Heart Arrythmias

[gertie]

Do most of you have irregular heart beat? At times my heart feels like it will jump out of my chest, skip beats & can see it beating. I go to the cardiologist, he checks me & says everything is fine. He doesn't think my vasovagal syncope & arrythmias are anything to worry about. He mentioned that allergies also effect the heart. Just wonder if this is a part of dyt?? Thanks.

[jump]

My heart beat is very irregular sometimes, to the point where I have trouble breathing. My cardiologist also tells me this is fine.

I guess an irregular beat isn't so much a problem in and of itself, it's just a problem if it's caused by something sinister like heart disease.

I know it's uncomfortable, but if you've had it checked out, it's probably ok to trust your doctor.

jump

[turtlefairy5]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by irregular heartbeat, but I have definitly had the thing where you can hear, feel AND see your heart beating, whether it is beating within the normal bpm range or if I'm having tachycardia (which is all the time). It is especially bothersome when you are laying down to sleep at night. You feel like something out of an Edgar Allen Poe story. *winks to those who get that reference*

My doctor has said that everything is fine as well, fine being relative, meaning that there is no heart disease, clogged arteries, etc. things that go under the label of definitly not-fine.

If you aren't in need of obvious, immediate medical assistance, in other words if you are "fine" and suffering from an on-going syndrome (such as POTS) that bothers your life and really puts you out, as opposed to, say, "not-fine" and having a heart attack, in my experience doctors tend to take more time in dealing with it and tend to have less direct treatment suggestions. Instead of a medication or surgery, you may need to make pretty major life adjustments, for example.

Your doctor should still listen to you, though, and hear that you are uncomfortable and try to do something about it.

If your doctor has said you are "fine," reiterate to him/her the symptoms that are bothering you and ask him/her what you can do to stop them and/or feel better. If your doctor shrugs or otherwise doesn't seem concerned or responsive, seek a second opinion.

There may not be a whole lot you can do, but your doctor should at least be able to offer some sort of suggestions.

[gertie]

Thanks for answering. By irregular I mean it skips beats, beats too fast, feels like it stops, sometimes feels like it jumps. The cardiologist always says no caffeine, or certain meds which I'm on neither. I've had this problem off & on for years. I should be used to it by now. Thanks again!

[Carly87]

I have had all of the above! I have also been diagnosed with MVP though too, so that may have something to do with it. Either way, all these things are usually benign unless there is heart disease present.

The irregular beats bother me sometimes. I'm so used to the tachycardia now, but when I get the 'skips' or other weird beats, I tend to get freaked out even though I shouldn't.

[pat57]

I have experienced various heart beat sensations. I was used to it and thought everybody felt their heart beating- like I did.

HA. I was put on an anti arrhythmia med. It seems ironic that I thought it was normal and I was put on this med. I was once offered a pace maker too.

Go figure.

[cardiactec]

I was told that what I was feeling was just POTS, was told this for four years, with syncopal events, and presyncopal events while driving and having to pull over on the side of the road so i didnt crash -- just recently found out that i have three different tachyarrhythmias -- two different atrial tachycardias and a nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. go figure! the rates on these rhythms were/are 260-280 BPM which in and of itself CAN be dangerous even in the absence of heart disease because the heart is not able to perfuse the vital organs at such a rate, such as your brain, and thus can end in hemodynamic collapse, syncopal events during VERY inappropriate times (ie: driving, etc). i had an ablation for one of these three rhythm issues and was put on antiarrhythmics for the other two that were not inducible in the lab.

depending on how long your episodes last, and to the degree of which you are symptomatic, i think it is worth looking into further. have you at least had an event monitor to document was exactly the rhythm is when you feel it?

take care and good luck.

cardiactec.

[ajw4790]

Hi,

Yeah, my event monitor showed different arrythmias and there is some times where I can noticibly feel different arrhythmias. Overall it sounds like I feel the arrythmias less then most people do, but they are there. They are present more when I am having a flare of symptoms, dehydrated, electrolyte imbalance, etc. It is a part of dysautonomia. I am not sure that it would be considered part of POTS, but it is a symptom caused by the autonomic nervous system not working properly. For different people this can be caused by different things. One cause could be neuropathy. Many things can contribute to the arrhythmias.

The important thing is to express what occurs to a dr. that listens and is familar with dysautonomia, and then get a work up to get a better picture of what is going on. For the most part the arrhythmias we have are benign and just need to be monitored etc. I do think that it is important to not focus too much on your HR/rhythm, because I know if I think about it too much or am worried about what is going on it can trigger the arrhythmias or the feeling that they are occuring. Therefore, I tend to just not think about it and then if I feel a decent flutter that takes my breathe away, I note that, but try not to think too much about it or less it happens repeatedly or with other symptoms.

I don't know if that helps? But, that is just kinda how it has worked for me.

[gertie]

Thanks, all the info helps. It takes so long to get an app't with a dr these days one could forget why they wanted to see one. I'm not persistent enough in making & keeping my dr app'ts. I don't drive long distances anymore & I always feel like I'm imposing if I ask someone to take me. I know no one really wants to take the time to do it. The dr's in my area are just not up to date & I've yet to find one that understands my problems. Thanks for your support.

[dawson20]

Ive had atrial tachycardia for as long as I can remember... it took a long time to figure out what it was, but Ive always had 'flutters' and skipped beats and just odd sensations as far as my heart goes.

the atrial tachycardia has mostly gone away with metoprolol but i still get runs of it when my potassium drops.

[flop]

Hi,

almost everybody has daily occurrences of extra heart beats (PVCs and/or PACs) but most people are not aware of them, or only notice them if they are at rest and not concentrating on something different. Lots of people are aware of these extra beats and often describe them as "skipped beats" "pauses" "thuds" or "forceful beats". What people usually notice is that after an extra beat there is a slightly longer gap before the next beat and that that late beat is more forceful than usual. This happens to everyone with and without dysautonomia or NCS problems - it is just a matter of how much you are "tuned in" to your own heartbeat.

I can remember being in hospital on a cardiac monitor and watching the PVCs show on the screen - I couldn't feel anything or tell that there were extra beats at all.

I get frequent episodes of tachycardia due to POTS but I am not aware of how fast my heart is going, even when it is 180/minute I don't feel anything.

However I have also had episodes of an SVT - atrial tachycardia where I was very much aware of my heart racing away for 20 seconds or so and feeling very ill with it.

The important thing is to get a heart tracing whilst you are having the sensation of strange rhythms - if you get it on paper and a doctor then tells you not to worry it is likely to be one of the common variations that are of no significance. But a recording on a day when you haven't had the symptoms is no help because it doesn't prove that you haven't had rhythm problems at other times - I think this I how cardiactech went untreated for so long, because she had sinus tachy from POTS people can assume that all tachy episodes are the same (correct me if I'm wrong there Angela!).

Flop

[cardiactec]

flop, nope you are accurate in what you have said!

I think it is extremely important for doctors to listen listen listen to their patients. if something doesnt feel right, or feels different from something else previously diagnosed, EVEN IF whatever else diagnosed has been the only thing seen while in the docs office or with random docs appts, doctors NOR patients should just assume that what the patient is experiencing is something that has already been diagnosed...i literally had my cardiologst say, after three years of me complaining about these sensations and NOT ordering an event monitor, "I think if you had an underlying rhythm problem we would have seen it by now". nuts. they saw it all right, when i slapped a monitor on my chest to prove it to them. thankfully i am blessed enough to work in cardiology, ironically enough, and catched the rhythms myself...

flop is right in that the majority of the time, the things people feel are "normal" extra or skipped beats such as single PAC's or PVC's.....BUT that being said, just as flop suggested, it is important to prove or disprove these normal variants by getting a heart tracing/wearing a monitor.