New symptom in car

[Lotty321]

Please help!! I was just driving about an hour ago and my heart did a really weird thing. It was like it stopped beating and just started quivering in my chest was so scary lasted just for a couple of seconds. I did a big cough and it stopped. Does anyone know what this might of been? X

[BobD Volunteer]

Sounds like a brief moment of SVT. You won't want to hear this but if it is distracting or you feel that you may not be fully in control then DVLA say you must not drive. Now you have put it in the public domain you need to carefully consider this.

[Lotty321 in reply to BobD]

I thought svt was just a very fast heart rate? This felt like my heart was quivering? X

[Lotty321 in reply to BobD]

I was fully in control of the the car no dizziness or anything just frightening x

[Vonnieruth]

You sure it wasn't anxiety Lottie

[Lotty321 in reply to Vonnieruth]

No definitely not it was so scary as soon as I coughed it stopped it but it was actually quivering

[Vonnieruth in reply to Lotty321]

Did you feel you was rocking with it

[Lotty321 in reply to Vonnieruth]

Not really just completely quivering

[Lotty321 in reply to Vonnieruth]

Really wish somebody else had this symptom 😩😩

[Buffafly in reply to Lotty321]

I do, happens quite often but I recently had a 7 day monitor and my cardiologist said I didn't have any significant tachycardia so I don't worry about it. I tried to catch it on my watch which registers my HR like an oximeter but I'm never quick enough. It is very unnerving I know 😰

[Lotty321 in reply to Buffafly]

Does yours literally feel like your heart is vibrating rather then beating? It lasted a could of seconds I coughed and it stopped!! X

[Buffafly in reply to Lotty321]

Yes, varies a bit depending on how fast, I guess. Ranges from pitter-patter through quiver to vibrate. Listen to Bob!

[hock217 in reply to Lotty321]

Fantastic that you felt the quiver/vibration, knew to cough, and it stopped.

[Lotty321 in reply to Buffafly]

I was wondering if it was a very short burst of Afib

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Lotty321]

Could be lots of things Lotty. A leading EP once said it doesn't need a name till it lasts more than 30 seconds.

[hock217 in reply to BobD]

I love that Bob.

[bugswhiskers in reply to hock217]

So do I!

[Xatt in reply to Lotty321]

That's what i thought too.

Do remember the feeling, and take note that you are here to tell the tale. It was disturbing, but you're here and you're okay.

[Kn177yn0ra in reply to Lotty321]

I have had this too in the early days of my Afib. It is very scary and does not feel like a heartbeat at all, more like totally random wobbling. I haven’t had it for a while since beta blockers kicked in about a year ago.

[Lotty321 in reply to Kn177yn0ra]

Did you’re feel like your heart was vibrating/buzzing? X

[doodle68]

Hi Lotty I have had something similar a number of times usually when I have just woken up and got out of bed. Mine is a pause followed by a soft quivering like someone shaking my shoulders very gently, it is not irregular like Afib. I did wonder if it might be A flutter but it is not particularly fast . It only lasts a few seconds not long enough to set up my Kardia and record it .

In the great scheme of things where weird things often happen with my heart it doesn't bother me. I am reconciled to the fact my heart likes to misbehave in various ways when it can .

[hock217 in reply to doodle68]

I love that perspective....so reassuring.

[Lotty321]

I’m just terrified now as what if it was ventricular tachycardia??!? The only thing that is helping me slightly relax is when the paramedics hoooed me up and said i had atrial flutter a couple of times I said it felt like quivering for s brief moment and they said I had slipped in Afib for a second. Does anyone else’s Afib feel like their heart is quivering? X

[Jane921 in reply to Lotty321]

Hi Lotty,

I have had Afib for 8 years and (pacemaker in 2014 because rate was dropping into low 30s due to beta blocker). Two ablations, but heart still quivering when I have bursts of Afib. I saw my EP last week. Every time I go, the tech comes in to run a pacemaker check/printout since my last visit. He thought I was having SVT. When my EP looked at the reading she assured me that it is Afib which has now been short, frequent bouts. My heart quivers when this happens. My grandmother had Afib and she described the feeling as her heart jiggling like it was jello.

It is frightening when it happens.

Jane

[Lotty321 in reply to Jane921]

Maybe that’s what it was then as they have caught the atrial flutter on ecg and I know it’s quite common to get both. It literally lasted a couple of seconds, I coughed and it stopped and it just felt like rather then beating it was quivering/vibrating does that sound the same as yours? X

[Jane921 in reply to Lotty321]

It sounds very similar to what I’m feeling recently. My EP increased my Sotalol from 40 mg twice a day to 80 mg twice daily. It seems to have helped.

[meadfoot]

I get heart quivering regularly, quite used to it, my EP is unconcerned. Doesnt feel nice, far from it but way better than a whacking svt episode or heart pauses both of which I have.

Please see your cardiac medic for tests and reassurance. Try to stay calm, if it is really scaring you ring 111 if you are in the uk and ask to speak to a medic for reassurance. If you feel ill with it a and e would check you out.

Best wishes.

[Lotty321 in reply to meadfoot]

Did they have any idea what it might be? X

[meadfoot in reply to Lotty321]

A form of ectopic beats my EP says as is my heart pauses. He seems unconcerned.

[jeanjeannie50]

I have had it in the past Lotty, my heart has felt like an old car engine vibrating. As it doesn't last long I've just ignored it.

Jean

[Quilafizz]

The quivering followed by a pause is your heart resetting the pace after an arrhythmia. It's almost impossible to tell you what the rhythm was, as coughing can be caused by the arrhythmia and may not have necessarily converted you out of it.

Ventricular arrhythmias like V. Tach are much more common with severe cardiomyopathies or ischemic heart disease. They are possible with extremely low magnesium levels, but that would have been diagnosed on previous blood work.

It's impossible to diagnose a quick run unless you capturing on your Kardia. So keep your Kardia close incase it happens again. If it doesn't last long enough to capture, no worries. Iv'e had many of these 5 second 'blips' since my ablation. My EP also told me that if it goes away that quickly, I should go on with my life more quickly.

Hope this helps!

[Morzine]

Me too lotty I get it once in a blue moon, it’s happens in bed and feels like a tiny vibrating fit, but lasts a few seconds. I’ve had this weird quiver for goodness knows how many years, way before my afib which started in May......quite honestly I never gave it a second thought but there again I never gave my dear ol heart a second thought until this afib happened and made me aware it was there!..it’s nothing like afib it’s exactky like a quiver just as you described..or a vibration lasts a few seconds, ...in fact I had one about four nights ago yet I haven’t had an afib “ crazy” since my cardio upped my tablet flecainade, just a couple if few minute afib episodes so I feel normal.... I’d not fret about it lotty as reading this you and I are not alone with this weirdo quiver. I’m nit worried about it as I’ve had it since adulthood so it would have got worse by now and it’s exactky the same as it’s been from the start....I did mention it to my doc many years ago , and he said it was nothing....

I’m glad I found this forum and I bet you are too as there are so many nice people that answer and it’s good to get feedback. Thanks for mentioning this lotty as I didn’t know what it was and glad to know other folk get it. Well in nit glad folk get things of course but it’s nice to not be alone as families and loved ones can sympathize but can not truly understand the scariness of the misbehaving heart......

[Lotty321 in reply to Morzine]

Do you think yours is a very short burst of Afib but stops very quickly? X almost feels like your heart is buzzing!! X

[Morzine in reply to Lotty321]

No it doesn’t feel like afib as afib is fast heart beat and irregular....this is more as you say buzzing......like the heart goes buzzzzzzzzzzz , quivers a good word to describe it....like the heart has a little shudder...so short though......I can’t see it matters much as I’ve had it years and the doc said it was nothing years ago.....maybe it’s all connected but I am ignoring it as one of those quirky things....you are getting closer to September when you see the consultant , that’s good. I do understand how scared you are, I git to see a cardiologist quick here in France and then I felt cared for and not so overwhelmed, you will feel like that once you see someone... x

[doodle68 in reply to Morzine]

'Hi Morzine do you mind if I add something here, you say ...

'No it doesn’t feel like afib as afib is fast heart beat and irregular...''

My understanding is that AF is always irregular but doesn't have to be fast although it often is .

[Morzine in reply to doodle68]

Oh I’m a newbie....about three months now....thought it was always fast....but that’s cos I’m new and mine was berserk!!, I still don’t understand a lot of this especially certain terms what’s an ectopic? And what’s svt?

[doodle68 in reply to Morzine]

Hi Morzine briefly ...

SVT= Supraventricular tachycardia, a condition where your heart suddenly beats much faster than normal.

ectopic = Ectopic beats are early (premature) or extra heartbeats.

If you look the terms up you will find a more comprehensive explanation.

[Morzine in reply to doodle68]

Thanks , think I have ectopics then...mine does that...when I ha e afib...

[hock217 in reply to doodle68]

My SVT was caused by by extra node going nowhere. The EP explained "sometimes it stops there and moves on but other time blood does not move on ...keeps looping around. Risk of stroke or heart attack. I had my second episode this morning so will call tomorrow to arrange cardiac monitor again and ask if I can wear only when home if needed for a month. I don't feel my heart doing anything at that moment....just sweaty, very weak and faint. I stopped Sotalol 10 days ago because I felt weak, dizzy, tired trying to take a short walk n blamed it on Sotalol. Doodle68, if you have not worn a cardiac monitor for at least a few weeks, I would recommend doing so. Nothing else picked up my SVT.

[doodle68 in reply to hock217]

Hi Hock I think there may be some confusion here, I don't have SVT or know very much about it, I have been diagnosed with P-AF so don't need a monitor . I was just answering a question asked by Morazine.

[hock217 in reply to doodle68]

Yes....sorry for error

[doodle68 in reply to hock217]

No problem Hock

[Cabert]

Hi Lotty, if you didn’t feel dizzy or anything other than quivering then you are ok. Try not to worry is best advice and it stopped after cough so a good thing too.

[heartmatters1]

I have something similar to this & have found a couple of minutes later I bring up a little bit of wind. It’s almost as if trapped wind may be causing it. Just an idea. Indigestion can cause some funny symptoms & can be a trigger for AF & ectopic beats. Best wishes Ally

[12cupcakes]

Don’t worry about it being VT. I had runs of VT after adenosine in hospital and it feels like you cannot breath and you would also get dizzy. I have experience my heart quivering very fast for a short time. I thought maybe it was a rapid aflutter.

[TerriMo]

Last Summer this happened to me a few times. I was at home, and it was in the evening while I was watching TV. It felt like my heart paused too long between beats. It was scary! It's happened a few more times, but not like last summer. Luckily, I have always been at home when it happens. I also tried the breathing techniques and the coughing and it seemed to help after several minutes. Be sure to tell your DR. Mine doesn't repeat enough for it to be documented by the DR or on a monitor.

[hock217]

That's why I wore mine a month. Stress test, heart muscle were fine. I might have been born with it per EP. Just remembered.....my mother said she had pneumonia so bad while pregnant with me, they expected she would abort. Could her strong coughing cause a dummy node in a fetal heart?