p8d Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 How do you tell tachycardia apart from palpitations? When I have been upright too long, anywhere from a couple of minutes to 30+ I get this feeling like my heart/chest is going to leap out of my body and I have to sit down NOW. I also get shaky, sweaty and that overall awful feeling we all know. If I do stay upright and check my HR sometimes I am tachy and sometimes I am not. I think it’s all related to my hydration level but if I drink too much I get hypertension, it’s a terribly difficult balance. I don’t know how to explain what’s going on to my cardiologist. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombsh3ll Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 What I used to ask patients to do when describing palpitations was to tap out the rhythm on the desk with their fingers. That way you could often tell if it was regular but fast, completely irregular or generally regular with a few extra single or multiple beats here and there, or regular with missed beats. Of course, this is not an accurate means of diagnosing anything and doesn't replace tests like an ECG, but it helps to get an idea of what someone means. Personally when describing my own symptoms, I use the term tachycardia for a rapid heart rate (ie a person with POTS standing up), and palpitations when there are extra or irregular beats (irrespective of baseline rate). B x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 When I get tachycardia I get also chest pain as well as nervousness. Palpitations ( in my case PVC's and PAC's ) cause a definite "jumping" sensation in my chest, not a pain. Cardiac awareness is a symptom of POTS - because we have so many weird symptoms that are caused by our heart rate / BP we are very sensitive to it. My specialist always told me that the palpitations are a sign of the ANS becoming hyper-sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StayAtHomeMom Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 Heart palpitations are anytime you feel your heart rate. It can be fast, slow, hard, irregular, skipped beats... tachycardia is just fast heart rate. Regular or not. I always thought heart palpitations were when it would skip a beat. So I asked my cardiologist. And he said it is any time you feel it. I can have heart palpitations just laying still in the evening. It can be annoying when I try to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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