Heart Question

[Rich]

Our middle daughter who is in her late thirties gets heart palpitations.
These only occur when she is resting or trying to sleep.
Any other time it all seems normal.
An echo was done and everything showed up normal.
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
She thought perhaps it might be a valve problem like mine but that's not the case.

Rich

 

[Tom F.]

Stress and excess caffein can also cause those to occur.

 

[BillCobit]

Palpitations

Palpitations

Hi Rich -

C/B any number of causes - you may find the following useful.

http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/common/artprn_rev.cfm?filename=&ARTID=66

 

[ccrawford]

Hi Rich - Per the Mayo Heart Book: Palpitations are an uncomfortable sensation of your heartbeat or a thumping sensation in your chest. The symptom may or may not be associated with heart disease.... Extra heart beats (extrasystoles) tend to increase with age. You should try to describe the exact pattern of beats to your doctor and should note whether anything in particular starts or stops the palpitations. Sometimes holding your breath or straining can stop a pattern of palpitations. Sometimes a change in position can also stop them. Your doctor will want to know whether things like exercise, eating, emotion, alcohol use, caffeine use or medication have any effect on your palpitations. Hope this helps. Chris

 

[Mary]

Rich,
I had the same thing in my 30's and an echo showed nothing. Three years ago I had developed a murmur and the echo showed aortic stenosis. I'd have her keep track of it. If she's in pretty good physical shape, it might take a while to progress to where they'll find it.
Mary

 

[Karlynn]

Most people get palpitations from time to time w/out having any heart issues. I have a friend who gets them from stress. She had a cardiac work up including a holter monitor and they dx for her was stress/anxiety. If your daughter continues to have them on a regular basis, a holter monitor may be a way to make sure they are benign.

 

[Rich]

Thanks All,
I will pass this info to my daughter.
I had similar things when I was in my thirties (hard to remember that many years ago).
It was probably from stress, anxiety and way too much caffeine.
Couldn't do much about the stress but I eliminated all caffeine and it really helped.
This was many years before I knew about my valve going bad.