Newbie Seeking Advice

[Fabi18]

Hi All

I am a concerned mum, in need of some advice please.

My daughter is 23 and has been experiencing heart palpitations, skipped beats, breathlessness on exertion especially walking on an incline and sometimes at rest, chest pain and tightness and extreme fatigue. This has been going on intermittently since February, the episodes are becoming more frequent and getting worse.

Yesterday she could hardly stay awake and now she's experiencing dizziness and nausea, checked her bp and it was 93/50 and the lowest in the night was 80/40. It did go to a normal rate a few times throughout the day but was mainly low.

She has had ecg's and a echo which have been normal. She is being fobbed off my doctors.

She also has endometriosis, migraines and recently been diagnosed with a rare condition called Erythromelalgia which affects the small blood vessels.

Has anyone got any idea of what this could be? Or any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and best wishes to you all

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Some research suggests people who suffer from migraine, especially with visual aura, are twice as likely to develop heart disease. It may be worth seeing a cardiologist privately - I did this at the start of my heart journey and felt it well worth the money (initial consultation is ~£250). A good starting point might be to ring the BHF nurses on Monday.

[Pollypuss in reply to MichaelJH]

Yes I had migraine with aura and wished I had known about that earlier. Since my bypass I don’t have migraines. If I do they are not preceded by an aura

[Fabi18 in reply to MichaelJH]

Thank you we did see a private cardiologist in March he did an ecg and a echo which were normal and that was it, he was very dismissive.She doesn't have migraines with aura.

She will try and ring the nurses on Monday.

Thanks again

[Fifimyangel]

Hi. Look up doctor sanjay gupta on youtube. He gives advice on palpitations. Hes really good.

[Fabi18 in reply to Fifimyangel]

Yes we have been watching his videos, thanks

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

For arrhythmias two friends have found they an be reduced significantly by eliminating triggers like caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and spicy foods.

[Fabi18 in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks she doesn't use these

[FiftyNotOut]

Hi - I hope you’re ok. Call the BHF helpline nurses on Monday. They’re great and very helpful.

Is your daughter under a cardiologist? Over the years there have been times when I’ve thought I was experiencing similar symptoms but my heart rate etc was fine. It’s completely understandable to be anxious about health - but that anxiety can itself mimic or make you think you’re experiencing symptoms. The only way to rule out the bad stuff is an Echo/ECG/MRI. Has your daughter had 24 hour ECG? It might be worth asking if she hasn’t.

Re blood pressure, I have the same problem. In hospital they didn’t worry if the top figure was over 90. Mine went down to 72 at one point 😬. Is she on meds for her other conditions that could affect blood pressure? I hope both of you have a restful day xx

[Fabi18 in reply to FiftyNotOut]

Hi I'm okay thanks, hope you are too.No she isn't, she is on the NHS waiting list to see a Cardiologist.

Yes she did have a 24hr ecg which came up normal.

No she is not on other meds.

Thanks for your reply, we will contact the nurses.

Take care x

[jeanjeannie50]

As someone who's had heart arrhythmias for 16 years, I've learnt a lot along the way. I would recommend that you look at her diet and cut out all food and drink that contain artificial additives. Artificial sweeteners were a sure trigger for mine, but it took me years to discover that. Cutting out sugar, caffeine, fizzy drinks, alcohol and losing weight if needed will also help. Try supplementing with magnesium, I take magnesium glycinate from YourSupplements and have felt better since then. Someone on here recommend it to me, but there are many other types of magnesium your daughter could try.

Re her low blood pressure, which can often trigger heart arrhythmias, drinking more water could help bring that up a bit. I really wish that someone had given me this advice before I started having procedures carried out to my heart. Would I have listened - probably not at the start, but after a few scary attacks I may have, the thing was that at that time no one knew that diet could be the cause.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

Jean

[Fabi18 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thank you for your advice. She does have a good diet already and she drinks alot of water.

Yes we are looking into her taking magnesium.

Hope things are improving for you, thanks again

[Fabi18]

Thank you for your advice, she will speak to her gp. Wishing you all the best