Palpitations Daily

[Bonnibelle]

Can anyone reassure me about this? I have seen my GP earlier this year, had an ECG and he said that palpitations are nothing at all to worry about? I know my GP said they weren't and my ECG was normal, a few palps during but he said that is fine.

I didn't have any for a few months but now I seem to get them daily, as soon as I get one I panic. I feel them as flutters at the base of my throat/top of chest area. It takes my breath away. I get no pain so again I know I shouldn't be worried.

At the time they hit I feel fine, that is why I am concerned. If i could lose my fear of them I would be fine I think. Can anyone help?

[Speranza]

I can only say that I, and I expect lots of others here, have had them on and off for a very long time, also had ECG and it is all within the norm. I think there is an explanation of how they work on here, on the left under Health Worries. For me, knowing how they happen helped, it may not help you but I always think [the right kind of] knowledge is power.

I get them more if I am tired. Also alcohol, caffeine and chocolate can trigger them in me, even something like being a bit more stressed than usual and having a chocolate pudding can do it! Perhaps you have a few triggers you don#t yet know about?

But all anybody can do really is repeat what your doctor said, You have done the right thing and been checked out. All I can say is, I have had them for many years and I am fine, and I am sure you will be too. I used to get a kind of lurch of fear when they started, now I try saying to myself, "There they go again!" and that sometimes helps too, cos they feed off panic.

Hugs to you. Hope you are feeling better soon. :hugs:

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you so much for replying.

My GP said as my heart isn't racing and I get no pain they are nothing. I do have very low ferritin (iron stores) which I know can cause palps so I guess that should reassure me too.

They are flutters, rarely I get a thud, it is usuallyjust a feeling of flutters high in chest/base of throat that takes my breath away. I have a fear of them being constant, I once had 6 in a row so as soon as I get 1 I panic.

I wish I could lose my fear. I will read the link on here, thank you.

:)
I can only say that I, and I expect lots of others here, have had them on and off for a very long time, also had ECG and it is all within the norm. I think there is an explanation of how they work on here, on the left under Health Worries. For me, knowing how they happen helped, it may not help you but I always think [the right kind of] knowledge is power.

I get them more if I am tired. Also alcohol, caffeine and chocolate can trigger them in me, even something like being a bit more stressed than usual and having a chocolate pudding can do it! Perhaps you have a few triggers you don#t yet know about?

But all anybody can do really is repeat what your doctor said, You have done the right thing and been checked out. All I can say is, I have had them for many years and I am fine, and I am sure you will be too. I used to get a kind of lurch of fear when they started, now I try saying to myself, "There they go again!" and that sometimes helps too, cos they feed off panic.

Hugs to you. Hope you are feeling better soon. :hugs:

[saab]

I get hundreds of palpitations (pvc's) a day and my GP isn't at all worried. A few weeks ago I had a bad spell where even second beat was a pvc. After a coupler of hours of this, I made a trip to A and E, where they were clearly visible on the ecg machine. It even flashed up 'frequent pvc' on the screen. As you can imagine, 30 a minute was pretty terrifying.

The cardiologist came to speak to me and said that I could go home as they were harmless EVEN if I was having 30 a minute, like I was. I asked if I should come to A and E if it happened again - he said no, because they are harmless. He didn't think beta blockers were necessary either.

Fortunately, they had calmed down a bit by the time it came to go home.

I saw my GP again, who is referring my for counselling about my anxiety - though I only get that because of the palpitations. She isn't worried about the pvc's.

I am posting this to try to reassure you. Harmless pvc's are easily recognisable on an ecg. If your heart is structurally normal, they are not considered a problem, however frequent.

You can treat them with beta blockers, but that is really to help you get on with your life, not because they are harming you.

Here is a research article which shows that even people with frequent pvc's are ok:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2578212

The subjects had an average of 566 pvc's an hour (Yes 556!!). Some had heart disease, some didn't. Overall, they had the same death rate over 10 years as the general population.

"We conclude that the long-term prognosis in asymptomatic healthy subjects with frequent and complex ventricular ectopy is similar to that of the healthy U.S. population and suggests no increased risk of death."

So, if you have palpitation, get them checked out, but be reassured that benign ones are easy to spot, and as my doctor termed it, "do not affect longevity".

Hope this helps.