RLR
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Okay, well it doesn't quite work like you might be envisioning. It's really not a matter of where the vagus nerve is located, but rather the fact that the central nervous system is in sort of a mildly chronic and heightened state of activity together with factors that may predispose a person to experiencing palpitations.
The vagus nerve actually innervates the GI tract as the pneumogastric nerve, much like a street can change names as you drive along it. I would suggest that the palpitations are far more a factor of bending over and compressing the abdomen, or alternatively stretching upward, rather than anything to do with tucking a pillow under your left arm. If there is air trapped in the lumen of the intestines, particularly where it presses upward against the diaphragm or undergoes a change in its position within the intestines or bowel, this can cause palpitations to occur through the left vagus nerve.
It's not as though the nerve is actually being rubbed or coming into contact with anything. We're talking more about neurotransmitter activity, in this case acetylcholine, being induced to travel along the vagus nerve to its terminal points, ie the heart, lungs, larnyx, etc., where it results in a palpitation among other things.
The reason you heart slows down to a noticable extent is due to the lack of feedback to the vagus nerve which results in lowered vagal tone. Soldiers who stand at attention too long often suffer from this consequence and it results in lightheadedness or actual syncope (fainting) if not corrected by taking action to restore vagal tone. In fact, this consequence can occur under a variety of contexts, which for instance explains why some people faint to a sudden frightening stimulus or when jumping up from a lying position after being bedridden for a day or so. Even the flu or other certain factors can cause vagal tone to be disturbed or lowered.
As for the "block," we actually use this term to describe more extensive degrees of latency for electrical signals to pass through the tissues of the heart, particularly around the ventricles. I'm not certain what you were observing on the scan, but unless it was using contrast to reveal a vascular narrowing in one of the vessels I would question what you were actually looking at, particularly since it would not be an actual blockade within the oriface or cavity of a ventricle.
Your symptoms would indeed be associated with benign palpitations induced by inappropriate vagus nerve stimulation and nothing to do with any type of pathology.
Best regards and Good Health
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