Hi everyone. I haven't posted in a while.

My entire life I've had little heart palpitations. Over time, they got worse but I ignored them. I cut caffeine out and that helped a lot. Also, with regular cardio I had started they went completely away.

But for a week or so I got off diet/exercise. Lots of Coke, no exercise.

Long story short, I had an arrhythmia and couldn't get my heart rate to come back down. At the ER my pulse was 280. I had to take a drug that stops you heart.

After I was stabilized I began to have panic attacks, thinking it would happen again. I went back to the ER thinking I was dying, but my heart rate was only in the 120's (low for me!).

So now I'm on a heart medication and an anxiety medication. I'm really having a hard time with this. I have a cardiologist appointment coming up.

The Dr. at the ER told me that my heart would be much better off if I lost weight. He told me to exercise up to an hour a day, but now i'm afraid to.

I'm just so scared and so upset my bad eating habits contributed to me being in such a dangerous position. I've been off diet since, and gained a few pounds. I know I need to get my butt into gear, but I'm scared.

Anyone ever have crazy heart rhythms?

I have a heart gallop and it scares me at times, too. It's an abnormal beat that makes my heart seem to hesitate and then do quick skipping beats as if to catch up. It's aggravated by fluctuations in my hormones, so around that time of the month it happens more frequently. My doctor said my heart was misfiring and offered to put me on a beta blocker to help it, but I have yet to try it.

I have no real advice, but I just wanted you to know you're not alone!

Yes, I totally know how you feel. I had "fluttering" in my chest and heart-racing at times too, which started at the change of life (I'm 52 y/y) so it was hormone related like the last lady. My sister has it too and yes, it sure can make you feel anxious; and we both thought the same things as you.

I had fractured my leg (calf) and ended up with a blood clot, plus had other symptoms as well (jabby pains in my chest); but over time, they have gotten better now. I was on coumadin (blood thinner) for a while and anxiety meds too; now I'm on aspirin therapy for life. The doctors ran a battery of tests and that helped me to feel less anxious; doctors can be a great source of comfort at these times.

When you hit this time of your life, you get all kinds of weird symptoms in your body and the key thing is to try and not panic, although it is hard not to sometimes ... Try not to beat yourself up about this; since you had this for most of your life, it may be a genetic thing, not just circumstantial.

So, whenever it happens now, I do breathing exercises and/or rest for a while -- I relax on my couch; and maybe read a book or even the bible (like the Psalms). Sometimes, I just slowly walk around for awhile. I find this helps me a lot.

In time, you can take baby steps on the road to good health again; just take one day at a time, and make small changes so you're not overwhelmed. The same goes for the exercise; just do some walking to start with and see how you feel ...

I also have SVT and am on medication for it. DO NOT be afraid to live your life. I have dealt with this since the early 90s and am living proof that you can excercise or anything else you want to do. It took them 2 years to figure out what was wrong with me and even longer to get the right meds that would work for me, but now, everything is just fine and though you WILL have some "minor" fluttering and what feels like flip flopping, it usually will resolve itself within a few minutes. Deep breathes really help when that happens. Don't let this scare you, it is only a set back and one you CAN live with it. I promise.


ETA: BTW, your eating habits "may" make it a bit worse, but it did not cause this problem. I was 115lbs at the time I found out I had it and did not start gaining all my weight until the past 5 years when I lost a kidney and then went through menopause.

It probably has nothing to do with your weight, but is genetic. Although losing weight always helps the body...

I had SVT but was not diagnosed until my first pregnancy (when I finally went to ER because since there was someone else I was worried about) I also have asthma and everythime I complained about my heart racing, the doctors looked at my meds and said "that happens"... I couldn't take beta blockers because asthma needs beta agonists! So do you want to breathe or have your heart beat??? It really doesn't matter if you can't have both....
I had the ablation only 3 weeks after my son was born (in 99) and it was the greatest thing I ever did. only minor flutters every once in a while, but nothing like before... when you have a "spell" try laying on your left side and kind of bearing down on your self like you are trying to have a BM. It might stop the racing heart. You SHOULD NOT stop living your life! Get out and move! DO what you can before you can't do anything! I actually started competing in Karate tournaments and never felt better! You can excecise and have heart problems... Re-post and let us know how you are doing since Jan?

They originally diagnosed me with PT and I went in for the ablation, but once in there, they determined it was SVT and because the diagnoses was different than the original one, the insurance refused to pay for them to continue, so they had to quit and wanted to reschedule so insurance would pay for it. Ummmm No. I felt like someone had hit me in the throat with a baseball bat for a long time after that and decided I would not go through it again. It kills me that the same proceedure cures both PT and SVT, but red tape stopped it. I never did go back again, the meds keep it under control.

This is one of the reasons i began my journey, i had to go to the emergency for a cut and they diagnosed me with irregular heartbeat which started me down this road, ended up going through a ton of tests, found out i had sleep apnea amongst other borderline medical urgencies.

This past weekend i had a medical emergency, hernia, and was hospitalized, during this time many tests were run on me, i'm happy to say they found no irregularities to my heart beat now, and my BP was perfect, they were also somewhat surprised that my heart rate was actually a little low now when it was actually pretty high before even missing beats.

Seems all my hard work has made a world of difference to my immediate health, i say start slow and go from there, i was worried about whether or not my body could handle it but it's done wonderfully well considering the state i had let myself come to.

I have PVC's it is a backward heart beat then it speeds up for a sec. I hate how it feels especially because it took 4 years for them to tell me what it was. Because I was only 18 the first time I went to the ER they didn’t do any test (except to make sure I wasn't on drugs) or give me anything to slow down my rhythm. Now that I have a diagnosis I have to see a cardiologist every 6 months to ensure it stays a benign arrhythmia (a little oxy-morron if you ask me lol) but I am on omeprazole (stomach meds) the cardiologist said the nerve in your stomach also runs to the heart so bad indigestion can increase the arrhythmia. I have also been told caffeine, a lot of sugar, alcohol, and any meds like decongestants can increase the problem and that exercise will help.
This is what my doc told me I have had all the blood tests, echoes, ekgs, stress tests, and more. So if your docs are telling you to go for it then do so it is what is best for you and your body. Just start light. I am starting off now just joined like 2 days ago. So I am still worried and stressed and anxious so I know where you are coming from but we have to trust our bodies (not our worried minds) and our docs.
Good luck to you I hope it things are getting better for you!

I just wanted to chime in here. Your eating did not do this! I was diagnosed with SVT which turned out to be AFib (and I am a youngun of 33) It took years and many halter tests to finally catch it! I had been on anti arrhythmia medication for about 2.5 years and just recently stopped as my high cardio workouts slowed down. I know it can be very scary when it happens, even with meds there were times I had to get onto the floor and do vegals just to get it to stop, but do not let it run your life!

I know this was posted awhile ago, but I feel like I can be of some help for you or anyone else with an arrhythmia.

I was born with a heart condition and just recently developed an arrhythmia a couple of years ago. Actually, I had my first episode on my 21st birthday! I have ventricular tachycardia which is the potentially life threatening arrhythmia. I had my second episode after a concert and almost went into cardiac arrest. I had a cardiac ablation and an internal defibrillator implanted and didn't have any issues for a few months until I received my first shock from my defib. After that it was determined that alcohol was a trigger for my arrhythmia. I lost my license for 6 months (they believe I passed out while being shocked), did cardiac rehab, and in August of 2011 I contracted a fever and a couple of infections which triggered another episode where I was shocked by my defib 36 times in 23 minutes. It was absolutely horrific.

I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and panic attacks because of that last episode. I didn't leave my house for about 8 months except to go to doctors appointments. Things were very bad. Thankfully, things are starting to get better for me and I've gotten the courage to actually get up and go walking.

My advice to you: try not to let it control your life like I let it control mine. I gained 15lbs in those 8 months because I didn't do anything and eating terribly helped me feel better. Also, try not to be afraid of it. If anything happens just get help right away but don't assume that something is going to happen or you will drive yourself crazy. I know that is easier said than done, but if you push yourself to exercise and you see what you can do without having issues, it should help you to continue to do those things.

Hi,
My DH has a-fib, and I happen to be his caregiver... My two cents: I agree with some of the other comments here, try not to be afraid to live your life. My dh's cardiologist told us that as long as he does not have chest pain or numbness/tingling in his hands or fingers, the episodes should not be something to panic over. DH has what they call "pill in a pocket" he takes a pill if he starts into a-fib and thankfully his heart flips back over to sinus rhythm within 8 to 12 hours. He has had some episodes of skipping beats (which scared me pretty bad at first), but again, if there is no pain or numbness/tingling, the dr even said he could work if he feels up to it during an attack. My DH has a very active job and at work he walks 3-5 miles per day and climbs ladders and does all sorts of lifting and moving. He also goes on nature walks. He has had to deal with these thoughts of fear and anger over being fearful. But he's determined to continue his life as normally as possible.

Also, DH has extensive family history of heart disease, so whether he was fit or not he would most probably be dealing with these things. IMHO I agree with other posters here and I think that you should give yourself a break don't beat yourself up on the overweight. Just do what you can and give yourself credit.

Hugs,
Javagal84

Hi,

I just want to give you some support. I have palpitations at times which is quite scary. I am seeing a cardiologist in a few weeks, it feels like my heart is fluttering, and it has happened in the strangest of positions, scary.

Good luck to you and take care.

Amy

I was diagnosed last March with cardiomyopathy. I went into the ER on March 21 with a racing heart - ventricular tacchycardia. It was beating about 220 beats a minute and they couldn't get it to stop with medicine. They had to shock me to stabilize it. After a 5 day hospital stay, I had an ICD implanted in my chest and now take a bunch of medications. I went into afib in July and added 2 more medicines for that. Haven't been back in afib since.

They think my heart problems might have been from my pregnancy (OR possibly from celiac disease). I had slight pre-eclampsia towards the end of my pregnancy and was very short of breath. I had no issues immediately after giving birth. I fainted 3 months pp but my PCP said it was a fluke. My cardiologist thinks I probably was dead for 30 seconds but came out of it because I had palpitations right before I fell flat on my face.


But yeah, I feel your pain. Heart problems suck!