• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Heart Pounding

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
There is one symptom that is really bothering me more than usual for the last month. I get these heart pounding with skipped beats.

I can be sitting down and then upon moving slightly on the sofa my heart rate increases by 20 beats a minute and more troublesome is that my heart pounds pretty uncomfortably in my chest and every 5 or 10 beats it missed a beat and then gives a great big thud with a strange sensation in middle of the chest.

This can last for up to an hour or so and can reappear later in the day. This tends to happen during periods where I dont feel so good as this week I have been sofa/bed bound.

Also when standing up or walking get some pretty heavy thuds quite often.

Does anyone else get this, any idea what this is due to? Could it be lack of energy to the heart?
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
xlynx--

Unfortunately I know exactly how you feel.

I just went through several days of atrial fibrilation caused by heavy metal detoxification. DAMN I hate that! :eek::eek::Retro mad:
It's scary and creepy to have your heart go into arrhythmia.

What helped me get on top of it was MAGNESIUM. Which is a hard thing to get enough of, as we tend to absorb only about 20% of what's in a magnesium supplement pill. I also had to use magnesium oil, slathered on is huge amounts all over my body. The brand I have is sticky and itchy, so not very comfortable. But I just ordered the Sun Food brand, which I hear is much better.

Also getting enough potassium is important too. I get mine by drinking Emergen-C Lite.

I would look into taking the magnesium (in one form or another) and see if it may help you. Other than that there are probably drugs to control it. Which is something I veer away from.

Here's the link for the Sun Food magnesium oil. Very EXPENSIVE, I know!!!
http://www.sunfood.com/buy/1/1/Magnesium-Oil-4-oz-spray-bottle-1575.aspx
 

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
Hey Dreambirdie thank you for the tips, this has got to scare me the most out of all of them.

How much magnesium do you take orally? I am taking 300mgs at the moment and using 4 sprays of magnesium chloride which I should probably increase! My brand is also sticky and itchy so thanks for bringing up now foods am going to try that. :Retro smile:

Jerry
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
Hey Dreambirdie thank you for the tips, this has got to scare me the most out of all of them.

How much magnesium do you take orally? I am taking 300mgs at the moment and using 4 sprays of magnesium chloride which I should probably increase! My brand is also sticky and itchy so thanks for bringing up now foods am going to try that. :Retro smile:

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

Like Dreambirdie, I am a huge magnesium cheerleader. The stuff has basically changed my life. My heart palpitations have completely disappeared as has almost all of my insomnia and nasty leg pain. I am currently taking 400 mg of Douglas Labs magnesium glycinate at bedtime. I also use the magnesium oil and have it ordered it from both the Ancient Minerals site and a site called Global Light. It is expensive, I usually use it in the bath rather than spray it directly on my skin.

MANY things will have an impact on magnesium absorption. If you are taking calcium you might want to consider taking it at a different time. You need magnesium to absorb calcium, but too much calcium can prevent magnesium absorption. It is also best to take magnesium away from meals.

I was happy that when I saw my PCP recently that he was all for me getting the EXAtest to check for mineral balance. He said that he might use it for some of his other patients, too. I ordered the test kit to be sent to my doc and it was mailed to him on Monday. I am hoping that he will have the kit by Friday or the Monday following that. When I talked to the company they said that Medicare covers it so that is a great thing for me. I don't know if it is possible to get that test in the UK. If you ever decide that you want to be tested, don't let them talk you into a serium (blood) magnesium test if someone suggests it. It doesn't make any sense to test for magnesium in a regular blood test since only 1% of your magnesium is in the blood.

Good Luck,

Maxine
 

kat0465

Senior Member
Messages
230
Location
Texas
welcome to the wonderful world of werd heart symptoms! have all of that and then some, Yes it is the most frightning of all my symptoms. and it usually is worse when im really feeling ill.
i know i have a thickeniing Mitral valve,but i think theres more going on.
May i ask what kind ofMagnesium that you take? theres so many different kind im stumped.and i noticed that swanson sells a himalayan Mag oil, iwas thinking aout trying that.they also say Hawthorn is good for certain heart problems, but to be careful talking it and know what is wrong withy our heart.

Like the Docs have a clue whats wrong! i think alll those viruses were carrying around hurt our hearts.
Kat
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
welcome to the wonderful world of werd heart symptoms! have all of that and then some, Yes it is the most frightning of all my symptoms. and it usually is worse when im really feeling ill.
i know i have a thickeniing Mitral valve,but i think theres more going on.
May i ask what kind ofMagnesium that you take? theres so many different kind im stumped.and i noticed that swanson sells a himalayan Mag oil, iwas thinking aout trying that.they also say Hawthorn is good for certain heart problems, but to be careful talking it and know what is wrong withy our heart.

Like the Docs have a clue whats wrong! i think alll those viruses were carrying around hurt our hearts.
Kat

Hi Kat,

Yes, working thru what kind of magnesium to take can look complicated. I already posted above about where I get the magnesium oil that I use. For the oral supplement I take magnesium glycinate. I use that because Dr. Cheney recommends it and because Dr. Carolyn Dean also recommends that form in her book "The Magnesium Miracle" which is filled with information about the different forms of magnesium, when to take them, and the effect of magnesium on the heart. I originally found a copy at my library. You can also go to Amazon.com and search the insides of books to look to see if there is information that might help you.

Remember not to supplement with magnesium without the approval of a doctor if you have any of the following:

Kidney Disease
Myasthenia Gravis
Extremely low Heart Rate
Bowel Obstruction

Good Luck,

Maxine
 

Martlet

Senior Member
Messages
1,837
Location
Near St Louis, MO
There is one symptom that is really bothering me more than usual for the last month. I get these heart pounding with skipped beats.

What this sounds like is Premature Ventricular Contractions. If it is, then it's caused by an area in the ventricle that sends out its own electrical signal without waiting for the sinus node to fire - hence a premature contraction. This triggers those fast heartbeats, but then the heart "knows" that this is happening, pauses to "reset" its rhythm, then contracts strongly - that thump you feel - and then goes back into sinus rhythm. This is very common in perfectly healthy people and is almost always harmless. That said, please see your doctor for confirmation. No advice we can give you can substitute for a doctor's advice.
 

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
What this sounds like is Premature Ventricular Contractions. If it is, then it's caused by an area in the ventricle that sends out its own electrical signal without waiting for the sinus node to fire - hence a premature contraction. This triggers those fast heartbeats, but then the heart "knows" that this is happening, pauses to "reset" its rhythm, then contracts strongly - that thump you feel - and then goes back into sinus rhythm. This is very common in perfectly healthy people and is almost always harmless. That said, please see your doctor for confirmation. No advice we can give you can substitute for a doctor's advice.

Hi Martlet,

Thanks for the explanation, its nice to have some idea what is happening. I went to a cardiologist and he told me to go on vacation or do some excersize lol. When I mentioned cfs he couldnt look me in the eye :)
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
Hey Maxine,

Do you get this one http://www.ancient-minerals.com/#magnesium_flakes magnesium chloride flakes?

Also I have been looking at the EXAtest kit how does the test work, what needs to be done for it?

I like the idea of magnesium chloride more than sulphate. Did you not tell me about a book that was good? Was it magnesium miracle of something.

Hi Jerry,

I actually got the magnesium oil from them and not the flakes. I wish I had gotten the flakes too, just to experiment. If you get them, please let us know what happens. I got the oil because it is in a pump bottle and I wanted to try some directly on my skin. The oil I had before was from Global Light but it was in a pop top bottle and not a spray pump. I believe there is some difference between the magnesium level per teaspoon between the two. Does that make sense? Also, I want to do some more research on specifically where they get the seawater from to make these products.

The Ancient Minerals is: "from a depth of nearly 2 miles beneath the earth's crust, the source of Ancient Minerals is drawn from the Ancient Zechstein Seabed, a geological formation in Norther Europe from the Late Permian Era." (from their brochure). Not sure how much difference there is in products from different sites. It is interesting from a science point of view.

The EXAtest has to be done by a doctor but apparently the actual process is pretty simple. They take a small scraping of tissue from between the bottom teeth and the back of the tongue. It is supposed to be more accurate at getting an idea of the level of mg in the cells of the body (not just the blood). "Measuring cellular magnesium in this way indicates the amount of magnesium in heart and muscle cells, the two major body tissues affected by magnesium deficiency." And then they do an analysis of that tissue in their lab. Their web site has a lot of info, but I am interested to see if they send additional info to my doc when they send the whole kit. It is considered to be a buccal cell smear test.

The "state of the art" for magnesium testing is the blood ionized magnesium test. Unfortunately, that test is only used for research and poor schmucks like us can't get it.

If you are considering mg supplementation please consider the contraindications for it that I think I posted above. Also magnesium can have an impact on medications that you are taking. In some cases it can make medications more effective, in other cases, it can inhibit the meds. If you are on allopathic meds, make sure you check that out.

Take care,

Maxine
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
Hi Martlet,

Thanks for the explanation, its nice to have some idea what is happening. I went to a cardiologist and he told me to go on vacation or do some excersize lol. When I mentioned cfs he couldnt look me in the eye :)

YIKES!! Is it possible for you to see a different cardiologist?
 

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
Hey Maxine,

My doc has been harping on at me to up my magnesium for ages. I have got an oil and use epsom salts sometimes but have bought the flakes you suggested and will let you know how I get on with it!

I always knew I was a schmuk :D so ill settle for the EXAtest! :Retro smile:

Thanks, Jerry
 

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
YIKES!! Is it possible for you to see a different cardiologist?

I guess I could but no normal doctor I have been to has any interest in cfs except the cfs specialist I go to. I mean he gave me a echo and said all was well.

What tests should a cardiologists give me for something like this? Has anyone had a home ekg or something?

Thanks, Jerry
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
I guess I could but no normal doctor I have been to has any interest in cfs except the cfs specialist I go to. I mean he gave me a echo and said all was well.

What tests should a cardiologists give me for something like this? Has anyone had a home ekg or something?

Thanks, Jerry

Hi Jerry,

Perhaps a Holter Monitor test? The monitor is worn for several hours. Is that what you meant by home test? That is one that is used by Dr. Lerner and others who want to get more cardio information.

Maxine
 

xlynx

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
London, UK
Hi Maxine,

Glad you posted that I havent read that in about 6 months and with so much information around its easy to forget. That Cheney video you posted me also gave me some closure explaining in such detail about lack of energy to the heart, have you seen any of the other dvds of his are they worth watching?

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

If you get a chance, you might want to look at this paper re T wave inversions and flattenings. You might have seen this info already.

http://www.ncf.ca/ip/social.services/cfseir/naneir/news/legal/CARDIO.HTML

Maxine
 

susan

Senior Member
Messages
269
Location
Gold Coast Australia
I was monitored for 24 hrs with high pounding heart and high BP by heart specialist. I was told I was "ridiculous" for laying in a hospital bed for 24 hrs with a 130 heart rate. Go see a Psychologist and go walking.......if only.
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
Jerry/heart issues

Hi Maxine,

Glad you posted that I havent read that in about 6 months and with so much information around its easy to forget. That Cheney video you posted me also gave me some closure explaining in such detail about lack of energy to the heart, have you seen any of the other dvds of his are they worth watching?

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

I am glad that it was helpful to you. Sometimes if you get a cardiologist or doc who hasn't looked at CFS in this detail that they will learn from it too.

I am also glad that the Cheney video was helpful too. I need to watch it again - its packed with a lot of info. I have not seen any of his other videos, I keep saying I am going to do it, but somehow don't get around to it. Maybe I need to quit typing and just go do it!:D

So, I do not know if they are worth watching, but I bet that some others on the list have seen them. Anyone? Chris? Also, I believe on the ordering link I sent you before that some are not being offered any longer. This is probably due to the fact that his CFS info has changed since they were produced. I really want the latest one that was recorded in Virginia in 2009.

Take care,

Maxine
 

Hysterical Woman

Senior Member
Messages
857
Location
East Coast
I was monitored for 24 hrs with high pounding heart and high BP by heart specialist. I was told I was "ridiculous" for laying in a hospital bed for 24 hrs with a 130 heart rate. Go see a Psychologist and go walking.......if only.

Hi Susan,

Sigh, unfortunately this isn't an isolated incident. Are there any kind of "good doctor" lists in Australia that you can get thru support groups? Maybe there would be a way to locate a more knowledgeable cardiologist that way?

Take care,

Maxine