Constant Palpitations.?

Question

since about a week ago ive been having constant palpitations..prior to this within 2 months ive had several ekgs,chest xrays.blood taken,24 hour halter monitor,heart stress test and echocardiograhm cause ive been having chest pain also nothing was found wrong..im going to be going back to my dr to see what else we can try cause he thought it was my gastritis so he gave me a med but it didnt help..but these palpitations are very uncomfortable since last week its every day and happens the majority of the day..could stress and anxiety be causing it to happen constantly even when i dont feel like im stressed or having anxiety or what else could be going on considering i got pain and palpations but my heart rate is regular and between 70-95 depending on what im doing

actually im 21..they kept giving me all these tests cause they couldnt find anything wrong and they were trying to ease my mind but it really hasnt eased my mind cause nothing has improved even with me being calm like i said i dont feel anixety or stressed i do have a hisotry of anxiety and stress though

Answer 1

Since you are having chest pains and the doctor has given you clean certificate of cardiac pathology, now the possible causes are:
GERDs
Chostochondritis/ cervical spondylitis
Stress and Anxiety states can also be a cause.
Hyperthyroidism.
Discuss with your consultant on these lines, OK and by the way Smoking, & overindulgence in alcohol, excess coffee are also causes of palpitation, review them.

Answer 2

Since your extensive battery of tests has ruled out cardiopathy, your cause may be either your gastritis or anxiety. Regarding these two causes:
1. GERD and other digestive disorders can exacerbate palpitations. I am assuming you have an actual diagnosis of gastritis. I have GERD that exacerbates my occasional palpitations. Medications such as Nexium, Protonix, and AchipHex may help.
2. Yes, you are stressed and anxious; this is normal after extensive testing, being told, "everything's normal" and still having symptoms. One important factor to remember is that you don't always have the palpitations at the exact moment of stress/anxiety. They may occur hours or even days later. I dislike anti-anxiety medications, but you might want to discuss this option with your physician.

Answer 3

surprised there was nothing wrong with the EKG. You might ask your doc for a mild anti anxiety med like Paxil. It takes a couple of weeks to kick in, and it would be a temporary thing for right now. You'd be surprised at all the physical problems that go away when anxiety is under control. We are complex creatures and stress is a killer. You didn't say how old you were, but I'm guessing 40's by all the tests the doctor did. Things do change in our bodies at midage.

Answer 4

I have them a lot at night and it keeps me awake.
Here's my advice...stop drinking coffee and soda.
I take ionic fuzz..it's a calcium & magnesium, potassium powder just before bedtime. Also CO Q10 is very good for the heart. Q10 is avialable at most any health food store or drug store. If your health food store doesn't have ionic fuzz do a search in google.

There's a lot of stuff you can find on the net about coq10...mostly it's given to people with heart problems. But I believe everyone should take it...if you're not getting enough in your diet this could be a problem.

Answer 5

I had this same issue a few months back. It was very scary!!! I thought I was going to die. My dr said that some people can feel the palpitaions and some do not. The more I worried, the worse it got. Sometimes it lasted for the whole day. I suggest you go to a different dr if you are getting no where with this one.

Anxiety and stress could be major factors in your issue.

Answer 6

It is purely becuase of Gastritis and Indigestion only.

If we offered you a miracle remedy that cures "Indigestion/Gas/Acidity" would you buy it? Certainly you would. You won’t find it in a Pharmacy but at the Grocery Store.

Try the Natural Cures for Indigestion/Gas/Acidity.

Indigestion or dyspepsia is one of the most common ailments today and is caused by dietetic errors. It is a condition of the stomach in which digestive juices are incorrectly secreted, resulting in discomfort.

The alimentary canal and the process of digestion begin at the mouth. The stomach, which is the most abused organ of the body, looks like a pear-shaped pouch. It forms part of the digestive tract which is a tube coiled in loops nearly 28 feet in length. It varies in size and position depending on how much food it contains. AN OVERLOADED STOMACH TENDS TO PREVENT THE DIAPHRAGM FROM FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. IT MAY ALSO PRESS ON THE HEART.

Symptoms: Abdominal pain, a feeling of undue fullness after eating, heartburn, loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting and excessive wind or gas are the usual symptoms of indigestion. Other symptoms include a bad taste in the mouth, coated tongue, foul breath, and pain in the upper abdomen.

Causes: The feelings of discomfort and distress in the abdomen are often caused by overeating, eating too rapidly, or not chewing properly. Overeating or eating frequently produces a feverish state in the system and overtaxes the digestive organs. It produces excessive acid and causes the gastric mucus membrane to become congested. Hyperacidity is usually the result. Overeating makes the work of stomach, liver, kidneys and bowels harder. When this food purifies, its poisons are absorbed back into the blood and consequently, the whole system is poisoned. Many people gulp their food due to stress or hurry. When food is swallowed in large chunks, the stomach has to work harder and more hydrochloride is secreted. Eating too fast also causes one to swallow air. These bad habits force some of the digestive fluids into the esophagus, causing burning, a stinging sensation or a sour taste, giving an illusion of stomach acid. Certain foods, especially if they are not properly cooked, cause indigestion. Some people react unfavourable to certain foods like beans, cabbage, onions, cucumber, radishes and seafood. Fried foods as well as rich and spicy foods often cause abdominal discomfort and gas, and aggravate the existing condition. Excessive smoking and intake of alcohol can also cause stomach upsets. Constipation may interfere with the normal flow of ingested matter through the gastro-intestinal tract, resulting in gas and abdominal pain. Drinking too much water with meals, insomnia, emotions such as jealousy, fear and anger, and lack of exercise are among the other causes of indigestion.

The Cure: The only effective treatment for indigestion is a thorough cleansing of the digestive tract; adoption of a sensible diet and a change in the style of living. The best way to commence the treatment is to adopt an all-fruit diet for about 5 days. After the all-fruit diet, the patient may take to a restricted diet of easily digestible foods, consisting of lightly cooked vegetables, juicy fruits and buttermilk for about 10 days. He may thereafter gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet.

The use of fruits in general is beneficial in the treatment of indigestion. They flush out the undigested food reside and accumulated faeces and re-establish health to perfect order. Being rich in water, they clean body mechanisms thoroughly. The best among the fruits in dyspepsia is lemon. Its juice reaches the stomach and attacks the bacteria, inhabiting the formation of acids. Lemon juice removes indigestion by dislodging this acid and other harmful substances from the stomach, thereby strengthening and prompting a healthy appetite.

The orange is another effective food remedy in chronic indigestion. It gives rest to the digestive organs and supplies nutrition in a most easily assimilable form. It also stimulates the flow of digestive juices thereby improving digestion and increasing appetite. It creates suitable conditions for the development of friendly bacteria in the intestines.

Another fruit useful in indigestion is grapes. They are a light food which removes indigestion and irritation of the stomach in a short time and relieves heat. Pineapple is also valuable. It acts as a tonic in dyspepsia and relieves much of the digestives disorders of dyspeptics. Half a glass of pineapple juice should be taken after a meal in this condition.

The sufferer from indigestion must always follow the under-mentioned rules regarding eating:

1. Never eat and drink together. Water or other liquids should be taken half an hour before and one hour after a meal. Milk, buttermilk, and vegetables soups are, however, foods and can be taken with meals.
2. Never hurry through a meal. Eat very slowly and chew your food as thoroughly as possible.
3. Never eat to a full stomach. Always leave the table with a feeling that you could eat more.
4. Never sit down to a meal, feeling worried, tired, excited or in a bad temper as such feelings temporarily paralyze the manufacture of digestive juices including hydrochloride.
5. Do not eat if appetite is lacking. Miss a meal or two, if necessary, until real appetite returns.
6. Never boil vegetables, always steam them.
7. Do not mix too many foods at the same meal. Never eat raw vegetables and raw fruits together as they require a different set of enzymes. Take protein and starchy foods separate as far as possible.

Yogic asanas such as ardh-matsyasana, srvangasana, uttanpadasana, pavnmuktasana, vajrasana, yogamudra, bhujangasana, shalabhasana, and shavasana, kriyas like jalneti and kunjal, and pranayamas like kapalbhati, anuloma-viloma, and ujjai are highly beneficial in the treatment of indigestion. Light exercises such as walking, golf and swimming also help digestion.

Water Treatment: A daily enema should be administered to cleanse toxic bowel waste. Other beneficial water treatments include wet girdle pack applied at night, application of ice bags over the stomach half an hour after meals, a daily cold friction bath and alternate hot and cold hipbaths at night. Massaging of the abdomen also helps.

Hope this helps, Good Luck.

Answer 7

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Be wary of going on prescription drugs for this. Since your tests have all come back normal so far, try some natural dietary remedies first.

Medline Plus, in the entry for "Heart Palpitations" states that they could be due to:

"An electrolyte abnormality -- for example, low potassium"

Water, Sodium (from Sea Salt, see below and links), and Potassium in the proper balance are crucial for your health. Doctors often state that too much caffeine can be a cause of palpitations, but I think it would be more helpful if they would point out WHY that's so: because caffeine can dehydrate you of your electrolytes. If people cut back on caffeine, they might drink other better fluids and rehydrate themselves. Also:

"Sodium regulates the pH of intracellular fluids and with potassium, regulates the acid/ alkali balance in the body. Sodium and chloride are necessary for maintaining osmosis and electrolyte balance." (1)

and:

"Potassium stimulates nerve impulses and muscle contractions and is important for the maintenance of osmotic pressure." (1)

Both have a lot to do with your heart.

Here is the "Water Cure" recipe. It was a factor in fixing my heart palpitations, is easy, FREE, and helpful for SO MANY chronic ailments! (Think, what is one of the first things they charge hundreds of dollars to give you in the hospital? A saline IV! So, even they realise the benefits of hydration and electrolytes):

"Drink 1/2 your body weight of water in ounces, daily. Example 180 lb = 90 oz. of water daily. Divide that into 8 or 10 oz. glasses and that's how many glasses you will need to drink, daily. Use 1/4 tsp. of salt for every quart of water you drink. Use salt liberally with food. As long as you drink the water, you can use the salt. Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic drinks. These are diuretics and will dehydrate you. Every 6 oz. of caffeine or alcohol requires an additional 10 to 12 oz. of water to re-hydrate you.

P.S. (USE Clean Water, Use non-refined, ocean salt ONLY )" (2)

Here is my answer that I gave to another poster on palpitations:

I am not a medical professional, but I have had the same problem in the past. They did an EKG and some other basic testing and told me to come back if I had any more problems. What I did was to naturally increase my Potassium levels, switch to Sea Salt and increase my water intake (drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. For every 6 oz of caffeine or alcohol you drink you must drink an aditional 10 oz or so). My palpitations went away. Your body needs the proper potassium/sodium content to function properly on a cellular level. I am NOT talking about taking potassium supplements, just consuming more potassium rich foods in your diet. Good natural sources are bananas, potatoes (eat the skin) and orange juice. Don't fall prey to the "salt is bad" hype out there--to the point of consuming little to none. A lot of sodium is bad, ESPECIALLY refined table salts, which have been chemically stripped of their important trace minerals. Again, I am not a medical professional, but I have done a lot of research into nutrition and this is what has worked for me. I would encourage you to research this stuff for yourself, especially since medical doctors "can't find anything wrong." Potassium deficiency IS something usually mentioned by doctor's though, as far as a cause of heart palpitations (one suggested that I needed more in my diet), but they may neglect to recognize or remind you of the equal importance of sodium (of the Sea Salt variety) and water.

Also, sometimes the "natural medicine" and "conventional medicine" people are at odds when it comes to the treatment of disease. I believe that conventional medicine is extrememly important in urgent and emergency care, but for treatment of many long term illnesses or problems, a common sense look into your diet/nutritional needs can help get at the root of your ailments. Conventional medicine is largely about treating the SYMPTOMS of your illness, while dietary/nutritional healing works to PREVENT and CURE your illness.
Again, because you said that your testing came back "all normal," you are likely safe to try some basic, healthy modifications to your diet. Avoid processed foods. Eat LOTS of whole, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Drink lots of water and take a good multivitamin. See the links below and educate yourself on good nutrition and common sense cures.

Hope that helps!

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--credit goes to Suz (who posted an answer below) for alerting me to how important magnesium also is for the heart. Here is a quote and a reference (in "sources") to support this:

"For decades, statisticians have demonstrated that the majority of Americans do not get the government’s minimum daily requirement for magnesium.

The latest government study shows a staggering 68% of Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake of magnesium. Even more frightening are data from this study showing that 19% of Americans do not consume even half of the government’s recommended daily intake of magnesium. Is it any wonder that disability and death from heart attack and stroke are the nation’s leading killers?

While the government officially refuses to recognize the effects of magnesium in preventing vascular disease, the National Institutes of Health does publish the following on its website:

“Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady [!], supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.” (3)

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