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I used to get these skipped heart beats all the time (I even went to the emergency room thinking I had a heart attack over it several years ago), along with tightness in the chest. I also went to a cardiologist about it, and he pretty much just said "your EKG is normal and you're fat, work out 7 days a week, have a low fat diet, and lose weight". It stopped being anywhere near as frequent, along with a drop in resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, less back pain (probably due to less inflammation) once I went on a low carb diet (notice the low fat diet the cardiologist suggested didn't help much) last year. I also lost 45 lbs in four months, mostly just the diet. I certainly didn't work out 7 days a week. I have periodically cheated since, and each time I get a reminder I shouldn't because I get skipped heart beats, tightness in the chest, and an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. I'm not sure the mechanism behind this (anyone? local doctors have been completely unhelpful), and I almost wish there was another cause, because every once in awhile I really, really want to have those carbs, but I feel a lot better overall when I don't. Something to consider. |
I have a hietal hernia[0] that causes reflux and dyspepsia (trouble swallowing) and mimics these heart symptoms: shortness of breath, arrhythmia, chest pain, and tachycardia. A ketogenic diet helps, as does an OTC PPI[1] (e.g. Prilosec, Nexium). You might consider getting scoped to see if you have one as well (or just take a PPI for two weeks and see if it helps).
I've had arrhythmia since I was a teenager. Some of it is sinus (i.e. pressure on my vascular system caused by breathing) and some of it is not[2]. I've found that taking a daily multivitamin helps considerably, as does a diet rich in magnesium and potassium (occasionally supplemented), so I must have some deficiencies. I can't take too much pseudoephedrine (and try to avoid it completely after a particularly scary episode). Regular exercise helps as well. If I start to freak out about a particularly bad spell of arrhythmia and/or palpitations, I tell myself to eat an apple or a banana and go for a walk.
Alcohol and caffeine wreak havoc on all of the above, so I can't drink like I did in my 20s, and I try to limit myself to one pot of coffee per day. ;-)
> "your EKG is normal and you're fat"
If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that...
If you have bacterial endocarditis[3], that could explain why a low-carb diet is helpful: lower blood sugar -> less fuel for bacteria -> reduced heart valve inflammation. Maybe.
I have something else going on right now that I don't understand: waking up at night with back pain under my right shoulder blade, anxiety, and arrhythmia. I went to the hospital after the third incident and the EKG, blood work, chest X-ray, CT scan, etc. didn't reveal anything. I suspect it's stress-related and either an ulcer or bacterial endocarditis, so I need to get those looked at by specialists. I also had a clot in my leg last year for which I needed six months of blood thinners, so I wonder if that's related...
Getting old sucks.
0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiatus_hernia
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_ventricular_contract...
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infective_endocarditis