1. < Heart Rhythm Conditions

Heart Palpitations

Posted by mikeyp @mikeyp, Nov 25, 2016

Hi Everyone, whew, where do I start ? I've been to 6 cardiologists, ( 2 were electrophysiologists ) over the last 11 months and basically I have them all scratching their heads on why I get REALLY bad heart palps, and I mean BAD ones to where it feels like someone punched you in the chest an hour ago, that's how it feels if you can imagine having that happen to you and then I get light-headed and disorientated to where I just want to sit and not talk or move for an hour or more until I get back to normal, usually this takes a few hours. Yes I get them THAT bad. I'm hoping that this group can help me because I'm at the end of my rope. One electrophysiologist said what I described to him was " impossible " to be happening, I'm really starting to wonder if I was born on another planet, I can't be the only person in the world with the heart palps that I have.

Mine basically come in two stages, I feel a pressure on the left side of my heart and then a strong thump in the heart itself, this happens within 2 seconds and then it's gone until the next time, no it doesn't happen all day, mine come as fast as they go but when them come it's like a Mike Tyson punch. I usually get these about once or twice a day. I've done every test imaginable, Nuclear Stress Test, Treadmill Stress Test, 2 heart & neck angiograms, 2 twenty four hour Holter Monitors, Echocardiogram, and numerous EKG's and blood tests and every single test comes back absolutely normal, so ( as one cardiologist put it ) " If we can't diagnose what's wrong we can't treat it " That makes sense but I'm still going through this with no new info, no meds, no nothing, I have the same knowledge that I have of whats wrong with me that I did when this all started 11 months ago and that is NOTHING at all, no more knowledge, no meds, nothing.

Here's more info on me, I " had " CLL, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, (13q14 deletion ) they caught it fast and treated it with FCR chemo and within 3 months ( not 6 months which is standard ) I was in full remission, if you don't understand what this means I'll just put it this way, if you HAD to get leukemia then this is the one you want to get, it's the most common and most treatable out of all the leukemia's and as much as oncologists " can't " say that I'm cured from this they pretty much say ( in your ear ) that you're cured. Now with that said, every Dr, Oncologist and Cardioligist all agree that this is not the cause of my palps, could it be from the chemo ? Yes possibly but I was diagnosed with CLL in April 2016, the palps started in December 2015 and I did the chemo in May 2016 so you see it doesn't match up.

The ONLY relief I get from the palps is when I take Magnesium Citrate, I tried Magnesium Taurate ( which they say is more for the heart ) but I've noticed that the Citrate works a lot better. Ok so you're saying why are you on here then, just take the Mag.Citrate right ? Well there's a problem, when you take Mag.Citrate on a regular basis you literally have to run to the restroom like 10 to 15 times a day, and when I say run I mean RUN !!!!! From what my last cardiologist said " They give Mag Citrate to people who are about to have a colonoscopy to clean them out " and trust me I believe him. So my question is does anyone know what else I can do to alleviate these palps without running to the restroom all day long ? My quality of life has sunk, I either have palps so bad that I can't enjoy life or I'm running to the restroom every half hour, I don't know which one is worse. I've also tried taking potassium and CoQ10, neither works or am I not taking the right dosage ?

Lastly, does anyone have any knowledge of the " Vagus Nerve " ? It's a nerve that pretty much connects your heart to other parts of the body and I'm thinking when the bad palps hit me it's " short circuiting " the Vagus Nerve and that's what makes me light headed. Any help would be greatly appreciated folks. I'm thinking that with the right supplements I can live with this, but what are the right ones and the right dosage ?

Thanks

Mikey P

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart Rhythm Conditions Support Group.

Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Nov 30, 2016
In reply to @jms7 "My pleasure Colleen! Thank you for overseeing all of us LOL : )" + (show)
@jms7

My pleasure Colleen! Thank you for overseeing all of us LOL : )

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Hi @joyful556,
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To find this again:
1. Go to DISCUSS in the main menu above.
2. Select Groups from the pull down menu.

Get more help from How to Get Started on Connect here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/

REPLY
mikeyp | @mikeyp | Nov 30, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing)...." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing). When is your next doctor's appointment? And with which specialty?
I think we'll all be interested if a) some of our thoughts and speculations are well founded and b) how you physician reacts to where you got your information. I hope you'll report back.

Jump to this post

Hi again Colleen,

What do you know about the Vagus Nerve ? I heard that this could be another reason to get heart palpitations.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 1, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing)...." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing). When is your next doctor's appointment? And with which specialty?
I think we'll all be interested if a) some of our thoughts and speculations are well founded and b) how you physician reacts to where you got your information. I hope you'll report back.

Jump to this post

I don't Mikey. Anyone else know about a possible connection between the Vagus nerve and heart palpitations?

REPLY
1 reply
Cynaburst, Alumna Mentor | @cynaburst | Dec 1, 2016

I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do have issues with my vagus nerve, but when they happen, I get lightheaded and my blood pressure drops. I don't have palpitations...I just feel faint.

Have you been able to record a tracing when you have experienced these episodes with an event monitor that you can push a button when you feel symptoms? Another thing you can do is to get a Kardia device monitor (formerly called Alive Cor) for your smartphone and that allows you take an EKG which you can then transmit to your doctor. If you are having an arrythmia you may be able to catch. Or, as others have suggested, perhaps an implantable loop monitor like Linq or Reveal.

REPLY
3 replies
mikeyp | @mikeyp | Dec 1, 2016
In reply to @cynaburst "I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do..." + (show)
@cynaburst

I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do have issues with my vagus nerve, but when they happen, I get lightheaded and my blood pressure drops. I don't have palpitations...I just feel faint.

Have you been able to record a tracing when you have experienced these episodes with an event monitor that you can push a button when you feel symptoms? Another thing you can do is to get a Kardia device monitor (formerly called Alive Cor) for your smartphone and that allows you take an EKG which you can then transmit to your doctor. If you are having an arrythmia you may be able to catch. Or, as others have suggested, perhaps an implantable loop monitor like Linq or Reveal.

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Hi Cynaburst,

I wore 2 twenty four hour monitors within a 3 month period and had MULTIPLE palps while wearing them and my cardiologist said that these were normal palpitations. I told him my father is 88 years old and never had a palp, now THAT is normal, this is not but that's what they said so I'm done with monitors, I have the palps, they get recorded but they also get dismissed, someone explain that to me. ????

REPLY
jigglejaws94 | @jigglejaws94 | Dec 1, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing)...." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing). When is your next doctor's appointment? And with which specialty?
I think we'll all be interested if a) some of our thoughts and speculations are well founded and b) how you physician reacts to where you got your information. I hope you'll report back.

Jump to this post

Here is a simplified description of the vagus nerve and palpitations from York Cardiology:

REPLY
mikeyp | @mikeyp | Dec 2, 2016
In reply to @colleenyoung "@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing)...." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@mikeyp, this discussion is a prime example of problem-solving with the community (jargon term is crowdsourcing). When is your next doctor's appointment? And with which specialty?
I think we'll all be interested if a) some of our thoughts and speculations are well founded and b) how you physician reacts to where you got your information. I hope you'll report back.

Jump to this post

Thanks, I saw this one with Dr. Gupta a few weeks ago, thanks though.

REPLY
martishka | @martishka | Dec 2, 2016
In reply to @cynaburst "I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do..." + (show)
@cynaburst

I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do have issues with my vagus nerve, but when they happen, I get lightheaded and my blood pressure drops. I don't have palpitations...I just feel faint.

Have you been able to record a tracing when you have experienced these episodes with an event monitor that you can push a button when you feel symptoms? Another thing you can do is to get a Kardia device monitor (formerly called Alive Cor) for your smartphone and that allows you take an EKG which you can then transmit to your doctor. If you are having an arrythmia you may be able to catch. Or, as others have suggested, perhaps an implantable loop monitor like Linq or Reveal.

Jump to this post

Palpitations are relatively benign- the issue is whether the symptoms are causing problems that are difficult to deal with. I know several people who have regular palpitations and either don't notice them (picked up during a routine EKG), or are able to ignore them. Its also a broad term in that there are many kinds- rapid, flutter, hard beats, skipped beats, regular and irregular beats. If the symptoms are interfering with your life then it needs to be dealt with. IF the problem is relatively benign then I would imagine that the treatment needs to be seriously considered since drug therapy can also cause its own host of problems; as discussed in this forum. I would think that your doctor (cardiologist?electrophysiologist) would have weighed the following: How fast is your rate, how long do the palpitations last and what is your response to them or how is your body dealing with them? If you feel dissatisfied with the diagnosis and/or prognosis why not get a second opinion or go back to the doctor and explain how you feel? I've done that several times during the course of my treatment and found it very helpful. Good luck! Martishka
.

REPLY
mikeyp | @mikeyp | Dec 2, 2016
In reply to @cynaburst "I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do..." + (show)
@cynaburst

I have never heard of a connection between the vagus nerve and palpitations. I myself do have issues with my vagus nerve, but when they happen, I get lightheaded and my blood pressure drops. I don't have palpitations...I just feel faint.

Have you been able to record a tracing when you have experienced these episodes with an event monitor that you can push a button when you feel symptoms? Another thing you can do is to get a Kardia device monitor (formerly called Alive Cor) for your smartphone and that allows you take an EKG which you can then transmit to your doctor. If you are having an arrythmia you may be able to catch. Or, as others have suggested, perhaps an implantable loop monitor like Linq or Reveal.

Jump to this post

Hi Martishka,

I hear what you're saying but I've been to SIX cardiologists, I mean how many more can I go see ? Two were electrophysiologists and all of them came back with the same basic answer, " We can't find anything wrong with you " and this is also after a battery of blood, urine, electrolyte and blood pressure tests plus two CT angiograms, numerous EKG's and an echo-cardiogram and they're stumped.

I made it crystal clear on how MY palps affect me and the severity of them, when I get a big one it feels like someone punched you in the chest and that sensation stays with me for hours and hours. I feel disoriented and don't want to talk after it happens but again all these Dr.s are stumped.

The only thing that has helped me was my own research and finding out that magnesium taurate helps diminish palps, and they have with it but I'm up to hearing what everyone else and you have to say on here because what really gets me is HOW in the world can I have 6 cardiologists stumped, I mean the last I checked I was from this planet, human and can't be the first person in history with bad heart palps.

REPLY
mikeyp | @mikeyp | Dec 5, 2016
In reply to @kareniowa "I am an "old"RN and researched magnesium a couple of years ago. Magnesium Chloride is the..." + (show)
@kareniowa

I am an "old"RN and researched magnesium a couple of years ago. Magnesium Chloride is the best and comes in oral tablets but is hard to find and nasty to swallow if it stays on your tongue! I use a spray that is easy to make from Magnesium Chloride flakes that i order from Swanson. Most of us are deficient in Magnesium. Google Magnesium deficiency. It will be an interesting read. Hope this helps.

Jump to this post

The Magnesium Citrate worked fantastic for me EXCEPT that I had to RUN !!!! to the restroom 15 times a day, so I don't know what is worse.

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