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Heart flutterings, flip-flop feelings???

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Posted 2/20/2007 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone. I was just wondering if any of you experience what I call a 'flip-flop, fluttering' feeling in your chest?? As if your heart is beating irregular? I get those off and on all the time..sometimes it comes and goes all day long. Then sometimes, I will not have those for days. It is NOT a racing heart feeling, but more of a irregular beat. Now I have experienced these for years( about 12), and way back when I first got them I did have a heart sonogram done( checked for Mitro Valve Prolapse), and a stress test done. I have had EKGs and Trig, choles, all that kind of blood work done and it doesnt show any evidence of any clogs anywhere. But I was wondering, the heart tests I had done years ago...could some thing abnormal about my heart have developed over the years and should I go and get the tests again?? What I am REALLY WORRIED about is having an Arrythmia..or some kind of heart disorder. I told my dr about 3 weeks ago that I was getting these flutterings, he said those are more related to anxiety and stress than they are a heart problem, but you know how drs. are ...most dont take us seriously. I just dont know what to do. sad Does anyone else get these 'flutterings'???

Thanks all, and God bless!

Dawn

Posted 2/20/2007 7:56 PM (GMT 0)

many anxiety sufferers have your problem

accept docs assurances and ignore your heart, dont listen in or monitor it

Posted 2/20/2007 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
I've had these all my life since about age 12 (I'm now 59)  I've had every test known to man and they find nothing.  Sometimes these flutterings go away for years, then come back for months on end with no let up.  Sometimes they feel like my heart is skipping a beat, sometimes I get a real uneven heartbeat that lasts only a couple of seconds and sometimes my heart just races.  I've finally learned not to dwell and worry about these things because it's been going on so long and I've had all the tests so I recommend you do the same.  It's very uncomfortable feeling at times when you have them, I know, but as far as being anything dangerous, I truly doubt it.  Good luck!

Posted 2/20/2007 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
^ Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your experience. I just didnt know if anxiety could cause these to last off and on all day. It is like you said though, I can go for months and months and not get them at all( or very rarely) then out of the blue they will be back off and on for months. I will try to relax about them and not give them so much thought! Thank you again and God bless!

Dawn

Posted 2/20/2007 9:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Dawn,

I get this quite a lot but I get it with a racing heart too and its not a nice feeling. I feel as though my heart is fluttering. I know its anxiety as I had an ECG and that was fine. Its strange that anxiety can cause so many physical symptoms.
Posted 2/20/2007 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
I have also experienced this, and like victoria i sometimes get them with a racing heart - it sure is an awful feeling, its like your body is going haywire! anyways, my docs ran several tests a couple years ago to pinpoint what was causing it, and although the root cause is definitly anxiety, the functional cause is just a premature ventricular contraction (PVC). If it continues to bother you, sometimes its just nice for peace of mind to get a test done and have a doc say its nothing harmful :) I can usually calm mine down with a klonopin under my tongue when they're really bad.
Posted 2/21/2007 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
Dawn I get that too. Mine feels like a butterfly feeling. Messed up right?? Im not sure when they stop, Or if they ever do. But I do know it is normal for people with psnic disorder and anxiety disorder to have this feeling. Does this help? I can send you some informstion if you'd like me to.
Feel better,
Jess

Jess I edited your email as this opens you up to spammer and such but if you like you can open your email address from your profile as only member can access from there and it will show in your post to the left  Thank you and wecome to HW

Post Edited By Moderator (freezinginAK) : 2/20/2007 10:25:57 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/21/2007 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
Mine are butterflies too. If your doc is comfortable with the test results I'd chalk it up to anxiety.

Karen
Posted 2/21/2007 5:18 AM (GMT 0)

  I to get these feelings kind of like my heart stops then it kick back in kind of frecks me out at times and stops me in my tracks with the fluttering like that and I too have had all the tests for it just anouther check mark for this anxiety disorder

   JessicaSimmon------------Wecome to HW here you will find all kinds of help and support and learning  how to deal with your anxiety as this is just like one big family here to help us all understand it better

  Coyboy up

Posted 2/21/2007 5:35 AM (GMT 0)
I would lean towards the PVC answer. That may be because I was FINALLY diagnosed with them after years of doctors not knowing what was happening (I got "lucky" and received a strong electric shock that caused me to "flutter" for several hours on end so it was able to be logged by a heart monitor). The thing is that they can't "see" the PVC unless it's happening when you're hooked up to a monitor. The main factors that aggrivate PVC's are: stress, smoking, fatigue and caffiene intake.

I personally find that mine are worse if I cut back on the caffiene for some reason. In any case, the feeling that your heart is skipping a beat is exactly what's happening with a PVC. The heart gets out of sync with it's natural rhythm so it stops itself and starts again to regain that rhythm. It's typically a harmless occurance. The annoyances come when you get dozens of them in succession because you get weak and short of breath and also when you get the really "strong" ones that feel like a kick in the chest.

If they become bothersome or painful you may want to go to a cardiologist and ask for a beta blocker. They are used to treat PVC's.

One of my favorite quotes from the TV show The Simpsons is one where Barney, the town drunk is guzzling beer straight from the tap and he twitches and says "Oh! My heart stopped........Oh! There it goes" ;-)

Post Edited (EagleSong3) : 2/20/2007 10:38:52 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/21/2007 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi EagleSong3 and wecome to HW

That dose sould like something to look into as all my tests I never had it happen at the time of testing good input on that thanks

Cowboy up
Posted 2/21/2007 7:21 AM (GMT 0)
I have only experienced this two or three times, but now that I've read this thread I'll probably have it all the time. Haha. That's the nature of anxiety problems. I think we just become acutely aware of our bodies which leads us to notice things that are normal, then we blow things out of proportion. Or at least I do. An elevated or crazy heartbeat would be expected in an anxiety situation.
Posted 2/21/2007 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Dawn (and others!)

I'm really glad to see other people have experienced this and proved it to be anxiety. I get this sensation occasionally and although I've only experienced anxiety in the past couple of months I have (occasionally) had the heart flutter for years. I am a non smoking, near t-total 23 year old and I used to be in a very high state of fitness (moved to surburbia now so I've put on a few pounds!! but hardly unfit now either) I've had several blood pressure checks recently and I had a routine ECG about 18 months as part of a work medical. All came back completely clear.

Obviously I'm not a doctor, but I'd say the fact that other people have experienced exactly the same thing and investigated the issue much more deeply (without any physical problems turning up) means it's almost certainly a product of the anxiety. Obviously the best way to tell is to speak to a doctor, but if one has ok'd you I'd say that backs up the 'evidence' on the forum nicely. I'm very pleased to hear it as this also disproves a nagging doubt I had about my health.
Posted 2/21/2007 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
My doc told me I had "benign" PVC's. Never caught the things on a monitor.. just passed them off. Had the heart tests.. hearts fine.. body/brain another story. Mine sound nothing at all like what ya'll are describing though. Mine are like a hiccup in my chest.. that's it. Just once, it doesn't repeat over and over. Someone told me it's gas, I think I like that idea better.

What scares me, is when my fibromyalgia flares up, or I have more than normal pain.. I can feel my heart beating. It's not racing per say, nor is it pounding. I can just feel every beat. It's fairly off-putting when your anxiety is already high. I'm laying it off on chest muscle tightness though, for now. Since no one has ever given me another reason... except to ignore it and it won't hurt me. (3am, in agony, anxiety rampaging... and feeling every single beat.......... waiting for a "glitch"... sure seems like mental pain to me!!!)
Posted 2/21/2007 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your replies! I appreciate the support. :)
Posted 2/21/2007 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
I have them too. This is such a helpful forum with great people. It's so nice that we can share with each other.

You will be in my prayers. God bless!
Posted 3/8/2007 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone just get the 'flutterings?' and not necessarily the racing heart beat? I just get the flip-flop, fluttering feeling most of the time. I am talking usually at least 3-4 times a day. I mentioned this to my dr. and although he didnt do any tests recently, he told me that flutterings are most related to anxiety and stress. They are sooo scarey. I am afraid I have a heart condition. Sometimes I will ONLY have this symptom and then other times it will go away completely and I will have something else( tightness in chest, dizzy,....etc.). Usually when I get this fluttering I have no other anxiety symptoms present. I just panic that I am going to die. I have had these flutterings for years, but just recently( since July) they have been happening more frequently. I have heard though..that anything life threatening( dizziness, flutterings..etc) would most likely not last for months and months and months( and turn out to be anything serious). In other words, I would probably be dead by now if it was a heart related problem. Just looking for some reassurance.

I was wondering as well...can just THINKING constantly about getting these actually bring them on??? Like...maybe I am making them last longer and get worse because I dwell on them too much? If I ignore them...maybe they wont happen as often?

In His Grip

Dawn
Posted 3/8/2007 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
I get them too and they are scary. God bless you. I think you're fine.
Posted 3/8/2007 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
hi. Im sorry that you are having problems. I have some of the same problems. If you have had test ran before more than likely nothing is wrong. If you do not take anything for anxiety than maybe you should consider talking to your doctor.



ponce28
Posted 3/9/2007 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone. I was wondering if someone could tell me how those EKG( ECG) tests work? Can drs. detect a life threatening arrythmia from those? I had one done over the Summer( in AUG) because at the time I had a very rapid heartbeat( about 130) so I thought I was having a heart attack and called the paramedics. Now at the time I did NOT have the flutterings that I usually get...but rather, like I said, a very rapid heartbeat. They told me( in a round about way, because they are not allowed to say for sure) that I was having a panic attack. They did an EKG and said that there was nothing that jumped out at them as being wrong or suspect. They checked my bp and pulse and said that what happened was highly indicative of a panic attack. Now, what I want to know is...that EKG, if I had a heart problem, wouldnt it have shown up that night when they did that test??? Thanks!


Dawn
Posted 3/9/2007 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
That's a frustrating thing going into the ER with what you think is a heart attack (what do we know except that it's not right -we're not medical experts) and you either get no useful information or an ativan to relax. Yes a EKG can show a heart problem but it does have to be happening at the time of the reading to be caught.

Chalk me up on the heart fluttering board. Since I was 12 also remarkably! I am 44 now and have been a bit of an athelete and worked in a high stress and often heavy carrying job if you can believe that from a Saturday morning cartoon factory.
And checked for mitral valve prolapse-turns out pvc/ pacs and disrythmia as opposed to arrythmia so everything is cool with me in the heart department but it still freaks me out when the episodes happen strong and long--don't think I'll ever really get over it but I have to live with it.
Posted 3/10/2007 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
I get the flutterings every so often too - usually out of the blue. Feel like there's a butterfly in my chest!

Karen
Posted 3/10/2007 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
I've also had frequent heart palpitations related to A/P. I grew used to them so I never considered that they might be something serious (I'm 22). My aunt (mid-40s) started experiencing panic attacks/flutters for the first time recently and she immediately feared the worst. My entire family were on tenterhooks when she went from cardiologist to cardiologist getting tests done...and the whole time I was the only one telling them it was nothing serious because I've experienced the same symptoms since I was 7! All test results came back negative...so now I have the comfort of knowing there's a another A/P sufferer in the family (I really suspect there's a a genetic link since my grandfather also has abnormal obsessive thoughts and hypochondria).
Posted 3/10/2007 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Sometimes just thinking about what your heart is doing, how fast it is beating etc can cause palpitations and ectopic beats. The more we think about it and feel anxious, the more we notice how we are feeling.
Sometimes I can be feeling fine and then think about having palpitations, and then I get them. The mind is a funny thing and stress, anxiety and worry can bring on so many physical symptoms.
I suggest that if anyone is really worried about thier heart, they ask a doctor for an ECG which can rule out any major heart condition. Im sure that the ECG would be normal, but it would put your mind at rest so therfore help with the anxiety.

Take care.
Posted 3/12/2007 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
I, too, have had them off and on for years. Should have known 30 years ago that I was anxious! Now when I begin having them I cough about ten times in a row and that helps. I know that sounds goofy but it works!
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