Posted 6/2/2017 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I have this problem!
Your doctor is wrong, not stupid, just hasn't heard about some of the ways stomach can trigger palps. It's called "cardioesophageal reflex" or "linked angina." My cardiologist doesn't believe in this even though I have had many episodes and have documented what triggered them. My gastroenterologist doesn't believe in it either. I was saved by an allergist.
In my case, after I get reflux, often starting out like having gas bubbles, especially shortly after a breakfast of cereal, I can get tachycardia, pacs - from specific trigger foods that happen to contain sulfites. It's sent me to the hospital several times when I couldn't get the tach stopped with Valslava maneuver and a few doses of heart medicines I keep on hand for this. One time it even triggered a cardiac artery to pinch shut - heart attack needing a stent. No rise in cardiac enzymes, so it was not the usual heart attack.
My food triggers are pretty common, but they don't cause heart reaction for everyone. The usual reaction is migraines. Other people can react to different foods too, so don't think your reaction is necessarily the same as mine. I found an allergist who helped me (after going to 2 who didn't believe me). She had me start a food journal - dates, times, foods, drinks, medicines, reactions. It took months to find a list of specific trigger foods, break them down into specific ingredients, and google them to find what connected them. (gelatin, ground ginger, sodas, corn starch, brown sugar, molasses, pork, etc.) This type of trigger is not like a "true" peanut allergy. It depends on how much I consume. My limit is 2000 micrograms sulfite a day. So a little is tolerable, to make things more confusing.
I'm not saying your problem is this. But it is easy and free to keep a journal and find out! There are lots more posts in the archives (search box at the top of the page). There are scientific papers online too. See the keywords I put in quotes at the top of this post.
Look up Valsalva maneuver!!!!! It could save your life. You bear down hard like having a bowel movement. The pressure on the heart can reset the rhythm. I did this for years trying to get the gas bubbles out, not knowing it was Valsalva or that I was stopping a heart arrhythmia.