Afib or something else?

[Lili325]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone else ever had a feeling of a quivering/vibrating heart beat? For me it’s very sporadic and only happens whilst I am asleep and it wakes me up from sleep. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

would appreciate any comments, thank you

[Tos92]

Hi Lili325

I have something similar happen to me when I doze off. Some nights, when I’m just about to fall asleep, my heart will start racing. This wakes me up with a jolt and I usually have to adjust my positioning such as go from lying down to sitting up and then it dissipates. Not sure about the cause of this. I believe some say it could be anxiety or stress related, while others say it might have to do with diet.

Have your symptoms been investigated by a doctor or a cardiologist?

Often a holter monitor can pick up abnormal heart rhythms.

I hope others come by to offer their experiences.

All the best.

Tos

[Lili325 in reply to Tos92]

hello, thank you for commenting! That’s interesting you experience that and I hope it improves. For me I am very much deeply asleep when I wake up with a vibrating feeling. It’s strange as it’s so sporadic I’m not sure what is triggering it.

I have an appt with my cardiologist coming within the next few months (I don’t have a date yet) and I will mention it then. Until then I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this

[Engineer46]

Generally speaking if you feel your heart beating and it bothers you, it's called "palpitations", which is very non-specific and can be something or nothing. Anxiety and stress are common causes of palpitations, but don't get fobbed off with that explanation if you know that you are not anxious or stressed! You mentioned a "quivering/vibrating" heartbeat, which suggests that your heart may have been beating more rapidly than normal for a brief period.

However, your question was "Afib or something else?". If this happens again, check your pulse manually on your wrist, count the beats for 30 seconds, double the figure and that's your heartrate. If it it is atrial fibrillation it's easy to tell, because there will not be a steady rhythm - the beats will be randomly spaced. If the beats are regular then it's not AF, even if your heart is racing (say, over 100 bpm).

There is nothing about you in your bio, so if you'd like more response from the forum, you could add some information that might help others to relate to your concerns.

Best wishes.

Paul

[Lili325 in reply to Engineer46]

Thank you for taking the time to respond Paul! I’ve added some info on my profile because as you said it could be helpful. I do already have SVT but this feels different to what I have experienced before. What sort of symptoms do you feel with your afib? Even if symptoms are sporadic is it worth mentioning it at appointments?

[Engineer46 in reply to Lili325]

I have permanent AF but didn't know until I noticed one night that my heartbeat was very irregular. See my bio for more details. I have no symptoms and have never had palpitations, so I can't really be of much help to you!

Best wishes

Paul

[Deejay62]

Bi Lili. I suffer with SVT, Afib and other tachycardias. In the pass when my palpitations were continuous I remember having that quivering feeling. I ended up having 4 ablations. You should see your Gp or cardiologist if you’re already under one and maybe you can have a holter monitor fitted which would show any arrhythmias. Many of these arrhythmias are not dangerous, so I’ve been told. I don’t feel anything with Afib even though mine is supposed to be persistent. I do take warfarin which is an anticoagulant for it. Please let us know how you get on.

[Lili325 in reply to Deejay62]

hello, it’s good to know you’ve experienced something similar. I will let you know what they say whenever my appt is😂

[Deejay62 in reply to Lili325]

must be predicted text meant Hi not Bi 😂😂

[Smitty1956]

Hi, Lili325,

I get this feeling that sounds like what you are describing. It is not really skipped beats or fluctuations (ectopics), as I get those too.

Instead, it is like a feeling that you stated of quivering/vibration in your chest. For me, it sometimes happens when I fall asleep on the couch while watching television and something unexpectedly causes me to wake up, I have checked my heart rate when this happens, and my bpm are usually normal. Plus, the sensation goes away after a few minutes. This also happens some mornings when I wake up. Again, heart rate is normal and the quivering stops after a short time. It feels weird and can seem scary, but I have no idea what it is.

When you speak with your doctor about it, I would be very interested in learning more about it too. I am hoping that it is just something normal—since I’ve been treating it that way. Lol 😆!

Best wishes!

[Lili325 in reply to Smitty1956]

Haha! I hope it isn’t too bothersome for you. Are you under the care of a cardiologist? It’s a funny one to explain isn’t it

[Lili325 in reply to Smitty1956]

Hi, I finally ended up having an appointment about this and I think I was brushed off tbh. I explained what we feel and my cardiologist said it’s probably ectopics. I explained I have felt ectopics and they don’t feel like this sensation. Anyway I was basically told it would need to happen more often or send me to the hospital for it to get investigated any further😵‍💫 sorry I couldn’t provide more info!

[Smitty1956 in reply to Lili325]

Thank you for letting me know what you have learned about this. I guess that we still don’t know exactly what causes these feelings. I agree with you that what we are describing does not feel like a “normal” ectopic.

I hope that you are doing well, and that you have a lovely Christmas! ❤️

[Lili325 in reply to Smitty1956]

Yes, it’s disappointing! Thank you and I hope you are too, Merry Christmas x

[Smitty1956]

I don’t know if this article might be helpful—it may just provoke more questions:

theheartandbrain.com/buzzin...