermittant.

[ireneo]

A couple years ago I saw a YouTube video about how the heart acts when it does the various arrhythmias. It was hilarious. Some guy dressed in a lab coat acted out with his body how the heart beats during the various arrhythmias. I laughed like crazy but mostly he was so accurate. I have no idea the name of the video now. Wish I had kept it.

But to the point: each person feels their heart issues differently. Even the same person can have PVC's but they'll feel a bit different depending on where the premature beat hits in the cycle. I've had PVC's and PAC's that came and I didn't feel a thing (only heard them while listening to my lungs). And I have had some that hit me in the chest like a rubber mallet. My PSVT (atrial tachy) can feel like a flutter or it can feel like a galloping horse and I get lightheaded. It's pretty hard to pin it all down.