Palpitations

[jothenurse]

I was wondering if other people have trouble with palpitations. My heart feels like it is pounding all day long. Then when I do go out and try to do something, my heart just races and I feel light-headed. I have been in the ER a couple of times with this. One time they do think I had a supraventricular tachycardia (I now take a beta blocker) and then another time they said it was Sinus Tachycardia and a panic attack. I have had EKG's which are normal (escept fast when I'm panicking) and two years ago they did a cardiolyte test which showed that my heart was fine. Up to a few months ago I was exercising with no problem. Now I'm afraid to go up the steps in fear that the palpitations will get bad. I went to the grocery store today (which I was scared to do) and had terrible palpitations. I thought I would have to go to the ER again. I made myself stay and finish the shopping, but my heart was going so fast it was scary. After I got in my car and drove a little bit, it started to slow down.
Can anyone help me with this? I had a panic disorder 30 years ago, which I worked through pretty good. Now I have been under a lot of stress and the palpitations have brought back my panic disorder and I am now on a medical leave.

[Anxious_gal]

yeah I have light palps most days but sometimes they get so bad I feel really ill.
I get lightheaded, my chest feels like it will burst, I feel short of breath.
I think alot of my anxiety is caused by them too.
I hate having them at night as they keep me awake and because Im trying to sleep I'm much more aware of them.
After feeling strange for two days, not being able to sleep, my chest felt tight and i felt like it was hard to breath I went to my doctor who told me i was having heart palpitations, ended up in the ER with lots of tests, everything came back normal.
so I was told noting I can do.
I did have a calcium deficiency at the time, so I suggest you take some calcium and magnesium tablets.
I had a 24 hour halter monitor test but they lost the results , that was 3 years ago .
never had the nerve to ask for another test......
but if you hadn't had one i suggest you go demand one as it will show up all your hear palpitations and then they can decided what to do next.
you so have the palps way worse than me by what you say :-(
It's hard to know what to do, maybe someone else hare may have some better advice.

[jothenurse]

Thank you for your reply.
Anyone else have problems with palpitations?

[Dianneck]

Hi Jothenurse,
I too have heart palpitations and get it regularly. Like Mishel, I have been in ER a number of times. I've had ECGs done, worn a heart monitor, had a brain scan among other things. Everything has come back fine although along the way we discovered that I have high blood pressure.
The palpitations are hard to get use to. I found that I avoided things in hopes of the heart racing not returning.
All I can say is that if you trust that your doctor has covered all the basis, then you know that you're alright. Talk yourself through it.

[jothenurse]

I did end up in the ER yesterday. My pulse was 160 (very uncomfortable) - but it was sinus tachycardia - they said I was healthy and that my heart was healthy and that it was just the panic attacks. So, they gave me an IM injection of ativan, which calmed me right down. They said to increase my beta-blocker, and to take the Ativan orally (.5) when needed. They said to take the ativan when I thought I was going to have palpitations. This is hard because I feel like I am going to have them a lot. So, not sure when to take it. They also said to increase my potassium supplements - my potassium is 3.0 and I guess I am not eating enough to maintain it to 3.5 or over. I have been taking potassium supplements, but will need to take more until I can eat better. I do see a psychologist but am still waiting for an appointment with the psychiatrist to go over my meds. Anyone have any ideas about the Ativan and how I should use it? I do not want to get addicted to it, but it does help when I have palpitations.
Whenever I go out I feel like I may have palpitations, or even sitting at home sometimes.

[jothenurse]

I just got done eating a small amount of chicken and am now drinking some Instant Breakfast, and now of course my pulse is going up. Why does it do that? It makes me very nervous and then I get scared that I will get those bad palpitations when I have gone to the ER before.

[Humungousfungus]

I think we all get them to some extent, even people who don't suffer from anxiety disorder get them and merely brush them off as they're not 'sensitive' to them. If you get the ecg, ultrasound, tape monitor and a stress test and it all comes back negative then your heart is fine.

I get them now and again and it pisses me off, I once got them for over a week many times a day, by the time I got all the tests they had gone - cause = too much stress.

Your heart rate is up after you eat due to digestion, it's completely normal.

Hope that helps a little, nothing you've written above describes a heart condition.