Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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renvillegirl 07/09/2012

Hi
Not sure if I should be worried?

Over the past 5 days, I have been having increasing amounts of palpitations. Each lasts a split second & I'm having a few each hour. No pain and they don't seem to be linked to activity levels. On Friday evening, I felt quite weak & nearly passed out. No caffeine in my diet, also only alcohol was one pint on Saturday evening. Not feeling stressed and am keeping calm when they happen.

Had massive bilateral PE 2.5 years ago. The cause believed to be birth control, plus fact I'd broken my ankle & taken 3 hour flight. I was on warfarin for 13 months and am now on aspirin. ECG done 12 months after PE showed heart to be ok with mild regurgitation.

In Dec / Jan this year I had 2 episodes of paliptations. One lasted 45 minutes, the other about 50 minutes. Not really any pain. I saw my GP who referred me to a cardiologist. I had a halter ECG monitor for 24 hours which showed up some palpitations (although I was not aware of any).

The cardiologist reassured me all was fine, palpitations are quite common. However my BP was high so I'm due to have a 24 hour BP monitor. Recent trip to nurse and BP was ok.

I've booked to see the cardiologist in 2 weeks time - does that sound ok? Should I try to see him earlier, or am I worrying too much?

Many thanks!

rmb 07/09/2012

I don't think heart palps alone are cause for concern, personally. But no one here can tell you definitively whether you should see your cardiologist before 2 weeks or if it's ok.

Here's a list of possible reasons for heart palps from the Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-palpitations/DS01139/DSECTION=causes

Also, anemia, dehydration and thyroid issues can cause heart palps as well

renvillegirl 07/09/2012

Thanks rmb

rmb 07/09/2012

Heart palps are so unnerving. I do know that. But usually the reasons for them are pretty benign. So try not to worry, which makes them worse actually.

deleted_user 07/09/2012

My heart has been skipping a beat which does not bother the docs at all, insignivicant was their response. They bug the heck out of me. Just a question, you mentioned you had a pint of alcohol?

renvillegirl 07/10/2012

Just to clarify, alcohol was one pint of beer on Saturday night at long awaited party but palps started previous Wednesday. Thanks for all your posts, just nervous I guess as dad died of heart problems waiting to see specialist

renvillegirl 07/10/2012

cave76 07/10/2012

***Just to clarify, alcohol was one pint of beer****

LOL----- I was going to ask but then saw where you're from and I read a lot of British mystery books.

Most palpitations are not serious---- and it seems your cardio isn't worried.

But for the benefit of others reading this there ARE some times when palpitations should be checked out.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003081.htm

jillgentile 08/13/2012

I'm sure it is nothing as it sounds that you have been checked by cardiologist..if you are worried, there 's nothing wrong with going ahead and getting it checked by someone sooner. The reason I write this is because the only symptom I had when I was diagnosed with PE 1 year ago, is heart palpitations/rapid heart rate. I do know my potassium levels were low when I was admitted, which can cause it too, but those were the only symptoms I had. I never got a clear answer as to which one caused my heart rate/palpitations, but they did CT and found small clot. I'm sure you are fine as palpitations can be caused by many differenet things (including anxiety), but I just read this and couldn't not post, given my situation.

deleted_user 08/15/2012

I've had palpitations for a long time. They call them PVC's or premature ventricular contractions. They are benign, but that means nothing when you're experiencing a particularly bad attack. Here's what I do - make sure you drink ENOUGH water, this is a BIG BIG DEAL! :) Also, check your diet. I read recently that your heart "prefers" to use energy from protein moreso than a carbohydrate-rich diet. I recently started an atkins-like diet and have noticed a significant change, much less PVC's. You may want to try this. Also watch your caffeine intake.

cave76 08/15/2012

I went through a spell of palps when I was in my 30s and very healthy.
I didn't see a doctor for them (and that was before the Internet) so I just tried to ignore them.

Coffee may make them worse, but for me I had to cut out drinking iced tea (it was summer) because the iced tea really brought them on. My one cup of coffee in the a.m. didn't seem to affect me.

cave76 08/15/2012

Before changing your diet to high protein and low carb (to try to reduce palps) make sure you get calcium and potassium every day in your diet.

http://www.drugs.com/cg/potassium-content-of-foods-list.html
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/

(Being 'bleeders' we have to also watch that the foods with potassium and calcium fit in with our anti-coag diet.)

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