Palpitations

[OurGift]

Does anyone have any experience with this? I have had palpitations in the past, maybe twice a year. Currently I am having 5-10 (sometimes strong) daily? They are really scary. They started around the time of my pregnancy, which also coincides with a car accident that I had very shortly after conception. I am experiencing some anxiety with driving freeway, etc after the accident. I am reading that it can be pregnancy related and/or anxiety related. I have brought up the palpitations to my midwife, but she kind of brushed it off. I have an appointment with her soon and I  am going to push it harder.

Please, does anyone know anything about this, or know anything to help them? Did anyone have palpitations and they went away after pregnancy? Thanks ladies. :)

[dot1]

I started getting a really rapid heartrate near the end of my pregnancy with dd1.  (up over 100 at rest).   Sometimes it felt like I had a bunch of really rapid beats in a row.  As soon as I completely cut out caffeine my heartrate dropped. Haven't had any since...and this pregnancy I went off work much earlier to try to keep my stress levels low.  Do you have a family physician?  Heart palpitations wouldn't be a midwife's area of expertise and I'd just bypass the midwife altogether, but keep her informed.  Since they're happening so frequently I'd make an appointment with a physician (even if it's just to put your mind at ease).  I don't know if getting heart investigations would affect your insurance premiums though?  (fortunately, not something to worry about in Canada).  Best wishes.

[Just1More]

I have them.  Floradix and lots of water keeps mine at bay.  My last pg, I would frequently have them for day or more at a time, with my heartrate 120 or so...AND it feel like it was skipping every 4th or 6th beat.  It was disconcerting, but strangely in the realm of normal.  Try not to worry.  The majority of the time, they are normal...something like 25 percent of the population has them, and it is usually worse during pregnancy.

[vivica2]

a close friend of mine had palpitations that he wrote off, his wife was 8 months pregnant, and he didn't want to alarm her.  while laying in bed one night his preggo wife felt it through his chest, the arrhythmic beats for a few second. she freaked out, he called the doc the next day. he wore a machine that measures heart rhythms throughout the day, and found out he was having mini heart attacks in one of the ventricles in his heart.  they wouldn't kill him outright but they destroy (overwork) the tissue in that part of the heart and he would eventually have a full blown heart attack. simple macroscopic surgery, and he is now palpitation free because his wife made him call the doc. 

i don't think its worth waiting. i would get into the doc ASAP. 

[OurGift]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Well, yesterday I was having a lot of palpitations and it was freaking me out so I went to the ER. I must have had 40 of them while I was there. They ran all kinds of tests and everything came out clear. They  are attributing it to something common that happens in pregnancy and want me to follow up with my midwife. The 2nd doctor eased my anxieties and said that she gets them often, especially if there is a really serious case (patient) that comes in and she'll start getting them. She also said her brother is a cardiologist and used to freak out about his until becoming a cardiologist and learning that they are really harmless in most cases. So, I feel a lot better, especially since they thoroughly checked things out for me. Thanks so much again.

[jocelyndale]

They can happen with pregnancy (increased blood volume can lead to palpitations) and with iron deficiency anemia (which can also start being an issue in pregnancy).

It's good you got checked out.  Hopefully they'll pass soon!

[Strong Mama]

DID you have an ECHO done? IF not,get one ASAP. Request one. I had palps and wrote it off and ended up cardiac arresting after the birth of my girls for a heart condition called post partum cardiomyopathy. Palps during pregnancy is one of the symptoms, along with some other symptoms such as breathlessness while lying down, swollen legs, breathlessness when you exert yourself. I would def make sure you had an ECHO to be on the safe side.

[amo4piano]

I have heart palpitations when I'm not pregnant and I've found they are stronger and more frequent now that I am pregnant. I just brush them off, though, because I know I've had my heart checked for this (I've had palpitations for 15 years!) and everything is fine. If you have not had an Echo, you should definitely get one. I found that I have a heart murmur, which is fairly harmless. They just keep an eye on it and give me an Echo every couple of years to make sure it's not changing. It is very disconcerting to feel the palpitations, though, for sure!

You will feel better if you get it checked out. If everything comes back fine, you will rest easy knowing this is just another weird pregnancy thing! Definitely don't let it go too long just in the rare case that it is something more. Better to be safe than sorry. 

Also, I've found that certain foods can make the palpitations worse. So maybe see if they come on after particular foods. And, although I am not having any during the pregnancy, I know that some women still consume caffeine. That will exacerbate heart palpitations like nobody's business! If you're drinking caffeine or eating lots of chocolate, that may also be the culprit.

Good luck to you and baby!

[adoremybabe]

It's good that you had them checked out. I've had PVC's for almost 10 years now. They are the most common palpitation and are typically harmless but not always. They can be indicative of a larger issue.

Last year I started having a random high resting heart rates. My hb would average 170 beats per minute. I saw a cardiologist and ending up having surgery to correct a short circuit in one of the upper chambers of my heart.

It's always a good idea to havethings checked out if you feel uncomfortable about what is going on.  Good Luck!