Heart Palps - Heart Disorders Message Board

Wynslett · 08-06-2006, 04:44 PM

Hi-

Newcommer to the boards, I'm glad I found this board. Where do I begin? My father passed away in April, and I've been having a terrible time dealing with his loss. I'm seeking a grief counselor, but that's a whole different story. When I found out about his illness in late March, I began having heart palpitations. Mostly while I was doing a physical activity, something as easy as bowling, I'd feel an occasional flip flop. After his dealth, they came more frequently. Mostly they happen now without being exercise induced, they will happen when I's sitting watching TV or reading, etc. They felt either like my heart litterally did a somersault or occasionally it would take off and feel like it was "galloping". I went to my Dr. in May and she did an in office EKG, everything looked fine she said. She thought it was anxiety over the loss of my father and gave me a few xanax to see if it helped. The palps stopped after taking the xanax off and on when I was feeling anxious. She only gave me 10 xanax at the time, so I felt it must have been stress/anxiety/depression related. Well, over the past week, the palps have returned with avengeance. They alternate between the flip flops and galloping feeling. Sometime I feel a squeezing sensation in my chest that lasts for a split second, but have not been able to determine if that is actually a palp or not. I sit for hours on end with my fingers to my neck waiting for the next skip, or squeeze. It's driving me crazy. I started taking the xanax again, but doesn't seem to help with the anxiety over these palps. I do have high BP, and before my Dad's death was taking 75 mg of Atenolol, but for whatever reason through all of this craziness, my BP has somewhat regulated itself and I'm only taking 12.5 mg of Atenolol along with 12.5 mg of Hydrochlorothiazide. BP now runs about 110/65. My pulse rate runs low in the 60's most of the time, but it has for years. I'm overweight by about 50 pounds, and have been trying to exercise to help with the weight and depression. Today after exercise, my heart got to really flip flopping to the point where I felt like I needed to cough to get it back on track. So here I sit now, convinced I have a serious heart condition. Friends/family say it's stress/anxiety, all part of the grieving process, blah blah blah. I would love for it to be "all in my head" but am not so sure anymore. Does my story sound similar to anyone's? I'm feeling as though I'm all alone, and I'm really really scared that something's really wrong. I'm only 38, and I want to be around for a very long time. I still have things to do. I have diabetes too, and I feel like all of my health problems are starting to close in on me. I've made another appointment with my Dr for Tuesday, but I'm convinced she must think I'm a lunatic as my EKG and all my bloodwork have came back fine. Someone tell me I'm not alone! Thanks for listening,
Beth

tooanxious · 08-26-2006, 11:58 PM

I also get the attacks of flip flopping and I think Im going to die everytime it happens. You are not alone. I had them real bad about 2 years ago then they went away. Now they are back and exercise seems to bring them on. I went working out at the YMCA and about five mintues into my cool down and I got really bad sensation that lasted only five secons feeling like my heart was going out of countrol I felt like I need to hold my breath which made it go away. It is almost impossible to describe the sensation to people who have not had them. Its not just a feeling of fast heart beat but a pressure type feelign and sensation along with it that is really scary . If I move in a wierd position it also brings them on. Both of my attacks at the YMCA seem to be caused by not drinking anough fluids and over exerting myself. I also had an attack one time in bed which caused me to jump out of bed totally freaked out for about ten seconds until my heart slowed back down. I also have been going through some emotional diffculties which might be contributing to the problems. However the problem is real for sure and not just in my head. I hate these things and I can see no way of getting rid of them. They are really painful and scary. Good luck to you.

sdbcomm · 08-29-2006, 03:31 PM

I have a similar situation. But my palps were telling me something was wrong. Four years ago, it turned out that my mitral valve (I had been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse more than 20 years ago) was regurgitating badly. I had it replaced with a pig valve but just 7 weeks ago, had to have another replacement -- this time with a mechanical valve. I'm still having palp problems on and off so this week my dr. put me on a monitor. Every time I feel the palps, I hit "record". AFter 30 days, they review the tapes to see what's going on. (It's like taking t he car to the mechanic -- it doesn't make the noise when you get there!) My EKG's were fine but I know pounding from regular beats and I want to get over this horrible feeling. You might want to talk to your cardiologist about being put on the monitor. It will help you feel like you're not crazy and help them "capture" what you're talking about on tape. Couldn't hurt and could give you some peace of mind. I hate it when they look at you like you're crazy. But you know you're not and you have to be an advocate for your own health at all times. Good luck!