Heart Issue that I cant seem to get an answer for.
Posted , 1 user is following.
Hi, I have used this site for reading before but never posted. But I am really struggling at the moment so I am trying to explore as many avenues as possible for answers. At the moment I am in a state of despair and feel like I could drop dead at any moment!
I am a 38yo male, not that fit (I am 86KG down from 115KG a year ago), and not very active as a programmer. I have suffered from heart palpitations for 10+ years, but cant find an answer to what is the cause. I have seen multiple cardiologists, but as I don't get symptoms when laying down, my symptoms don't get detected on the ECG's they do before an appointment. I have my own single lead ECG machine, which I have used to successfully capture the issue, but when I send this off to various online review services, they always just get treated as 'sinus arrhythmia', and then go on to explain how this is a result of vagal tone and breathing and a healthy heart. However for some reason, everyone seems to ignore me when I tell them this isn't to do with my breathing (it does not cycle with my breathing, and I have held my breath and got the same results). Although difficult to tell sometimes, the ECGs seem to show normal complexes and p waves, so I don't think this is to do with PVCs/PACs (which I have had before, but only occasionally, they feel different).
Now about the symptoms - when I am laying/sitting down I am generally fine. However when I stand up, my heart rate rises (as expected, and as an example it can rise from 60bmp to 90bpm), but then will suddenly drop back to 60bpm, which is when I feel the palpitation. My hr then increases again over about 10 to 20 seconds again to the faster rate, and then abruptly drops again. This can happen over and over. Just before the palpitations, I start to feel a tightness in my breath, like I am struggling to get enough air. After the palpitation, it feels normal again, but then the cycle starts again. When sitting programming my HR can go into the high 40's, but it doesn't stay there for very long.
This has left me with a fear to even move around. I have tried finding similar reports online, but perhaps I am just not searching using the right words because I just don't find anything. What generally tends to pop up is POTS, but my symptoms don't seem to match this correctly as POTS is apparently a sustained fast heart rate upon standing, i.e no sudden drops in the rate. I have noticed (but I am not sure if this is a red herring), that I can make a sudden drop in HR happen by rocking from leg to leg. It can also happen upon sitting back down.
Due to my lack of results from searching online, I don't expect to get any replies, but if anyone has had similar or knows what this could be, I would be very grateful of a reply. I have attached a couple of images of ECG's, one from my watch and another form my Kardia.
0 likes, 0 replies