heart palpitations would you be worried?

[mandco]

I've not been feeling well for a while and have been getting heart palpitations tightness in my chest and shortness of breath my gp thought my symptoms might be side effects of the meds I was on but I've stopped taking them and the problem has continued so went back today and after listing to my heart & checking my pulse/bp they have ordered a chest xray ecg & echocardiogram. They were going to refer me straight to cardio but the wait for an appointment is 2-3 months and they said that was too long to wait
I wasn't that worried before I went but now I'm wondering if there is maybe something to be concerned about?

anyone had an echocardiogram done?

[Pumpkin Pie]

I had similar symptoms (along with dramatic weight loss and thirsty all the time) and it turned out to be an overactive thyroid. The symptoms all stopped once that was addressed.

[NewtoOrlando]

I have echos every year alone with an ecg every time I see my cardiologist. I have dilated cardiomyopathy whoch is classed as stage 2 heat failure, I also have ectopic beats which means my heart rhythm is having a dodgy disco sometimes. So am under regular review by the cardio team.

Echos are painless scans which last anything from 20 mins to 45/60 mins depending on what they’re looking at.

Palpitations could be caused by so many things though, drinking alcohol, too much caffeine, stress, lack of sleep, different medication, some heath problems can cause them and also hormones.

Please try not to worry, you’re being given the right tests to see if there is anything going on, if there’s not, that’s perfect and perhaps a change of pace is needed, and if there is, there are so many things, medication included to help you have normal life. Any questions please ask xx

[storm]

I have had similar over the past 6 months, 5 admissions with chest pain etc.Pulse going from 60 to 140 in the blink of an eye.
ECG, Echo cardiogram, chest X-ray. 72 hr continual ECG bloods. bloods & more bloods. Thyroid, cardiac bloods. Treated for gastric reflux( I have no reflux symptoms). Awaiting gastro appoint as they suspect it is Oesophageal spasm. The pain is horrid. Unfortunately they found a marker in my blood that meant I could have leukaemia so had to have a load of tests thankfully I don't but they are looking for the reason for my abnormal bloods.It's stressful not knowing what's causing it.

[Posiesmum]

DH was admitted to hospital this week with similar symptoms. After a day on a monitor in A&E it was diagnosed as atrial fibrillation. He is now on beta blockers and a blood thinner and they hope to perform a procedure in a few months to stabilise his heart rate. Please get this checked out further.

[sha9]

You need a 24 hour heart monitor to pick up what’s causing this. Ectopic beats are just extra beats, benign and common but it would be unusual to get chest tightness and breathlessness with those. Do they feel regular or irregular? Irregular could be atrial fibrillation which is manageable but needs to be captured on ECG to pick up.

[Lulu Belle]

I was diagnosed with an ectopic heartbeat a few years ago after an ECG. I was advised to cut out caffeine which at the time I thought odd as I maybe drank 2-3 cups of tea a day at most. Anyway, I switched to decaf and it worked! I was told it was quite common and harmless.
I do occasionally suffer with short breath and tight chest but that’s due to mild asthma.
I’m not suggesting you have either of these conditions but just trying to highlight that there could be many different reasons for your symptoms and they don’t necessarily mean anything sinister. I know it’s not that easy but try not to worry.

[Mexy02]

Hopefully your gp will sort this quickly but Just wanted to send you a hug xx

[Mary A]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

I have echos every year alone with an ecg every time I see my cardiologist. I have dilated cardiomyopathy whoch is classed as stage 2 heat failure, I also have ectopic beats which means my heart rhythm is having a dodgy disco sometimes. So am under regular review by the cardio team.

Echos are painless scans which last anything from 20 mins to 45/60 mins depending on what they’re looking at.

Palpitations could be caused by so many things though, drinking alcohol, too much caffeine, stress, lack of sleep, different medication, some heath problems can cause them and also hormones.

Please try not to worry, you’re being given the right tests to see if there is anything going on, if there’s not, that’s perfect and perhaps a change of pace is needed, and if there is, there are so many things, medication included to help you have normal life. Any questions please ask xx

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Love the dodgy disco reference! So difficult to explain ectopics to someone who hasn't experienced them.

[top4]

Hi ,I've also had issues like yours a couple of years ago and because they came and went I didn't think anything of them ... fast forward 12 months later I got rushed into resus with a heart rate of 220 ! ...I've been diagnosed with Atrial Tachicardia, where the electrical wiring in my heart is miss firing getting confused ...I'm on meds for life now and closely monitored by the hospital ,at 43 I don't feel old enough to Have a heart problem ,so don't ignore it like I did ! ...an echo is just an ultrasound of your heart ,very painless and fascinating to watch! ..but the missed beats I feel are draining and the 'Disco ' description fits it perfectly! ...but wishing you well ,your in good hands x