Quit Caffeine = Heart Skipping?

[Antoine99]

Hey everyone

I used to get a lot of caffeine throughout the day from coffee, and then I decided I should probably stop, since I had insomnia, anxiety, etc. So I switched cold turkey to decaf. But now I think my heart is skipping more than usual, or maybe it's just more noticeable to me, it really freaks me out when it happens now. I get "flutters" and thuds, which is a hard beat, almost like someone punched you in the chest (obviously not that hard but it's hard to describe). I have no pain or dizziness though. It always kind of used to do that though. However now I gained weight and am getting back into cardio after not be able to very well due to panic attacks. Not sure how much of this can be blamed on anxiety/panic. I heard that quitting caffeine can actually cause irregular beats due to caffeine stimulating the electrical impulse and now it has to recover or something like that. Anyway I went to the doctor and she told me that I'm fine basically but if it gets worse to do a monitor thingy. She listened with a stethoscope which wouldn't help the skipped beats if they aren't happening right at that moment, but this can at least detect something like a heart murmur I think.

It seems really inconsistent, sometimes it happens during exercise (cardio), sometimes, like today, it happened once at the start, then when the exercise picked up and my heart rate went up it went away as far as I noticed. I think if it was a more serious problem it would happen all the time with exercise, and it certainly wouldn't go away as it got more intense. The problem now is mostly when it happens I panic a lot more than I used to. I didn't have this problem a year or so ago, so something serious can't just develop out of nowhere in such a short time, can it?

I don't know if it's electrolytes, I'm trying to get enough but maybe I'm not taking in as much as I think I am. I think I'm good with potassium, I eat a bunch of spinach, steamed, everyday, along with beans, potatoes, kale, etc. Magnesium is the hardest one for me to get, maybe I'll take a supplement with at least 50% RDA.

I hear people talking about their heart rate going up to like 250-300 or something huge like that but mine never does that, as far as I can tell.

Thanks

[AdamWW]

Hey everyone

I used to get a lot of caffeine throughout the day from coffee, and then I decided I should probably stop, since I had insomnia, anxiety, etc. So I switched cold turkey to decaf. But now I think my heart is skipping more than usual, or maybe it's just more noticeable to me, it really freaks me out when it happens now. It always kind of used to do that though. I heard that quitting caffeine can actually cause irregular beats due to caffeine stimulating the electrical impulse and now it has to recover or something like that. Anyway I went to the doctor and she told me that I'm fine basically but if it gets worse to do a monitor thingy.

It seems really inconsistent, sometimes it happens during exercise (cardio), sometimes, like today, it happened once at the start, then when the exercise picked up and my heart rate went up it went away as far as I noticed. I think if it was a more serious problem it would happen all the time with exercise, and it certainly wouldn't go away as it got more intense. The problem now is mostly when it happens I panic a lot more than I used to.

I'm trying to get enough electrolytes but maybe I'm not taking in as much as I think I am. I think I'm good with potassium, I eat a bunch of spinach, steamed, everyday, along with beans, potatoes, etc. Magnesium is the hardest one for me to get, maybe I'll take a supplement with at least 50% RDA.

Thanks

If you've had a full cardiac assessment: EKG, Echo, bloodwork, and a holter/take-home monitor, and a cardiologist has given you a clean bill of health, best to not worry.

The overwhelming majority of the time, 'skipped beats', whether they're atrial or ventricular and in isolated/non-sustained in nature, are completely benign.

I have them regularly, to varying degrees.

That being said, I always recommend doing a full work up with the tests I mentioned just for peace of mind.

It is odd that stopping caffeine would cause LESS, though, because caffeine can irritate and the throat area and cause nerves and muscles to react more sensitively in general... it is a stimulant, after all. Thus, most people get more, not less, when they do drink caffeine.

Additionally, skipped beats during and/or shortly after cardio is actually more concerning than when they occur at rest, so perhaps another reason to get those tests I mentioned.

Given your experience, too, a cardiac stress test (they make you run/walk fast on a treadmill while doing an EKG, bloodpressure , etc, and then do an Echocardiogram after you reach a peak HR) might not be a bad idea, either.

[Amleben]

holee fk u actually worry about coffee lol

i would leave out the sugar, than switch it out for black tea until ur body or mind or however u wanna put it can handle absolute uuh abstinence

[Antoine99]

If you've had a full cardiac assessment: EKG, Echo, bloodwork, and a holter/take-home monitor, and a cardiologist has given you a clean bill of health, best to not worry.

The overwhelming majority of the time, 'skipped beats', whether they're atrial or ventricular and in isolated/non-sustained in nature, are completely benign.

I have them regularly, to varying degrees.

That being said, I always recommend doing a full work up with the tests I mentioned just for peace of mind.

It is odd that stopping caffeine would cause LESS, though, because caffeine can irritate and the throat area and cause nerves and muscles to react more sensitively in general... it is a stimulant, after all. Thus, most people get more, not less, when they do drink caffeine.

Additionally, skipped beats during and/or shortly after cardio is actually more concerning than when they occur at rest, so perhaps another reason to get those tests I mentioned.

Given your experience, too, a cardiac stress test (they make you run/walk fast on a treadmill while doing an EKG, bloodpressure , etc, and then do an Echocardiogram after you reach a peak HR) might not be a bad idea, either.

Hey thanks, I'll ask my doc for a full workup then. They are kind of random, they happen at rest, or walking, or during exercise, or after, anytime really. Like today I got a minor flutter or thud that didn't even scare me much at the start of exercising and that was it, then I got a thud later in the day while walking. Last night I had a thud just sitting and watching YouTube. I don't even get that many of them, like the most I've probably gotten in one day is maybe four or five. Yesterday during the same exercise it didn't happen at all.

I forgot to mention, they seem to almost always be accompanied by gas or trapped wind, so I think it may have something to do with the vagus nerve too. When I am finally able to burp it seems the pressure in my stomach and to a lesser extent chest is relieved and I feel great until it builds up again.

[AdamWW]

Hey thanks, I'll ask my doc for a full workup then. They are kind of random, they happen at rest, or walking, or during exercise, or after, anytime really. Like today I got a minor flutter or thud that didn't even scare me much at the start of exercising and that was it, then I got a thud later in the day while walking. Last night I had a thud just sitting and watching YouTube. I don't even get that many of them, like the most I've probably gotten in one day is maybe four or five. Yesterday during the same exercise it didn't happen at all.

I forgot to mention, they seem to almost always be accompanied by gas or trapped wind, so I think it may have something to do with the vagus nerve too. When I am finally able to burp it seems the pressure in my stomach and to a lesser extent chest is relieved and I feel great until it builds up again.

To me your symptoms sound like PVC's (premature ventricular contraction) and/or PAC's (Premature Atrial Contractions).

The former (PVC's) tend to be the cause of the 'thud' you mention because what occurs is, following a premature beat, the following 'normal' heartbeat is often slightly greater in pressure because it has a compensatory response to the 'skip', which is basically an incomplete beat.

Again, in a structurally normal heart in a person with no other risk factors they are almost always benign, but you SHOULD get a work up.

Like I said, see a specialist (cardiologist) and ask about:

1. EKG
2. Echocardiogram
3. Holter Monitor
4. Cardia stress test w/Echo
5. Blood work for electrolytes, lipids, etc... just to be sure.

[Antoine99]

To me your symptoms sound like PVC's (premature ventricular contraction) and/or PAC's (Premature Atrial Contractions).

The former (PVC's) tend to be the cause of the 'thud' you mention because what occurs is, following a premature beat, the following 'normal' heartbeat is often slightly greater in pressure because it has a compensatory response to the 'skip', which is basically an incomplete beat.

Again, in a structurally normal heart in a person with no other risk factors they are almost always benign, but you SHOULD get a work up.

Like I said, see a specialist (cardiologist) and ask about:

1. EKG
2. Echocardiogram
3. Holter Monitor
4. Cardia stress test w/Echo
5. Blood work for electrolytes, lipids, etc... just to be sure.

Thanks again, will do!

[boo99]

To me your symptoms sound like PVC's (premature ventricular contraction) and/or PAC's (Premature Atrial Contractions).

The former (PVC's) tend to be the cause of the 'thud' you mention because what occurs is, following a premature beat, the following 'normal' heartbeat is often slightly greater in pressure because it has a compensatory response to the 'skip', which is basically an incomplete beat.

Again, in a structurally normal heart in a person with no other risk factors they are almost always benign, but you SHOULD get a work up.

Like I said, see a specialist (cardiologist) and ask about:

1. EKG
2. Echocardiogram
3. Holter Monitor
4. Cardia stress test w/Echo
5. Blood work for electrolytes, lipids, etc... just to be sure.

Adam impressed on the PVCs and compensatory pause, etc

I thought on this I was the only one who knew that the hell a PVC was lol

I used to teach 12 lead EKG and learned all that stuff


On a side note, I had a bout of AF from too many energy drinks; the ER I went to says........"How do you know you in AF without an EKG" ........I said I KNOW lol

[AdamWW]

Adam impressed on the PVCs and compensatory pause, etc

I thought on this I was the only one who knew that the hell a PVC was lol

I used to teach 12 lead EKG and learned all that stuff


On a side note, I had a bout of AF from too many energy drinks; the ER I went to says........"How do you know you in AF without an EKG" ........I said I KNOW lol

Part of my anxiety/panic/health-anxiety was an OCD-driven immersion into basically ANYTHING related to heart health and testing...

I've had literally 5 heart monitors, dozens of EKG's, several Echos, 2 stress tests, and so many others...

Eventually this stuff just became so familiar i'll never un-learn it.

Over time, what I realized is that, in people who's heart has a NORMAL structure, your body has an amazing ability to course-correct in the event of random anomalies.

The heart's circuitry essentially 'resets' and is controlled by your brain pretty much no matter what you do, so unless some structural abnormalities prevents that circuit from re-setting, premature/'skipped' beats basically just happen and then pass... after which time your heart will register that a full loop is done, and it will trigger another... and keep doing that...

It's kind of ironic, too, because what most people feel and 'fear' with regards to most premature beats is that hard 'THUMP' and the subsequent 'pause' (the chambers super-compensating for unusually low blood volume in the chambers)... when in reality that hard THUMP is actually a NORMAL beat in terms of rhythm pattern, unlike the 'skip' which most people don't feel... so in a way the thing that feels the scariest should actually be reassuring: it means your heart reset and is now having normal beats.

But yeah, it's fascinating!


PS: Afib is a different beast altogether, yeah. My dad AND my uncle both have had it several time... they're both tall (my dad is 6-2 and my uncle is 6-5), and it definitely happens more with tall folks.

In my dad's case, he's an ER doctor with like... 35 years of experience... so he actually knew exactly what was happening when it occurred the first time. But, he also has a history of high BP, which thankfully I did not inherit (I got my mom's low heart rate, low BP) but I still got most of their height =o)

It's funny though because, unlike my pops, my uncle went WEEKS with a-fib (heart rate around 150 i think), and had NO idea.... he accidentally found out when he went in for a different issue... so... yeah... i dunno how that's possible to not feel that kind of heart rate... I personally am pretty aware of my pulse, but maybe that's partly due to my history of anxiety.

[boo99]

Part of my anxiety/panic/health-anxiety was an OCD-driven immersion into basically ANYTHING related to heart health and testing...

I've had literally 5 heart monitors, dozens of EKG's, several Echos, 2 stress tests, and so many others...

Eventually this stuff just became so familiar i'll never un-learn it.

Over time, what I realized is that, in people who's heart has a NORMAL structure, your body has an amazing ability to course-correct in the event of random anomalies.

The heart's circuitry essentially 'resets' and is controlled by your brain pretty much no matter what you do, so unless some structural abnormalities prevents that circuit from re-setting, premature/'skipped' beats basically just happen and then pass... after which time your heart will register that a full loop is done, and it will trigger another... and keep doing that...

It's kind of ironic, too, because what most people feel and 'fear' with regards to most premature beats is that hard 'THUMP' and the subsequent 'pause' (the chambers super-compensating for unusually low blood volume in the chambers)... when in reality that hard THUMP is actually a NORMAL beat in terms of rhythm pattern, unlike the 'skip' which most people don't feel... so in a way the thing that feels the scariest should actually be reassuring: it means your heart reset and is now having normal beats.

But yeah, it's fascinating!


PS: Afib is a different beast altogether, yeah. My dad AND my uncle both have had it several time... they're both tall (my dad is 6-2 and my uncle is 6-5), and it definitely happens more with tall folks.

In my dad's case, he's an ER doctor with like... 35 years of experience... so he actually knew exactly what was happening when it occurred the first time. But, he also has a history of high BP, which thankfully I did not inherit (I got my mom's low heart rate, low BP) but I still got most of their height =o)

It's funny though because, unlike my pops, my uncle went WEEKS with a-fib (heart rate around 150 i think), and had NO idea.... he accidentally found out when he went in for a different issue... so... yeah... i dunno how that's possible to not feel that kind of heart rate... I personally am pretty aware of my pulse, but maybe that's partly due to my history of anxiety.

AF can be scary, not so much the arrhythmia itself, but the clot/CVA risk, which is frightening though my years of working in CCU, I have not seen one case of stroke from AF, though that risk is there.

Mine started from runs of SVT which led to AF eventually

The Echo was cool though, I could see my atria quivering away lol

[AdamWW]

AF can be scary, not so much the arrhythmia itself, but the clot/CVA risk, which is frightening though my years of working in CCU, I have not seen one case of stroke from AF, though that risk is there.

Mine started from runs of SVT which led to AF eventually

The Echo was cool though, I could see my atria quivering away lol

Oh for sure... when I did my stress test(s), they hooked me up to the Echo after they got my HR to 190... man was it flying!

[Antoine99]

Hey everyone, just wanted to report back here with my results in case anyone searches for this in the future and gets worried (like I do all the time):

I went to a cardiologist (in Chicago at a major hospital, so not some bad one), and explained my symptoms to him. He basically told me that he is very sure that I'm fine, but gave me a heart monitor to wear for a whole month. He said I can and should exercise, because until then I was really scared to exercise due to palpitations (heart feels like it flutters). As soon as I left I felt much better and the palpitations decreased in frequency. So I started doing cardio again and felt great, and made sure to keep doing it while wearing the heart monitor so if anything was wrong it would catch it.

So I went back and he said everything is great. He said that my heart rate increases and decreases but it's all regular so it's fine, and I have very bad anxiety so that's understandable, otherwise why would he mention it lol. I had a few episodes of flutters and some hard skips while wearing the monitor (including during exercise), so I assume if anything was seriously wrong it would catch it. I mentioned specifically that I wanted to do Insanity and that it is a very intense cardio-based program and he said great.

Tonight I experienced some heart flutters that lasted maybe four or so seconds and it REALLY freaked me out, but I guess I'll just have to ignore them from now on. It's very hard to describe them, it's not really that I'm out of breath, but it feels like I got the wind knocked out of me. Then I freak out and that causes my heart rate to increase to probably 100 or so but then it calms back down after a few minutes. I started drinking caffeine again but I don't know. This happened with decaf (99% decaf) too. I don't feel weak or anything, in fact when it happens, if I'm at home I get up and walk around quickly because I'm so phased by it.

Both times when I went for my appointment, I was having a panic attack, and the first time my blood pressure was like 157/90 something, and the next time it was around 155/80 or so, so seeing that freaked me out even more. (Before this heart health scare my last blood pressure reading was excellent at like 115/75 or something like that). And the first time they did an EKG (the one that only lasts a few seconds) during the panic attack, and he said I was fine, so that's great. Being paranoid I looked at the EKG results sheet before he came into the room and saw scary terms like "abnormal" this and "short time..." whatever that...But he looked at it and said I was fine. And the second time I was scared because the nurse called and said the doctor "Wants to discuss your results with you" lol.

Another weird and scary attack I get is sometimes my face will get hot, my hands cold, and my heart rate will increase, probably near 100 (I'm bad at estimating HR though due to anxiety). I guess it's a panic attack, man is that scary. Sometimes I get this type of thing without the fast heartbeat, sometimes with a normal rate but slightly pounding...

(I forgot to mention, he ordered a full blood panel, thyroid, electrolytes, vitamin D, etc., and said it was totally fine).

[boo99]

Hey everyone, just wanted to report back here with my results in case anyone searches for this in the future and gets worried (like I do all the time):

I went to a cardiologist (in Chicago at a major hospital, so not some bad one), and explained my symptoms to him. He basically told me that he is very sure that I'm fine, but gave me a heart monitor to wear for a whole month. He said I can and should exercise, because until then I was really scared to exercise due to palpitations (heart feels like it flutters). As soon as I left I felt much better and the palpitations decreased in frequency. So I started doing cardio again and felt great, and made sure to keep doing it while wearing the heart monitor so if anything was wrong it would catch it.

So I went back and he said everything is great. He said that my heart rate increases and decreases but it's all regular so it's fine, and I have very bad anxiety so that's understandable, otherwise why would he mention it lol. I had a few episodes of flutters and some hard skips while wearing the monitor (including during exercise), so I assume if anything was seriously wrong it would catch it. I mentioned specifically that I wanted to do Insanity and that it is a very intense cardio-based program and he said great.

Tonight I experienced some heart flutters that lasted maybe four or so seconds and it REALLY freaked me out, but I guess I'll just have to ignore them from now on. It's very hard to describe them, it's not really that I'm out of breath, but it feels like I got the wind knocked out of me. Then I freak out and that causes my heart rate to increase to probably 100 or so but then it calms back down after a few minutes. I started drinking caffeine again but I don't know. This happened with decaf (99% decaf) too. I don't feel weak or anything, in fact when it happens, if I'm at home I get up and walk around quickly because I'm so phased by it.

Both times when I went for my appointment, I was having a panic attack, and the first time my blood pressure was like 157/90 something, and the next time it was around 155/80 or so, so seeing that freaked me out even more. (Before this heart health scare my last blood pressure reading was excellent at like 115/75 or something like that). And the first time they did an EKG (the one that only lasts a few seconds) during the panic attack, and he said I was fine, so that's great. Being paranoid I looked at the EKG results sheet before he came into the room and saw scary terms like "abnormal" this and "short time..." whatever that...But he looked at it and said I was fine. And the second time I was scared because the nurse called and said the doctor "Wants to discuss your results with you" lol.

Another weird and scary attack I get is sometimes my face will get hot, my hands cold, and my heart rate will increase, probably near 100 (I'm bad at estimating HR though due to anxiety). I guess it's a panic attack, man is that scary. Sometimes I get this type of thing without the fast heartbeat, sometimes with a normal rate but slightly pounding...

(I forgot to mention, he ordered a full blood panel, thyroid, electrolytes, vitamin D, etc., and said it was totally fine).

So your EKG/monitor was showing Normal Sinus Rhythm as we call it in CCU?

Usually if symptomatic as you are, feeling the beats, there is some type of arrhythmia but they'd probably have told you and possibly treated it depending

[AdamWW]

Hey OP. I’m obviously not your doctor but I urge you not downplay the role of your anxiety in this. I know precisely what you’re feeling and I too have struggled with hypochondria for over a decade, most closely related to my palpitations.

I’m fact, I recently had a 8day monitor done after a sudden severe increase in my irregular beats which lasted for 4 days. I was having premature/skipped beats about every ten seconds.

However, once I put the monitor on, magically things didn’t feel as bad. They decreased, but even then I measured over 1800 irregular beats in a 8 day period. It turns out, this is categorized as ‘rare’ skipped beats.

Clinically, the standard for ‘concerning’ levels is set at 20% of beats being premature before doctor really get worried at all and suggest anything interventional unless someone just cannot ignore them. That would mean you’d need every 5th beat to be a ‘skip’ before you’d be at risk of anything potentially harmful. That’s ALOT of skipped beats.

Keep in mind, cardiologists are very quick to address truly concerning heart issues in young people. They want to make sure you’re catching issues early, so I think you need to trust that - if something were truly wrong - they’d tell you.

It really really sounds like your anxieties are getting you into trouble here. I know it sucks to hear that, but from experience believe me this is very normal.... panic attacks can feel like literal death. They’re basically mimicking the hormonal responses you would feel if you were truly about to die... that’s why your BP and heart rhythm is so erratic when it happens.

[Antoine99]

So your EKG/monitor was showing Normal Sinus Rhythm as we call it in CCU?

Usually if symptomatic as you are, feeling the beats, there is some type of arrhythmia but they'd probably have told you and possibly treated it depending

Yeah he said that all my beats were regular/no problem. I definitely had flutters, skips and thuds while wearing it too, so it must have caught everything. The same thing happened when I was freaking out the first time I was there and they did the really short EKG, although I wasn't having flutters or skips then. He saw that and said it was fine too. He didn't even mention an arrhythmia, so that's good. I don't really get tired while exercising, if I stop it's usually because I panic.

Hey OP. I’m obviously not your doctor but I urge you not downplay the role of your anxiety in this. I know precisely what you’re feeling and I too have struggled with hypochondria for over a decade, most closely related to my palpitations.

I’m fact, I recently had a 8day monitor done after a sudden severe increase in my irregular beats which lasted for 4 days. I was having premature/skipped beats about every ten seconds.

However, once I put the monitor on, magically things didn’t feel as bad. They decreased, but even then I measured over 1800 irregular beats in a 8 day period. It turns out, this is categorized as ‘rare’ skipped beats.

Clinically, the standard for ‘concerning’ levels is set at 20% of beats being premature before doctor really get worried at all and suggest anything interventional unless someone just cannot ignore them. That would mean you’d need every 5th beat to be a ‘skip’ before you’d be at risk of anything potentially harmful. That’s ALOT of skipped beats.

Keep in mind, cardiologists are very quick to address truly concerning heart issues in young people. They want to make sure you’re catching issues early, so I think you need to trust that - if something were truly wrong - they’d tell you.

It really really sounds like your anxieties are getting you into trouble here. I know it sucks to hear that, but from experience believe me this is very normal.... panic attacks can feel like literal death. They’re basically mimicking the hormonal responses you would feel if you were truly about to die... that’s why your BP and heart rhythm is so erratic when it happens.

Yeah I get those attacks where it feels like you are about to pass out, but you never actually do. I'm seeing a GP soon and will probably ask for some mild anxiety meds (I don't want to be on any hard stuff). The skips and flutters got much better as soon as I left the doc's office, and even now I think they're better.

Thanks again!

[AdamWW]

Yeah he said that all my beats were regular/no problem. I definitely had flutters, skips and thuds while wearing it too, so it must have caught everything. The same thing happened when I was freaking out the first time I was there and they did the really short EKG, although I wasn't having flutters or skips then. He saw that and said it was fine too. He didn't even mention an arrhythmia, so that's good. I don't really get tired while exercising, if I stop it's usually because I panic.



Yeah I get those attacks where it feels like you are about to pass out, but you never actually do. I'm seeing a GP soon and will probably ask for some mild anxiety meds (I don't want to be on any hard stuff). The skips and flutters got much better as soon as I left the doc's office, and even now I think they're better.

Thanks again!

It's a good thing you're noticing this, because this is perhaps the #1 indicator that it's related to your anxiety. If you had an actual, dangerous heart issue, you would not have symptom relief/mitigation based on situations like this. People with structural or chronic, dangerous problems have them regardless of their emotional environment.

I would also suggest working on your sleep and life stress, and trying to stay busy, etc, to take your mind off them. I know it's almost impossible, but if you can, it WILL help.

[Nicksosure1]

I don't exactly have panic attacks, but pretty close sometimes and I generally have very bad anxiety most days. My anxiety is more of a case of worrying about the day ahead of me. Like, "what if this happens?",
"Oh no, I have to do this today and there's no way that something isn't going to go wrong". It's always in the morning and sometimes completely rules my day which can be debilitating and not a good life.

A technique I use: At night, I set alarms on my phone for the morning with notes describing everything I was completely anxious about the previous day and how they all turned out to be fine. Ever since doing this, I'd say my anxiety is at least 50% better most days.

I don't know if this would quite apply to you OP, but setting reminders and reassurance in times that you aren't anxious to yourself when you know you're going to be could help you.

There were some days where my whole day would a nightmare until the things I was anxious about passed. It's terrible and I know how it feels.

Again, don't know if our cases are the same but I wanted to throw that out there in case it could indeed help you.

[boo99]

Yeah he said that all my beats were regular/no problem. I definitely had flutters, skips and thuds while wearing it too, so it must have caught everything. The same thing happened when I was freaking out the first time I was there and they did the really short EKG, although I wasn't having flutters or skips then. He saw that and said it was fine too. He didn't even mention an arrhythmia, so that's good. I don't really get tired while exercising, if I stop it's usually because I panic.

That is great to hear

There is also a completely normal variant of Sinus Rhythm called Sinus Arrhythmia where the breathing rate makes it irregular (possibly what you felt) however it is still a normal rhythm as it's still originating from the SA node

[AdamWW]

That is great to hear

There is also a completely normal variant of Sinus Rhythm called Sinus Arrhythmia where the breathing rate makes it irregular (possibly what you felt) however it is still a normal rhythm as it's still originating from the SA node

There's also huge variations during training based on vasovagal stimulation... such as when squatting you can experience slowed HR during the downward motion or during the entire set, then once you rack the weight your HR skyrockets for 10-30seconds before slowly returning to normal... kind of like pinching a garden hose and letting it go.

[boo99]

There's also huge variations during training based on vasovagal stimulation... such as when squatting you can experience slowed HR during the downward motion or during the entire set, then once you rack the weight your HR skyrockets for 10-30seconds before slowly returning to normal... kind of like pinching a garden hose and letting it go.

Omg so true

One time I nearly blacked out after rising up on a heavy squat, maybe it was what you mentioned

Safety bars on racks FTW lol

[AdamWW]

Omg so true

One time I nearly blacked out after rising up on a heavy squat, maybe it was what you mentioned

Safety bars on racks FTW lol

Dude, SAME. Freaky as hell when you have a barbell on your back.

[Antoine99]

Yeah I have no doubt that anxiety is causing probably 99.9% of this. This all started when I got lazy from keto and started having cheat meals which spiraled out of control and I gained a lot of weight. I look worse which is making me angry, so I guess I'll go back on keto. I felt really great on it, mentally AND physically.

Even with the palpitations, they really don't bother me, except when a few of them happen in a row, like last night. That scares the chit out of me, I'm thinking like, what if it doesn't stop doing this?! Does this happen to anyone else? I didn't have a really scary episode like that with a bunch in a row while I was wearing the monitor, but my doctor sounded very sure that I was fine, and he had a STACK of papers on his desk from my 30 day monitor results so I trust him lol.

[boo99]

Yeah I have no doubt that anxiety is causing probably 99.9% of this. This all started when I got lazy from keto and started having cheat meals which spiraled out of control and I gained a lot of weight. I look worse which is making me angry, so I guess I'll go back on keto. I felt really great on it, mentally AND physically.

Even with the palpitations, they really don't bother me, except when a few of them happen in a row, like last night. That scares the chit out of me, I'm thinking like, what if it doesn't stop doing this?! Does this happen to anyone else? I didn't have a really scary episode like that with a bunch in a row while I was wearing the monitor, but my doctor sounded very sure that I was fine, and he had a STACK of papers on his desk from my 30 day monitor results so I trust him lol.

I dunno bro, from all my years in CCU what you describe sounds like what patients describe when they have runs of some kind of tachycardia, ventricular or atrial. I hope this is not the case with you

The thing with those monitors is they only show a small time frame and we always hope arrhythmias are caught

The definitive way is usually in a telemetry unit where you are monitored longer than the monitor you wore but unfortunately they won't usually do that with a normal monitor reading

[Antoine99]

I dunno bro, from all my years in CCU what you describe sounds like what patients describe when they have runs of some kind of tachycardia, ventricular or atrial. I hope this is not the case with you

The thing with those monitors is they only show a small time frame and we always hope arrhythmias are caught

The definitive way is usually in a telemetry unit where you are monitored longer than the monitor you wore but unfortunately they won't usually do that with a normal monitor reading

Uh oh, I sure hope not. My only option really is to ignore it I guess, since I basically got a perfect bill of health from my doc and my blood work. I might try magnesium too, not a high dose but maybe 50% RDA and get the rest from food.

[boo99]

Uh oh, I sure hope not. My only option really is to ignore it I guess. I might try magnesium too, not a high dose but maybe 50% RDA and get the rest from food.

All you can do is listen to your MD and if he says you are ok, then that's it. He knows you more than I or this forum does.

Don't stress if possible about this

GL

[AdamWW]

Uh oh, I sure hope not. My only option really is to ignore it I guess, since I basically got a perfect bill of health from my doc and my blood work. I might try magnesium too, not a high dose but maybe 50% RDA and get the rest from food.

Didn’t you say you wore a long term monitor ? Like longer than a week? Did you have concerning events during the period you wore it?

Like boo has said, it’s probably best to trust the cardio docs. They have a much clearer picture of what’s going on.

If you really wanted to go all in on testing, you could see if they’d let you do a stress echo/cardiac stress test... I did one and it was actually kind of fun.

They make you walk/jog on a treadmill until your HR reaches a max (I got mine to 190), and during the exercise they have an EKG hooked up to measure the rhythm, then once the peak HR is reached you lay down and they do an echo (sonogram) of your heart... basically it lets them see the valves functioning at peak exertion.

If that checks out, I mean it’s hard to argue you’d have anything to worry about.

[Antoine99]

All you can do is listen to your MD and if he says you are ok, then that's it. He knows you more than I or this forum does.

Don't stress if possible about this

GL

Yeah that's true, he seemed pretty sure that I was fine mostly because of my age and no pain, no shortness of breath, no fainting, etc. anyway, even BEFORE I had the monitor. Not to mention I could do Insanity which if I had any kind of serious heart issue I'd probably be passing out on the floor from.

Didn’t you say you wore a long term monitor ? Like longer than a week? Did you have concerning events during the period you wore it?

Like boo has said, it’s probably best to trust the cardio docs. They have a much clearer picture of what’s going on.

If you really wanted to go all in on testing, you could see if they’d let you do a stress echo/cardiac stress test... I did one and it was actually kind of fun.

They make you walk/jog on a treadmill until your HR reaches a max (I got mine to 190), and during the exercise they have an EKG hooked up to measure the rhythm, then once the peak HR is reached you lay down and they do an echo (sonogram) of your heart... basically it lets them see the valves functioning at peak exertion.

If that checks out, I mean it’s hard to argue you’d have anything to worry about.

Yes, I had some pretty bad panic attacks during my 30 days with the monitor, the ones I described where I heat up with cold hands and my heart rate rises significantly, so that must have shown up as nothing to worry about. As far as I remember though, I didn't have heart flutters for like three seconds in a row while wearing it, but I did mention it when I saw him, and he still assured me that I was fine. I definitely had flutters, skips and thuds with the monitor though. Even while exercising.

I'm really starting to think these are related to some kind of digestive/gas issue (and anxiety, that's obvious). I think every time (or almost every time) I get the feeling where it feels like I'm going to have flutters, it's always bloated, gassy, etc. Sometimes accompanied with my heart feeling like it's beating harder but normally, or harder and slightly fast. More often than not anyway. I'm going to see a GP soon so I'll bring that up. Maybe I can use like Gas-X or something like that.

[AdamWW]

Yeah that's true, he seemed pretty sure that I was fine mostly because of my age and no pain, no shortness of breath, no fainting, etc. anyway, even BEFORE I had the monitor. Not to mention I could do Insanity which if I had any kind of serious heart issue I'd probably be passing out on the floor from.



Yes, I had some pretty bad panic attacks during my 30 days with the monitor, the ones I described where I heat up with cold hands and my heart rate rises significantly, so that must have shown up as nothing to worry about. As far as I remember though, I didn't have heart flutters for like three seconds in a row while wearing it, but I did mention it when I saw him, and he still assured me that I was fine. I definitely had flutters, skips and thuds with the monitor though. Even while exercising.

I'm really starting to think these are related to some kind of digestive/gas issue (and anxiety, that's obvious). I think every time (or almost every time) I get the feeling where it feels like I'm going to have flutters, it's always bloated, gassy, etc. Sometimes accompanied with my heart feeling like it's beating harder but normally, or harder and slightly fast. More often than not anyway. I'm going to see a GP soon so I'll bring that up. Maybe I can use like Gas-X or something like that.

Funny you mention the bloating because that is 100% connected with mine, too... not always, but it definitely is a trigger.

One reason is the vagus nerve being stimulated by abdominal pressure which can cause brief changes in blood pressure, etc, so sometimes is can make that happen. It can also push upward on your diaphragm and cause the skipping because, again, any kind of external disturbance may trigger something to fire out of order. Obviously not dangerous, but it happens, and it happens to me a looooot.

[Antoine99]

Funny you mention the bloating because that is 100% connected with mine, too... not always, but it definitely is a trigger.

One reason is the vagus nerve being stimulated by abdominal pressure which can cause brief changes in blood pressure, etc, so sometimes is can make that happen. It can also push upward on your diaphragm and cause the skipping because, again, any kind of external disturbance may trigger something to fire out of order. Obviously not dangerous, but it happens, and it happens to me a looooot.

Also it doesn't help that after dinner at home I go to my desk on the computer and have terrible posture, with my stomach pressed up against the edge of the desk and me bent forwards.