Ectopic heartbeat/Superventricular Tachiacardia

[cyclequeen]

Hello, has anybody ever had any of the above please? I've been having fluttering/banging sensations in my chest for years, my doctor gave me an ecg but it was fine. Over the past couple of years I've had several instances of sudden fast racing heartbeat for no apparant reason, mainly at rest when I'm about to sleep in bed or wakes me in the night. My doctore thinks it's probably SVT but it's never been caught on an ecg to make sure. I've now realised that this fluttering sensation is my heart missing beats!! I'm quite alarmed but I'm told it happens to most of us & we don't notice, but I'm noticing it a lot of times a day, sometimes several over & over. I'm 53 slim & fit, I swim cycle & use the gym regular, don't smoke either. Can anyone shed any light on this please.

[sara3]

I have an ectopic heartbeat, I'm 44, slim and (reasonably!) fit. it can be a bit scary but apparently not a sign of anything bad to come. you need to learn how to deal with it in the best way for you.

for me if I squat, lean forward and take a very deep breath and hold it... it generally stops almost straight away. sometimes I have to do it 2 or 3 times max.

[Sqad]

Sounds like SVT....not to worry....!
Take sara's advice.

[ethandron]

due to your age, it could possibly be linked to menopause. if you google 'menopause symptoms' you'll be able to read all about it. in menopause,it's something to do with oestrogen/progesterone dominance and a lot of ladies (me included) suffer from it.
when it was at it's worst, i would be aware of it every minute or so, then i'd go through a phase of it stopping, then it would come back again. thankfully i've not had it in a while now. i too had an ecg (pre-op assessment) and remember lying there all wired up with my heart doing these loop-the-loops...and nothing showed up.
i'm not saying it IS meno related, just that it could be and would be worth your while doing a bit of research about it. best of luck :)

[cyclequeen]

Well thank you all for your supportive advice. It's interesting that Ethandron has suggested it may be linked to the menopause as my first episode of SVT was around 6 months after my last period just as I got into bed for sleep & had a hot flush, not the first one of those, but my heart just raced like I was on the treadmill, very alarming. I've seen a cardiologist & had a scan all is fine. But I sensed it may be part of the meno symptoms, my doctor says not! But I feel it's too much of a coinsidence not to be as I had not had any problems apart from the fluttering in my chest before the start of the meno. Thanks ladies.

[ethandron]

doctors poo-poo a lot of stuff which, if you join a menopause forum, you'll find is pretty common during menopause. there are 35 very well documented symptoms and this heart thing comes in at about number 5. it scares a lot of women to death but once they know about it, they feel reassured.
i feel i'm always banging on about menopause but it takes so many ladies by surprise (me for one) i think it needs to be much more spoken about, particularly by doctors. i'm lucky as i have a very good young lady doctor who is very clued up on meno related things.
join a forum cyclequeen (try healthboards.com) and you'll be amazed, reassured and probably surprised.

[Bbbananas]

Hi CQ. I suffered with SVT, palpitations, ectopics and the rest for 36 years - started at the age of 12 and (hopefully) ceased now because I had an ablation op this February.
I used to find if I laid down within a few seconds of the attack it was more likely to go off. Other tricks include pressing hard on the carotid artery on one side of the neck or holding my nose and trying to breathe out hard (with the mouth shut!) - known as the valsalva manoeuvre.
Despite being told it had nothing to do with hormones - it is noticeable in my case that it first stated at 12 (puberty), I had a mega episode at 21 (directly after having given birth to my first child) and have had an op because over the last few years the symtoms worsened and became more frequent (I'm now 48 - peri-menopausal?).
Honestly, it's nothing to worry about at this stage. Very common in an otherwise healthy heart.

[tamirra]

Yes i suffer with this, had the ecg, 24hr ecg, ecg while on treadmill, all normal, its quite frightening i agree, i also get pain with mine on the left side of my chest in the meaty part of my left breast, if you know where i mean, which leaves a bruised like feeling afterwards, with a numb pain down left arm and left side of my neck, sometimes my heart feels like its going to force its way out off my chest its that bad, but all normal according to the hospital. x

[momac]

Have your thyroid checked cyclequeen,I get it from time to time but its due to my thyroid being under active.

[prendi]

my husband suffers from svt occasionally.he feels dizzy and his heart pounds very fast,he goes quite sweaty and pale.I think it is panic mainly.When we have gone to hospital,as it has carried on for an hour or so ,they have given him an injection called Adenosine to regulate the beat.It is like an electric shock,in an injection form.He is now on Verapamil capsules once a day to keep it under control,so far so good .