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Heart beat feeling like it is pounding very hard...feeling and hearing each beat

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
I understand it could be pill side effect, heart condition, POTs....

In my case I have OI, but what the palpitations mean for me is that I am dehydrated. I don't mean drink water (that doesn't do it) I take One or 2 bottle of Pedyalite (electrolyte) and that does the trick.

I just started doing this when I'm laying out at the pool and I've been sweating a lot. I tried drinking watered down fruit juice but it's not working. Eating an orange works. I'll try an electrolyte drink. Or banana smoothie.

Tx .. x
 
Messages
32
I have been taking beta blocker propranolol 40mg twice a day for the last 6 months which has really helped lover the Hard pounding & shaking, but I ran out & did not take any for 3 days, now back on, the beta blockers seem to no longer work :(, heart is pounding so hard that is rocks me from side to side, heart rate is ok 70ish BPM. Shouldn't going back on Beta blockers stop this??? or have I caused more problems by missing 3 days?
 

Allyson

Senior Member
Messages
1,684
Location
Australia, Melbourne
soxfan,

Many of us have this symptom and/or similar symptoms. Don't be afraid. However, you do want to let your physician know, and possibly see a cardiologist. It may be something called POTS . I will post a link to an article later this evening for you...and others here will have many suggestions for you.

Are you taking CoQ10 and LevoCarnitine? They are helpful for the heart muscle.

Marian
yes try taking magnesium - that help my palpitations

the test for POTs is a TTT - tilt table test
Good luck

Ally
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
I don't know how I missed this thread before but after reading it, it seems like the vast majority of us on the board either have or had some kind of heart problem.

Is this one of the standard criteria for CFS b/c if it's not, it seems like it should be?!!!
 

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I take magnesium....but still can feel every beat. Sometimes it's not like it is beáting hard but I am very aware of it beating....I try to focus on breathing to get my mind off but that only helps a short while and then it is right back to the feeling....
 
Messages
1
Just registered for this thread.... same symptoms here, plus some.

Heavy-hitting heart beat. It's usually the best when I wake up, and gets progressively worse throughout the day. It sometimes gets very bad 30 minutes after eating. It isn't really noticeable when I'm on my feet and moving around, but is definitely noticeable when sitting, and most noticeable when lying. Sometime it beats so hard, I feel like the muscles around my heart (or my heart itself, not sure) get fatigued. It's exhausting and impossible to ever relax.

My GP thought it was anxiety so put my on Buproprion (wellbutrin) in March but it has made no difference so I am weaning off of it.

Cardiologist cleared me in January after xray, stress test, several ekg's, and a wearable monitor. He referred me to a GI. I finally went a month ago and did an EDG (camera down throat) and they found significant erosions in my stomach and upper intestine. I'm on a PPI now, but the pounding continues.

Here is a bit of interesting info that might be of use though....
Back in October of 2013, I was lying in bed reading. At this point, the pounding wasn't severe and I didn't even think about it. Until that night, when I thought my heart stopped. I couldn't feel or hear it anymore, and the book that I had on my chest stopped bouncing up and down. I thought I was done for. This happened twice that evening, but each time the beating feeling returned. Gave me a good scare.

The same thing happened a few weeks ago. Lying in bed, trying to sleep, and all the sudden, within one beat, the pounding stops. Again, I thought my heart had stopped and it was all over. After a few seconds of still being alive, I realized my heart was still beating, but normally as it should. I couldn't hear it, and I could just barely sense it. Nothing like the pounding that I've been enduring over the past months. And I felt my head clear, and I instantly became 'energized'. Like I had been living in a fog for months. I felt normal again.

But the pounding slowly and gradually came back over the next few days.

It seems to get worse 30 minutes after eating... although I haven't been able to correlate what I eat with severity. And it doesn't always get as bad. At this point, I think it's either Gastritis, a food allergy, or an anxiety disorder, even though I'm not an anxious person.

I've been having other symptoms, but I don't know what's related and what isn't:

Fatigue (occasional)
Shakiness (occasional)
Peripheral vision feeling weak in left eye (daily, going to eye doctor this week)
Chest pains (particularly in two small areas on each side of my breastbone)
Minor Back pains/tightness (behind my heart)
Ringing in ears (worse than normal)
Sinus pressure
Dizziness
Pressure on my chest (usually only lasts 10 or 20 seconds)
Nausea & general ill feeling (daily)
Brief feeling of Breathlessness (only happens when driving, possibly posture related)
More stomach gas than normal

I've bookmarked this page and will post if I figure out anything.
 

JT1024

Senior Member
Messages
582
Location
Massachusetts
I've been having palpitations and even chest pain for a few years now.

This thread reminded me to schedule a stress test. I've waited far too long.
 

zzz

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Oregon
Chest pain should always be checked out by your doctor. But if your heart checks out OK, you might want to consider the following, which I think applies to many people in this thread.

As @adreno noted, magnesium can be very helpful for these problems; I've had many of them myself. However, for many people, including me, supplements cannot provide enough magnesium to solve the problem. (Much of oral magnesium just goes right through you, though some forms are absorbed much better than others.) This is why many CFS doctors recommend magnesium injections for their patients. My doctor would never do such a thing, so I followed Dr. Sarah Myhill's advice and started using nebulized magnesium on a daily basis. I had an immediate improvement, though it took four months for all my heart symptoms to go away. There were many other benefits as well; for example, my asthma, which I've had for over 50 years, disappeared completely, and I've been able to stop all my asthma medications.
 
Messages
1
Just registered for this thread.... same symptoms here, plus some.

Heavy-hitting heart beat. It's usually the best when I wake up, and gets progressively worse throughout the day. It sometimes gets very bad 30 minutes after eating. It isn't really noticeable when I'm on my feet and moving around, but is definitely noticeable when sitting, and most noticeable when lying. Sometime it beats so hard, I feel like the muscles around my heart (or my heart itself, not sure) get fatigued. It's exhausting and impossible to ever relax.

My GP thought it was anxiety so put my on Buproprion (wellbutrin) in March but it has made no difference so I am weaning off of it.

Cardiologist cleared me in January after xray, stress test, several ekg's, and a wearable monitor. He referred me to a GI. I finally went a month ago and did an EDG (camera down throat) and they found significant erosions in my stomach and upper intestine. I'm on a PPI now, but the pounding continues.

Here is a bit of interesting info that might be of use though....
Back in October of 2013, I was lying in bed reading. At this point, the pounding wasn't severe and I didn't even think about it. Until that night, when I thought my heart stopped. I couldn't feel or hear it anymore, and the book that I had on my chest stopped bouncing up and down. I thought I was done for. This happened twice that evening, but each time the beating feeling returned. Gave me a good scare.

The same thing happened a few weeks ago. Lying in bed, trying to sleep, and all the sudden, within one beat, the pounding stops. Again, I thought my heart had stopped and it was all over. After a few seconds of still being alive, I realized my heart was still beating, but normally as it should. I couldn't hear it, and I could just barely sense it. Nothing like the pounding that I've been enduring over the past months. And I felt my head clear, and I instantly became 'energized'. Like I had been living in a fog for months. I felt normal again.

But the pounding slowly and gradually came back over the next few days.

It seems to get worse 30 minutes after eating... although I haven't been able to correlate what I eat with severity. And it doesn't always get as bad. At this point, I think it's either Gastritis, a food allergy, or an anxiety disorder, even though I'm not an anxious person.

I've been having other symptoms, but I don't know what's related and what isn't:

Fatigue (occasional)
Shakiness (occasional)
Peripheral vision feeling weak in left eye (daily, going to eye doctor this week)
Chest pains (particularly in two small areas on each side of my breastbone)
Minor Back pains/tightness (behind my heart)
Ringing in ears (worse than normal)
Sinus pressure
Dizziness
Pressure on my chest (usually only lasts 10 or 20 seconds)
Nausea & general ill feeling (daily)
Brief feeling of Breathlessness (only happens when driving, possibly posture related)
More stomach gas than normal

I've bookmarked this page and will post if I figure out anything.
WOW I have literally had the exact same experiences. The only way I can get it to stop is to do cardio EVERYDAY. I normally ride my bike to work everyday. I'm currently on vacation and in only a few days it got bad enough that I only got 3 hours of sleep last night. I couldn't take anymore so I took this Gaia DailyWellness Stress Response supplement and a potent multi V and I passed out in 20 mins. Placebo effect? Maybe. Either way if Any of you figure out what this is please post. Tired of it. So tired. Try the cardio though peeps
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
I wanted to talk about my experience with this which is very worrying at the moment. I wake up frequently throughout the night with my heart pounding fast, but also it seems to happen as I try to fall asleep also and then wakes me up. It only happens when I am laying down. mY pulse is raised t the time - going really fast. My GP thought it was a side effect of an abx, but I have had this before. IT is not palpitations, or skipped beats - I have that also, but actual faster pounding which I can feel and hear in my head, once I am awake it stops, only to start againa s I begin to lose consciousness and falla sleep.
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
I wanted to talk about my experience with this which is very worrying at the moment. I wake up frequently throughout the night with my heart pounding fast, but also it seems to happen as I try to fall asleep also and then wakes me up. It only happens when I am laying down. mY pulse is raised t the time - going really fast. My GP thought it was a side effect of an abx, but I have had this before. IT is not palpitations, or skipped beats - I have that also, but actual faster pounding which I can feel and hear in my head, once I am awake it stops, only to start againa s I begin to lose consciousness and falla sleep.

I don't know if you have seen this thread, @justy. It may be relevant to your problem.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
I wanted to talk about my experience with this which is very worrying at the moment. I wake up frequently throughout the night with my heart pounding fast, but also it seems to happen as I try to fall asleep also and then wakes me up. It only happens when I am laying down. mY pulse is raised t the time - going really fast. My GP thought it was a side effect of an abx, but I have had this before. IT is not palpitations, or skipped beats - I have that also, but actual faster pounding which I can feel and hear in my head, once I am awake it stops, only to start againa s I begin to lose consciousness and falla sleep.

Have you had a sleep study to check for sleep apnea?

http://fallingasleep.net/sleep-disorders/apnea

Apneic episodes cause a patient's blood oxygen to drop as the carbon dioxide found in the blood rises. The heart rate increases, and the stops and starts in breathing disrupt sleep. Deep sleep is interrupted and light sleep ensues, or the patient wakes up in order to breathe and then must begin the sleep process again.

Sleep apnea increases not only the heart rate (to compensate for hypoxemia) but also the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), cardiac arrhythmia or arrest, congestive heart failure, and stroke. That risk of cardiovascular problems is especially high for patients who have coronary artery disease.
 
Messages
426
Location
southeast asia
Ive been googling so much about the hard beating heart. mine is like punching in everybeat/exploding which could go for hour/all day. I even move around, punch it back from outside try to beat/overcome it and distract the feeling but lose.

Let alone its not so fast but hell when its also fast.

Doctor didnt explain anything.

Tachycardia is the fast HR but many people dont feel it/its not beating hard.
I also experience there are times when its only fast but i dont really feel it/not punching. It is different than the hard beating/punching though its not fast.

What i still dont understand. HR controls by electrical system but the hard beating i think is the contraction?

Of course it troubling for cfs cause it got to do with ATP, metabolic , neuromuscular system.

Unsolved mystery/puzzle to me. I think stroke volume, small heart, hypercoagulation correlated to it?
 

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
Unsolved mystery/puzzle to me. I think stroke volume, small heart, hypercoagulation correlated to it?
I think autonomic dysfunction is the common cause for most of us with ME. It's of course good to see a cardiologist if you're having these symptoms just to be safe.
 
Messages
3
I have been experiencing these same symptoms (as soxfan) for about 13 years now. I believe what you are experiencing are either PAC's (Premature Atrial Contractions), or PVC's (Premature Ventricular Contractions). The parts of the heart (Atrium and Ventricle) beat out of their normal order, causing the sensation of a HARD beat (not fast).

I have noticed that the discussions in this thread are referring to two different conditions. Some people are talking about Tachycardia, POTS, heart racing, etc., which cause the heart rate to elevate to a scary level. Others, like Soxfan and Kisekishiawase, are talking about heart pounding (as in beating really intensely, but not fast), which is what I experience. This is where a person can feel the heart pulsating all the way down to the fingers, and you can actually see your chest thumping/bouncing. It feels like it's going to burst out of your chest at any moment. All the while, your heart rate is still generally at 70-80 bpm. I just wanted to clarify the difference.

One day back in about 2002, I was at the gym working out on the rowing machine, all of a sudden my heart started going berserk! I thought I was going to have a heart attack or something! I began having these sorts of episodes about once a month at first. After a few months, it was about once a week. Within a year, I was having them daily. I had gone to the doctor a few times to discuss it, and they did a stress test EKG on me. Found nothing too out of the ordinary, just an occasional PAC. Around the time I began having them daily, they put a Holter monitor on me. They discovered that 30% of ALL my heartbeats were PAC's!

Today, it is almost constant 24/7. It is less noticeable when I am standing or sitting, but still there. When I lay down it's much worse. And when I lay on my left side it's intolerable. Right side is a little better. Laying on my back seems best. In the morning, they are more gentle, over the course of the day, they get stronger. The closer to bedtime I eat, the worse they are.

It is extremely worrisome, and stressful. And like many of the posters here, I was having, and still have trouble sleeping. Over the years, I've been able to experiment, and identify some things that help me (or don't help).

I don't have high blood pressure, I am not overweight, and my heart rate is normal.

I have hypo thyroidism, and take Levothyroxine, 125 mcg. I wondered if that was contributing to my heart pounding, so a year ago, I stopped taking them for about 2-3 months. That didn't help the heart pounding though, and made me feel lethargic and sick, so I resumed taking the thyroid meds.

I've taken multi vitamins, and Vitamin C. They didn't help.

I've tried drinking tons of water. That helped with other issues, but not my heart.

I bought a RESPeRATE device, that sort of uses bio feedback to lower heart rate/BP. With that I learned that with deep breathing exercises I could diminish the heart pounding to a level that would allow me to relax and fall asleep. After awhile, I didn't need the device anymore to do it. The device didn't solve my problem, but it gave me a tool I could use to manage the cycle of stress/heart pounding/more stress/more heart pounding, etc.

I also did an exclusionary diet, where I cut out all caffeine, soda pop, alcohol, nicotine, junk food, sugar, meat, etc., then gradually reintroduced things back in. I found that by cutting all that out of my diet, the heart pounding almost completely stopped!

The biggest contributing factors ended up being sugar, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol, in that order. The biggest problem is sugar. There is sugar added to almost everything we eat or drink. It's in places we don't expect, like ketchup, salad dressings, mayonnaise, most sauces (including spaghetti sauce), most fast food has sugar sneaking into burgers, burritos and tacos, bread, buns, and the list goes on. I try to buy things that have reduced or no sugar, which means reading a lot of nutritional information labels. I still allow myself to eat a piece of cake or pie or some ice cream once or twice a week, but I pay the price when I lay down to go to sleep (definitely will have some heart pounding going on).

Now I only drink decaf coffee, and I have quit smoking, rarely drink soda pop .

As far as alcohol, I have noticed that even though a couple glasses of wine helps me relax and reduces the heart pounding in the short term, after a couple hours the pounding is worse than it was before I drank the wine. I still drink, but try to limit it to weekends.

I've also learned, like one poster said, that if I exercise (in my case jogging) at least every two days, it also helps reduce the pounding sensation at night.

Overall, I've learned that I can have some control over the symptoms, and if I'm really diligent, I can almost eliminate the pounding.

Hopefully, these observations can be of help to some of the people who are suffering from this debilitating problem.
 

syb

Messages
1
my heart beat is so fast and clearly i felt when i fall asleep in afternoon and night.i'm not feel it when i normally working.please what i do?It's trouble for sleep.Please say what I do?It's any serious?
 

SJL

Messages
11
my heart beat is so fast and clearly i felt when i fall asleep in afternoon and night.i'm not feel it when i normally working.please what i do?It's trouble for sleep.Please say what I do?It's any serious?

See a doctor first.

At least get an ECG done before asking for help, it's very difficult for us to suggest anything until we know.
 
Messages
14
Just registered for this thread.... same symptoms here, plus some.

Heavy-hitting heart beat. It's usually the best when I wake up, and gets progressively worse throughout the day. It sometimes gets very bad 30 minutes after eating. It isn't really noticeable when I'm on my feet and moving around, but is definitely noticeable when sitting, and most noticeable when lying. Sometime it beats so hard, I feel like the muscles around my heart (or my heart itself, not sure) get fatigued. It's exhausting and impossible to ever relax.

My GP thought it was anxiety so put my on Buproprion (wellbutrin) in March but it has made no difference so I am weaning off of it.

Cardiologist cleared me in January after xray, stress test, several ekg's, and a wearable monitor. He referred me to a GI. I finally went a month ago and did an EDG (camera down throat) and they found significant erosions in my stomach and upper intestine. I'm on a PPI now, but the pounding continues.

Here is a bit of interesting info that might be of use though....
Back in October of 2013, I was lying in bed reading. At this point, the pounding wasn't severe and I didn't even think about it. Until that night, when I thought my heart stopped. I couldn't feel or hear it anymore, and the book that I had on my chest stopped bouncing up and down. I thought I was done for. This happened twice that evening, but each time the beating feeling returned. Gave me a good scare.

The same thing happened a few weeks ago. Lying in bed, trying to sleep, and all the sudden, within one beat, the pounding stops. Again, I thought my heart had stopped and it was all over. After a few seconds of still being alive, I realized my heart was still beating, but normally as it should. I couldn't hear it, and I could just barely sense it. Nothing like the pounding that I've been enduring over the past months. And I felt my head clear, and I instantly became 'energized'. Like I had been living in a fog for months. I felt normal again.

But the pounding slowly and gradually came back over the next few days.

It seems to get worse 30 minutes after eating... although I haven't been able to correlate what I eat with severity. And it doesn't always get as bad. At this point, I think it's either Gastritis, a food allergy, or an anxiety disorder, even though I'm not an anxious person.

I've been having other symptoms, but I don't know what's related and what isn't:

Fatigue (occasional)
Shakiness (occasional)
Peripheral vision feeling weak in left eye (daily, going to eye doctor this week)
Chest pains (particularly in two small areas on each side of my breastbone)
Minor Back pains/tightness (behind my heart)
Ringing in ears (worse than normal)
Sinus pressure
Dizziness
Pressure on my chest (usually only lasts 10 or 20 seconds)
Nausea & general ill feeling (daily)
Brief feeling of Breathlessness (only happens when driving, possibly posture related)
More stomach gas than normal

I've bookmarked this page and will post if I figure out anything.


I have pretty much the same symptoms myself. Very similar.

I went to a cardiologist after experiencing ectopic heartbeats. It felt like I was missing beats but actually had extra.

Since then I go through stages of these ectopic beats along with my heart pounding really hard. It's best standing and worse lying down. I get mild pain in my back and breastbone and also feel as if my heart is exhausted. It usually comes with an increased heart rate of 10 - 20 bpm though not always. I can often feel sick with it and all my organs feel slightly tender.

I've had an ECG, 24 hour heart rate monitor and exercise tests. They all came back normal. I do find deep breathing helps mildly, but it takes an awfully long time. Exercise can also help if I raise my heart rate.

I would ask the men on this forum, do any of you find these symptoms are exacerbated by sex? I find this to set my symptoms off if they have been absent for a while or to make them much worse if they are already there.