My Heart Is In My Throat...Literally

[Flo1216]

OK...someone please help me. For the past 2 years I have been getting these weird palpatations, and it feels like my heart is beating in my throat. When it happens, I feel very lightheaded, like I may faint. It usually goes away in about 10 minutes. It used to happen every few months but now it happens every few weeks. IT usually happens when I bend down, but somtimes I will be standing there doing nothing. It happened at work and I put the pulse ox on my finger and it said my HR was 185. I checked it myself and got 180. So I had a nurse double check and it was. It happened the other day at my mom's and my HR was 220! It happened again yesterday. Also, I have been getting chest pain...not bad, just noticeable, even without the palpitations. I am afraid to go to the doctor because a) it might be something bad or B) it may be nothing and I will feel like an ass. It is NOT anxiety, either. It happens when I am doing nothing or bending over to tie my shoes. Please someone tell me SOMETHING. HAs anyone else had this?

[SmilingBluEyes]

OMG flo you are SCARING me...GET THEE TO THE DOCTOR!

[RainbowSkye]

Oh, great Flo, now you tell us you have chest pain. Chest pain continuously or chest pain during the palpatations? Gee whiz, get off the computer and make an appointment with an internal medicine doc. He/She will get the ball rolling and arrange any consults needed.

Good luck.

[Flo1216]

SBE..you are scaring ME. I feel fine right now.

[nurseleigh]

Look, I wasn't trying to "dismiss" anything. I also in no way, shape, or form was trying to tell you that it WAS anxiety. I just thought I would share that sometimes stress and anxiety show themselves in ways they never had before. I always knew when I was stressed out before that too. I was also hoping to make the point that stress could exacerbate other conditions. I guess I will stop posting after work, my mind was obviously not in top form. :)

I understand why you got defensive about my post and I apologize for not wording it much better than that.

Anyways, I am sorry I upset you.

Leigh

[Flo1216]

I get it intermittently. This is recently though. In the past month. THAT freaked me out. I remember once when I was about 13 I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst chest pain. I was crying. I thought I was going to die. I told my mom and she was like, " Go back to bed, " I finally cried myself to sleep after hours of no relief and when I woke up my chest was sore. I vividly remember that. The pain I get now is not like that, but it is disturbing. It happens with or without the palpitations.

[Flo1216]

Nurseleigh...you didn't upset me. It's just that I think people are very quick to dismiss a younger persons symptoms as anxiety. We are young and misunderstood....(sigh)

[Flo1216]

But should I see my regular doctor or a cardiologist? I have a PPO so I don't need a referral or anything. I have never been sick a day in my life so I don't know exactly what to do

[Stargazer]

I'd see an internist first. There's some endocrine things that should be ruled out before you get too excited about a primary cardiac problem.

[Flo1216]

If it were my thyroid, wouldn't it be palpable or not necessarily? I had a BMP and CBC in August and everything was normal...would a BMP have indicated an endocrine problem?

[Stargazer]

Not necessarily. And it could be other things beside thyroid.

[Flo1216]

Like what?

[Stargazer]

Flo, I'd be lying if I said I could name everything it might be, and frankly, you can look stuff up on merckmedicus.com just as well as I can. One example would be a hormone-secreting tumor. But I don't see any point in giving you a laundry list of everything that might be wrong. The point is, you need to get in to see a doc soon. Although cardiologists are sub-specialists of internal med, most specialist do tend to see things through the filter of their area of interest. That's why I think you should go to an internist first, get a general work-up, and then determine whether you need to be referred and to which specific specialty.

Keep us posted. :)