Heart palpitations and GERD

if you've had a full CV work-up ... there is a phenomenon known as atypical GERD.  it causes a symptom known as non-cardiac chest pain in which patients present with very similar symptoms as those who are having a heart attack.

the skipping beat part is weird ... have you had an ECHO, EKG, SED rate, or an upper/lower endoscopy?

HI Sarah,
I can relate so much to your symptoms. First of all, can you ever feel them in your pulse? I get PVC's (premature ventricular contractions), and can catch them on my wrist pulse site. If you get a premature beat, then your heart pauses a little longer for the next one. Since your heart has had longer to wait to fill on that following beat, it delivers a bigger contraction......and that's what feels like the thump in your chest.
Please read some of the other posts about fluttering in the chest. Some of us have that "small animal living in your chest sensation" that can sometimes feel like an irregular beat. But..........last year, I started getting tons of irregular beats. The would happen as soon as I'd start eating something, or they would really flare up by doing alot of work that required bending over.

Once I had so many, I went to the ER. The EKG and enzymes were normal. The doc gave me Magnesium by IV, saying that our magnesium level IN the cells can be low, and it doesn't show up on the lab test. So I would encourage you to take 200-400mg of Magnesium a day, and eat foods rich in magnesium. Our muscles become fatigued when our magnesium is low, and our hearts and intestines, among alot of other organs, are muscles. I also had a stress echo, which was normal.

Okay.....that being said, I have struggled with this irregular heart beat for awhile. How old are you? I'm 55, and found that I get alot of them from hormone fluctuations, going through menopause. But.......I'm becoming convinced that there must be some nerves in our esophogus that, when irritated, can cause irregular heartbeats. It's happened to me so many times! When I have a GERD flare-up, I have these irregular heartbeats alot more often. And I can relate to all the doctors not having a clue about this possibility..........but I'm sure it's happening.
Have you had a stress echo? Those don't completely rule out a heart problem, but they are a good start.

I also think that I might have a sliding hiatal hernia, and feel that when it is too high up in my chest, the pressure irritates my heart, and I have more irregular beats. Also, when I'm bloated and my GI tract is pressing against my diaphragm, I get those beats also. I think our hearts are very sensitive to anything pushing on them. My cardiologist did tell me once that people can have position-related PVCs.........they can have alot of irregular beats while lying on one side and not the other.

So..........make sure you've had your heart checked out completely, take magnesium supplements, drink lots of water, and try to control your GERD, and hopefully these very disconcerting irregular beats will slow down for you. I know they can be very scary, but my cardiologist assures me that when your tests are negative, these beats are totally harmless. He said some people have tons of them and don't feel them, while others of us feel every single one.

I'm relieved to hear that other people are making this connection with GERD, because I was positive my irregular beats were related to my lower esophogus, but nobody seemed to agree. Good luck to you!

I agree Vanessa,
I forgot to mention above that one of the worst culprits is pop. I started drinking 1 coke a day about a year ago for energy (since I have chronic fatigue), and maybe it's finally catching up with me. It's bad on the GERD and the irregular heartbeats. Caffeine can really increase them in people who seem seem to have them. Too bad it's so addicting! I'm struggling with trying to find something to drink that doesn't give me reflux, since water seems to do it too.

 Hi to all,  CathyA I didnt know I had so many twins running around untill I came to the forum. You think that you are the only one with the problems and then you find out you are not alone. You sound just like me. I thought that my doctor was just telling me the same things your told me to keep me from asking too many questions   Wow  we all have almost the same symptoms. Yes my cardo has me take MAG same dose  also. I take instead of heart pills for my pvcs I used to take inderal for them but my heart beats slow anyway & they slow your rate down. I never payed my stomach trouble too much attention. I know that I love V-8 juice cant drink it nothing with tomatoes in it Yes Water gives me heartburnat times. But now my heartburn is getting worse.   You are lucky yourDr takes time with you my Dr sounds like SARAS  I ve been told the same thing she has. My doctor say to worry when I cant feel the off beats. My doctors nurse told me the last time that I am the only Patient they have that can feel the off beats like I do. Ive had them for 20 yrs or more. The gerd for 5yrs. Sometimrs its hard to tell which one is causeing the pain when they both are acting up. I know if I eat a big meal I get skipped beats. I am a big pop drinker about 1 litter a day. But now I mix it with water to cut down . I drink cola & ginger ale. I never knew that peppermint was bad for me. Since I quit smokeing last year I still have bad craveings so I eat a lot of sweets,AND JUNK Icant help it. I am gonna try to limmit my carbs.Is their anything that dont have them in it? Imean anything that tastes GOOD!  Well thanks for helping me answer some questions  Pat

Hi Dr. Norm!

As a person who has had some medical background, yet suffers with several illnesses, I have tried with great success to actually reduce my esophageal problems.  I have GERD with Barrett's Esophagus and mild dysplasia.  With med.'s and dietary changes in one year's time, the mild dysplasia is gone.  The dietary changes I made, also corrolate with a Heart Healthy Diet along with a Diabetic diet.

I find that I actually agree with some of your thoughts here re the diet changes - however it seems that you promote almost an "Atkins" type diet here?  Correct me if I am wrong.

The "Fad" type diets come and go and don't seem to stick around for one's lifetime.  To become healthy and remain healthy for a lifetime means following a diet that also promotes a lifetime habit.  This type of diet does not. 

Sincerely, Teri

The following is a link from the Mayo Clinic...

Thttp://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=NU00268he

 

Teri,
I had responed to your question (twice) as it was reitterated by Vanessa
"Teri asked if you promoted almost an "Atkins" type diet" Guess you haven't had a chance to reply, but I would also like to know.

I don't know much about diets, but I believe that the Atkins represents more protein for weight reduction. Correct me if i'm wrong. "

I can't find it now and I am wondering if I can't say anything about my book because it can be interpreted as marketing. If anyone really cares, I have sold exactly 4 copies of the book (I think I am better at reseach and writing than marketing). I participate on this site as a patient first and foremost. I had terrible GERD for over 20 years. I will try to stick to ideas and content as much as possible. I just thought I had the responsibility to indicate when something was excerpted from my book.

Since I have been asked this question a few times, I am going to give a short answer that is not meant to market this book. My agent does that.

My book's focus in on understanding and treating GERD, not weight loss. My theory is that the consumption of excess dietary carbs is the root cause of the disease because consuming too many carbs leads to something similar to malabsorption which is like lactose intolerance. Microorganisms live in our intestines sharing the food we eat. But they prefer carbs and make a lot of gas in response. This drives reflux for those like us with weakend LESs. The book is science based with numerous references to the scientific literature. My dietary approach, like Atkins, is based on reducing your intake of carbs. My book differs in some key points. My dietary plan calls for limiting carbs for a short time (not two weeks like Atkins) to stop reflux, then gradually adding back carbs using your symptoms as a guide. Cheating is also allowed and expected but carb reduction is an "Ace in the Hole" to stop or prevent reflux episodes. Akins is concerned with weight gain and minimimizing carbohydrate absorption, my book is concerned with eating only as many carbs as we can absorb efficiently leaving few leftovers for microbes get into the action. Protiens and fats are processed differently by microbes and result in much less gas. That is what makes this approach feasible.

Dr. Norm

Dr Norm,

You are correct, there are two schools of thought on this issue and until it can be proven that the type of diet that you are suggesting is one that people can stay on for a 'lifetime' and remain healthy all those many years, then I will stick with the "two generations of MDs and dieticians schooled by those MDs".  They've been fairly successful thus far as our elderly population has grown tremendously!

My argument was sort of two-sided though and you missed my main point which was "a lifetime diet".  The diet you are recommending is generally a hard diet to continue with for long periods of time.  Often people go off of it after loosing the weight (which this seems to help with to a degree) and then resume the type of diet that they were eating prior to this.  And therein lies a good part of the problem.  The goal is to have everyone across the country, young and old, eating more heart healthy and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. 

Re GERD...there are plenty of people that will not be helped completely just by dietary changes alone and must stay on medications, depending on the reason for their GERD or acid reflux.   Little things like teaching people to eat earlier in the evening and lying at an incline to prevent gravity's pull of the acid help greatly!

I'm not completely closed minded on this issue, Dr Norm, I'm reading and learning. :)  I appreciate your point of view as well.

Hugs, Teri

Dr Norm,

Thank you for your info, it helps to have other opinions and share thoughts and ideas.

Hugs, Teri :)

I experience these feelings like pvc's or pac's in my chest all the time, should I still go to the doctor with each one? It's definately worse after eating, really...it doesn't matter what I eat. Just eating period. I can eat a salad and get the same type feelings as if I ate a cheeseburger. And sometimes can eat a cheeseburger and have no symptoms, it just comes and goes...picks the moment I guess.
Is there anything GERD related that can cause these type feelings, that are NOT heart related? Because I have yet to have any of these picked up on any monitoring equipment, even while "feeling" some of them. Feeling like I was missing a beat or a pvc... none show up.
-Sarah

yesdear,

Your post on panic attacks caught my eye because I remember seeing something on the web about a doctor who has a specialty in treating panic attacks and GERD - his theory is that in people with panic disorder, GERD is caused by bile reflux. Just do a search on bile reflux panic disorder and you'll probably find the site.

I've had panic attacks before, but it's been about 5 years since I've had them and I've only had digestive problems for about 2 years, so I'm not convinced they're related in my case. But you might find some info that makes sense for you.

-Alliee

Welcome to Healingwell,

LRtrout, Sad to say, but most of these people have moved on, because this is an old thread. Please start a new thread and introduce yourself.

I'm Joy and I'm waiting to be evaluated for a new procedure called EsophyX TIF. Most of the people here have had the Nissen procedure. I chose the EsophyX because it doesn't require cutting (I'm a wimp).

Please stick around. We make great cheerleaders. Also we can answer almost any questions here even though none of us are doctors, just well informed patients.

Joy

Welcome, Mo!

I didn't get the EsophyX TIF because my Hiatial hernia was too big. Instead I got a partial nissen called the Hill Procedure.

Please start an introduction thread to let everyone met you.

Joy