Heart Palpitations and Nausea During Pregnancy Questions

Hi, I know that what you are feeling is very scary, because I have been there. I was diagnosed with Mitro Valve Prolapse twenty years ago after a miscarriage. The feeling made me very uncomfortable also. Until one Dr explained it to me and that it would not cause my heart to stop and that it was just basically a leaky valve. He also explained that when I laid down at night that it would race for a few minutes and then it would relax, that it was kinda like shifting a car into neutral. Once I knew what the feeling was and that it truly wouldn't hurt me, it wasn't scary anymore. My husband used to listen to my heart in the bed sometimes and it would beat fine and then skip a beat, but knowing what it was made me able to laugh at him saying "you really do beat to your own drum". Also, being pregnant and sick all the time is probably worrying you and when you worry your heart will race alot more. Mine always does in times of stress. So, try to relax, tell yourself that you know what is causing it and that it will not hurt you and it will get better. Also, exercise even though you don't feel like it will help alot. If I exercise when my heart starts to race, it goes right away. Walking is the best form of exercise for me and preferably outside as it reduces stress. I really do speak from experience and hope that it will help you, the Mitro Valve thing has never caused me any problems except the initial worry. I rarely take any thing like cold medicine or anything that will rev up my system as that can cause it to race.I also avoid caffeine.
I also was very ill with my first and last child, but it went away around three months. I lost 10 pounds with the first one and it had no negative affects on the baby. the baby will get what it needs from you. I could only drink chocolate milk made with Nestle Quik when I was pregnant and couldn't eat anything for the longest time.I hope that you feel better soon. Best wishes!

I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from. I have had premature ventricular contrations periodically since I was a teen. At the time I described it as if my heart had taken too big of a gulp.... then a pause... and then several beats really close together like it is trying to catch up. If that is what you are experiencing, 99.9 percent of the time they are harmless - usually can be worse with caffeine, when laying down, and with anxiety. My husband when through a spurt of dealing with severe anxiety issues and had them so bad he thought he was going to die. They put a 24 hour monitor on him and he had over a THOUSAND in that time and the doctor still laughed it off. One of the things they did check was whether there were 2 or more happening in a row.

After I gave birth to my second child I had a really bad spurt of them while laying down to bed... I felt like I was having more irregular than regular heart beats for several minutes. So much changes will all the hormones of pregnancy. It may help your anxiety to have the 24 hour halter monitor so you will know that is all that is going on. Until then, try to pay attention to if it tends to happen when you are laying down relaxed (esp on your side) and if you are symptom free if you are "exercising" - up and active.

As for nausea - eating small snacks all day is what helped for me - nuts, fruit/dried fruit, crackers. If I got nauseous I had to force myself to eat to make it go away. Having said that - the only consistency in pregnancy is that it is a unique experience for everyone. What worked for one may not work for you. Just try lots of solutions (peppermint, saltines, fruit shakes, etc) and hopefully you'll come across the one that works for you. Hang in there... for MOST women by 12 weeks the nausea/exhaustion cloud lifts and you feel more like yourself again.

Try to distract yourself - move around more if you possibly can... of course you don't want to go out into malls and busy places b/c of the flu risk. Ugh. So many things to worry and freak yourself out over. Breath. It will all be OK and you will be holding that bundle of joy before you know it.

Best wishes
K.

A few suggestions:
1. If you haven't been re-checked since you became pregnant, and are worried, it may help with your anxiety to be re-evaluated. If you have a good relationship with your cardiologist, and you share your concerns, they will, in all probability reassure you.
2. If you feel you can effectively, just relax, great. However, often anxiety can become a cyclic event, the more you experience the cardiac symptoms, the more anxious you get about them, which contributes to more cardiac symptoms, etc. etc.
3. You aren't doing anything wrong. Your body is responding to a new situation. Nausea, even with weight loss, is not at all uncommon in the early weeks of pregnancy. In fact, some women even require medication to hold down anything. You may want to discuss it with your ob.
4. I teach clients a means to eliminate troubling symptoms, permanently, called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). (You can do an internet search about it.) It is very effective, and could be very helpful with your anxiety, especially. If you would like to learn more, feel free to contact me at:
###-###-#### or via email to ____@____.com.

I wish you all of the best now and in the future.

Congrats on your pregnancy! I am sorry that you have been feeling nauseated and have experienced these heart palpitations, though.

First off, about the heart palpitations. If you have spoken with your cardiologist, then I would relax and not worry about those. You might find that they get better with time as your body adjusts to the pregnancy. I know when I was first pregnant I had a couple of skipped heartbeats, and they can be really scary! You mentioned that your mitral valve prolapse has led to some anxiety problems. Your anxiety problems might be worsening your heart symptoms, honestly. Some of the times when you feel like your heart is racing, you might be having a panic attack. Try to find something to do that really relaxes you...have you ever done yoga?

As far as the nausea and being tired/sluggish, that is totally normal for the first trimester, and it will usually get better once you're in your second trimester. Don't worry if you aren't getting full meals--once the nausea subsides, you will be able to eat better, and you will gain the necessary weight. For now, just try to eat what your stomach will tolerate; eat what sounds good. However, there are some things you can do to try to beat the nausea:
(1) Keep saltines by your bed and eat a few in the morning before you even get up, so there is something in your stomach.
(2) Try to get enough protein. My childbirth instructor wanted us to be getting at least 80 grams of protein a day, and I definitely wasn't getting that early in my pregnancy. I have heard that getting enough protein can help with the nausea. And I've also heard that getting protein in the morning (making some eggs or something) can help.
(3) Buy Preggie Pops or Preggie Drops--they're hard candies or suckers that you can use to help when you are feeling nauseated. They sell them at maternity stores and Babies R Us, and I'm sure other places.
(4) Target (and I'm sure other places that have a pharmacy) sell these wristbands called Sea Bands that you can wear to help with the nausea. You might have to ask for them at the counter, because when I bought mine, the pharmacy kept them behind the counter.

Another thing you mentioned was that you have not been active in years. I don't know what you mean by that exactly, but if your doctor allows you to exercise, I would recommend it, even if it's just getting out and doing a littel bit of walking each day. Exercise will definitely help you feel better, and the endorphins from exercise can help with your anxiety problems. How active you are early in your pregnancy determines how active you can be later on, since it's harder to become active later on when teh baby is bigger and you've put on more weight. So obviously, during this first trimester, get the rest you need, since you will be more tired, but try to get some exercise too. I bought a few prenatal workout DVDs when I was pregnant and loved them.

I hope that things get better for you soon! I've had anxiety issues in my life, and I know how tough it can be. Take care!

Okay, I have mitral valve prolapse as well but have done well with pregnancies (two), and the outcome was two beautiful children, without complications.
However, it seems like you're working yourself up moreso regarding the diagnosis, so you need to join a group of pregnant ladies (preferably) who are doing yoga, which is a great workout (not in the traditional sense), but is relaxing as well. I'd ask your GYN/OB for recommendations to relax - breathing exercises (Tai Chi), etc. to lessen the strain caused by the "fight or flight" you're feeling.
Also I'd not worry so much about losing weight early on...'cause the sluggishness will resolve on its own. But, I'd recommend getting recommendations in 5-6 small meals/day from a nutritionist (or someone in the OB office) to help w/the nausea until it (hopefully) resolves in a little while. You do need to walk, if nothing else. It helps your mood, your outlook, and will help with the nausea. Good luck!

Hi. I also had MVP and I experienced this same thing with my first pregnancy. First off I would say only you know your body and you should get anything checked out that is worrying you because stress during a pregnancy is not good. With that being said, when my heart was jumping and palpating out of my chest with my first pregnancy it freaked me out and I asked my OBGYN to refer me to a cardiologist. After all the tests and follow up visits (and all those expensive co-pays) throughout the pregnancy what I learned (on my own through experimenting) was that I just needed to cut out most of my caffeine. That was it! Also, I noticed that it is worse in the beginning of my pregnancies. The farther along I got, the less often it happened.

In regards to the nausea, I never had any problems with that but I've often heard that nausea in pregnancy is due to being deficit on one of the B vitamins. I can't remember which one. I think it's B-12, but you may want to google it to be sure or ask you doc.

If I would you (as much as you don't feel like it), I'd take some nice slow walks during the day to get some fresh air and some exercise, but don't over exert yourself since you're not use to very much exercise.

Try to relax and enjoy your pregnancy! Good luck and I hope this helps.

I am sorry to hear about your troubles in your pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my last baby, I experienced the same thing. You have an increased blood flow when you are pregnant and it takes your body a while to get used to it. It is completely normal for you to be feeling exhausted. Who knows why, but it is really hard work growing a human! Don't worry, it will pass. I assure you. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant and I thought I would never get over the horrible exhaustion. I feel much better now and some days I even have extra energy. Just take it easy during this part of your pregnancy and relax as much as you can. When your second trimester starts you will have more energy and will feel much better. It is during this time that you want to be sure to get everything ready for the baby. Stock your house with extra groceries and toiletries, your freezer with meals, and make sure you have everything you need for the baby. Likely, these horrible symptoms will start to surface again in the third trimester. Hang in there, I know it seems like forever, but it will be over before you know it.

I had severe nausea during bth of my pregnancies. I lost 18 lbs the first trimester with my second and only weighed 9lbs more than prepregnancy at delivery. Rest assured the nausea WILL NOT harm the baby(mine was still 8lbs). I found that chewing gum helped with nausea some because the chewing action stimulates the stomach to empty. Sour candy like lemon drops helps with this as well. Be cautious if your doc wants to put you on Reglan (metoclopromide). I found out the hard way that it can cause SEVERE depression. I also had a racing heartbat with my first but it was toward the end. My doctor just told me to rest as much as possible but did eventuallly make me quit work at 35 weeks.

Congrats on the baby! Just remember the end results are SOOO worth the nausea, worry and discomfort you feel now.