Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Heart quiver/flutter causing anxiety??

My heart has been fluttering and when i am feeling my pulse when i have a flutter my pulse stops then starts once the flutter has stopped. Only lasts a second. I’m 27 male, I first felt this when I was about 20. I’m in good shape and have had ekgs, chest X-ray, and echo. All came back normal. It just scares me every time it happens! Anyone else experience this?
6 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
You need to know that the heart is the strongest most powerful organ in the human body , if you have done all the tests and checks on it by a cardiologist and all is “normal” besides the NSVT then it’s all good
Now you are going to do your part because it is all on you, first you have to be patient and I mean patient to the max, know that this will go away one day because your heart is stronger than you believe it is , at this moment all your tissue around your heart is over sensitive that is why you are feeling everything your heart does, I got sensitive and abcesive around my chest for 10 years straight, the past 2 years started to descencitise myself and took it one moment at a time Not one day at a time , sometimes I was wining sometimes the anxiety was wining but I didn’t give up kept going forward, sometimes would ignore the sensation sometimes would curs at it and sometimes would just let it go and the easiest one was to just let it go , the more letting go I  managed to do the easier got until I ran out of having anything left to let go .It took 2 years of letting go and it’s gone now.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Thanks I appreciate it!
Avatar universal
What you are describing is Premature Ventricular Contractions and they are very common with persons that are anxious and hypersensitive around their heart , everything about the heart triggers them for you every air bubble in your stomach or colon triggers them , ever time you feel them you are awake and conscious and that means you are ok but your finger goes straight to your wrist and you check the pulse, you could be seating peacefully watching TV and when your heart stops/skips a beat you jump on your feet and look for your pulse. And more. You are doing this as your anxiety feeds of your PVC's and your PVC'S feed more of your anxiety. I know I had PVC'S for 10 years straight 10 years of chasing doctors heart specialists, they all said my heart was healthy and they were right. I cured myself of the PVC'S with being patient and controlling the anxiety part of it .If the doctors say your heart is healthy  then believe it , work on your anxiety ask for help but in the end it is you, you are your own medicine.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Thanks for the input. I am trying to work on my anxiety as well. What’s worries me is the 3 beat run of nsvt on my last Holter. I’m afraid these strong flutters I get probably once a month might be longer runs. My cardio was not concerned at all about the run we caught or when I tell him about the strong flutters.  
Avatar universal
My doctor said my heart fluttering is ok too but I hate it.  Especially at night when going to sleep. I have found that a banana a day keeps them away!  I am not kidding.  I think it is either the potassium or the magnesium that makes a difference.  If you read about irregular heart beats they can be because of low amounts of potassium.  Try it for a week and see if it helps.  I hope it does.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
It’s normal. Especially after you have worn 2 holt monitors. I had the same thing and been in and out of the hospital many times. Took stress test, worn holt monitor, ekg, cat scan, mri. All negative. I should have listen to my doctor in the beginning... he said it was stress and anxiety. Would have saved me a lot of money and time. When you wear the holt monitor and the dr sees your heart fluttering when your awake but when your asleep it doesn’t... it’s a given that it’s stress & anxiety.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
That’s for the input. I’ve been trying to accept it but it is hard for me whenever I have the symptoms
973741 tn?1342342773
I think a lot of people have health anxiety related to their heart. (raising my hand).  Once they rule out heart health issues as wearing a holter monitor and a stress test should, then you can look for other reasons. Fluttering like you describe can be caused by anxiety or too much caffeine and things like that.  Here is an entire article on it that I think is a good read. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-palpitations/symptoms-causes/syc-20373196  Look at the potential causes and see if there is any way this could be you.  Let me know.
Helpful - 0
3 Comments
Hi thanks for the reply. I tend to go into cycles. I’ll start feeling better then all of a sudden I get the episode of fluttering. The latest one I had I was able to feel my pulse. It was a beatbeat...beat...beatbeat. Feels Uncomfortable and cause me to worry about it for a few days. This also made me revisited my Holter results where I did see I had 3 PVCs in a row. The cardiologist noted it was probably NSTV. So then I started looking that up and that’s not helping me at all.
Got to calm down. Deep breaths, hold for 3 seconds exhale. Repeat. Yoga helps with anxiety.
Thanks for the comment. Trying my best to not think about it.
Avatar universal
This is a bit confusing, because a pulse does have beats, which mean pauses.  If this only lasts a second, well, your pulse does again have a rhythm and there are very short pauses in it.  Do you have an anxiety problem?  If you look at the archives on this forum you'll see that a ton of people have posted about heart problems but virtually none of them actually had one.  An obsessive checking of pulse or heartbeat is an anxiety symptom.  Now, that doesn't mean you don't have a heart problem.  I'm not sure the tests you've listed are the best ones for testing heart rhythms -- have you ever been asked to wear a holter as you go through your day so you get better monitoring?  A static Ekg isn't all that useful, it's more for flagging large obvious problems than it is for checking the heart -- for that you'd want to do the Ekg while working on a treadmill.  Have you done that test?  But everyone has what appear to be flutters from time to time, if you have it all the time, and it's actually a flutter and not you feeling like it is, then more testing might be in order.  I can't speak to the experience you're asking others to comment on, I'm only reflecting the large number of posts that have been on this forum over the years about anxiety sufferers who thought what they were experiencing was a heart problem when it wasn't, but as well that anxiety sufferers aren't immune from health problems and sometimes a real problem exists.  
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention I’ve worn a Holter twice and nothing was out of the ordinary. I have not had a stress test. I do get anxiety but it appears after I have an episode.
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Anxiety Community

Top Anxiety Answerers
Avatar universal
Arlington, VA
370181 tn?1595629445
Arlington, WA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out what can trigger a panic attack – and what to do if you have one.
A guide to 10 common phobias.
Take control of tension today.
These simple pick-me-ups squash stress.
Don’t let the winter chill send your smile into deep hibernation. Try these 10 mood-boosting tips to get your happy back
Want to wake up rested and refreshed?