Irregular heart beat after pulmonary embolism

[Luggs]

Hi everyone, so 6 weeks ago I was diagnosed with a large PE, put on Rivaroxiban but have now changed to Apaxiban, all relatively good up until the last couple of days where I’m now getting an irregular heart beat when rising and standing upright doesn’t last to long but is worrying me, no doubt the heart and lungs take a battering and will take time to heal but it’s odd this has started now, much appreciated your views

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Luggs

Has the irregular heart beat only started since you went on the Apixaban?

[Luggs in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Hi jean, no I had it whilst on rivaroxiban to, only been for about 3 weeks but it’s a bit worrying, Doctor says it’s probably anxiety but I personally don’t think so, should take trip to A&E but don’t really fancy that at present time😬it’s only happens when I’m upright or after a long walk like just now, the rivaroxiban did give me bad stomach acid which is still present but not as bad now I’ve changed

[BobD Volunteer]

No it won't be the anticoagulant doing this which is important now to prevent any re-occurrence . It may well be a result of the PE but not being medically trained one must not start jumping to conclusions.

I would say A and E best avoided unless you feel faint, breathless or have chest pain but do try to see what kind of rhythm you have. Palipitations just means that a person is aware of their heart and this can be a varity of different rhythms from just racing a bit to missed (ectopic) beats which can be alarming but which are generally harmless. If your heart is beating with no rhythm but rather a chaotic feeling like a bag of worms it may be Atrial Fibrillation but best to speak to your doctor and get checked out.

Since your symptoms appear when changing position this may be just a sudden drop in blood pressure but again best speak to your GP .

[Luggs in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob that’s reassuring, heart rhythm seems ok most of time, they do seem ectopic, sort of miss a couple of beats, think I’m having a bit of anxiety which I don’t thinks helping, also my stomach is making all sorts of gurgling noises, I was tempted to go to A&E to get blood pressure checked as doctors only doing phone consultations, I’ll give him a call tomorrow morning, and thanks again