Does anyone have any ideas of what is wrong?

Posted , 3 users are following.

I woke in the middle of the night around 2 weeks ago and felt as if my heart was not pumping correctly to provide my body with enough oxygen (despite feeling like it was beating with a strong pulse), and my face went tingly...I sat up and woke my partner, but within a minute of sitting on the edge of the bed, I passed out. I came too with sharp pain in my left abdomen and fever like symptoms (white as a sheet, sweating, shaky). The paramedic put me on an ECG, but nothing was found, abdominal pain didn't seem to be a concern to them. Since then, this has happened a few more times, but i have managed to stay flat and breath deeply for 10 minutes which seems to get rid of it without passing out again. I have a friend who works in cardiology, so i had a monitor on for 5 days where they found nocturnal bradycardia, sinus arrythmia and a few paced beats, but on the whole, nothing too concrete. I have had an Echogram done also, where the doctor assured me i have a strong, healthy heart and everything is in order.

I have been taking my blood pressure over the time also, and now need to perform a tilt test as the next step in working out what the issue is...My blood pressure average has been around 140 over 60 with a heart rate of 42 (much lower than my normal resting rate). I am concerned as i have not felt right for a few weeks now... Could this be a virus, panic attacks, or something more serious? I am 26, fit and healthy, eat pretty well, don't drink abnormal amounts....Is there anything else i need to look into for a possible cause rather than just my heart? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated....

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    You still have some tests to undergo to diagnose what is wrong, the, the nocturnal bradycardia, may be the cause of your symptoms. Try not to get too anxious and think the worst as the ecg & echo have shown that the heart is in good working order, it may be an electrical heart abnormality that may not be bad enough to treat, but will be monitored or may be treated with tablets, defibrilator or pacemaker which are all routine. I know it is hard when you don't know whats wrong, but worrying won't help.

    hope you are diagnosed soon.

  • Posted

    I agree completely with Trikki Nikki, you must get some other tests done to ensure yourself that your heart is in healthy condition. Don't stress out too much so as to avoid any problems. Get well soon. smile
  • Posted

    Rest assured it anything was greatly amiss with heart your tests would have shown it up.

    One thought that occurs to me is a vagus nerve disorder (Google it) it can cause stomach pain by blood being diverted to the stomach, hypertension and heart rate slowing and passing out.

    You may wait a long time for a tilt table test. My wife has been waiting since mid December.

  • Posted

    What is exactly the tilt table test? Why a person has to wait so long for this?
  • Posted

    GP told my wife that the tilt table test will not be carried out at local hospital but subcontracted to a clinic that specialises in cardiology testing.

    Mostly tests seem to have long waiting times because hospitals technician and doctors are stretched to the limit leaving equipment underused. When I needed a stress echo cardiogram three years ago at local hospital I waited seventeen weeks before getting a cancellation. It turned out that they only did four a week with the equipment only being used for about six hours a week.

    The head-up tilt table test is a way to find the cause of fainting spells. The test involves lying quietly on a bed and being tilted at different angles (30 to 60 degrees) for a period of time while various machines monitor your blood pressure, electrical impulses in your heart, and your oxygen level.

    The head-up tilt table test is performed in a special room called the EP (electrophysiology) lab.

  • Posted

    This seems to be very tough. It's hard to wait for so long to get tested. Is there any alternative to it? What can be done in case of emergency?
  • Posted

    You could Google 'alternatives to tilt test'

    Several articles and videos will come up.

    Do you get the abdominal pain at other times without passing out?

    Some years ago my wife had a late night similar incident to you without passing out. I dialled 999 and we were invaded by paramedics (about 10) they did an ecg that was OK. And took her to hospital. One of the paramedics said that when he had a similar pain it was from a duodenal ulcer. I said that it had been similar pain when I had one.

    The deemed it to of cardiac origin, gave her blood thinners and tests, X-Rays and scans but found nothing. Kept in hospital overnight with my wife insisting it wasn't chest but stomach pain. She was discharged the next evening being told that a reason is never found for chest pain 50% of the time. We again insisted that it was abdominal pain without getting anywhere.

    After the weekend she went to her GP. He poked her in the lower abdomen, she yelped and he said 'duodenal ulcer' She had an endoscopy that found the duodenal ulcer. They also found about 60 small gastric ulcers that had been caused by painkillers and anti inflammatories the hospital had given her a few weeks before for gout.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.