Thought I was dying.

[stomachmonkey]

A bit overworked and stressed lately. Have a heart murmur so I tend to pay particular attention to any cardio related abnormalities.

Every now and then I get this thing where it feels like I skip a beat. Really gets your attention when it happens.

I understand it's fairly common and normal but still.

Yesterday started getting "skips" fairly frequently.

Doubled my aspirin regimen but by the time I went to bed I was getting a skip every 2 minutes and was feeling it in the back of my throat.

Could'nt sleep thinking I'd wake up dead. 12:30 got out of bed and drove myself to the ER.

After 4 hours of tests they said I should drink less coffee.

Went home to bed.

Happy to be here though.

Scott

[legion]

Yep.

I love caffeine, but it really messes with me if I have too much.

One cup of coffee in a day won't bother me, but if I have a cup a day more than three days in a row, I can't fall asleep well until I cut out caffeine for at least a week.

[widgeon13]

Did they give you an actual diagnosis?

Glad you are well!

[TWork]

Sounds like an anxiety attack. Are you pretty stressed these days?

[Porschephile944]

If you can, get someone else to drive you to the ER next time. It would be a really suck to have a minor heart attack (or somthing) that is easily survivable if it hadn't caused you to crash into a tree and die of those injurys.

I know a guy who drove himself to the ER while he was having a stroke and couldn't move half his body, had to be the crazyiest thing I've heard in a long time.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by TWork
Sounds like an anxiety attack. Are you pretty stressed these days?

Majorly stressed these days but dealing with it rather well. Was not an anxiety attack. Have had them before and learned the warning signs and how to avoid the attack.

They thought maybe electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, low potassium. maybe stress. Blood work all normal.

Throwing PVC's is what they said, basically the bottom and top of the heart get out of sync.

[notfarnow]

Same thing happened to me in the spring, not fun.

For me, stress caffeine and weed all trigger arrhythmia.

The caffeine I can't live without, so I try to take it easy and not use it as a meal replacement, especially when I'm stressed.

[Drdogface]

PVC = Premature Ventricular Contraction. Can be caused by all you said but add alcohol to the list... They can be scary.

[widgeon13]

I'm counting on more like 90+, thank you.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by stomachmonkey
Could'nt sleep thinking I'd wake up dead. 12:30 got out of bed and drove myself to the ER.

After 4 hours of tests they said I should drink less coffee.

Went home to bed.

Happy to be here though.

Scott

The real heart attack will hit when you see the bill for that 4 hour visit.

Glad your o.k.

[syncroid]

Scott,
I had something similar happen to me a couple years ago. I was working my tail off doing yard work for the next door neighbor of mine. (40 years old and recovering from a heart attack) I felt my heart skipping around. I didn't really worry too much about it until I started getting dizzy. I figured my blood sugar was low since I had not eatten anything. I made myself a sandwich and had a diet soda. I felt a bit better and went back to the yard work and thats when it hit me. My heart started to skip and my heart rate sky rocketed. I felt like I was goint to lose conciousness so I laid down on the lawn and put my feet up. To make a long story short, I was taken to the hospital. I did not have a heart attack. I had something called tachycardia. (spelling?) That is when your heart races out of control. I never did find out what it was that triggered it, but I did find out after alot of tests that I have a leaking mitral valve. I also found out that anxiety goes hand in hand with a leaking valve. A real eye opener!
I am caffeine free and eat better then I ever have.

[on-ramp]

sounds like a panic attack. i have them sometimes too.

i ended up in the emergency room like you, they did a bunch of tests and nothing came up. my EKG was "perfect".

a 'skip' in the heartbeat can be cured by more exercise. just relax and don't overstress. a panic attack is a nervous illness that can be cured with time.

the worst thing to do when you're having one is to panic...just accept it and don't let it bother you. act like it's not even happening, try to ignore it.. freaking out over a panic attack makes it worse.

take 15 min. each day to relax, or try Yoga. I was skeptical at first but not anymore

[IROC]

I have what's called atrial fibrillation. Luckily, what used to be daily episodes have decreased to once every few weeks. At first you feel like you're going to die, but nowadays it's just annoying. Anything heart-related can freak you out, that's for sure...

Mike

[widgeon13]

Keep up the medical reports, you guys are making me feel pretty damn healthy for my age.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I throw PVCs all the time. Don't even notice them. I've had arrhythmia since birth...goes away when I exercise.

Synchroid: it's 'tachycardia'.

[tabs]

This is about as well as I can relate..When my Airdale was 2, the Vet told me that she had a Heart Murmur...well shes 11 1/2 now and still very agile and quick. In her prime she was so strong and quick that she could keep up with a Whipet. You woulda thought that Heart murmur woulda slowed her down or she woulda dropped dead..

[artplumber]

Scott,
Sounds pretty benign. Just palpitations (not even a panic attack necessarily).

Worry about heart attack when it's chest (or upper stomach) pain, heaviness, severe shortness of breath, unexplained sweating, or the above + nausea.

Continuous fast or irregular fast heart beats are also possible to represent heart attack, but more often represent "electrical problems".

Tachycardia just means fast heart beat (happens when you exercise or get excited).

There will be a test later....

[CRH911S]

It's easy to say don't PANIC. I didn't panic but did go to the er just in case. Blood work and EKG all normal. My regular doctor set it up for me to wear a halter for a week just in case. So this is something you might consider. The solution to my problem was less caffiene.
Clinton

[livi]

Scott,

Scary experience. The heart runs on chemical electricity. The electrical circuit is supposed to start at a geographically very distinct point and from there spread out in an exact pattern to the different parts of the heart muscle. That way the heart atriums and ventricles can contract in an orderly fashion resulting in effective pumping of the blood threw the heart.

For several reasons this could go wrong. The electrical impulse can sometimes start in a different place and also create an electrical loop that triggers the contractions much faster than normal. This will give you a very fast heart beat but can also create a "skipping" of every x heartbeat. Both will lead to insufficient contractions and symptoms related to both lower blood pressure and lower oxygen saturation of the blood. A feeling of weakness, dizziness, nausea and of course the scary sensation from the irregular heart rhythm it self.

Most are harmless, but some are not. I am glad you had it checked out.

I canīt help but smile when you write you had four hours of testing and checking - resulting in "skip the coffee, will ya".

End rant.

[gsxrken]

Two month ago I went into A-Fib with 200 beats. Figured this was it, actually thought about the $4M in various life insurances I have due to 4 young kids, and found some comfort in that. I eventually was put under anesthesia and they paddled me with the electrical device that actually stops the heart. It then restarts on its own, under a regular rhythm. A "reboot", really.
Turns out I went right into pnuemonia, which I still am dealing with. The MDs say there is a high likelihood that either the pnuemonia caused the A-Fib, or that I caught the pnuemonia from being in the hospital. Who knows, but I get the feeling that I would be dead if this wasn't 21st century and in the good 'ol USA.