palpitations

[Worvera]

Hi everyone I’m interested to know what you do when having palpitations. My body tells me to walk until I get a proper rhythm back but often I’m light headed so I feel that could be counter intuitive. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

[BlueBearBob]

"Palpitations" can be such a wide range of specific symptoms. Mine turned out to be SVT. Periods of up to 4 hours with a heart rate of 205. Very uncomfortable feeling in the chest, sometimes pain, sometimes dizziness. Always made me just want to lie down.

What are your palpitations like?

Bob

[Worvera in reply to BlueBearBob]

Hi Bob I have microvascular angina which means there is no surgical option. I’m on loads of meds. Sometimes the palpitations are fluttery and just feel uncomfortable but other times it’s like having a box of frogs in my chest. Both experiences make me feel breathless. I don’t know what SVT is but that heart rate for hours on end sounds horrendous. I really can’t lie down when I have mine. I hope you get better soon. Sue 😊

[RufusScamp]

Does slow, deep breathing help? It calms me when I think I am having heart problems.

[Worvera in reply to RufusScamp]

Thank you! It seems that a lot of people are recommending this ❤️

[NLGA]

I find both breathing slowly through my nose out through my mouth or walking definitely helps

[Worvera in reply to NLGA]

thank you ❤️

[Retirement65]

hello there I had SVT many years ago during pregnancy but I have ever since experienced mainly ectopic beats I’m on a small dose of Sotolol 40mg I find if I don’t take them (only tried this once) silly I know but I had lots of palpitations because of it had ecg there were ST changes went back on the beta blockers 12 months later the changes had resolved there is different medication these days but I think with walking (I was told to do this) and the right meds you would feel a bit better hope this does get better for you I feel for you as they drive you mad take care 😊

[Worvera in reply to Retirement65]

thank you. I’m on 8 tablets a day for my heart condition but was taken off beta-blockers as they were exacerbating my condition. My body tells me to walk but I often feel faint when I do. I’m going to try the breathing exercises though 😊

[fishonabike]

as others have pointed out "palpitations" come in different forms, but they are all irregular heart beats - when your heart is not beating correctly it won't be pumping oxygen to your body as effectively as it usually does, so increasing your activity may not be the best thing to do

there are plenty of simple breathing techniques you can try for calming them and yourself check "breathing exercises palpitations" in a search engine - but if they continue it would be helpful to find out the cause as there may be a treatment for them

[Worvera in reply to fishonabike]

thank you. I have a diagnosed heart condition that causes them but I’ll definitely follow your advice re Google 😊

[HeartyJames]

These days I get them for so many hours a day , that I just ignore them.... Waiting for CRT-D in November that should help.

[Worvera in reply to HeartyJames]

oh no! That’s awful. I find it impossible to ignore them. Sending strength ❤️

[wischo]

I take 3 deep breaths and then a deep breath and hold as long as I can only letting it out slowly when I need to, this usually works but I repeat if it does not.

[Worvera in reply to wischo]

thanks very much. I’ll definitely try this. ❤️

[A75-mw]

Hi Worvera, I have atrial fibrillation and quite often I can calm down the palpitations by breathing in for four, holding my nose and bearing down as if you are on the toilet. This affects the vagus nerve and slows down the heart rate. The other thing which helps me is having a big yawn, sometimes you have to try until a real yawn comes , which calms down the fright and flight response . It’s worth a try .