"Spasm" feeling in chest, no pain involved. A few questions.

Wow. It is very comforting to know other people get this.

I have just started having heart spasms, i had my third one last night while i was watching a movie. I have been having shortness of breath and increased heart rate for the past few months though.

I am 20 and a student, and i used to drink a lot of tea and coffee since i was young, sometimes several cups a day. Recently i have been more sensitive to caffiene, and when at first i would get a bit hyper drinking coffee (with 1 sugar), i now get scarily high heart rate, figity and frustrated. And then this occurs, usually about 10 hours after drinking it. I put it all down to caffiene and decided to stop drinking it completely. However, now it happens even if i haven't had caffiene, or if i've only had one cup of tea (with no sugar) earlier in the day.

Does anyone else get this with caffiene?

I get very freaked out when it happens, the first time was on a bus and i thought i was going to have a heart attack, and had to clutch my chest in the hope that it would slow down. I do try to calm myself down but it's very hard when you don't know what's going on.

I used to be anaemic since i didn't eat very well as a kid, but now i eat more meat and vegetables, so i'm not sure it's because of that. I might try taking vitamins just in case though. I went to the doctors for a blood test last week, but i'm waiting on the results of that. I got my blood pressure checked at the same time and the nurse said it was fine, but then i hadn't had any coffee that day.

No one else in my family seems to get this, and my aunt asked if it was maybe my bra fitting, but i don't think it is that either.

I'm going to go see a doctor about it anyway, but it's nice to hear that it isn't so serious :-)

I've been having this chest fluttering thing on and off for at least 8 years. It started when I was going through some really terrible situations. A little while before these weird chest spasms started, I was having panic attacks. Didn't think much of it, as I have had panic attacks on an off for most of my life. Anyway, the panic attacks did start to subside for a bit, but then these chest spasm things started...which being the anxiety-prone spazz that I am...would totally freak me out and cause me to go into a full-blown panic attack.

I was quite certain there was something wrong with my heart even through I workout and run pretty regularly, but I went to the doctor and got an EKG just to be sure...nothing...I was as healthy as could be.

At that point I knew it was anxiety...so the doctor put me on a low dose of fluoxetine and xanax for the panic attacks...The chest fluttering eventually went away and the life situation got better as well...

i found this on the net because this happened to me today, again. i don't have these very often maybe once a month or every two weeks but when i do it freaks me right out. and yes, like alot of you i am prone to panic attacks.

the only thing different from you guys is that i always thought it was my lungs not my heart. i thought my lungs were collapsing. my doc said it might be bronchiospasms, but i don't really think so. one thing i started doing since i realized they aren't killing me is i would sit and try to burp afterwards and i would honestly have a non stop supply of burp in my chest.

not sure if it's gastric related, lung related or heart related. but it sure gets the adrenalin flowing in a very scary way. i feel for those of you who have it several times a day. yet i want to thank you for comforting me because knowing you are still kicking around makes it feel so much more safer and benign.

I've been having these sensations for about 2 years now, but one thing is different for me; I never get them by surprise. It seems, unlike everyone else who's posted on here, I can make my spasms happen all by myself whenever I want. In fact, they feel kinda nice, like a good adrenaline rush, where it sometimes rushes down my arms and legs and into my throat.

One thing that's quite strange for me is how tired they make me feel if I do loads of them in one day. After so many of them that I can pump out, they sort of get harder and harder to do, like whatever is rushing round my body is running out. And if I do it lots, I sometimes start shivering like crazy, particularly in my chest. Although it doesn't always start in my sternum. I can, if I really try, get the same feeling in my arms by over-relaxing them.

I feel like I'm the only one who has these specific cases with whatever this spasm is. Can anyone else do it at will? It seems you all get "attacks" and "suffer" from it.

I posted on page 5, so here's an update! since september 2006 i've had chest spasms, radiating from my sternum to back area & shoulder blades in less than one second, like a quick flash but debilitating and worrying. they've fallen away recently, but chest 'wash' sensations under and around my left nipple and hot, burning scary sensations in my left and right chest meant that I had to go to a cardiologist at the rome american hospital. ok: 2 hours in there comprised a 45 minute chat about what I was feeling exactly, when - during the day / night - family history, any other problems, concerns, drink, smoking etc. ECG at rest was normal, bp 130/80, blood oxygen 99%, and adult heart ultrasound completely normal. he actually scanned the exact points where I was feeling chest wash sensations and spasms and he said 'you're fine'. ok, we can all fall down and die at any time for any reason, but it's clear that many people here are scared of these sensations so please go to see a specialist in cardiology (NOT hospital first aid cos they'll give you a quick fix which more often than not is wrong - in my case, valium for anxiety) and get the full picture. the cardio doctor said for me it's bad anxiety and POSTURE (I work on a pc all day, 12 hours, 7 days a week on a shocking anti-ergonomic hell of a wooden rickety chair) that causes tension in the skeletal muscles in my chest wall and back = discomfort and random, sometimes painful sensations. he prescribed the anti-spasticity drug baclofen to reduce skeletal muscle tension in my chest. I hope it works. I just started the treatment tonight. we can all have MI's, my cousin had one at 40, I just turned 40. a friend of a friend had one a few months back aged 29 and didn't pull through so people, go to your cardiologist and get checked. i've got blood tests for LDL, HDL, heart muscle hormones etc. + an exercise ECG in october just to do my best to keep on top of the situation. that's it! ciao

i actually went to the doctor and he thinks i have a hiatal hernia. that might really be a good reason why this is happening to us.

I just had this sensation too. I've had a it a few times other the past month or so I guess. It's not really a pain. More like a shock sensation that is sent up to my head and arms. Only this time I was masturbating when it happened. It was right in the center of my chest. Anyone else been doing the "deed" and have it happen?

mine started 3 days ago

every 9 - 10 minutes .. all day long upper left side of my chest.

i have no doctor to see.. no insurance... and am gonna have to ride it out like everything else..

I thought I'd update you guys with what happened to me at the cardiologist - posted a few weeks ago and said I was going.

He checked me out again and then he said that the sensations I was having are an "ectopic" or extra heart beat. What he said happens is that there are cells that control the beating of your heart. Then there are some extra cells that can do this and they can put in extra beat. Your heart then takes a bit longer to get over it and fills more than usual, then it has to beat harder to compensate (I hope I am explaining this right, I suggest you google it for yourself). It can feel like a bump or thump, or a strange sensation for a few seconds. He said that in my case in his opinion it is totally safe. But of course, come back if anything else happens or I have worries about it.

He said that these heart beats can be made worse by many things - caffeine, alcohol, stress, menopause or inflammation (in my case it gets much worse when I have a chest infection).

I notice it is worse in the evenings, if I've had a biggish meal and then I lie down. Burping, passing wind etc seem to help it.

I've been doing relaxation exercises and it is much better than when I wrote my previous post. I'm sure it was stress related. You can sort of work yourself up into a real state about it. I still get them, sometimes once or twice an evening, but not all the time like I was. I don't mind them quite so much now. I just breathe deeply and deliberately relax all of my muscles.

I think that if you have these sensations it is certainly worth going to a cardiologist to check it out. If there is something wrong then the sooner you get it checked out the better. If not, then it really sets your mind at ease and makes the whole thing more manageable.

I cannot believe I have FINALLY found all these people with the same thing I've been fighting with for years now. It's also a releif to see that none has died from it!! :-)
This thing controls my life basically. I'm really afraid to exercise cause that's when it happens, that twitchy, fluttery feeling, and when it happens it scares me to death, and because of it my heart rate goes sky high. But then sometimes just a simple movement will cause it, like reaching over my head, turning quickly to look behind me, or sometimes just sitting at my desk, or bending over. I'm a nervous wreck because of it, it's the first thing I think of in the morning, and it's the last thing on my mind at night. I think it is something stomach related because I always have severe bloating right before it happens, and the bloating is normally preceded by some stressful or tense situation. I've had panic atacks for over 10 years now. I have refused to take medication because I don't like pills, but now I think I may need to reconsider. My life simply doesn't belong to me anymore, I can't enjoy anything anymore. Is there risk of dependancy with drugs for anxiety?? I know anxiety is the root of the problem.

OMG I also have had this happening to me for about the past 2 yrs. It jsut recently got me to a cardiologist and I have my follow up appt with him this Fri regarding my Stress Test and Echocardiogram that done. His nurse however told me they both show nothing wrong with my heart.

I had actually been doing good for a while with no flip flops in my chest going on but I went with my son while he cut grass yesterday and by yesterday evening my breath was getting taken every 5 - 10 mins and it has continued into today and tonight. Laying in bed coughing every few mins I decided to get up and google and found this forum.

I'm glad to know my heart is ok but I really would like to know why my breath is getting taken all the time.

Just glad to know I'm not alone.

I literally just got home from the gym and i am usually there for 2 hours today 30 min because i have had it with thess spasms. its been scaring me so bad that i time my heart every second of my life. i have not been do the doctor yet but after reading some of the reply's i am going to request a 3week monitor. thank god i found this website, i do not wanna live in fear lol and not be able to lift.

Hey Everyone. I've been having the same exact problem and have no idea what to do about it. At one point I had a panic attack because I felt the spasm while I was working out...and now I'm afriad to go to the gym because of feeling these spasms. The spasm occurs randomly or something if my chest is tight because I feel anxious. And if I'm working out, it occurs every 5-10 minutes...so I don't work out at all and I wish i could! but i'm too afraid to. The spasm is a strange feeling...like it feels like a flutter in my chest...in the middle and it takes my breath away for a second. It's very unfomortable feeling and I wish it would just go away! Its so startling and because of it I get anxious. I've been taking anxiety meds to try and calm myself down but it doesn't help with the spasms. I don't know what this thing is! Has anyone found out what it is? or what causes these spasms? Please let e-mail me! _[removed]_ It would help so much! I would really appreciate your responses. Thank you!!

I think it is really important to deal with the anxiety side first ie get yourself throughly checked out by a cardiologist to make sure you have nothing wrong. It does really help you relax about these episodes.

The cardiologist I saw did not give me medication for anxiety but did give me Metroprolol (Minax). He said to keep it with me and to take half a tablet if I feel the fluttering sensation is too annoying.

So far I've not used them at all. Basically he said to keep exercising regularly and doing all the healthy stuff. He even had no problem with the glass of wine I have every day. I find having the tablets there very reassuring because I know I can take them if the sensation gets too hard to take, or I have a period of stress that will make them too hard to deal with.

I do still get these episodes, particularly in the evening, usually once or twice a day, sometimes many more times, but I don't feel as disturbed by them and they seem to be less disturbing the less I worry about them.

I have been having the oddest sensations, and everybody I ask, even the doctor seem to just dismiss it.
I am female, 44, single, no children, living in Australia.
I am quite overweight, and about 8 months ago I started getting a few chest twinges. Never lasting more than a few seconds but scary all the same. I also had pain coming around from my back under the right arm and around the right side of the chest.
My blood pressure was up and she put me on BP tablets.
Then the doctor also said I had costachondritis and told me to take Paracetamol.
I then started to get a strange flipping feeling in me chest, like a small animal was doing backflips. It made me feel sick for a few seconds after it happened, and would occur sometimes 4 or 5 times an hour.
This went on for months, the twinges still occuring and some pain. At it's worst I went to the ER twice, and nothing showed up in the EKG or bloods.
They send me home after a couple of hours.

The the doctor had me wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours...nothing happened while wearing it.

The she said she thought I had a Hiatus Hernia, she put me on Nexium.
I do sometimes have problems with wanted to burp but I wasn't getting heartburn. I had on the rare occasion has mild reflux, but not bad.

Now I am getting...along with the occasional twinge...this strange feeling that is like an electrical charge going off...somewhere between my upper chest and head. The wave travels throughout my upper body and head for a second or two and then subsides, but it is very intense and scares me a moment. I wouldn't call it a pain, but a surge more than anything. It usually happens at night when I am relaxed on the couch, sometimes when I am laying in bed.
I also can no longer sleep on my stomach...certainly not when I first go to bed at night. I find I now have to be propped up in bed. About 4am, I seem to be able to roll onto my stomach and the problems seem to have settled. I now fear the nights because this is when it flares up the worst. I live alone, and fear something is going to happen and I wont be able to get help.

It seems like I am at the doctor everyweek, yet I know nothing, and doubt she even takes it seriously.

I do suffer panic attacks, which probably makes it worse, and to add to my worry, my younger sister (42) has just been diagnosed with Breast cancer and we have all the extra concerns for her.

I am ready to fall into a heap, scared for my own health, and unsure what the hell is going on with me.