palpitations and a year of misery - Heart Disorders Message Board

duality · 10-13-2008, 05:50 PM

Hi all, I just joined today to ask this question as I'm almost to tears sometimes out of fear/frustration.

Last October I started having palpitations on a regular basis (dozens a day) and went to see a cardiologist almost immediately. He found nothing. No blockage, no enlargement, no leaks, not a damn thing. Said that I am perfectly cardiovascularly healthy.

On I went to my primary care, she has seen me probably 25 times since, and has to this day found nothing wrong with me.

Went to a mainstream doc. because I wasn't reassured with the last two and she again found nothing wrong with me.

About mid march, I stopped having palpitations all together, and just out of the blue last week I had one. I have had 3 since. I have cut caffiene, and am drinking much less, which are two known causes of palpitations.

I am extremely frightened of them. I'm afraid one of these times it isn't going to be a palpitation, but rather my heart will just stop and I will die. I don't even know how realistic that is to think that (probably not at all.)

Is there anything that would be causing this that would not be found in 3 CBCs, a VAP, 24 hour holter, ecg, 2 ekg's, a dozen or so stethoscope listens, etc.

I am 23 and have been ridiculously healthy all my life. My primary tells me this is all anxiety, which I refuse to beleive.

Anybody have any thoughts?

misty57 · 10-13-2008, 09:49 PM

Have you had a stress test, echo, or cath? Those tests are important also.

duality · 10-13-2008, 10:46 PM

I had echo... That's how he knew no enlargement, etc. Cardio said "absolutely no need for stress or cath."

GodHand · 10-14-2008, 06:04 AM

You are fine - quit worrying about it. Benign arrhythmias in a healthy heart are not anything to worry about. I have the same thing with the same results - structurally normal heart, perfect valves, etc. Mine have significantly reduced this past year, though. Perhaps I can thank my vitamins for that?

harka · 10-14-2008, 06:07 AM

duality, you have one of the most common problems seen in young people in cardiologists' offices--palpitations. In a young person like you in the absence of structural heart abnormalities (which you don't have because your echo was normal) there is nothing wrong with palpitations. What happens, however, is that when patients feel palpitations, they think they are going to die which compounds the problem.

You also have another problem which is key in perpetuating this--your adamant denial of anxiety. Listen man, you are clearly anxious about this considering you yourself wrote that you think you are "going to die" when the palpitations starts. The very fact that you came to healthboards and posted this is further evidence that this is making you very anxious. And you know what? There is NOTHING wrong with that!

The root of the problem is, people who hear the word "anxiety" feel like the doctor is saying you are crazy, which is FAR from the truth. In fact, there are actual objective changes which happen in your body at times of anxiety. Whether you're anxious about something and then the palpitations start OR the palpitations start and THEN you start to feel anxious, what is happening is there is an increase in the amount of circulating catecholamines (i.e. adrenaline) which can in themselves cause your heart to become more irritable which further exacerbates the situation making you FURTHER prone to palpitations.

On the other hand, think rationally about the situation: the cardiologist (a person who sees the SICKEST people with heart disease) has thoroughly checked you out and told you there is nothing structually wrong with your heart. Isn't that a good thing?! Things like congestive heart failure or hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy are things easily found on echocardiogram--would you rather have THAT as your answer?

The truth of the matter is, your heart is palpitating, there's no doubt about that, but anxiety is playing a key role in its perpetuation. Just remember there is nothing structurally wrong with your heart, which is the most important thing, and that these palpitations are benign. YOU WILL NOT DIE! In fact, people who DO die from malignant heart arrythmias (which you do NOT have) don't feel palpitations. Their heart just stops....so think about that...the fact that you're feeling palpitations may actually have a positive spin to it!