Fw: Have you had these heart symptoms?

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanne - here's my experience with cardiac arrhythmias (palpitations,

tachycardia, fibrillation etc). They started one day when I was in my mid

twenties. Doctors were not concerned as said it was a common thing. When I

was 28 and had my first child I had trouble breastfeeding but was encouraged by

Nursing Mothers to just keep on feeding and the milk would come. I took it to

extreme and had my baby on the breast almost all the time (and still could not

produce enough (Mito??)) Anyway during that period I had the most shocking

palpitations which I put down to the extra stress my body was experiencing

during that period. My whole body would shake and heart pounding sometimes up

to an hour at a time. As it was coming on blood would rush into my neck and my

head would get dizzy so I knew it was coming on. Resting would not help . I

felt nauseated but moving around was better, but nothing stopped it till it was

ready to stop. Over the years the palpitations continued (doctors not

concerned), no telling what triggered them, except that I noticed sometimes they

would start when I had bent over say to tie shoelaces and straightened up after

that, and I could sometimes stop them by holding my breath and going back down

again for a while, and after a while coming up slowly while exhaling.

I am 56 now and at this age doctors have been more concerned when palpitations

have occurred, as they have said there is more likelihood for blockages like

plaque in the arteries. I had a bad episode and went to the doc several years

ago but wouldn't you know it it stopped just as I was sitting down in the chair.

He sent me to a cardiologist who gave me exercise stress test and echo which

were normal (exercise was not normally a trigger so this was not really a good

test though). So they said don wurry be appy. So I threw myself into my high

stress IT job, but when I worked for long hours my heart would start pounding.

Two months later I had a heart attack and was in intensive coronary care for

three days. Angiogram showed clear arteries so they were all completely

confused as my heart was in spasm (still four years later ECG shows damage). It

was called coronary artery spasm, and one called it tako tsubo syndrome although

current cardio says it was due to high cholesterol and plaque not evident at the

time .

I don't know if the heart attack had anything to do with the palpitations. I

had atrial fibrillation recorded during the infarction (but not the worse one

ventricular fibrillation). I was put on heaps of medications including statins

and couldnt tolerate (now know why). I still had pounding episodes during

periods of stress (either physical or emotional) and caught one episode of

atrial fibrillation on a 24-hour monitor so cardio now has me on Isoptin

(Verapamil) 120mg. ( I also take Questran and Ezetrol for cholesterol). The

Isoptin seems to have stopped the arrhythmia - I can sometimes feel it wanting

to come on but it doesn't continue. I think Isoptin lowers blood pressure but

not sure so it may just be for certain people.

I don't know if any of this helps. Now I know I have mito (Melas) I can't help

but think they are all connected. I feel continuing stress is a factor (and

certainly was for my infarct), although as you say one often " feels " relaxed

when they start. Maybe its a conduction malfunction which I understand can be

part of mito (and according to what I have read, a pacemaker may rectify this).

Since you do have this problem I would recommend keeping a close eye on your

body's cholesterol levels. I also am interested to hear of other cardiac

stories. pamela