Sensations in neck/throat?

[desertkelp]

I had my Holter monitor placed this morning and will be wearing it for a week. It's an ePatch and much smaller than I expected. The nurse told me it could take a while for the results to come in, so now I am on edge about having to go through another waiting period.

I did not get to see the doctor this morning and I have a lot of questions racking up in my mind. One of them is about the sensations I sometimes get in my neck. I don't know if I have always had this and am just highly sensitive to anything heart-related now, or if this is new. Or it could even be related to my hiatal hernia and associated digestive issues. I sometimes notice what I think is my pulse in my throat, and sometimes it is just one quick sensation and then stops. It happens on either side of my neck or even towards the back of my throat. I can never seem to catch it to see if it actually matches with my heart rate. I don't know what this is but my anxiety skyrockets when I feel it because I worry it is something serious.

The only time I feel my heart beating in my neck is when I am extremely anxious, like at panic level. I flew over the weekend and was nervous during turbulence and could feel a bounding pulse in my neck. Once we landed, I felt normal again. The quick sensations are different from this, though. It happens once and goes away, almost like a quick spasm that feels like a pulse.

Anyone have any idea what this could be? Could it be related to PVCs? I mentioned it to the doctor at my first appointment and he just made a note of it but didn't seem particularly concerned. All of this is making me crazy as I notice every single sensation, pulse, etc., that I feel in my body at this point.

[Hidden]

I don't know what it is that is causing those sensations, but, with your Holter monitor on, they will be able to determine absolutely if it's something to do with your heart. I'm not sure what instructions you were given for your Holter monitor, but some of them have a button you can push when you feel something out of the ordinary, or even if you just record the time that you felt the sensation, they will be able to look back later and see if it was a heart-related issue or not. I know this is disconcerting, and is worrisome to you, but at least once they go through the results of your Holter monitor you'll know for sure if those sensations have to do with your heart or if it's something completely different.

[desertkelp in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reassurance. They did tell me to tap the monitor twice when I have an episode. They gave me a small diary for recording symptoms, which I've almost already used up. (There is only space for fourteen episodes and I've recorded seven since yesterday.)

My husband and I joined a gym recently, and the timing of it just happened to coincide with getting this monitor. Yesterday was the first day I really exercised hard, and then this morning I went again and did the same routine. I had two or three hard "thumps" during the first five minutes this morning, and almost decided to stop because I was nervous, but I kept going and everything felt normal after that. I kept track of my heart rate and it returned to normal after finishing. I had two cups of coffee right before exercising, which could have something to do with it. I know they say PVCs during exercise can be a red flag, but this is the first time I've ever noticed it. Anyway, I made a note of it in the diary.

My hope is that getting more active and losing some weight will make my heart happier and soothe this problem a little.

[Eirecara]

Hi I get a sensation in the back of my throat when I am in a.fib. It’s a mixture of pulsating and heat.(def not heartburn). I also get a sensation up the sides of my neck at times (a bit like tingling or squeezing) not related to a.fib. ☘️

[desertkelp in reply to Eirecara]

Thank you for the info. I get the mysterious pulse-like feelings in the sides of my neck, usually not at the same time. I exercised yesterday and today and noticed I've had fewer episodes of this post-exercise.

[Hidden]

If you run out of space in your Holter monitor log, just add it to a second sheet, there's no problem doing that. Why are you with a Holter monitor to begin with? Do you have PVCs or what is the issue that they wanted to have a Holter monitor on you for awhile? And how old are you?

Regardless of what type of heart palpitations you have, and as long as your doctor says it's okay, exercise can often be the very best thing you can do. If you're overweight, it's especially important. And I'm not talking killing yourself at the gym, be careful that you don't go too hard too fast, not because of your heart, but because if you do, you won't want to go back. I've told many people in other threads in this forum, that for me and many other people, there are three things you can do that will probably benefit you more than you could imagine. 1. Exercise at least five days a week, and preferably 7, but nothing too strenuous. Even going for a walk for 20 minutes a day, and walking at a pace that's just beyond your comfort zone, and preferably at a pace where it's difficult for you to carry on a conversation with someone. Just 20 minutes of that a day is all you need. 2. Lose 10% of your body weight. You don't have to lose 150 lb in three months. If you weigh 200 lb, 10% is 20 lb. And even if that takes you a few months, that's okay. But set your goal for 10% of your body weight for weight loss. Google the health benefits of losing 10% of your body weight, and you'll see that it will help you not only with your heart, but with almost every other aspect of your health. If you are careful with what you eat, and you do your 20 minutes of walking a day, you'll lose 10% of your body weight in no time. 3. Practice good sleep hygiene. I know that's a buzzword, but what it really means is do your best to get 8 hours of quality sleep a night. If you can. Help yourself out by making sure your room is as dark as possible. No phone or TV before bed that will produce blue light and keep you awake all night, no Night Lights, and if you have a clock in your room make sure the numbers are red and not blue or white. Try to go to bed at roughly the same time every night and allow yourself to get as close to 8 hours of sleep a night as possible. If you can get into a routine of doing that, and the health benefits are huge just doing that alone.

If you have PVCs or PAC's, and you've had an echocardiogram and your heart is in structurally sound, your doctor or cardiologist is going to tell you that they are nothing to worry about. I know that is an easier thing to say than it is to accept. The thing is though, you'll come to realize and accept that they're never really going to go away, but there's many things like the three that I suggested above, that can greatly reduce them, or make it so that you can go for weeks or months and months at a time without ever having any problems.

Good luck, and hopefully you'll write back and let us know what the issue is with your heart and why you're on that Holter monitor to begin with, and from there there's many people here and in other areas that can give you lots of good advice, and doesn't cost you anything. Keep in mind though, because I know you're probably doing lots of reading, that when it comes to supplements or alternate ways to treat things other than drugs, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Always take the advice of your doctor or specialist over anyone on the internet. There's lots of things you can do to help reduce or eliminate your PVCs naturally, and most of the drugs they will give you to help with them are not usually going to hurt you if you don't take them. But when you get into things like A-fib and others, there are certain drugs that doctors may prescribe to you that are essential that you take and don't try to substitute with some natural remedy. For example, if they prescribe an anticoagulant or blood thinner because you have afib for example, that's something that you should never mess with. Anyway, good luck and hope things are going well.

[desertkelp]

I posted here a few weeks ago about having missed beats and fluttering after a miscarriage. I started this new thread since a lot has happened since that first post a couple of months ago.

I am 39 and overweight. I have a panic disorder and see a counselor for this, but I do not take medication for it. When I go to the doctor, my BP is typically 140/80 or close to it. It comes down outside of the office. Aside from my work as a teacher, I am pretty sedentary.

I saw the cardiologist about two weeks ago. He gave me another EKG, which was normal. The first EKG I had at my general practitioner's office showed extra beats, but the cardiologist saw nothing remarkable. He listened to my arteries, including my neck, and said they sounded good. My GP thought she'd heard a murmur at the time of the abnormal EKG, but the cardiologist said my heart sounded good and there was no murmur.

He said he was suspected what I feel are PVCs from the stress of the miscarriage/work and not to worry too much. He was going to send me home, but he could see that I was worried and ordered the monitor just to be certain. This was placed yesterday and I'll wear it for a week.

I have not had an echocardiogram or any other testing at this point. I have to mail the monitor to the company that manufactures it and they will send the results to my doctor, and I don't know how long this could take. I guess we will continue from there if there is a problem.

Thank you for the advice. I know I have followed a fairly unhealthy lifestyle for a long time. Caffeine for fuel, little exercise, terrible sleep patterns. I sleep with my phone next to me and if I wake up I start playing a game to fall back asleep. I often look at my laptop in bed until I am falling asleep, and then I turn it off.

I have started an exercise routine that I feel I can stick with. Nothing too strenuous, but I get my heart rate up and do it for 30 minutes. Then I work with weights for 20 minutes and stop.

Anyway, I will continue to post as I learn more. Your advice to lose 10% of my body weight is what my first goal is. This would be a nice accomplishment for me. Thank you again.