Food Triggered Irregular Heart Rhythm?

[mountainsoft]

They put me on a monitor for a few days and I was having 9000 PVCs/day at one point...~6/minute.

I told the doc that this really couldn't be a good thing and he told me they don't really worry about long term heart damage unless your getting up in the 20K range!

The last time I wore a Zio heart monitor was Feb 2023. At that time I was getting PAC's 9.4% of the time. It shows 22875 PAC's, though I don't know if that's daily or over the whole 3 day sample period.

I often get PAC's that last most of the day, usually in a steady trigeminy pattern (two normal beats followed by a premature beat). After eliminating some of my food triggers (bananas mostly) I don't really feel them anymore, but they're still there if I listen or check with my ECG monitor.

Occasionally I will still feel a little flip-flop in my chest as a gentle reminder it's beating weird, but I mostly just ignore them now. It took over two years to get to this point! They used to really make me feel bad all day and would feel like getting punched in my side when I laid down at night.

 

[NeilDH]

My PVC experience was like Closet Gamer's above. I never wound up in a hospital or even felt bad. I had always detected them (thought I was skipping a beat), but it didn't become an issue until I needed surgery and the docs wanted me clear of heart trouble. I was measuring 14K a day. Same thing -- cardiologist wasn't concerned until I hit 20K, though we did do a good scan of the heart to make sure no part of it was prematurely wearing down as can happen (particularly with 20K a day). I never got dizzy or anything. I'm a distance cyclist, so I thought that had something to do with it as I'd seen reports of PVCs among endurance athletes (but it may be that they just detect them more cuz it's easier for them to feel the flutter in the chest referenced above, and they just otherwise more often track their pulse, which is well lower, so repeats or skips stand out).

Then one year they just stopped. All of them, all gone. I don't have them now. It's been like six years. My stress actually increased during that time. The only thing I could link it to was the switch to lactose-free milk, but I didn't see any theory online supporting that. Again, I asked the cardiologist, how could I have so many for years and years, then they suddenly stop. He shrugged, says it happens, no big deal. OK then.

 

[SunnyOne]

This thread caught my eye because of a recent situation where I experienced my first ever (and only, so far) episode of mild tachycardia on the day of my mother's funeral, lasting through her burial. I ended up in the ER. Tests have been run and nothing conclusive, except to watch bp and other heart signals...as I said, nothing since...cardiologist has a theory that I might be one of those people whose cardio system is hypersensitive to stress...a little strange because retirement was the biggest cause of stress reduction in my life..but we can't control external events, only how we respond, so I've been looking into breathing techniques, meditation etc.

I find it very interesting that a couple posts in this thread refer to a wiggling sensation. I would say that about 3-4 times/year I get a very odd sensation of something wiggling through my chest, like a worm darting though my body but wiggling - I am thinking now that might be a palpitation?
It did happen another time when I noticed I had lain my computer mouse on my chest, right under the mouse....so I thought maybe I had shocked myself. Crazy thought, but I never did that again.

 

[Buckeye]

I have found in the last few years that my heart rate is sensitive to my hydration level. About a year ago, my heart was beating very fast (like 150, I think). I did my little Kardia EKG and I had a regular heartbeat. I drank about 50 ounces of water very quickly and within 5-10 minutes my heart rate was back to normal. I have to be sure to stay hydrated.

 

[mountainsoft]

Okay, here's a weird one...

My wife and I took a vacation the first week of June, and when we got back home we both came down with some kind of cold. First, it was odd we both got sick at exactly the same time, that has never happened before. Second, it lasted quite a while, 2-3 weeks if I remember correctly. And third, the symptoms were kind of odd, runny nose for a single day, an annoying dry cough, generally feeling unwell, and a very mild fever (about 1-2 degrees above our normal). Was it a cold, flu, RSV, or maybe even COVID? Who knows, we didn't get tested and both recovered fine.

What's odd about this is the irregular heartbeat I've had almost three years now has almost all but disappeared since this "cold". I've had a few random glitches, but most days and times I have a perfectly normal heartbeat. While I'm thrilled by this, it does leave me a little confused since I've tried everything to find a cause and a solution with no success previously.

Will it last? Who knows. It's just a very odd (though welcome) coincidence...

 

[tmm99]

Okay, here's a weird one...

My wife and I took a vacation the first week of June, and when we got back home we both came down with some kind of cold. First, it was odd we both got sick at exactly the same time, that has never happened before. Second, it lasted quite a while, 2-3 weeks if I remember correctly. And third, the symptoms were kind of odd, runny nose for a single day, an annoying dry cough, generally feeling unwell, and a very mild fever (about 1-2 degrees above our normal). Was it a cold, flu, RSV, or maybe even COVID? Who knows, we didn't get tested and both recovered fine.

What's odd about this is the irregular heartbeat I've had almost three years now has almost all but disappeared since this "cold". I've had a few random glitches, but most days and times I have a perfectly normal heartbeat. While I'm thrilled by this, it does leave me a little confused since I've tried everything to find a cause and a solution with no success previously.

Will it last? Who knows. It's just a very odd (though welcome) coincidence...

Hi, mountainsoft. How are you doing?

 

[mountainsoft]

Hi, mountainsoft. How are you doing?

Ironic timing... With only a few short exceptions, my heart rhythm has been completely normal and steady since June. It has been awesome. Then a couple days ago I started getting the irregular trigeminy heart rhythm again (two normal beats, one premature beat, pause for next normal beat). I have no idea why it acted up again, no change to diet, activity, or medications. But two days of that has really worn me down, I'm tired with a bit of a headache. Do I feel this way because of the irregular rhythm, or is my rhythm off because I'm not feeling well? Maybe it's the change in weather. Who knows. I've checked a couple times today and I seem to be back to normal rhythm again, but still feeling tired. Hopefully my rhythm stays normal. I forgot what it was like...

Thanks for asking!

 

[tmm99]

Sorry to hear it came back. I hope it stays normal.

 

[mountainsoft]

Sorry to hear it came back. I hope it stays normal.

Unfortunately, it's doing the trigeminy pattern again today. I don't feel as tired as I had, but still have a slight headache. It's funny how just a change in rhythm can make you feel different. No fever, BP is good, otherwise healthy. Docs keep telling me it's harmless, but it's sure not fun.

 

[rembrandt]

It's not food, but now every time I drink alcohol, I get this intense pain in my back and right shoulder. I thought I was having a heart attack. Very depressing, because I love to drink.

 

[FedRetired50]

I've experienced a headache on my worst days.

 

[rembrandt]

It appears to be a type of alcoholic myopathy. I will have to go on the wagon for awhile.

 

[mountainsoft]

It's not food, but now every time I drink alcohol, I get this intense pain in my back and right shoulder. I thought I was having a heart attack. Very depressing, because I love to drink.

Alcohol is a common trigger for abnormal heart rhythm's, but I personally have never noticed any relation with beer or wine. In fact, a light drink or two sometimes calms down my irregular beats. For the most part though, it doesn't seem to matter either way.

After a four month break from the PAC's, I think I'm on day four now since they started up again. My rhythm is still off, but am feeling better than I was a couple days ago.

 

[rembrandt]

I used to drink whiskey or vodka on the rocks all night for about 30 years without a problem. However, I had one beer and nothing else last Friday and the next morning I felt like I got hit by a truck. Maybe my body is changing and not for the better. I am 61 years old.

 

[mountainsoft]

I used to drink whiskey or vodka on the rocks all night for about 30 years without a problem. However, I had one beer and nothing else last Friday and the next morning I felt like I got hit by a truck. Maybe my body is changing and not for the better. I am 61 years old.

By chance are you taking any of the newer semaglutide medications (Rybelsus, Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.)? My wife started taking Rybelsus a few months ago, which reduced her blood sugar levels significantly and she lost weight too. She used to have a much higher tolerance for alcohol than me, but since she started Rybelsus she gets sick if she has more than one beer or glass of wine.

 

[rembrandt]

By chance are you taking any of the newer semaglutide medications (Rybelsus, Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.)? My wife started taking Rybelsus a few months ago, which reduced her blood sugar levels significantly and she lost weight too. She used to have a much higher tolerance for alcohol than me, but since she started Rybelsus she gets sick if she has more than one beer or glass of wine.

I take Atorvastatin for cholesterol and Valsartan for high blood pressure. I have been taking them for about a year before this incident, so not sure if there is any connection. Thanks.

 

[Dalton]

Yikes, so many stories. Thankfully I haven't ever really felt my PVCs. I learned of them after having a panic attack that led to all the cardiology testing I could stand (2 day stay in the cardiology wing). Then a year later, I was in the same ER for a severely broken/dislocated ankle, and the same ER doc wasn't going to let the ortho surgeon put me to sleep to reset my ankle. Thankfully the ER docs shift ended and the incoming was willing to call upstairs to get the cardiology wing to give a thumbup.

A couple years later, another panic attack, during exercise this time, with temperature-cold left arm and light-headedness, the ECG showed every 3rd beat was a PVC. So, got an Electrophysiologist. I still don't feel them, and so I don't worry about them. I ended up with a stent and a Brugada Syndrome diagnosis (unrelated to the PVCs) out of that deal. My resting HR was in the mid 80s back then, so took a betablocker for that (and it was supposed to also help with the arrythmias). But, I bike 8-11 hours a week now, have been off the beta blockers for a few years (resting HR is down in high 50s/low 60s) and haven't had any issues.

 

[mountainsoft]

Thankfully I haven't ever really felt my PVCs.

Most of the time I don't feel my PAC's either. So I might be having them without realizing it, though I do have a small Emay ECG monitor I check occasionally out of curiosity.

Unfortunately, they seem to flare up every now and then with no known cause. When they get intense I start feeling that "flip flop" in my chest, and if they go on for a day or two I start feeling weak and tired, sometimes with a headache.

As per my original post, eating ripe bananas seemed to increase the effects of the PAC symptoms, as would a few other things like cashews to a smaller extent. Since I stopped eating bananas the symptoms have been a lot less intense.

My resting HR was in the mid 80s back then, so took a betablocker for that (and it was supposed to also help with the arrythmias). But, I bike 8-11 hours a week now, have been off the beta blockers for a few years (resting HR is down in high 50s/low 60s) and haven't had any issues.

My resting heart rate used to be in the low 60's, but that has dropped to the low/mid 50's since I started taking Diltiazem (calcium channel blocker). Unfortunately, I don't exercise as much as I should. Diltiazem lowered my blood pressure, but it didn't do much for my PAC's.

I took Metoprolol (beta blocker) for a few months, but that dropped my heart rate into the low 40's. That was a bit too much and made it difficult to do anything physical.

 

[Dalton]

Understood. The metoprolol got my HR down into the high 60s, but the unintended consequence was that it also lowered my very normal blood pressure down to 90ish/mid 50s, so I would get light headed when standing up pretty often. Riding the bike in the heat, being a little dehydrated, would get a little scary. I stopped taking it for a couple weeks during covid, and my HR went down more, and BP returned to normal. WooHoo!

 

[mountainsoft]

The metoprolol got my HR down into the high 60s, but the unintended consequence was that it also lowered my very normal blood pressure down to 90ish/mid 50s

Yeah, my BP dropped to 90/60 on Metoprolol. Combined with the inability to do anything physical, I stopped taking it.