How do I know if my palpitations are stress related?

[Yumz199725]

Hi everyone hope your having a good evening

I'm on verapamil 40mg and very recently I have been experiencing alot palpitations few seconds a time feels like thud in my chest and I'm reluctant to tell my consultant because he's already told me everything is fine my holter monitor was good I'm probably just stressed and anxious and wondering if this has happened to anyone else on verapamil.

Thank you.

[Esentepe]

Can't say for sure, but this sounds very much like ectopics. These are very common and usually benign. The slower your heart rate the more likely you are to get/feel them. The faster your heart rate they tend to disappear /don't feel them. Stress can cause them to occur or worsen. Taking the verapamil will reduce blood pressure and slow heart rate, less strain on the heart and maybe this could be the explanation. However only my thoughts and you should mention this to your doctors. Easy for me to say but worry will compound the situation. I have experienced bad ectopics and they are very unsettling. So I do understand. Mine were preceeding dropped beats and episodes of AV block so not felt to be benign. Worth mentioning to someone. Hope you can get reassurance.

[Yumz199725 in reply to Esentepe]

Thanks for your reply really appreciate it. I'm actually on verapamil because of my palpitations but I wasn't sure if you still can get palpitations while on verapamil and stress is definitely worsening them.

Take care. 😊

[EMBoy]

I agree with Esentepe - these do sound very much like ectopics. I get a lot of these and in my case, they feel like a missed beat followed by a thump in the chest.

To be on the safe side, you should check with your cardiologist or GP, but if they are ectopics, they are not generally considered to be a problem unless more than about 10% of your beats are ectopic. Normal people without heart disease also get them.

As far as I know, they are not associated with taking Verapamil.

[Yumz199725 in reply to EMBoy]

Thanks for your reply really appreciate it too. Yeah I have mentioned in the past to my consultant and team at hospital and they have assured me that it's fine I'm on the verapamil because of the palpitations because I was getting light headed alot with the palpitations but just recently I have been getting them alot and stress is definitely the issue I just don't know if even on verapamil you can still get ectopic beats.

Take care 😊

[Esentepe]

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker. This blocks the uptake of calcium into muscles and helps them to relax. It is used for angina, hypertension and arrythmias usually svt and afib. Ectopics are simply electrical signals coming from the heart muscle not the sa node or av node, these signals can come from the atria or ventricles. Therefore they are common and usually begnin. So yes you can get ectopics with verapamil. I take ivabradine for an arrhythmia but still get ectopics. I can't take calcium channel blockers or beta blockers. Ectopics technically are an arrhythmia but as they happen to everyone they are not usually treated as such unless the ectopic burden is very high. I suspect this is not the case for you or your doctor would have mentioned it. Hope this helps. I try to use distraction when I get them. Do discuss with your doctor as often just having more information can help. I think often we get told everything is fine, but without a full explanation and then we start to worry.

[Yumz199725]

Thanks that's really helpful! Im reassured by you I do bring this subject up with my cardiologist but they just say its stress and anxiety because all there tests came back normal so there probably right just stress. I'm sorry to hear you can't take calcium channel blockers or beta blockers, do you mind me asking why?

Take care and thanks again for your kind reply. 😊

[gemima29]

Have just been through a week of similar, thumping palpitations and definitely missing odd beats. Usually a few hours after taking verapamil. As a retired registered nurse I knew it wasn't right, omitted verapamil for a couple of days and kept monitoring my Bp and pulse. Also made appointment to discuss with Gp. Always cover all bases!

[Yumz199725 in reply to gemima29]

Hi gemima thanks for your reply, I had to reread my post honestly couldn't remember it 😅. I recently found out its actually been anxiety thats probably the culprit so won't worry that it's anything serious causing it for a while. Still on verapamil 40mg x2 though don't worry.