Irregular heartbeat?

Elsa1984

Anyone else have an irregular heartbeat (since getting pregnant), where it feels like your heart is skipping a beat every once in awhile?

I have been having this since after week 16 and today (at my 20 week appointment) I had to have an EKG to check it. OF COURSE....it does it all day long but at soon as my doc tried to listen it didn't do it, and when they did the EKG.....they only did it for about 3min and my heart didn't beat weird that time either. But as soon as I left, it went right back to beating/skipping beats. 

StephRuns

Yes, I've had an increase in heart palpitations since being pregnant. If they are bothering you, get a referral to a cardiologist from your doctor. They can give you a Halter monitor to wear for a few days that records all of your heart activity. Usually it's benign, but if it's bothering you, definitely go get it checked out.

Elsa1984

Yeah my doc said that they would do the EKG and look at it and then maybe do the monitor. She was surprised that I didn't call since it had been doing it for weeks, but I told her I figured it was doing that because my body was making more blood and it was just trying to keep up. And I have had no other symptoms...I am not lightheaded, not dizzy, not short of breath, etc. So I figured it would just even out and go away on its own. 

cantalopes24

Elsa1984:

Yeah my doc said that they would do the EKG and look at it and then maybe do the monitor. She was surprised that I didn't call since it had been doing it for weeks, but I told her I figured it was doing that because my body was making more blood and it was just trying to keep up. And I have had no other symptoms...I am not lightheaded, not dizzy, not short of breath, etc. So I figured it would just even out and go away on its own. 

This is not all that uncommon during pregnancy, and a lot of women who have heart issues don't discover them until pregnancy because the hormones and everything exacerbate the symptoms. I have had surgery to correct irregular heart beat and SVT and the only time it bothers me is during pregnancy.

jmott427

I also have had increased palpitations since pregnancy.  I've always had them, had EKGs and monitors in the past but they've told me it's all normal for some people and that everything is fine.  Definitely has been more often during pregnancy and I wonder/worry how much worse it might get as we get closer to October...

kujayhawkgirl

The trouble I was having felt more like pain and squeezing -- maybe it was skipping a beat, too. Anyways, because of family history of heart disease, I went to go see a cardiologist, where I got an EKG and a echocardiogram. Turns out everything is just fine! They saw on the echocardiogram that occassionaly there is increased blood flow in to my heart and it does all get through to the bottom chamber, causing some of if to flow back up to the upper ventricle, which is what is causing the pain. The increased blood flow during pregnancy is very common and my cardiologist and OB told me that it's likely the heart "pain" will continue and possibly get more intense during pregnancy.

LovieBear

I have mitrovalve prolapse, its a floppy valve in my heart. A LOT of people have this I think like 20% but most people dont know it unless they get an ultrasound of their heart (like I did 10 years ago) they told me it was not a big deal- I run marathons and it does not affect me at all- just every once in a while feel that little flutter... they told me when I get pregnant I may notice it more.

karinothing

Yup, I had it really bad during first tri. The EKGs are tough becuase it is for such a short period of time that it is hard to find anything. I had to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours and the caridologist called me and told me he could see the palpitatiosn and it wasn't a big deal. I just found out I was pregnant that day and he told me that likely explained the increase and if it continued to bother me we could try some different vitamin regiments (i.e. increased potassium) but I declined since my potassium was at normal levels during the cardio bloodwork.

Jon&Jill

I was diagnosed with Wolffe-Parkinson White syndrome in 1994 and have since had surgery to correct it. It deals with an accessory pathway in the electrical system of the heart. There were times before the surgery where a visit to the ER would show my heart beating over 200 beats a minute. They were worried about cardiac arrest since the heart is not designed to beat that fast! These episodes would last about 20 minutes at a time and happen once every few months. I was on medication at the time which helped. After my surgery in 2009, I have had NO trouble whatsoever until I got pregnant. That is when the palpitations started again, however, they were more like flutters NOTHING as severe and fast as what I experienced before my surgery! I see my cardiologist every 6 months and he said that palpitations and flutters during pregnancy are very common but will subside after delivery. The blood volume increases and the heart works a bit harder. I had an EKG for peace of mind but he said everything is fine and he wasn't worried!

cantalopes24

Jon&Jill:

I was diagnosed with Wolffe-Parkinson White syndrome in 1994 and have since had surgery to correct it. It deals with an accessory pathway in the electrical system of the heart. There were times before the surgery where a visit to the ER would show my heart beating over 200 beats a minute. They were worried about cardiac arrest since the heart is not designed to beat that fast! These episodes would last about 20 minutes at a time and happen once every few months. I was on medication at the time which helped. After my surgery in 2009, I have had NO trouble whatsoever until I got pregnant. That is when the palpitations started again, however, they were more like flutters NOTHING as severe and fast as what I experienced before my surgery! I see my cardiologist every 6 months and he said that palpitations and flutters during pregnancy are very common but will subside after delivery. The blood volume increases and the heart works a bit harder. I had an EKG for peace of mind but he said everything is fine and he wasn't worried!

That is the same condition I have. I've never met anyone else with it

Elsa1984

cantalopes24:

Jon&Jill:

I was diagnosed with Wolffe-Parkinson White syndrome in 1994 and have since had surgery to correct it. It deals with an accessory pathway in the electrical system of the heart. There were times before the surgery where a visit to the ER would show my heart beating over 200 beats a minute. They were worried about cardiac arrest since the heart is not designed to beat that fast! These episodes would last about 20 minutes at a time and happen once every few months. I was on medication at the time which helped. After my surgery in 2009, I have had NO trouble whatsoever until I got pregnant. That is when the palpitations started again, however, they were more like flutters NOTHING as severe and fast as what I experienced before my surgery! I see my cardiologist every 6 months and he said that palpitations and flutters during pregnancy are very common but will subside after delivery. The blood volume increases and the heart works a bit harder. I had an EKG for peace of mind but he said everything is fine and he wasn't worried!

That is the same condition I have. I've never met anyone else with it

My boss has it! And his son was checked for it also....but he doesnt have it

cantalopes24

Elsa1984:

cantalopes24:

Jon&Jill:

I was diagnosed with Wolffe-Parkinson White syndrome in 1994 and have since had surgery to correct it. It deals with an accessory pathway in the electrical system of the heart. There were times before the surgery where a visit to the ER would show my heart beating over 200 beats a minute. They were worried about cardiac arrest since the heart is not designed to beat that fast! These episodes would last about 20 minutes at a time and happen once every few months. I was on medication at the time which helped. After my surgery in 2009, I have had NO trouble whatsoever until I got pregnant. That is when the palpitations started again, however, they were more like flutters NOTHING as severe and fast as what I experienced before my surgery! I see my cardiologist every 6 months and he said that palpitations and flutters during pregnancy are very common but will subside after delivery. The blood volume increases and the heart works a bit harder. I had an EKG for peace of mind but he said everything is fine and he wasn't worried!

That is the same condition I have. I've never met anyone else with it

My boss has it! And his son was checked for it also....but he doesnt have it

Apparently it's not that common. Mine was pretty severe and someone my knew had a son that died while he was in college because they opted not to get the surgery so when beta blockers weren't helping (resting HR of mid 100's, SVT over 250-300) my mom freaked and I had the surgery at 15. I was really glad I didn't wait any longer because it was literally life changing.

 

Jon&Jill

cantalopes24:

Elsa1984:

cantalopes24:

Jon&Jill:

I was diagnosed with Wolffe-Parkinson White syndrome in 1994 and have since had surgery to correct it. It deals with an accessory pathway in the electrical system of the heart. There were times before the surgery where a visit to the ER would show my heart beating over 200 beats a minute. They were worried about cardiac arrest since the heart is not designed to beat that fast! These episodes would last about 20 minutes at a time and happen once every few months. I was on medication at the time which helped. After my surgery in 2009, I have had NO trouble whatsoever until I got pregnant. That is when the palpitations started again, however, they were more like flutters NOTHING as severe and fast as what I experienced before my surgery! I see my cardiologist every 6 months and he said that palpitations and flutters during pregnancy are very common but will subside after delivery. The blood volume increases and the heart works a bit harder. I had an EKG for peace of mind but he said everything is fine and he wasn't worried!

That is the same condition I have. I've never met anyone else with it

My boss has it! And his son was checked for it also....but he doesnt have it

Apparently it's not that common. Mine was pretty severe and someone my knew had a son that died while he was in college because they opted not to get the surgery so when beta blockers weren't helping (resting HR of mid 100's, SVT over 250-300) my mom freaked and I had the surgery at 15. I was really glad I didn't wait any longer because it was literally life changing.

 

 

WOW! A fellow heart patient! It's neat to hear other patients doing well, too. I had my first surgery at 19 (unsuccessful  hour surgery) and the second (successful, woo hoo!!) at 22. I was on Beta Blockers since I was 10 (Atenolol and Tenormin) but I was maxed out at 50 milligrams and it wasn't helping. My episodes increased in frequency and my cardiologist suggested the ablation. It was not successful plus, he was worried about me being under so much radiation for 6 hours and my ovaries. The second surgery was three years later and he used the cryo-ablation procedure which worked like a charm! Have you had any problems since?