Anxiety Support

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Palpitations

Hi all!

Had been doing much better, but now I'm having a devil of a time with heart palpitations. At least a few times a day, I get a skipped beat and a thud. It just ruins my whole day and sends me into a spiral. I had a full cardiac stress test and imaging done about 2 years ago, but am now concerned that it has been too long. How often do you get these? Do they come out of nowhere? When it happens when I'm excited or my heart is racing, it makes sense. But at least a few times a day, I get one when I'm just sitting there doing not much of anything. Does that happen to you? Do you ever feel like your heart is being "weak" or anything?

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Hi Ellishart2731, I use to get the same exact symptoms years ago. It's all a part of the

anxiety disorder running on high even when we think we are relaxing. Our nervous system is always in high gear even when sleeping. It is one of the reasons we get palps and/or thuds enough to wake us up in a panic.

Knowing where this comes from and is usually not a serious cardiac event, the way to treat this is making sure we are fully hydrated each day. Dehydration plays a big part of skipped beats. The heart needs enough blood volume to flow properly. Another way to treat these

symptoms is in finding a method for you that relaxes the Mind/Body Connection. Practicing

Meditation several times a day can be beneficial.

Of course, your doctor plays a part in your general health care and should be advised of these symptoms, should he want to do any tests. Once it comes down to General Anxiety,

then we can help ourselves through the above techniques. I wish you well Ellishart. xx

Thank you so much, Agora! Any tips or tricks for how to handle them when they occur? I have 1-2 and it just absolutely destroys my whole day. And I know that anxiety-induced palpitations...beget anxiety-induced palpitations! As in, I get one of these, and my anxiety goes through the roof, which brings on more!

My ticker has these quirks too. I can go weeks with no palpitations whatsoever and then for some reason it comes back with a vengeance. In my case I have not noticed any relation to anxiety. I sometimes get them on vacation when I'm the most relaxed and hardly ever experience them when my anxiety is high. I too experience the "thuds" and it can cause me to cough, it's that alarming. But 2 cardiologists explained why this happens and it's not dangerous so I have learned to just not react when it happens. It took a few years for me to get to that point though. How long has this been going on for you? Maybe you haven't had enough time to acclimatize to these sensations yet but you will. The only time it really annoys me is when it happens at the beginning of a bike ride or power walk because then I have to stop (it feels wrong to continue when my heart is acting up) oh and at night sometimes when I'm trying to fall asleep! Argh! Frustrating! I have had this condition for about 30 years and nothing bad has happened yet as a result, and I don't suspect anything will. It's more of an annoyance than anything.

Thank you so much for sharing this! It really does help to hear. Any suggestions for how to either ignore these or minimize them?

I don't think there is anything you can do to minimize them it's an electrical issue. Just knowing that the weird feelings aren't harmful and that they are temporary is what helped me to ignore them. Experience helps too. For example when you hiccup do you stop and wonder what on earth is causing these hiccups and are they dangerous? No, because experience has taught you that they're nothing and they'll pass. That's why I think over time you will get used to the palpitations and eventually stop paying attention to them.

Hi, I seem to go through phases where I have ectopic beats and when I don't. Sometimes months can pass and I don't feel them at all. Currently I'm in a state where I'm getting them all the time, sometimes hundreds and hundreds a day. I had my heart checked over about 10 years ago and was told it was in great condition. This doesn't stop me worrying about them. They aren't dangerous, that's what I keep on hearing and reading, so I'll go with that. They do come out of the blue sometimes but mainly I think it's stress or anxiety related. You may not be able to pinpoint exactly what's causing it but trying to lower your stress or anxiety levels can only be a good thing. Recently I've experienced some heart flutters which I hate. I believe that they are mainly not dangerous either. I also think that stress and anxiety is a huge factor for these strange beats too. It's good you've had your heart looked at and fairly recently too. Try to use that as a positive and tell yourself they're not dangerous. I take a magnesium supplement for ectopic beats. I'm not sure it helps me but it might be worth a try for yourself? Look after yourself.

Yeah, I have had more "flutters" and "skips" than "racing palpitations" really. It's good to hear that I'm not alone! I'll look into magnesium, as it certainly can't hurt...

Hi there. Yes, I will get episodes for a period of time, but they pass eventually. The more I focus on them the worse they get. My last extended episode was right after my dad died and lasted about 4 months, but eventually did pass. I had a workup, all but the stress test. I had the Echo, Holter Monitor, numerous EKG's, and nothing showed but Tachycardia, so I found the less I focus on it, the better I got. I know that is not easy, believe me, but if you can work towards that and controlling your anxiety around it, it will pass.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I think the fact that they come out of the blue is what's so upsetting. I can "cope" with ones that happen when I KNOW I'm anxious. But when I'm just sitting here and I get one, it drives me absolutely mad. Any suggestions for how to cope?

Mine would come out of the blue, also. I just go with it. If you fight it, it will only get worse. Example: This was awhile ago, but I was in the grocery store, and bam! a racing heart and skips. I could have panicked and freaked out and made it worse, but I took my cart over to a seat and waited for it to pass, when my first impulse was to run from the store. Beyond anxiety and stress setting them off, you may want to look at diet. I know that if I am gassy and bloated, I will have skipped beats. Sometimes, just bending over to pick up something will set them off. Sometimes I will be just sitting around and it will start going blip, blip, blip, but not near as much now, as before. I think a lot had to do with the death of my dad, but it doesn't even have to be a stressor. Sometimes, they just happen. Try to be a detective, write down when, where, how, that time, what were you doing, what were you thinking...try to get to the bottom of it. And look closely at your diet for gassy foods, allergic reactions, caffeine...everything. It is a lot of work but you will uncover the cause, and I doubt it is organic since you already had all the testing. Sometimes, just putting you mind at ease, with testing, helps a lot. Be well!