is this worry i need to have?

[sister]

Hi Everyone,
I have noticed a new problem in the last couple of weeks. I have noticed heart palpitations, mostly when i am sitting quietly on the computer reading the wonderful posts that you guys have. all of a sudden it feels like my heart just does a flip flop. Doesn't happen very often but enough to worry me so i went yesterday afternoon to see a cardiologist and the ekg was ok. He wants me to come back however on Monday for a stress test and an echo cardiogram.
Could this be a result of sleep apnea? I have never had any problems with my heart.
Maybe I'm just worrying for nothing and these are just some tests he is going to run to make sure everything is ok,but as I sat quietly last night i felt the flip flop of my heart twice,once about 8:20 and then again about 10:25 p.m.
Does anyone else have this problem?
I am sleeping pretty good now I think,but I guess all the years of untreated apnea could have caused problems with my heart. I have had a long road to travel but am doing much better now.
God bless you all!

[OutaSync]

That happens to me, too. Every once in awhile, while sitting quietly. EKG, stress test and 24 hr Holter monitor showed nothing unusual. I wish I could have an episode while they were testing, but that didn't happen. I've decided not to worry about it. I had them long before CPAP, so I can't blame it on that.

Let me know what your Dr. says.

Bev

[M.D.Hosehead]

it feels like my heart just does a flip flop

Just one flipflop or a spell of ff's?

If it's just an occasional skipped beat, it usually doesn't mean anything serious. Those are atrial or ventricular premature beats. Many people have it, some people lifeloing.

OTOH, sleep apnea is correlated with atrial fibrillation, something more serious. (Don't confuse Afib with ventricular fibrillation, which is fatal, unless the heart is shocked back into normal rhythm within a few minutes Afib also can feel like flipflops, but in AFib, the spells last a for a period of minutes to days. Sometimes it becomes continuous.

EKG, stress test and 24 hr Holter monitor showed nothing unusual. I wish I could have an episode while they were testing,

That's the problem. If Afib is a rare occurrence, it's hard to document it on EKG or holter. I had paroxysmal Afib once or twice a month for 15 years before I was able to get an EKG during an episode.

The cardiologist, stress EKG and echocardiogram are the right thing to do.

Information about atrial fibrillation:

http://www.stopafib.org/

[LoQ]

Does anyone else have this problem?

I have it many times a day. It certainly can be irritating, so you have my sympathy. You may wish, if you haven't done so already, to eliminate all caffeine from your diet. Some people are also very sensitive to chocolate, which you may also want to eliminate.

[Emilia]

It may also be from other things such as a little bit of gas that feels like a palpitation, or if you are perimenopausal, you can have palpitations due to that--it a very common symptom. I had them all the time during perimenopause. I am well past menopause now, but recently had some chest flutters... took myself to a cardiologist who ordered a stress test with echo and all was fine. I will be interested in seeing if cpap therapy helps with these periodic, unusual feelings.

[dreamchaser]

I too have had similar flutters that occurred at quiet moments but mostly when I laid down to sleep ( pre CPAP). I had an Aortic valve replacement almost ten years ago because of an aneurysm. The little flutters started about three years after my surgery and when I told my cardiologist about it, he said not to worry about them since they were rare and I was on Coumadin (blood thinner) that helped take care of such things. So I tried not to worry about these flutters and they did diminish after a while.

My body produces a lot of gas which has troubled me for years with pain in my chest and I sometimes feel like I'm having a heart attack. The pressure goes away if I can get myself to burp then I feel so much better.

It's good that you have seen a cardiologist and are scheduled for a stress test and echo cardiogram. Better to be safe than sorry. Good luck. Let us know how things turn out.

BTW, since I started Cpap therapy,almost 3 months ago, I have not had any flutters.
I hope it stays like this.

Jan

[sleepymama]

i am only 2 days into treatment, but i too have the heart palpatations but mine have dizzy spells. i didn't have tests like you done but my BP was checked and it's low. could it be your blood pressure?

[sister]

I usually only have 1 at the time,so that's good. My blood pressure always runs low so i was not worried when it was only 88/52 yesterday even though thats a little low for me. It usually runs about 90/60.
Thanks!

[elena88]

oh yes, I would have that when I woke up.. my heart beat would be very irregular, sometimes i could not get up for awhile, I just could not
move..

sometimes my husband could barely find my pulse it was so irregular.. that has been going on for the last fifteen years..

My husband told my cardiologist all about this, and she said this happens to everyone.. and it was not serious.

BUT, it only happened in the morning when I woke up, so no doctor ever caught it..

guess what? it stopped after cpap!


edit: forgot to say, I think my cardiologist is an idiot

edit to add: yes, Emilia, she is my former cardiologist, OMG, the stories I could tell you, and I find it wasnt just me, she needs a nanny cam
in her office! I just quit going, called and said I was going to miss my appt, and never went back.... big sigh of relief.....
Sort of put me of cardiologists for awhile...

[Emilia]

LOL, elena... I assume that doctor is now your former cardiologist?

[Julie]

Can I throw in that it's pretty common if you're anywhere menopausal, but if you're quite a bit past that it wouldn't hurt to check with your MD - after all, that's what she's there for . The internet's fun, but not necessarily the best way to diagnose yourself!

[TopherH]

I (and my older sister) have had similar sensations in the chest over the years. I've spoken to my MD several times about it and have had a EKG and have worn a halter monitor for a few weeks, never able to duplicate the issue. I have now been on CPAP for about 1 week, and so far have not felt any more. I was curious if my severe sleep apnea could have been the cause, and I'm hoping this is the solution. The jury is still out though. (my sister is not on CPAP, but has complained about being tired over the years. I'm trying to get her to a sleep study)

[sister]

Hi, I have eliminated all caffeine from my diet and have no more problem with irregular heartbeats.
I did go ahead and have a complete cardiac workup and thank goodness everything checked out o.k.
Sometimes it's hard to go without chocolate and I do miss that morning cup of coffee but it's worth it.
Best of luck.