Just discovered this forum and was hoping to get some advice/assurance. Trying to work out if I’m suffering from Afib, ectopic beats or something else. I have been struggling with what I thinks is chest flutters/palpitations for the past few months (no sweating, chest pain etc), and have become super anxious about it, worrying I have a defective heart. My resting heartbeat when relaxed is around 55-60 bpm, but can notice an increase and strong heartbeat when I wake most morning or sometimes if I go to the loo in middle of night. This can some feel a little erratic but does feel somewhat regular but never really rises above 110bpm. On a few occasions over the past few months I have been lying in bed and feel myself get super anxious so automatically go to to test my pulse, also instantaneously my heart rate goes up and starts beating sporadically. But once I deep breath and count in my head this can then go to normal rhythm/beats in about 20sec to a minute. This was something I never really noticed when I wasn’t so anxious about things.
Also when at work (office job which is not at all stressful) sometimes (not every day) around 11.00-12.00 I usually feel a little flutter in my chest followed by some strong heartbeats but pulse again doesn’t go over 90bpm. Always around the same time which seems odd (possible sugar level dropping)
I went A&E just prior to Xmas when feeling super anxious and had a poor night’s sleep and had an ECG which showed an ectopic beat (PVC). This kind of made me feel a little less anxious for a while and not worrying about a heart defect. However, I couldn’t shake the worry, so I went to Dr. I had another ECG and blood test and ECG showed a normal heart beat and blood tests was all well in range and cholesterol ratio at 2.4. I mentioned to Dr I cycle 7 miles to work daily and am in the gym 5 days a week (cardio/light weight) raising heart rate to approx. 150 bpm and can recover extremely quickly. And feel my fitness has improved over past few months. I’m a on plant-based diet and a recent over 40 MOT put my heart attack/stroke risk at 2.2%. Dr obviously sent me away reassuring me that I have nothing to worry about.
For just over 1 week now I have been taking a large tablespoon of NowFoods Potassium Citrate powder in the morning with water and last week didn’t have any noticeable flutters during the days or during weekends. Did wake up though in the night with what felt like raised heartbeat and a little erratic, but this was the night prior to seeing Dr and also going for tests. Over past 2 mornings I have reduced the Potassium to 2 teaspoons and around the same time 11am-12 had a few noticeable flutters, so took a spoonful at work and these stopped for the rest of day. Also been taking a spoonful before bed and haven’t noticed any heart palpitations during the night.
Apologies for the super long post, in a bit of limbo in terms of what to do, have I got anything to worry about from a heart perspective as I seem to be doing everything right from a lifestyle perspective (apart from anxiety) . HELP ;0)
Cheers
Si
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Nothing you descfribe ssound like AF to be honest but since nothing has ever ben capttured on ECG then why niot get yourslef a Kardia device to re4cord your owwn and then you will have something to show your doctor. Good hydration is vital as is no stimulants such as alcohol or caffeine and try to reduce stress all of which will give you these symptoms.
Dunno Si, as BobD says, there is nothing there which suggests you have AF so without wanting to sound flippant, mind you don’t talk yourself into getting it. I’m guessing you are young, relative to us old foggies, clearly quite fit and active but also very conscious of what’s going on inside your body, which is great, provided it doesn’t become obsessive. The problem is that anxiety causes stress which causes more anxiety etc etc.
Should things not settle, to give you piece of mind and if it’s possible, it might be worth investing in a private medical check up to find out if there is anything untoward but unfortunately the abnormalities you refer to rarely occur to order. The Kardia Bob refers to is a great piece of kit and immediately enables you to capture unusual sensations as and when they occur but it is also very easy to become obsessive about using them......not overly helpful I’m afraid.......
I get everything you describe and yes, I do have AF but apart from a little mitral valve leak which is very common at my age, I don't have a 'defective heart' in the sense I think you mean ie a life threatening condition. Last night I had a giant birthday curry meal and also had some news that totally stressed me out to the point of having a panic attack in the middle of the night. My heart was doing a goldfish in a bowl imitation but I'm fine today. I have had the same since I was 12 (I can remember the first time!) and I'm 75 now. What I'm trying to say is try not to worry too much. The Kardia is a good idea though you will definitely be obsessed for a while 😵
thanks for the replies so far. Really hoping its not AF Buffafly and just bodies natural reaction to increased anxiety. FlapJack your dead right super conscious about health, which only adds to my worry and at only 43. I have taken more potassium today compared to yesterday and had no flutters or anything and feel somewhat brighter. Really hoping this is something as simple as Potassium deficiency just super conscious of not OD'ing on the stuff ;0)
I’m not into supplements but it might be worth considering something like Magnesium Taurate. Dr Sanjay Gupta from York Hospital has produced 2 or 3 videos on YouTube which are well worth a look......
Try and learn to relax more, and read all the comments today on a similar post titled: Very Long Periods of Stress Can Cause AF.....long term stress = health problems.
Good luck
I think Bob’s idea of getting a Kardia is a good one. You could then trap any episodes. The symptoms *sound* like PAF, but I am not medically qualified. Anxiety can cause irregular heartbeat. I would ask the GP to refer yountoma cardiologist and to explain his reasoning in more detail. Have you had an echocardiogram?
Thanks for reply. Well yesterday was going well, no issues with any ‘episodes’ but went out with friends for food. Had half a glass of fizzy water and 1 poppadom and all of a sudden my heart beat seemed to start beating a little harder. No increase in bpm (around 60-70) with very regular pattern. Every 30 secs or so one beat appeared a little weaker than other (but this happened only when I breathed in) next beat was as previous ones before weaker one and certainly not a thud .. any ideas?
I always connect funny heart beats with eating/wind from fizzy drinks..eating too quickly, eating after long gap of not eating, eating and lying down, feeling full. There is a real connection..so just dont do it
The bottle was from fridge and glass had ice in it. We ate late 21.00 and I had lunch at say 12.30 with only a few biscuits and small protein bar in between. As previous post when at work when I get an episode it’s always between 11am and 12..and I usually have same breakfast at same time around 6.30am
Give this a try to see if it helps you. It helps a lot of other folks:
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After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate (afternoon) exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??
I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas, Thyroid (sends signals to the heart to increase speed or strength of beat), Adrenal Gland (sends signals to increase heart rate), Sympathetic Nerve (increases heart rate) or Vagus Nerve (decreases heart rate), Hypothalamus Gland or others - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.
Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer
PS – there is a study backing up this data you can view at:
Hi, on recommendation I have just purchased a Kardia monitor and have been using over past few days. After each reading it came back normal but today I decided to pay and get a full review via the app. It came back with a sinus arrhythmia and multiple ventricular ectopics (5 or more over the 2 minute reading). Everything else was normal. Paid for 2 test about 2 hours apart and both came back the same. Not sure how I feel about this so am seeing my GP today to show results and discuss. Researching both issues they are very common and not too much of an issue (I hope), it leaves me feeling worried my heart is somewhat failing me (ridiculous I know)
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