Heart Palpitations Forum

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Heart Palpitations Forum >> Symptoms and other concerns >> Newbie
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Message started by lopezb2013 on Jun 18^th, 2013, 12:33pm

Title: Newbie
Post by lopezb2013 on Jun 18^th, 2013, 12:33pm

Hi everyone. I am new and am so glad that my daughter found this forum for me. I've read a few posts and seen things that are the exact opposite of my issues. I am a former smoker and wine drinker. And I do mean A LOT of both. My palpitations came on after quitting everything; which has made me really upset. I had a life changing moment and made the decision to stop it all and start eating healthy and walking again. Well, one of the first things I did was make the 'Glowing Green Smoothie', and the effects - palpitations. A couple of weeks later pizza and strawberries did the exact same thing, on 3 different days. A couple of weeks ago, the palpitations started again and they progressively got worse accompanied by chest pain and shortness of breath. So, I headed to the ER. After blood tests, EKG and chest X-rays, I was admitted because one cardiac enzyme was a little high and they wanted to do further tests. I had a nuclear stress test, an Echo, and Respiratory did a blood gas test and I also wore a monitor and had oxygen for the duration. Guess what - all tests normal or negative. I did have someone tell me that something in my heart was firing before it was supposed to. Apparently, this is what I am feeling. Can this be fixed? Does anyone else suffer with this? I am taking a med for acid reflux and am currently wearing an event monitor (ordered by my cardiologist) for a month. I have friends who have acid reflux and they don't have palpitations. I hope that something can be done about this. I have read posts from individuals who have suffered with these for 20 and 30 years. I don't think I could handle that. Besides, I have enough to deal with already having Meniere's Disease.

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by hevylevy2 on Jun 20^th, 2013, 7:05am

HI Newbie, I am also a Newbie (today) and read your post. I am familiar in that I was a heavy wine drinker and under a lot of stress from work for over 3 years and developed palps at night about a year ago. I've gone through the tests and latest went to a cardiologist who told me I had 3 choices -try medication, live with the palps, or go through a procedure where they enter your heart chamber through a vein an cauterize the misfiring nerve (or whatever its called) to stop the chamber from skipping a beat.

I decided to change my lifestyle first (cut down on the drinking and test my diet for possible triggers). I have since learned that stress has a lot to do with when I get the palps - so Im trying to deal with it that way.
But anyway, I suggest you check with your cardioligist about the procedure I mentioned. Hope this helps! :)

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by lopezb2013 on Jun 20^th, 2013, 7:25am

Thank you hevylevy2. I meant to bring that up the other day with my cardiologist and forgot, my former sister-in-law has recently had serious rapid heartbeat episodes that have landed her in the ER numerous times and they are going to do that procedure on her; after tests have indicated that she doesn't have any blockages. I hope you do better with your lifestyle changes. I am also adjusting my dietary habits. I sure do miss my morning cup of joe. :-[

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by martinpetersen on Jun 20^th, 2013, 7:41am

I'm no doc, but I've been in this forum for quite a while.

What seems to be a wide spread experience, is that it is SO hard to define exactly what causes what. Thought alcohol is a known trigger for palps, that might not be so in your case. My own experience is that cause-and-effect do not come so direct on in the case of benign palps, as your tests seem to show that they are. So maybe changing to "healthy foods" has nothing to do with your palps.
But of course healthy foods are good for other things :-)

Maybe it's more like an anxiety-related issue. Changes in life circumstances and maybe life stile, and focusing on your own health seem to "highten the alert" of the autonomous nervous system and thus making it more prone to "fire palps off" which through the vagus nerve "hit" the heart and make it beat a bit off now and then. Or often.
Which IS disturbing and something you want to change. I know.

Best of luck.

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by lopezb2013 on Jun 20^th, 2013, 7:52am

Thank you martinpeterson. Things are better since I went into the hospital. It has helped realizing that so many people suffer with the same things. I don't feel quite so alone anymore; of course, my Lord is always with me and comforts me. Best to you as well! :)

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by richie on Jun 20^th, 2013, 8:07am

you wrote I did have someone tell me that something in my heart was firing before it was supposed to

could you tell us ...what was firing and what caused this and if this was any dangerous?

I mean ..when someone has fast heartrate out of nowhere..they can get an ABLATION ( thats what it called here).. but in your case I dont think its the same thing. So what nerve was firing and why?
I quess they told you that?

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by lopezb2013 on Jun 20^th, 2013, 10:03am

I'm sorry, Richie, but I don't know. They didn't tell me. I am hoping after my cardiologist gets the results from this event monitor, she can give me more information. Right now, its just a waiting game but I have been told that it is not serious and not to worry. Of course, the people telling me this don't have this problem. So that's easier said than done. The EKG that they did Tuesday caught a pvc or whatever you call it. So apparently that is what I am feeling in my chest.

Title: Re: Newbie
Post by sto12 on Jun 20^th, 2013, 4:29pm

I'm of the same opinion as Martin. I have had palps more or less all day everyday since the end of January. There have been a couple of exceptions though. One was when I came down with a urinary tract infection. The day that I first developed symptoms was like every other day since my palps started and they had been going on all morning. The symptoms of a UTI come on pretty suddenly and they are quite severe. From the moment I developed the symptoms my palps stopped. I had to have a urine culture done etc and by the time I got the all clear that nothing else was going on and it was just a UTI a week had passed. Towards the end of that first week I decided I needed to get a pap smear so add on a few more days to that first week of waiting for results. During that whole time I was waiting for results of tests (2 weeks) I never felt a single palp. After I got the all clear on everything the palps came back. There was another incident after that where my focus was on a different aspect of my health and I never felt a palp for 3 weeks. During those times I never changed my diet or anything. I made no lifestyle changes at all. Fast forward to the beginning of this week. I started getting muscle twitches so I have been worrying about MS. Have I had any palps this week? No. Will they come back? Yes, just as soon as I get over the MS fear. The mind is wicked but I think I'm getting a little better. It's a slow process.