Chest pain/breathing/flutters/burping

[kulaboy]

Okay what a funny subject that sounds like! Here goes, let me try to sum this down short.

I am 31. A little overweight but eating well, don't drink anymore and don't smoke. I have been lowering my cholesterol levels since November. However in November I started having chest "flutters" in my heart that felt like my heart was turning around and seized my breath momentarily. Very freaky. It began when I was on a treadmill. I have not run since.

I started having these off and on, usually in the evening, before bed. Sitting up, sitting down, it doesn't matter. I still have them. In Nov. and Dec. I had feelings of tight chest and breathing problems and heart "flutters" and the only way I seemed to feel better was burping or belching! But this wasn't a cure. Chest pains began to occur, shooting sensations or aches in the heart area, for a brief period or a long time. I saw my doctor, who did an EKG, then an x-ray, then I wore a heart holter for 24 hours. All turned up "normal."

Symptoms continued. I lost weight. Ate brown rice and saw a brief period of feeling almost nothing until one day I reached over for laundry and my heart started racing like 200 beats a minute. I could barely stand up I was so dizzy. This lasted an hour. I saw the doctor again, referred to a cardiologist, who did a treadmill test on me. All is normal. They said my symptoms are too vague and gave the usual doctor remedy "Lose weight, walk, eat well, don't drink, cut down caffeine."

Meanwhile, I'm not doing well. I am uncomfortable. I feel like my heart is in pain and these flutters/heart turning over sensation hit suddenly and it's like my heart stops for a moment and I get freaked out. It happens when I am relaxed and not stressed. I do my best to cut out stress.

Any ideas what's going on? I considered a Hiatal hernia, and acid reflux. But my doctors seem to be going nowhere with me insisting it can be anxiety or stress. And perhaps they are right but I'm not enjoying this and it's interfering with my life, with my activites (I am too tired and out of breat to climb up short hills somedays, much less walk a stairmaster or run). I have lost 15 pounds through walking since December so I am much more fit. But it's not showing any improvement.

Help? Questions?

[Unregistered]

I'm going through the same thing man, starting really to get to be, I cant stand the feeling of my heart racing and now I have the feeling of something in the lower part of my throat. Doctors have no idea what it is.

[Unregistered]

I have the same thing. It turned out to be dehydration and constipation. I know when I start to have palpitations that I need to drink water. After downing about a pint of water the palpitations ease. When I get chest pains it means my intestines are full and I need to find a way to empty them. I figured this out on my own after a year of trying various vitamins, foods, dieting, no dieting, etc.

[Unregistered]

try physiotherapy

its amazing what they know about muscular pain

then of course you can try prayer

[Shula]

You wrote that you stopped going on the treadmill because you were concerned about having this problem start again. But you also say that it happens at random times.

Perhaps you could get back on the treadmill. It doesn't seem to be the thing causing this problem.

Drinking enough can be a problem, and someone mentioned that, so it is worth trying. But if YOU think it is acid or anxiety, maybe you could try some basic self-medications. Try an over the counter antacid, try drinking chamomile tea. These things are unlikely to hurt the problem, and if they make it better, you will have discovered something.

Get checked for thyroid function. You might be having problems there.

Most importantly, recognize that you don't need to freak out over that bizarre feeling of your heart doing flip-flops or stopping. Since every time this has happened, nothing bad has actually come directly from it, you already have proof that this isn't as bad as it feels. Getting nervous about it is definately worse for you than staying calm about it. (I know, easy for someone else to say.)

The fact that burping helps seems important, and it seems reasonable that you try the OTC antacids.

Don't assume that everything is all from the same problem. You might get part of it under control, and that helps bring into focus another part that is caused entirely by something else.

Your doc did a stress test, and you were fine, therefore, have confidence to go work out harder. It will feel tiring, but not working out harder is probably contributing to your tired feelings.

The "your symptoms are too vague" call of the doctor drives me up the wall. They tell us our whole lives not to "let stuff go" and to take care of things before they get too bad, but the reality seems to be, if we are not very sick and obvious in what is wrong, they tell us the symptoms are too vague, and basically are saying they can't do anything until we are a total mess. Nice.

So, take some OTC antacids, drink plenty of fluids, get your thyroid function checked, get back on the treadmill, and write again to say if anything gets better or worse, or stays the same with all that.

Wish I had more to offer!


Shula

[Unregistered]

Sounds like GE reflux which can cause such severe pain that you are certain you are having a heart attack, and the stress over that pain can give you heart palpatations. The gas gets "trapped" and burping DOES ease the pain which is horrible and can even radiate into the shoulder. If you don't know what it is, it is a terrifying experience.

When I get an attack I usually work a trigger point with a LOT of pressure by putting my thumb at the base of my sternum and sliding it down just a bit and pressing as hard as I can holding it until I feel the muscle relaxing. This usually takes care of it within ten minutes. Also elevating the head of your bed can prevent this from happening at night.

[Unregistered]

I suffer from these symptoms and I think sometimes they are so worrying that you start to panic and the 'heart' type symtoms get all muddled up with sort of a mini panic attack type feeling etc.... I have just seen a consultant and he tells me it is my intestines although I suffer from pins and needles in left side, tight chest which radiates to the left shoulder...constant relentless belching also.... He is sending me for an endoscopy and gasteroscopy( i think thats what they are called...and then six sessions of some bio treatment for the bowels along with chlonic irrigation/enima etc...he seems to think that in four months or so all these symptoms will have disappeared or atleast be more managable. Maybe you should ask to be referred to a consultant ( gastarology) as I had the ECG 24hr test etc and nothing showed up either....atleast this explaination seems to make sense so...watch this space ..

[rad-skw]

Have you ever had an episode when you were monitored? If not, maybe you are having paroxysmal tachycardia (rapid heart rate which comes and goes). Or premature atrial tachycardia. By belching and bearing down, you might be instituting a biologic response which would halt the arrythmia. If you were being monitored, and it didn't show anything, then it is probably not your heart.
Premature atrial contractions (PACs) are a type of premature heart beat or irregular heart beat or arrhythmia which start in the upper two chambers of the heart, also called atria. These aren't serious, and they frequently go away on their own.
In many cases doctors are unable to determine a cause. Some cells in the heart start to fire or go off before the normal heart beat is supposed to occur. These can be cells that are damaged or sick from a virus, or from some other cause that a doctor can't determine. Sometimes people who have them feel a skipped beat. In many cases, the person feels nothing.
Usually a doctor will do or order an EKG. Without an EKG, it is impossible to determine the existence of PACs. Once proven, the person may be referred to a cardiologist for further testing to determine whether the heart is damaged or deteriorated.

[MiniCooper]

Hey all found this thread as I too have the same sort of symptons.

I've been having these for about 18 months now I think. It can be really worrying when it feels like your heart stops and also when its racing. I went to the hospital once when it carried on and had a ECG or whatever and everything was fine.

I am 23, 5'10'' and weigh about 9 stone so am probably under weight! I smoke.
I am a postman so get a lot of walking in me ! I probably don't eat often enough or healthily enough.
I am always burping even at the most intimate of times with my gf!!! She is very understanding though thankfully.
I really want to get rid of this as I never ever feel refreshed even after a good nights sleep. I'm always tired and friends/family just call me lazy but I just don't feel I have the energy to do anything.

I'm not sure of when it started exactly but it was around the time I started to try and lift weights so I too thought of a hiatial hernia.
I was also in a car crash around the time in which it rolled and I was thrown out of the side window as it crashed. I didn't go to the hospital after this so don't know if any of these could have brought around my symptoms.

Main symptons are burping all the time, tight chest, tiredness, get light headed a lot, heart skipping/racing although this is probably anxiety brought on by the other symptoms.
I have tried antacid tablets like Rennie. Hasn't helped.
Also get the feeling of something stuck in my throat and also a feeling like theres a hole in my throat(difficult to explain fully) but when this occurs I just burp relentlessly and it eventually goes away.

Really wish I could find a solution to all of this as it is affecting my life and doctors just look at you like your a hypocondriact.(As well as my Mum)
As a postman doesnt help my job as when I can't sleep I don't feel good at work and have a couple of times had to go sick because of it.

Sorry for the rant and I hope someone out there can help or someone who had the same feelings found a solution.

Many thanks
MiniCooper

[mooooonlightss]

I too was feeling dull heart pains well pains in my heart region an still do, i got so anxious about it i made my self really mad (see depersonalisation), Im recovering from that now and trying to be happy again. i think it started when i had real bad pain under my left arm and now the doctors say probably a trapped nerve. I don;t think it is but i've come to terms with the fact that its not half as serious as i was stressing about. And once you realise that pains should subside because stress and anxiety are bad for your body they cause chest pains themselves, i reccomend you look around the web read other peoples stories. The inexplicable lil pains are common, and go away with time and possibly helped by a good diet. Iv found information that gluten free diet can help so im goin to give it a go.
I take ibuprofen and that also helps. Reguardless, i think its mainly a gas related issues maybe brought on by excersice as i too strated gettin it after the gymn.

I'm only eighteen! i do smoke but im pretty healthy and i thought i was heading for the grave.

XX