Fast heart rate - MS related ?

I saw my gp today as i had a tightness along the top of my chest and was slightly short of breath. ( have had ‘hug’ before and did not feel like that). Gp listened to my heart and imediately told me to go to hospital as is was beating very fast. The hopstial carried out an ecg , x-ray , bloods etc and all came back clear but heart rate still remained fast. As they could noy dind anything ‘wrong’ they were happy for me to go home and suggested it may MS related . The doctor said he was unsure as he did not know very much about MS and that I probably knew more than him !! He said if I felt worse I was to go back to my GP and also to contact MS nurse.

Has anyone else experienced this ?

Probably not MS.
See your GP and tell them “fast heart-rate and breathlessness”.
Some surgeries have a nurse or technician who just takes blood-pressure and heart-rate as a quick screen.
Let them delve into weight and exercise and all that.
It is probably nothing - but you do need to be sure, or the worry will elevate your heart-rate.

Geoff

Thank you Geoff, i got all those tests done at the hospital after my gp checked my heart which was beating at 120 and sent me imediately to the hospital. My heart rate still stayed high whilst still in the hsopital but as they found nothing wrong else where with ecg, scan , bloods etc.

I know what you mean about worrying and making the heart beats raise. - felt it again last night !

I have e-mailed my MS nurse , so waiting for her to get back to me .

thanks once again

Cath

Hi Cath, with all tests coming back clear my only thought is you are suffering from panic attacks. They’re horrible and you get into a vicious circle because you’re tachycardiac, short of breath, chest pain, which in turn make you panic so it just goes round and round. If it happens again breathe slowly, in through your nose to the count of 7 and out through your mouth to the count of 11. Each time purposely relax your body, let your shoulders drop and think of something calming. Also breathing into a paper bag when your heart is racing helps the attack to subside. Take care xx Julie xx

I am afraid tests coming back clear does not rule out a potential heart problem. A persistent fast heart rhythm may need medication at the very least. On the other hand, it could also be due to panic attacks-depends on individual circumstances :slight_smile:

that’s what i would have thought , Blossom. I don’t particularly feeling stressed about anything at the moment. It makes you wonder though whether the doc ’ well , she MS , so it can’t be anything else!’ still waiting for MS nurse to get back to me - that could be next Julember !!! x

No! You go back to your gp if it continues and get it investigated further and treated if needed :slight_smile:

Sometimes they arrange for people to have a 72 hour portable ECG, just to monitor how the heart is working. Try not to worry…silly thing to say I know :slight_smile:

1 Like

Oh the old you have MS it must be that! makes their life so easy, if only everyone had MS we would not need GPs as there is nothing wrong, must be MS! I sometimes get heart palpitations, very fast, not as bad as yours sounds, but it is scary and leaves you wondering…

This mind sound a bit whacky but have you eaten fast food, take away food or any other form of chemical, processed food? Years ago i was visiting a friend, we got a takeaway (probably full of MSG and other such tasty things!). All 3 of us thought we were going to die in the night as heart going mental. so diet can also have an effect.

Hope you get sorted soon!

SP

Oh and one other thing, my body through a complete hissy fit last year, my love affair with coffee had to come to an end as that sent my heart and bowls racing! And sugar also, it was like my body was shouting enough crap enough crap! i had ignored it but finally had to listen.

SP

A pulse of 120 is high!

I could get up to that with violent exercise in the days when I smoked (say back in the 1980s).
But, coupled with the breathlessness, this is a job for the GP - don’t wait for the MS Nurse, go to the GP now.

It may be just a “panic attack”, but is it is more than that, you need to know now, and so does your GP. Do not be put off by the “Well, you do have MS …” thing. Like Blossom says, they can easily check if there is a problem - just don’t be fobbed off!

Geoff

Back in the mid-90s, my illness was a ‘mystery’. The one symptom that I thought was odder than the rest, was that my heart rate would get faster and faster after exercise. I’d walk the kids to school, cycle back and sit and read the paper and my heart rate would become more rapid over about 20 or 30 minutes. I tested this effect again with an exercise video. Same thing happened.

I managed to get to the GP’s surgery whilst in the middle of one of these episodes and he prescribed a beta-blocker, which I still take today. I reckon it was the MS though.

I wasn’t stressed, I wasn’t unfit, but I did have MS symptoms that were obvious (one sided numbness, lack of balance, extreme fatigue) and no one even mentioned MS.

Thank goodness things have changed.