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Thank you everyone for your most helpful suggestions and support. I
will take some of these in to my cardiologist when I visit. Here are
just some of the replies, I had many, it seems these are quite common
and scary for many people. I hope this helps others with this
problem, we all have to stick together. If I learn anything new on
this problem, I will certainly post to all. Thanks again. Wendi
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My doctor discovered extra heartbeats this past spring when I went
for my checkup. Following a battery of tests including magnetic
resoning, ultra sound and the holter monitor it was determined to NOT
be related to my CD. My cardiologist concluded that I needed a beta
blocker, a pill that I take with dinner every evening, and I have
been fine since. Every case is different, however, and yours may be
dissimilar to my problem. Good luck.
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Wendi, it is not uncommon in the general population. It can be
controlled with medication, but I wonder if your thyroid has been
checked. That can also lead to irregular heart beat. They will
probably also suggest cut back on caffeine, stress, etc.
Good luck.
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My husband is the one with celiac and that is how his symptoms started about
15 years ago -- rapid heartbeat and elevated thyroid levels. Our daughter
is having rapid heartbeat problems now and has been blood tested and came up
negative for CD. Her doctor who happens to be our doctor, too, says that it
is not CD related and has her on some medication that has greatly reduced
the incidents. She also wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. I believe that
the doctor has her on paxil. We will see how things go when she takes her
off the paxil which will be soon. We were going thru some trying times this
year and doctor seemed to think that was causing the problems.
I can't say that I agree with the doctor, but we wlil see who is right
pretty soon.
Hope this helps,
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I am a celiac and I have this problem. The doctor said I have A-Fib
and put me on Cardizem.
The doctor said that he didn't know what the rapped and skipped heart
beat were from. He said most have no reason or explanation.
My idea is that, it is from non-absorbing my carbrohydrates. I also
have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) Sometimes I pass out in the
early morning because my blood sugar is so low. I know this is
caused by my celiac disease and I have helped myself somewhat by
eating a 1/2 sandwich before bedtime.
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Hi Wendi:
This is getting much more common, the skipped heart beats, the rapid
heart beats, light-headedness, dizzyness, any exertion will increase
the heart beat as well.
I have been having problems quite similar to yours for several years,
and of course my doctor requests I wear a holter monitor and it shows
nothing of any significance. It does make one very anxious. I have
wore the monitor twice in the last 5 years and nothing showed up.
It keeps me from sleeping many a night, so I am now on a sleeping
(actually relaxation pill) so I can get some sleep. I am usually
awake 3 - 5 times a night, only go to bed at 11 ish and am up about
7, so get very tired.
We must keep pushing for an answer to our problem, as there is a
university student in the southern states that has the same problem.
Chat later.
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I have mitral valve prolapse which causes PVC's and AVC's as well as
atrial fibrillation. It is not specifically related to celiac disease
that I know of. Many women (perhaps up to 20%) of the population and
many men have this condition. It is usually benign but can be
serious. The other symptoms sound like what I had when I had the
extra beats, mine were atrial and not ventricular. I still have some
occasionally. Your cardiologist may put you on medication. Make sure
that it does not contain gluten if you are celiac. That is what
happened to me.
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Yes, I have a problem like this. It was pretty scary, but it was finally
diagnosed as Type 1 A-V Block, which is very common and benign. It
requires no treatment and is not dangerous. It has nothing to do with
gluten, as far as anyone knows. I had the impression it was exacerbated
by drinking caffiene, so I switched to decaf coffee and quit drinking
cola. The cardiologist didn't think it would matter, and indeed if there
is any difference it is marginal.
There are many other possibilities for your symptoms, but if they're not
going to bother looking at you for a couple of weeks it means they think
it's not serious.
One thing I learned when I was resolving this problem is that when you
say "heart problem" to a medical person they spring into instant action
and assume you are having a heart attack until they prove otherwise.
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I really hope he did an SMA 12 and a CBC and checked your
electrolytes????? Lots of times with many malabsorbtion problems like
Celiac we do not absorbtion potassium and magnisum and this will
cause all kinds of dysrhythmia's. Darcy
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Wendy, this won't help the skipped heart beats, but it will stop the
tachycardia or rapid heart beats. A doc friend of mine told me this.
When you feel a rapid sequence, just press LIGHTLY on your eyeball,
of course with your eyelid closed. This should stop it immediately,
like in 2 seconds. No other doc I've known knows about this, but my
friend did. It not only stopped my episodes of tachycardia, but it
gradually seemed to modify the behavior of my heart so I never have
those anymore at all. -vance
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I would start taking calcium and magnesium(1000/500)
at least twice a day and 75 mg. of zinc. Add lots of
potassium from orange juice and bananas to your diet.
This will greatly reduce your extra beats. Also, walk,
walk, walk. I have had this problem my whole life and
can keep it under control with this regimen.I am also
seen by a cardiologist--but who wants more drugs!
Good luck,
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Yes I had over 1000 extra beats when wearing the Holter Monitor, I
believe it is from gluten since I no longer exhibit that symptom. A
doc picked them up just listening to my heart and ordered the
monitor. The beats were in the lower left chamber if I remember
correctly but for sure the lower. and that is where I felt the
extreme bloating. I figure my bowel was so distended it was pressing
on my heart. Or possibly a big artery. ......
I forgot to mention if I have a gluten accident my heart pounds like crazy.
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My husband has atrial fibrillation as one of his major symptoms after
accidental gluten ingestion. We spent many hours in ERs while they
tried to figure out if he was having a heart attack or not...he is
normal if he stays off gluten, extreme amounts of sugar, or caffeine.
Hang in there--
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In Feb. 1996 I started having rapid heartbeat. Sometimes up to 200 BPM.
Cardiologist had me wear a monitor for several weeks. When I had rapid
heartbeat I would call 1-800 and they would record it from the monitor and
forward it to him.
He decided to try me on blood pressure medication. I do not have high blood
pressure but because of allergies I have that was his choice to see if it
would take care of the problem. I wasn't able to stay on it as it lowered
my blood pressure too much and made me too tired. He then had me have a
heart ablation. They went in and zapped a dozen times the area they thought
was causing the problem. It did not help. He then sent me to Atlanta to
have it done by a doctor who is a pioneer in doing that procedure. He could
not get the rapid heartbeat when he was doing the ablation.
When I got home I found out about CD and decided to go on the GF diet as
I had been having so many problems. I immediately started the diet and
stopped the blood pressure pills. I never had the problem again. You
did not mention how long you had been on the diet but you wonderred if
you might be getting some gluten that could be causing the
problem.........possibly. I know Drs. will think gluten could not be
the cause but this has been brought up in this group before and it did
cause this problem in several people. I do not remember if it caused
skipped heartbeats. I know what you mean about it bothering you so
much. It really did bother me when it happened. Best of luck to you.
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Hi, I have the same symptoms. I went to a cardiologist and had a
sonogram test where you run on the tread mill and then get to see your
heart in action. They said my heart was healthy. Also had blood tests
to show mineral deficiencies. They were normal. I don't know what is
causing it, but it drives me nuts. I have noticed that since I have
started taking a 1/2 tsp. salt in water at night before bed this seems
to help. Maybe my sodium gets low. I tend to have low blood pressure.
I wouldn't do the salt thing if you have high blood pressure.
Oh well, let me know if you find out anything different.
Good luck,
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I have a similar condition--discovered a few years ago during a regular
office visit. After 3 days in the CCU and many tests including a cardiac
catheterization, it was decided that it is a benign electrical problem. I
was given a choice of medication or living with it. There is also a
surgical procedure that can correct it but it sometimes "over-corrects" the
situation. Then it is necessary to resort to a pacemaker. I opted to do
nothing for now.
I don't know how old you are, but this seems to be more than common in
women after menopause--I have many friends diagnosed with a similar
condition. Some have decided to take beta-blockers to lessen the
symptoms. I hope your problem is also benign. I checked with a well-
known "celiac" doctor and he did not feel there was any relationship to
celiac. I was advised by the cardiologist to wear a monitor for all
exercise since the heartrate goes up suddenly and I am not always aware
it is happening. Good Luck,
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I had similar issue just two weeks ago. I was laying in bed and watching
a cooking show. All of a sudden my heart started skipping (palpitating)
I had terrible nausea, dizziness and hot flashes/ waves that would come
over me- (like fire in each hair follicle and pore on the body) at those
points I felt I was about to pass out.
I was taken to the ER after one hour of these symptoms continuing. The
doctors there ran an EKG and blood test then monitored me overnight in
the hospital when I arrived my heart was at 160 beats per minute almost
like hyperventilation speed- way to fast for resting rate. They came
back asking If I ever had cancer or if doctors ever thought I might have
it... I said no?? It scared me and made me feel very anxious and
nervous, later that night the doctors said my Potassium level was at 1.8-
normal is 3.5-6.5 and that they believed I am malnourished and
dehydrated (to my surprise I eat three times daily and drink fluids all
day)- I went home and still feel mild dizziness to really bad spells of
it. The nausea has not gone away and I am now taking horse pill sized
Potassium- I went in and they checked the level its now at 3.5. I am
going to have the doctors do a biopsy to make sure I am not having
malabsorption issues. My heart is still palpitating through out the day
but has never woke me up at night, it must be very nerve racking. The
Potassium helps the heart, brain and nervous system function correctly.
Hope you get it figured out. I am still doing detective work on this my self.
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I had it before I went gluten free. I went from no symptoms (a little gas
was all), to chest spasms for 6 months until I was diagnosed. I was told
not to go on the diet until I was "well" (they didn't think my chest spasms
were related to the Celiac). About a month after my diagnosis, PVCs started
(they are very, very scary and hurt). They got so bad, I went unconscious.
Even the doctor didn't think it was related to the Celiac. Anyway, came out
of the emergency room, went to a local food store and bought all gluten free
and started my diet. Within 1 day the PVCs stopped, and within 3 days the
chest spasms stopped. I'm still not well, because my stomach/chest are so
sore and I can eat very little, but I think I am healing. Been gluten free
now for 4 months. Don't know if your PVC's are related to hidden gluten,
but sure worth looking into.
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