My Weird Heart

I am a telemetry technician on a cardiac unit here at a Cincinnati Hospital. What you are experiencing is likely palpitations. It's an increase in rate that thumps and ends after a very short time. It's very normal. You could also be feeling premature ventricular contractions (pvc's) which can be cause by a little too much caffeine. 90% of the time these require no medical attention whatsoever. If this feeling you're having last say longer than 1 minute your heart may be going into Atrial Fibrillation, which would require a trip to the ER and could require a cardioversion to get you back into a regular rhythm. As long as these feelings are short, you can rest easy. I hope that helps.

10 moms found this helpful

Sometimes anxiety can cause heart palpitations. Also hormonal changes. I can feel rapid palpitations when i am stressed.

1 mom found this helpful

This sounds like what I have experienced, I have those palpatations too, I started to notice them when I was pregnant with my second child. I got a echocardiogram(ultrasound of the heart) and had to wear a heart monitor for a day, and log my activiites of what I was doing that day when I felt a palpatation. I was diagnosed with mild mitral valve prolapse. Good to know, and my case is not being treated because it is mild. I heard this happens commonly when women get pregnant. It was scary though having noticed that irregular heartbeat, my mom had just died and I was worried that with something wrong in my heart I would keel over during exercise! Go get it check if just for peace of mind sake! It is probably nothing but just to be sure go to the doc, you'll feel better!

I have this very same thing. The doctors told me it is pre-ventricular contractions (PVT) and isn't really anything to worry about. Mine also got worse when I was pregnant. It gets worse when I'm really stressed, too. I try not to think about it too much. Not much help, but I really don't think it's anything that could cause a big problem with my health.

About 5 years ago I found out that I had SVT (Supra ventricle tachycardia). My case was really bad, but the doctor said people can get it and it doesn't effect them at all, i.e. they can keep to their normal activities. What it is is I had extra pathways going through the top and bottom chambers of my heart. For some reason it would get set off and create multiple heart beats instead of just one. The first time it happened I thought I was going to die. My heart was pounding SO hard!!! (usually I can't even find my heart beat no matter how hard I try). It also made me super tired, and I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. Anyway, my friend took me to the ER and my heart was racing at 256 beats/min. They had to stop it and let it reset itself to get it back on a normal rhythm. Anyway, they put me on some beta blockers and until I got it fixed a month later, it would start for like 2 seconds and then stop and be normal. And every time it would wipe me out (though I also had bad post traumatic stress syndrome from it, so I think that wore me out too).

Anyway, obviously yours isn't like this, but like I mentioned, the dr told me that people get it a lot where they don't even hardly notice it. I also found out that I have mild mitral regurge, where when my heart pumps some of the blood actually goes backwards into the other chamber. Anyway, what I'm trying to say, long story long, is that if something is going on with your heart I would go to a cardiologist and figure out what it is. I have to take antibiotics anytime I get any procedure done where I could get bad bacteria in my blood stream. Even if your case isn't bad, it's good to know at least what it is, have the peace of mind, and be able to prevent anything if you happen to have a condition where even only on certain instances you would need medication.

I hope everything works out ok and that it really is nothing! And no, you are NEVER the only weird one out there. ;)

I had the exact symptoms you are describing. I noticed it before I ever had children. I went to a cardiologist and he had me wear a king of hearts monitor for a month. We found out I was having the pvc's Holly talked about. I almost never drink anything with caffeine, so that was not the cause. I had an echocardiogram and it showed that everything was normal. The cardiologist said it's rare to have pvc's for no reason, but like Holly said, as long as it happens in quick little episodes & it doesn't start happening for long periods of time, it is not harmful. There are medications that can help, but typically they are more harmful than the pvc's. He warned me that it would get worse in pregnancy - and he was right - it did. If you have the resources, I would recommend seeing a cardiologist just to see exactly what is happening. PVC's are not a big deal, but some heart rhythm issues can be. For me, it was definitely peace of mind to know what my heart was doing and why.

You might want to get your adrenals checked. It can do weird things to you, making your heart feel strange, etc.

S.,
It is my understanding that heart problems are quite common during pregnancy and very dangerous! You know your body and if you think or feel like you ought to see someone a little more 'specialized' then do so.

Even if they tell you it is nothing, again. Better safe than sorry on that one!

I hope it is nothing!
V.

I had the exact thing with both my pregnancies!
My OB did send me to a cardiologist. I wore a heart monitor for a day and also had a bubble test done... They found nothing. Well ok they did find out I had a minor hole in my heart, but not in the bad area and more common than not. HOWEVER this was not causing my issues.
It is just the increase in blood flow!!!
While I do have issues from time to time while not prego, when prego it is bad! I wouldn't stress too much!
Exercise when you can even if it is just walking!!! That helped me so much and kept me in great shape!
If you are really concerned I would ask your OB to refer you, for peace of mind. If he/she won't refer then you need a new OB! Making you feel ok with things should be their main concern!
Hang in there. You aren't alone and it seems pretty normal.

I have the same problem so I just wanted to read the answers. Thanks for asking.

Go see a cardiologist. You may have something called a heart murmur. One common cause is a faulty heart valve that doesn't effectively force the blood through the heart and it gets stopped up, before flowing correctly. They are hard to track unless you have a thorough exam done by a heart specialist.

If you plan to have more children, they need to know this, as you may need special medical attention next time if it is a murmur. Whether or not you're expecting, sometimes heart medications are prescribed to regulate your heart, and more regular screening is done to make sure there are no changes or concerns.

I had anxiety attacks really bad right after having my daughter and it was also from my hormone changes.

It sounds exactly like what my mom has. It is a problem the name is long with tetracardia in it. I can never remember what it is called. Hers is always worse when she is pregnant. You will definitely want to go to a cardiologist. OB's blame a lot of things on pregnancy because it is easy. Mine said I would be really uncomfortable because it was my 4th pregnancy and they ended up being twins (didn't find out until 19 weeks at ultra sound). For sure get it checked out.

I also have palpitations and scary-feeling skipped beats. It's worse during pregnancy and when I'm anxious. I've seen a cardiologist and worn heart monitors on two separate occasions, had several EKGs and an echocardiogram. My heart is fine.

Seeing a cardiologist eliminated my worry about my heart. I know my internist is knowledgeable, but there is nothing like hearing that everything is okay from a cardiologist.

Ooh, me too! This happens almost every night these days, when I sit down and stop moving for the day. It is a very uncomfortable feeling. I had an EKG during one of these episodes once and I could actually see and hear what was happening. Take your pulse and maybe you'll feel it too. Every third beat or so took half a second longer to happen. He said it was nothing to worry about, and so did my dad who is a PA. It did get worse whenever I was pregnant. Not as bad as the everyday that it does now. I don't recall anyone explaining why, but they did say not to worry.

I just wanted to add that I was having problems with my heart doing silly things and I went and got my hormone levels checked. My thyroid and progesterone levels were off and as soon as I had been taking those for a couple of weeks things started to be normal again. I am not sure which one did it or if it was a combination of both but I feel great now.

I am pregnant for my 5th time and every time I get pregnant I have heart flutters, pressure, etc. in my chest. Sometimes I feel like I am going to have a heart attack. My doc says it is totally normal.

Since I had my first baby, I have had the same symptoms only very sparsely and much lighter. Upon talking to my doctor about it, it turns out that it has a lot to do with anxiety. Although he does not feel I have an anxiety problem, he just feels that sometimes I may feel a bit uptight about something and this is the result. After hearing that, I have noticed that it does link to things going on around me, e.g. kids are being crazy, finances, arguments, etc.

I am sure you are experiencing the same thing, but when in doubt just go to the doc, that is what they are there for.

Good luck with your weird heart. = )