My Heart Is In My Throat...Literally

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?
You know you got to have this checked out. There are no ands, ifs or buts about it.

I know, but I feel stupid. I am only 27 so I am afraid they are going to tell me it is just anxiety. But I know it's not. When it happened at work the supervisor tried to make me go to the ER but I was embarrassed. Stupid people were saying that I don't take care of myself and I don't eat enough. I eat fine. I just didn't want people to speculate about me. Anyhow, it went away and the supervisor left me alone. It usually goes away within 10 minutes. Chances are a Holter monitor wouldn't even pick it up becuase it doesn't happen every day. But does this sound weird?

You need to make an appt. with your doc. This is not something you should put off. You won't look foolish,its the right thing to do...so do IT! It will give you peace of mind finding out if there is a problem or not. Let us know how you do.

The thing is that very few people have taken me seriously. They attribute it to anxiety, but I think I would KNOW if I were anxious or not. And the palpitations I get when I am anxious are different then this. It feels like my heart is in my throat and I feel lightheaded. And a pulse of 220? Even in my most anxious states, I don't think it has been like that. I am afraid they will say it is anxiety and pat me on the head and send me home because I am young.

What I want to know is has anyone else heard of or experienced these kinds of symptoms?

You're going vagal for some reason whatever that may be.Read up on these sx and it seems that it can be diagnosed with specific tests. Go see yor doctor. I'd rather know you are getting medical attention than discover belatedly you had missed something important.http://merck.praxis.md/bhg/bhg.asp?p...&ss=1#Symptoms

I have. At age 30 they put me on a holter monitor and it showed severe pvc's. But this is fairly harmless if everything else checks out. It is definately worth checking out. I now take a mild beta blocker that helps bring my heart rate down. The plus side is that I suffer from migraines as well and the beta blocker has helped with these too. Get it checked out you will feel better and so will those who care about you.

It's funny...I think about my symptoms and they always seem to go with SVT. When you say I am going " vagal" what do you mean exactly? I have an idea but am not quite clear.

Thanks...I just needed reassurance so I don't feel stupid. I felt stupid back in August because I was having recurring episodes of hypoglycemia(30's and 40's) so my doc ordered a bunch of tests and they were all normal. I was supposed to take a GTT but didn't do it because my fasting glucose was normal. It was the same type of thing. The hypoglycemia was recurrent but very sporadic and unpredictable. And if I go back to her I am afraid she will think I am a hypochondriac.

Flo I am 39 and for years I have had occasional chest pain that is sharp and would usually go away when I would take a deep breathe and hold it a few seconds. Over the last year these episodes have gotten more frequent and severe, so finally I broke down and saw my doctor. Told her I thought I was having mitrial valve problems, an echo was ordered and sure enough I have mild mitrial valve insuffiency. I happen to work at the same hospital that the tests where run so I looked them up the echo the day it was read. I had also had a bunch of blood work done because I have been chronically tired after I had a bout of mono back in April, figured that it had to have cleared by now. My Epstein Barr shows it has not. So what do I do about the mono hangon? Have to eat and sleep well. The mitrial valve, well suppose I had best quit smoking again for one, the rest I'll see when I see the doc. Just because you are young doesn't mean you can't have a problem, GET IT CHECKED OUT! Who gives 2 cents what your doc thinks of you? She doesn't pay your rent or sleep in your bed right? The episodes of hypoglycemia may be similar to what my sister experienced. No test showed anything difiniative but when she began to eat several small meals a day instead of two or three regular one's she quit having problems. You should be going to the doc as soon as you can get an appt. So get along like a good girl and make that appt!

Flo, I think they may be episodes of PSVT or PAT. I had some of them myself (I've posted aboout it elsewhere here) and it was brought on by too much caffeine (or at least aggravated by caffeine). My doc told me to do a Valsalva maneuver (blowing on my thumbs but not letting any air out or bearing down and not letting air out ) if it was uncomfortable or symptomatic. I work CV-ICU and was able to get a rhythm strip one night when I had an episode of it; that was the only way I got it diganosed because everything else was negative (including when I wore the Holter monitor for 24 hrs.). Get it checked out; so what if she thinks you're a hypochondriac. At least if you get it checked out and everything is normal, that shoud reassure you about that.

Break down and go to the Dr, find a cardiologist you like and trust and tell him whats going on. He wont think your nuts or just looking for something to be there. They will take you very seriously. I have chest wall angina, have had it since I turned 30, it scares the crap out of me everytime it decides to go "OFF" it hurts like someone is kicking me in the chest like kicking a football. Its full force, and it has brought me to my knees more than once. When it first started I thought of everything else but the obvious, I didnt want it to be my heart (which it isnt) its chest wall, nothing to do for it but deal with it. A cardiologist that I knew looked at me and happend to be on the floor when I went into one of the good ones, in no time I had an ekg 12 lead on me in the break room of the floor. We caught it on ekg and he looked at it and from there I was fitted with a halter monitor and an echo from there, he was very concerned because I had been on phen phen and thought maybe I had MV damage.Now I just monitor to see if there is any change from the usual chest wall pain. I have a long and immediate cardio problems in my family so its important that I watch for any change.I do hope you feel better soon, just go to a specialist and let them do diagnostics to find and locate the problem and solve it. Zoe