September 2018 Moms
fftm9318
member
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Possible heart condition or flutters?
fftm9318
member
I'm putting this in it's own discussion because I really want to see advice separate and not have to weed through.
So I had my 17 week check up and I told the doctor about the flutters I've been having. They like take my breath away and I get them a LOT. He said either they're normal and there's no cause for concern, or it could be a heart problem where my heart is being forced to work overtime (it was called TEP or TAP?). Im being referred to a different doctor for a second opinion and possible EKG. It didn't alarm me in the doctors office, more because he flusters me, until I started telling other people like my mom... Now I'm worried. Anyone have any experience with this condition or get the flutters frequently and everything is okay?
They only last a second or two and then go away, they do kinda take my breath away, they happen frequently whether I'm sitting, standing, walking, laying down. I think it's more when my son is active that I feel them, but I just started to feel him so I can't always be sure.
Advice? Feedback?
Thanks in advance!
So I had my 17 week check up and I told the doctor about the flutters I've been having. They like take my breath away and I get them a LOT. He said either they're normal and there's no cause for concern, or it could be a heart problem where my heart is being forced to work overtime (it was called TEP or TAP?). Im being referred to a different doctor for a second opinion and possible EKG. It didn't alarm me in the doctors office, more because he flusters me, until I started telling other people like my mom... Now I'm worried. Anyone have any experience with this condition or get the flutters frequently and everything is okay?
They only last a second or two and then go away, they do kinda take my breath away, they happen frequently whether I'm sitting, standing, walking, laying down. I think it's more when my son is active that I feel them, but I just started to feel him so I can't always be sure.
Advice? Feedback?
Thanks in advance!
Re: Possible heart condition or flutters?
Started TTC Nov. 2011
1st clomid cycle June 2012- No response :: HSG August 2012- Left tube blocked, right tube clear :: 2nd clomid cycle Aug. 2012 BFN :: 3rd clomid cycle Sept. 2012 :: BFP Sept 30th :: DS born 6/15/13 :: BFP #2 7/29/14 M/C 8/5/14 :: BFP#3 10/20/14 DD born 7/1/2015 :: Applied to be surrogate April '17 :: Transferred 1 Embryo for IFs Dec. '17 :: Surro Babe born 9/11/18 :: Started 2nd Journey May '19 :: Transferred 1 Embryo for new IFs 9/24/19 :: HB 138 at 6w6d
@nlc8424 there's so much in those threads in hard to root thru them. But believe me I am going to follow through on what my doctors say. I just would like to know what to expect. Like are these normal? who else gets them? And if it's the condition I'd like to know if I'll have to end up on meds or just monitored. Regardless I will do what my doctors say, I just have really really bad anxiety and I am off my meds during the pregnancy cuz it's not safe to take. So any sort of heads-up about it would help me reduce my anxiety which would be helpful.
@fftm9318 - This is really long, but I am currently dealing with this. They started on a Monday night and I mentioned it to my OB that Thursday morning. It feels like my heart is skipping a beat and all week long it was happening roughly every 10 beats or so. It can be nothing, but could also be a sign of something going on so they wanted me checked out ASAP.
The day of my Thursday morning OB appointment I saw my primary in the afternoon for an EKG which showed the palpitations. In my case it is premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) so my ventricle was contracting for a heartbeat earlier than it was supposed to be basically causing extra heartbeats. The skipping a beat feeling I could feel was the time between the extra beat and my regular heart beat resuming.
Friday, the day after the EKG I had an echocardiogram to check the structure of my heart so a cardiologist could make sure there was nothing structurally wrong with it. I did have PVCs during the echo so they were able to capture those during the procedure as well.
The following Wednesday I met with the cardiologist after he had a change to review the echo. They had me do another EKG which showed the PVCs as well as a couple PACs (basically the same thing but coming from the atrium instead of the ventricle). We discussed how I was feeling and he asked about a bunch of different symptoms, some of which could be attributed to pregnancy as well as heart issues so I mentioned everything even if it was minor and I was sure it was pregnancy related.
Between this discussion and the results from the echo (my heart is structurally good) it has been determined that as of now they are annoying but not currently a sign of something worse and we are taking a wait and see / keep an eye on things approach. Pregnancy itself can cause these due to the extra blood flow causing your heart to work harder and hormones so I was told they should go away on their own after delivery if they haven't already by then. I was told to watch out for feeling faint, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a racing pulse because they can be a sign that this is something more than just an annoyance. After over a week of feeling them every 10 beats or so, I have noticed they're happening less frequently (or it could be every 10 still and I'm just not feeling it all the time anymore) already so I'm hopeful I won't have to deal with them the whole time. But other than being able to feel them and having it feel weird, they have not impacted my pregnancy or day-to-day life at all.
It is very possible yours are also nothing, but I recommend getting checked out for peace of mind and to be sure from the experts that they are in fact nothing to worry about.
Side note - If I were not pregnant the cardiologist would have prescribed beta blockers because then these would be happening for no known reason, but they try to avoid medicating during pregnancy as risks to the baby are not well known.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Started TTC Nov. 2011
1st clomid cycle June 2012- No response :: HSG August 2012- Left tube blocked, right tube clear :: 2nd clomid cycle Aug. 2012 BFN :: 3rd clomid cycle Sept. 2012 :: BFP Sept 30th :: DS born 6/15/13 :: BFP #2 7/29/14 M/C 8/5/14 :: BFP#3 10/20/14 DD born 7/1/2015 :: Applied to be surrogate April '17 :: Transferred 1 Embryo for IFs Dec. '17 :: Surro Babe born 9/11/18 :: Started 2nd Journey May '19 :: Transferred 1 Embryo for new IFs 9/24/19 :: HB 138 at 6w6d
One woman had shortness of breath and chest pressure/pain. Turned out to be pericardial effusion. She's had it with both pregnancies and is followed by a cardiologist throughout pregnancy to make sure it doesn't get too a point requiring intervention. It goes away within a few months after delivery.
The other woman was experiencing heart palpitations after becoming severely dehydrated during a stomach bug. She was seen in the ER and her blood pressure was crazy low, heart rate crazy high and electrolytes were all out of whack. Quite a dangerous situation, but they have her several bags of IV fluids and she was fine in a couple of days.
Doesn't sound like either of these are quite what you're going through, but just examples of how pregnancy can effect all the various organizations and systems of your body in various and sundry ways. Hope your follow ups go well, try not to be too anxious. It sounds like your doctor wasn't terribly alarmed but it's being thorough which is great.
(Also I went off my antidepressant during my first pregnancy at first but my OB and I quickly decided it was safer for me to stay on something. They actually doubled the dosage eventually. If you feel like you might need something, discuss the risks and benefits with your doctors.)