Heart pounding out of chest

Hey ive read almost all of these, although this helps im still kind of freaked out at times. This has been going on for a while now with me. I use to think it was because i smoked pot, not the case even though i havent in 5 months. I still experience these "heartattack" things. My heart will beat heavily and almost like skip a beat it feels like. Ive checked my pulse many of times and its not beating very fast but i have noticed that after every 7th beat there is a slightly long pause til the next beat. i also experience pains in the left side of my chest, my left shoulder and all the way down my arm. Its very hard to get to sleep which sucks. I also feel light headed at times. Just recenctly within the past couple days my legs have felt very tired. I ride longboards and walk to campus or ride my board but im pretty fit, 6' 2" 175lbs. When this goes on im always thinking im going to have a heartattack or a stroke. FREAKS ME OUT!!! ha im only 18 years old so im just curious to know why this is happening to me. If anyone has suggestions on what to do let me know asap.

I had the same problem and by reading all the post I came to a conclusion. It is stress, try to calm down, and with that I mean not just when you have the symptoms, try to make your life a little more relaxed, that should do it.
As I said before I had this problem, I haven't had and "episode" in 2 years, but it is coming back, and actually my life is quite stressful this days.
It started when I was 18 (know I'm 22), I was failing at school... well, my life was a complete mess, one day, while I was working out it started, I had these repeated "attacks" specially when I tried to sleep, my cure was my girlfriend, yeah I know it sounds lame and romantic, but is actually true, my sister is a psychologist, and once she told me that the best thing you can do in the day is kiss someone, or just be hugged, and it true, it not just raises your self-esteem, but it is quite relaxing,

Hi all.

I came here looking for answers after being woken last night with a very strong heartbeat that was painful and remains that way now. Looking at the 7 pages of posts up so far I think there are some common factors that can be used to help figure out what people are experiencing:
Some people report smoking, coffee, energy drinks, illicit drugs.
These could all potentially lead to increased stimulation of the heart via the adrendergic beta1 receptors. This may occur directly or by stimulating the release of adrenaline or noradrenaline (epinephrine or norepinephrine).
Triggering these receptors will cause the heart to contract in a faster, more forceful manner. Stress and anxiety can also trigger the release of epinephrine.
Several people mentioned this happened during or following exercise. During exercise the cause is likely to be a combination of systemic epinephrine and an increase in sympathetic stimulation from the autonomic nervous system. Following exercise, dehydration causes low blood pressure and the heart increases its output to compensate (one of several mechanisms to cope with low blood volume). Another problem may be a lack of (or excess of) potassium. A lack of it may be caused by drinking pure water and not ingesting enough potassium following exercise. It can lead to muscle weakness and can cause heart problems including arrythmia.
Having this occur once or twice then leads to anxiety and the problem continues. The fact that most posters appear to be quite thin/fit (and I have unfairly assumed male), means they are more likely to become aware of a strong heartbeat compared to people who aren't in that category.

I don't know if any of this applies, just throwing it out there. Personally I'm going to eat a banana for potassium, drink plenty of water and try not to stress about my exams. I'm a 25yr old male by the way, so I'm in the same category as most of you.
I don't mean to preach but please don't use the internet to diagnose/treat yourself. Some doctors suck but there are excellent ones out there too. You should certainly consult them instead of reading a post like this and deciding to set up a beta-blockade using home made propranolol or something.

Good luck with it all.
Cheers.

that should of course say adrenergic...

Hi,

I'm a 22 year old male and I have very similar symptoms. I don't smoke, rarely drink and my body weight is normal for my age. It started six months ago when I had a pain on the left side of my chest while trying to go to bed - I thought it was the beginning of a heart attack for sure and called the ambulance. At the hospital an ECG was performed and they told me my heart is fine and suggested that its simple chest wall pain which should go away in 4 or so weeks.

6 months and many tests later (ECGs, heart ECHO, 24 hour monitor, etc) I am still as clueless to what the problem is as on the day it first happened, and the pain/feeling of unease in my chest is still there. It sometimes takes the form of a dull ache, sometimes of a general feeling of uneasiness or shortness of breath, or even heaviness - but always in the left side of the chest. It usually appears around bedtime but can happen at any time of the day and may last up to 4-5 hours. It sometimes keeps me awake until sunrise. I have noticed that I can feel my heart very clearly in the times of these pains through my chest wall - something that I struggle to achieve when the pains have subsided.

All the doctors I've seen don't seem to take it seriously - all that matters to them is that the heart results are not life threatening, never mind the fact that it keeps me awake at nights. The latest one I saw gave me some anti acid reflux pills to see if that makes a difference, so far nothing has changed.

I have been rather stressed in the past year however, with uni exams and work so that may be at least part of the cause. At any rate it seems I have to sit and wait until either the pain goes away for good or it turns into something that is easier to diagnose...

How many of you drink energy drinks (red bull) or take pre-workout supplements (NOxplode, jacked)?
I've had the same exact symptoms as of recently and am going to try abstaining from the above to see if that helps.

I have the same problems. My heart pumps real hard and the left side of my chest hurts sometimes. But it's been non stop. My fingers or arms haven't been tingling or anything, but I don't know what to do.. My heart wont stop pumping so fast.

To the 30 year old guest with heart palpitations. I have had the same symptoms since I was 13. I am 43 now. I was diagnosed with SVT (supra ventrical tachycardia). I take Atenalol (50mg) once a day. Over the years I have learned many things about this condition through trial and error. Stress and caffine triggers the change in heart rate. Excercise is actually a good thing. It helps combat the stress. Over time my episodes have become fewer and fewer. It is very scary and if it gets too bad go to the ER and there are things the doc can do to reverse the situation.

I have a similar challenge.
For me it is DEHYDRATION.
Red bull, caffeine, alcohol, are all dehydrating.
if you cut out the caffeine or other products that are dehydrating, you might notice that the problem goes away.
It did for me.
J

Hey guys, I`m 19 and I am thinking about going to the doctor about this.
Il be standing, walking or sitting when all the sudden my heart feels like its coming out of my chest. It only last a couple of seconds until I try to catch my breath, which trying to catch my breath seems really hard when you can feel your heart pounding from inside your ribcage.
Its starting to happen more often, but there has been no change in exercising or work within this year.
I wont be scared when it happens but I do get large attacks where I have to hold onto my chest and open my mouth like a goldfish to try and breath.
It`s weird because everyone around me doesnt know its happening because it only last a few seconds but for me it feels so slow.
I`m hoping to get a second opinion on going to the doctors, I don`t want to waste their or your time, you don`t have to answer to this.

Thanks for reading
Happy new year also

wow i have these symptoms also. im almost 29 and just started going to the gym lastweek. now while im at the gym i get the beating out of the chest heart beats to. it scares me i slow down and they are still there. i notice when i lay down to go to bed it starts again and it feels like my heart is coming out of my throat. i take slow deep breaths and that seems to make it worse, i cant get it to stop. it worries me. Code:

I have the same problem. I can see my heart beating. It started when I took Zoloft years ago. It hasnt stopped doing it since I took it. I only took it for like a week and a half then stopped. Doctors havent given any medical reason.

Guys, it sounds like you all have what I have. Panic attacks. Textbook symptoms. If it were really cardiac, it would be progressing and they would happen before the surge of fear. Also you would have other symptoms like severe radiating pain combined with numbness and a literal feeling of someone squeezing you to death. It wouldn't just be a racing heartbeat.

First of all, are you all males. Because I recently read about a young man who was 16 years of age that had a heart problem and I think it always happens to males alot.  

i am 14 and i have the same issue i went to the doc and the said that i was dehidrated but its been 7monthes and it still is not gone i drink a lot of water and im in good shape.