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Pounding heartbeat

Alocline profile image
32 Replies

My heart, since February beats whit a very strong pulse. At rest, I feeel my pulse and I see my arms, feet, and belly shaking at every heartbeat. It’s not fast (60 bpm) but strong.

It’s strange but I didn’t panicked, therefore I feel chest pain since February at every exercice and my pulse is stronger after eating.

ECG, Echocardiography and Doppler are absolutely normal. My blood and hormonal exams are normal. I’m 25 and was very sporty and always eat healthy food.

The cardiologist found my pulse to be very strong with 16 blood pressure, but in my blood I have no cholosterol and I do not have a deposit of chrolestrol in my arteries on ultrasound.

A barium swallow showed a small hiatal hernia and important gerd. I don’t know if it’s linked because my heart beats strongly even whiteout eating, but swallowing increase the force of the pulse.

Thank you very much if you help me, I don’t know if I must do a scintigraphy or if my heart is normal.

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Alocline
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32 Replies
Alocline profile image
Alocline

Kind to help me, we checked my hormones over 24 hours (cortisol, adrenaline, aldosterone), my hemoglobin, my thyroid, my kidneys, gallbladder ultrasound, adrenal scan absolutely everything is normal. I don't know what more research to do? Can my hiatal hernia and big reflux cause this ?

LB26898 profile image
LB26898 in reply toAlocline

I have the same. I’m 23. It’s been a few years and I’ve had this bounding pulse in my chest that’s incredibly forceful and doesn’t feel healthy at all. Usually all day, every day, but appears to be worse after eating. If I haven’t eaten for a while, maybe five or six hours, I get this mild, gnawing sensation in my sternum but the pounding pulse seems less severe. I’m really struggling with it. Thinking of getting a barium swallow done to see if there’s a hernia somewhere. I also get ectopic beats now and then. It’s really unsettling and I’m scared that if my heart is beating this hard so often it’ll thicken the heart wall and lead to HCM. I’m healthy, 70kg, 6ft 1, active. Family has a history of high bp but surely I’m too young for this. I’m desperate for answers. I had an echo cardiogram a few years ago which came back normal as well as blood tests but might also fancy doing them again. Has anyone had any answers lately or anything new?

Sevenstar profile image
Sevenstar

Check out Sanjay Gupta's 'you tube ' video on the connection between the heart and the stomach (vagus nerve ) He is a cardiologist in York and puts some brilliant info up !

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toSevenstar

Thanks for helping me, i will be treated for my hiatal hernia, this is my only hope, i hope this is the cause with that link with vagus nerve. I will keep you informed.

Pollypuss profile image
Pollypuss in reply toSevenstar

Yes he’s great. When I had a continuous upset stomach due to medication and was so bloated I had breathing problems he explained a lot

Sevenstar profile image
Sevenstar in reply toPollypuss

His 'you tubes 'are excellent aren't they , I was so impressed I actually made an appointment to see him in York and he truly is a wonderful caring Doctor who completely put my mind at rest!

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toSevenstar

He is a lovely person, he really wants to help others with sincerity.

Hannahbarrym profile image
Hannahbarrym

I’m not an expert by any means but Are you at a healthy body weight? Not having enough bodyfat can cause these sensations especially with a strong heart x I hope you find your answers!

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toHannahbarrym

My height is 1m93 for 90 kg, I thinks it’s normal. I didn’t find answers, thank you for helping me, my heart has been beating hard for months without stopping, it is horrible, moreover I have never smoked or drunk alcohol in my life.

Hannahbarrym profile image
Hannahbarrym in reply toAlocline

That’s so tough. You sound very healthy so I hope you can find some answers. Sending you best wishes through this!

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toHannahbarrym

Thanks for your support, also wish you the best. I will tell my next treatments if that can help anyone.

vinixxx profile image
vinixxx

I am not a doc, but it is very likely your hernia is the cause.

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply tovinixxx

I will probably have hernia surgery, hopefully it will work. That’s what I also think .

Pollypuss profile image
Pollypuss

I’ve had to give up bread because I can’t tolerate yeast and certain vitamin B . My heart pounds if I eat it

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toPollypuss

My heart started pounding after a workout and my stomach was empty before. But it gets worse after eating.

Pollypuss profile image
Pollypuss

Poor you somebody must know a reason for this. I can add that in my case after heart bypass I could generate all sorts of side effects that I see now months on were in my head. The only real one was allergy to yeast

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toPollypuss

Your compassion is so kind, 16 doctors didn’t find any reason to explain why my pulse is so strong, I will probably have a surgery for the little hiatal hernia and the Gerd, I hope the workout caused the hernia that started all that, but it’s not sure.

Unfortunately it’s not in my head, because since that workout, I can see my belly, feet , arms shaking at every beat. My laptop on my chest is shaking at every beat. I feel my heartbeat all the time. Before that workout, I never saw that vibrations and feel that. I would have noticed otherwise, I used to swim a lot. Also, my chest, legs, and arms wasn’t painful.

I thought it was nothing other than stress, but I am not stressed and in vacation. I tried to live normally whitout paying attention at it, but the pain in the chest and in the heart was worse, with dizziness. Hope to you the best.

Alocline profile image
Alocline

I will treat my hiatal hernia and see if it’s linked. My gastroenterologist will probably recommend a surgery because my Gerd is enormous according the Doctor. But I don’t understand how my very small hiatal hernia can cause this (because the upper portion of the stomach is still bellow the diaphragm at the barium swallow). It looks so smaller, I don’t understand how it can compress the heart or the nerves below the diaphragm. That’s an image of my stomach ( ibb.co/N1dwv9j ).

My doctor gave me a cardiac scintigraphy to be definitely sure that my heart is ok. Another doctor told me that the heart can have a bounding pulse without any reason, I hope not.

Kind regards

Gage0613 profile image
Gage0613

I just turned 26 in June but back in March when I was still 25 I got a small sliding hiatal hernia with some sternum tenderness, GERD, & LPR. I am short of breath due to the hernia pertuding through the diaphragm and I too have a constant heavy pulse. It has gotten better but it's still there. It's called roemheld syndrome, you can look it up. Basically the heart sits right above the diaphragm so now you have part of your stomach pertuding through and your heart has to work harder in a smaller confined space so it's beating harder to compensate, that's why your doctor's are finding nothing wrong with it because more than likely there isn't anything wrong. I can feel my pulse in my hands and fingers, back off my head, chest, etc. It has toned down with me trying to eat smaller meals and not laying down after eating but on two occasions I stuffed myself and ate a lot and it was awful because now your stomach is more full pushing up on your diaphragm and pushing your hernia upwards causing you to alter the space and the positioning of the heart causing it to work more. I too and moving towards surgery but just know I'm going through the same thing. What's helped, not cured it but helped it is sitting upright, eating smaller more frequent meals, don't overfill yourself or you'll get really heavy beats that you feel everywhere. I take ppi's temporarily to help with inflammation from the acid which helps to a degree, I take probiotics, fiber, and fish oil for the heart. I also when I wake up try to drink a full glass of water to way down the stomach and work on pushing it down to its proper position and I get relief to a degree. I too am looking towards surgery as a solution. Any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toGage0613

I learned that gastroenterologists will give you surgery if you are complaining about GERD, not palpitations.

Alocline profile image
Alocline

I am sad for what you are going through, I hope you will get well soon. I think like you, I have done all the heart exams and blood tests, everything is normal. My symptoms only worsen after eating, the symptoms of heart disease do not change after eating.

Precisely yesterday, the doctor gave me a letter for a surgery, I have to do a manometry, if it is ok, I will have the surgery in September. Hope this nissen fundiplication will cure all this problems. My heart pulse is still all the day very heavy, I didn’t really sleep a whole night since months.

Do you also have pain in the legs and arms arteries, and pain in the left chest, I believe it is due to the heart sending blood with too much power into the arteries, which hurts them.

What I do not understand, is that the doctor found a sliding hiatal hernia on endoscopy, while on barrium swallow they did not see a hernia. It's weird, but I don't think the endoscopy is wrong and I most certainly have a hiatal hernia. I think endoscopy is better to find hiatal hernia.

I stay online and keep you informed of what happens.

Gage0613 profile image
Gage0613

A sliding hiatal hernia can go up and retract itself later where you can present one and shortly there after it may go back down. I had a barium swallow and they didn't see anything either but my endoscopy found everything. I get left arm stiffness and aches and aches in my neck where my arteries are at when it beats hard because the area is tender from the heavy beating. I also get chest pain, not sure if that's from the hernia pushing through the diaphragm or the heavy breathing. I was like you a couple months ago where it was heavy constantly and it still is heavy but it's better where I have regained my sleep easier and now I can feel it still but it's more faint. I take more notice to it now when changing positions, holding something in my hand like a TV remote or my phone. But before I could not focus on anything because the beating drove me mad. I thought initially because my GI found gastritis that maybe I got anemia from it because that's possible but all blood tests were in normal range and that's when I discovered the roemheld syndrome. It's talked about and treated much more over in Germany. I'm over in the U.S. and our doctors over here make very few connections of the stomach and the heart where I agree with you when you say focus on GERD and you'll get the surgery. I don't believe mine or your vagus nerves are affected though because if it was our vagus nerve our heart rate would fluctuate and drop and then shoot up but our beats are always consistent, just heavy.

Sab0121 profile image
Sab0121 in reply toGage0613

I have been living in misery since past 5 years exact same symptoms nothing found during 40 ae visits in past 5 yeats plus now havinbg severe shortness of breath. Acid reflux and hernia have destroyed my heart. I really sympathise with u guys

Alocline profile image
Alocline

I also had gastritis from helicobacter. My gastroenterologist waited until helicobacter was eradicated before operating.

It’s so strange we have the exact same hernia causing the same symptoms and we're the same age. Happy to find someone with the same problem.

My symptoms all started when I did strong jumps in basketball. I jumped really high and, as I landed, I felt like something went up in my chest, and is interfering with my heart and lungs. Since that jump my heart is pounding, and as soon as I eat, it gets worse. When I play sports it calms down a bit, but as soon as I eat again it gets worse.

Before this jump, my heart beat hard only some hours after eating only and calm down after digestion. But since that basketball I have pain and it beats hard all the time. I think basketball aggravated my hernia.

I live in France but it's like the United States, doctors don't give a damn about a beating heart when exams are normal. I managed to get this operation on my own, it was difficult. My gastroenterologist told me that these are atypical symptoms related to my hernia but it needs to be operated on. I can’t live like that anyway, I prefer to try that surgery. Germans diagnose roemheld syndrome if they can't find anything on heart and blood exams.

I have the feeling that the X-ray and the endoscopy can't see how the stomach bothers our heart, but it must be causing this, even a CT scan of abdomen, chest and pelvis showed nothing. You feel discomfort when you fill your lungs completely ? It hurts when I breathe hard, I practised running everyday before, I never had a problem with breathing and was sporty.

Gage0613 profile image
Gage0613

Depends on the day. Somedays my sternum is sore right where the diaphragm is and on days like that laughter and deep breathing hurt in that area. Sometimes too after certain deep breaths I'll notice my heart beat hard a couple of times afterwards. You got a cell phone number? Private message me it if you don't mind. I can send you some info I found.

Sab0121 profile image
Sab0121

Omgggggg ive finally found someone with the same problem ive had for 5 years sadly. I sincerely sympathise with you i am now 29 all started at 24 i have much worse symptoms then yours please how can i contact you

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toSab0121

Hi, I had surgery to repair my little hernia and remove GERD. However, since that surgery, my heart is still beating hard like before, and I don’t have GERD anymore. So the Hernia is not the cause in my case. Moreover, with all my cardiac exams ok, I don’t have any treatment to deal with that. My heart beats strongly and I can’t sleep. I don’t find answer to my situation.

Sab0121 profile image
Sab0121 in reply toAlocline

I guess we are in a similar boat. No medical explanation for these symptoms. My heart pounds in my chest my top moves with it all my family can see it violently shaking. My fingers arms feet you name it. And now i can always hear my heart pulsating in my head to my surprise when this happens i have high blood pressure. Ive always been a avid gym goer until this life changing problem occured. It has never stopped not even for a day and its 24 7 non stop i even wake up with it. This has been going on for past 5 years. Some days its lighter pounding and others so hard i wish i were dead. Not sure what i can say to you but i wish you the best.

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply toSab0121

I am living the same situation for 1 year. It’s crazy and if you get that for 5 years, it means I am probably not going to heal. I also have blood pressure when the pounding is harder while I am 25, sporty and never been overweighted. Do you tried drugs against anxiety because they told us it’s because of anxiety ? I’m trying now everything I can to test (potassium, relaxing herbs like hawthorn, sports that strain the heart a lot like the marathon). My theory is that our heart become like this because it is more muscular and we perceive it too much. Even though it's uncomfortable and HORRIBLE (I sleep really badly), we have to tell ourselves that our body is too sensitive to our heart. Imagine that it is not disease, we can see all the doctors and take all the medicines we will not be cured, because we are not sick.

vinixxx profile image
vinixxx

Same story here.

I can see, feel and hear(ringing in my ears)my pulse even at 60 bpm.

It is worse when i lay down or after activities.

Physical activities are tough job of course.

Alocline profile image
Alocline in reply tovinixxx

I think we have to live with that, at least it’s not dangerous.

Fireandice profile image
Fireandice

Have you tried magnesium? You could be low? Dont trust a blood (serum) mag, get an RBC magnesium test. Only 1-3% of our magnesium is found in the blood..with an RBC test, it tests within the cells..this could help?

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