Are heart palpitations always atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter?

#1

Or are they sometimes, like during keto flu, just harmless palpitations?

#2

I have them when my iron level is low.

(Lonnie Hedley) #3

Iā€™ve found certain foods cause my heart to act irradically. Sour cream, although delicious, makes my heart pound like Iā€™ve just run a marathon.

#4

@Primal123

Do you think it is just harmless heart palpitations or are all palpitations atrial fibrillation or flutter, which can cause stroke?

Do our hearts just beat wierd sometimes and it may mean nothing or is every abnormal beat life threatening?

#5

There are many types of ā€˜palpitationsā€™ from many causes and atrial fibrillation is just one cause. Electrolyte imbalance can be a big one, as can structural problems or heart disease, but all need to be investigated if they persist.
Some can be very benign and just annoying - others can herald a more significant issue.
You wont know until you get an ECG and blood tests, or maybe other investigations, so it is not possible to diagnose the type of palpitation from the written word.

If you are having regular palpitations please seek medical assistance. If you develop shortness of breath, chest pain or become dizzy during the episode then call an ambulance and do not drive yourself
Take care xx
(40 years as IC nurse and IC paramedic, so I feel I can comment on this topic).

(Tom Seest) #6

You can have heart palpitations without it being Atrial Fibrillation or Atrial Flutter. If youā€™re worried about it, get it checked out be a Cardiologist. You can also buy an AliveCor Kardia that will allow you to instantly check with itā€™s one lead ECG. Optionally, it allows you to email the ECG to a cardiologist for a reading to be certain.

Food and drink can trigger palpitations so itā€™s worth having it checked out if it happens frequentlyā€¦

#7

@jennyellen

Thanks!

#8

@tdseest

Thank you!

(Omar) #9

I think it is from the electrolyte unbalance

It is hard to maintain electrolyte balance with keto diet

I have the same issue I still could not figure out which food trigger it.

(Madge Boldt) #10

Hi Tom,

I was looking into that monitor today wondering if it might help me. I have just gone back into AF after 7 wonderful years of normal sinus rhythm (Had surgery to correct AF in 2011). I had an EKG yesterday that clearly shows AF, but when I feel my pulse, sometimes I am in rhythm and sometimes not. But feeling the pulse is a bit subjective. I even prefer taking my BP so it shows the irregular heartbeat symbol (or not). This monitor seems like a great thing. Is it working well for you?

Btw as soon as I returned to the dreaded AF, I re-listened to the Scary Heart Stories podcast to hear your AF story again. Mine is different of courseā€¦ but it did get me to wondering about autophagy and how it removes the scars on your heart. In my case, that is actually a bad thing. The surgery I had to correct afib involved a radiofrequency device that created lines on my heart to trap the electricity. Those lines of course are scar tissue. Now, I really donā€™t think I have fasted enough to undo all the lines my surgeon carved, but your story sure makes me wonder!

Thanks for sharing your story.

(Tom Seest) #11

Yes. The AliveCor Kardia has been scientifically proven to be an effective tool, and most cardiologists love it.

My cardiologist recently blogged about it again here: https://theskepticalcardiologist.com/2018/03/07/can-alivecors-mobile-ecg-device-combined-with-its-kardia-pro-cloud-based-platform-replace-standard-long-term-rhythm-monitors/

(Madge Boldt) #12

Great to hear! I had seen that blog, possibly from an earlier post. Wish I had as good a cardiologist as yours. Pretty nice to see the latest news coming right from your doc, so you know he is up on the latest.

I ended up ordering a cheaper one just because it got decent reviews and doesnā€™t require a subscription. I figure it will be better than taking my pulse all damn day, which is what Iā€™ve been doing. And I am actually in a good solid rhythm now, so who knows what is going on. If I end up needing something better than the one below, Iā€™ll get the Kardia.

Emay portable ECG/EKG Monitor (PC Software Compatible With Both Windows & Mac)

#13

Palpitations are not always atrial fibrillation, as better explained by other posters above. I use a stethoscope and listen to my heart. I watch a clock with a second hand to see if my heart rate beat is in close synchrony with the the second hand.

Atrial fibrillation is a fast heart rate of greater than 100 beats when the person/patient is at rest. As noted in the question, it can be termed a ā€œflutterā€. as a story, I had an episode of atrial fibrillation recently, my heart went fast, I felt giddy and weak*. It reminded me of falling in love with my wife.

*weakness associated with blood pressure dropping

Heart palpitations can be short bursts of irregular beats, or a premature beat occurring irregularly at a normal steady heart rate of between 60 to 80 beats per minute. The thing about palpitations, if they persist over an extended period, they can trigger atrial fibrillation.

Heart palpitations and premature heart beats can make a person feel weak or ā€˜that something isnā€™t right.ā€™ It can feel weird in the chest area but not painful. that said, pain is a differing experience for each individual. Some people experience a pounding heart feeling, and sometimes can even sense the pulse inside their ears when lying down.

if it doesnā€™t feel right, go to the emergency room at the hospital. They set up a 12 lead heart monitor that will tell if the problem is atrial fibrillation. Iā€™m not sure if there is a monitor (yet) that can tell you if youā€™ve fallen in love.

(Jeri R Joy) #14

I have had the blood test and all of my levels are good. I am having a Holter monitor put on tomorrow for 48 hours. The palpitations come and go. I drink 2 pkts of Electrolyte mix, 1 in am and 1 in pm. They are very annoying and I think my blood pressure has gone up because of my stressful worry about them. I am seeing my Dr. regularly and theyā€™re trying to figure it out. I am also seeing a certified nutritionist, who is the one who put me on the Electrolyte mix. I do understand that for 65 years Iā€™ve over eaten and have been changing my lifestyle to Keto diet and am hoping this will pass, so I can continue to lose and feel better. Iā€™ve lost 13 pounds total, but fluctuate between 10 and 13. Thank you for your feedback and any more you have would be appreciated.

(Madge Boldt) #15

Hi @JOY18
How did your monitoring session go?
I just had a 2-week monitor. In two weeks, I had 3 short bouts of AF (like really short, under a minute), a couple of short SVTs, and one scary tacky rhythm that lasted 17 seconds. I say scary because that was the one listed as ā€œCriticalā€ on my report. Never felt a thing for any of these!

Iā€™m not worried about any of this. Seven years ago I was in full time 100% persistent afib and had a maze procedure to correct it. Sure I was hoping for 100% OUT of AF for life, but recently noticed some palpitations going on. Monitoring shows Iā€™m 99% sinus rhythm, so Iā€™m still happy I went through the surgery. Only problem now is having to take anticoagulants. But that is a whole different topic for another forum!
My GP had told me that she wouldnā€™t have suggested a keto diet for anyone with heart rhythm issues. She suggested that ketones can be excitable to the heart, much like caffeine. I have found no evidence to back this up. I asked my cardiologist about this yesterday, and even with her being quite conventional, she said ā€œthere is far more evidence that says excess weight is an issue for afib. Do whatever you can do to get to a healthy weightā€
I digress! Best of luck with your monitoring results!

(Jeri R Joy) #16

I have an appointment for followup on the 25th. Iā€™m also getting a second blood test done today. Hopefully will figure it out next week! Not as frequent as before!

(Paul Devery ) #17

I would say spot on. About 3 years ago (not on keto) but after my second pulmonary embolism lung clots I was put on Eliquis apixaban anticoagulant. Couple months later I developed tachycardia. Heart monitor showed extra beats, missed beats, atrial fibrillation and SVT from the ventricular lower half of the heart. So flutters you can feel can be any of the above. I was put on Toprol XL (Metoprolol Succinate) initially 25 mg daily, later 37, and now 25mg twice daily. However low salt from my new Virta keto diet seems to turn off Metoprolol and my heart rate jumps around, even just when standing at HR 100.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #18

Iā€™m surprised Virta is recommending low salt, given that it was Dr. Phinney from whom I first heard about the PURE study, which showed a clear dose-dependent association between sodium intake and overall health, with the bottom of the curve (healthiest outcomes) between 4-6 g/day (10-14 g of table salt).

(Edith) #19

Iā€™m curious: Is the Virta Diet actually suggesting low salt?
If I didnā€™t use salt liberally while low carb I would have imploded in on myself due to muscle cramps like the Titan submersible, and I would have needed a pacemaker due to all the heart palpitations from too low salt.