just curious - my three sisters and I all suffer from heart palpitations which can result in lightheadedness, fainting or nausea. we've spent a lot of time with doctors, who can tell us nothing, apart from one doctor who said it was very common for women in their 20s to suffer from this.

I've had this problem since I was about 16 or 17, as have my sisters, and I'm the only one who is overweight.

I was wondering, since this is a 20somethings forum, whether anyone else has experienced anything like this?

None of my friends have, so I'm curious whether that doctor was just grasping at straws.

We have a history of heart disease and high blood pressure in my family, but all of us have been checked up and are healthy in that department.

nope, never felt that, sorry. hvae you tried seeing any specialists

I've had palpitations before. Never to the point that I fainted, but I definitely always sat down when they lasted more than a few seconds. I've worked in an emergency room for forever, so I know that it's pretty common, and more of a common symptom than a disease.

I've never been really checked out for it (it's never something I remember to speak to my doctor about at appts because it isn't than often), but I mostly experience them about half an hour after a good exercise, or right after I down my huge coffee in the morning.

Thankfully your doctors say you're heart-healthy, so hopefully it's just a passing symptom every once in a while. Good luck. =)

The only thing I've had that from is benadryl or tylenol PM.

Not that girl I have that happen to me the same way. After a great exercise, not coffee but defdinitely exercise. Which seems weird because the exercise is supposed to keep you heart healthy.

I've also had problems with heart palpitations since my teens. I've also had several episodes of syncope (fainting). I've had a full work up and everything came out A-ok. The only thing is my BP runs very low, but that wouldn't cause palpitation. However it can cause light headedness and fainting) I've learned to recognize my symptoms (light headed, nausea, tingling in my arms) before I pass out, and I can sit or lay down.

As for the palpitations, when I completely cut out caffiene from my diet, I do notice an improvement. If you haven't already, I suggest you do the same. Start keeping track of when you get them, and write down what is happening. Are you exercising? Did you just stand up from sitting? Did you have a lot of coffee earlier? Are you stressed? This way when you go into to see a specialist, you can give the doctor some clues.

Sometimes, people do have symptoms, and after all the standardized tests, there's no sign of a problem. But you should still have all the tests to be sure. That would be up to a cardiologist to decide what you need, and writing down the issues around you palpitations will help him or her get a better idea of what be going on and what to look for.

If you've been to doctors (you said in your OP) and they have found nothing, there may be nothing to find. Sometimes the body doesn't work 100% perfectly, and most people at some point experience palpitations. If all your tests were normal, then the doctor won't have any diagnoses for you. Unfortunately, that happens sometimes. If you feel more comfortable, you can always go see another cardiologist, for a second opinion.


I hope this helps.

I have suffered from palpitations for years now. It started off just happening occassionaly, like when i was stressed about exams or whatever. But now it happens all the time. Like actually all day and night, at least 3 times a week. It's horrible, if I lie on my left hand side in my bed, I can feel my heart like it's hitting off my ribcage! I've always had low-ish blood pressure and am waiting to get a hospital appointment to get everything checked out properly. But it doesnt really bother me to be honest, I'm so used to it now!

I have them from time to time, but I was told its just a manifestation of anxiety/stress. I have a generalized panic disorder and sometimes I get palpitations along with a panic attack, or sometimes on their own.

We have heart disease in my family as well, but the family members who had heart problems were also heavy smokers and weren't the best about diet/nutrition, so I'm trying to keep ahead of the game there. I have seen a cardiologist for a complete stress test, but the results came back awesome. My ticker is in great shape, so the cardiologist confirmed its probably panic-related.

I try to limit my caffeine intake and exercise as regularly as I can - this also helps with my anxiety in general. I see my regular doctor each year for a complete physical and blood work (I recommend this to everyone who has the insurance...) and so far so good. Your doctor may not be grasping at straws, it could just be stress, but I'd ask him/her to check your blood work/cholesterol.

Also, not-so-fun fact - the palpitations result from heart arrythmia, or an irregular heart beat - the arrythmia is the weird heartbeat, but a palpitation is your awareness of it (i.e. the little butterfly feeling on your chest). So you can have arrythmia without knowing it, and not have palpitations - this is why its important to have your doc check - something could be amiss and he/she is missing it.

the most important thing to do is get an EKG, preferably while you are having an episode. This helps to differentiate between harmless stuff (extra beats, fast heart rates) and serious abnormal rhythms. With the run of the mill harmless palpitations, the most common causes are stress, caffeine, electrolyte problems, and thyroid problems (usually overactive thyroid)