I have a history of palpitations which over the years I have been able to manage by cutting down on certain things and generally getting fitter, this time however nothing seems to help. Most of the time I start a ride and i’m fine, I can ride up steep hills ok but the trouble seems to kick in when my heartbeat slows down again. Then the palpitations kick in and can utterly ruin the rest of the ride.
I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has suffered similar problems, I have seen a doctor and had a 24hr ecg done and will eventually be seeing a cardiologist even though im told there’s nothing to worry about. Is there anyone else I could go and see? some sports guru, nutricionist, sex guru, or a mtfu ologist?? I really need to sort this out as its ruining my biking and therefore my life!

sex guru

Definitely this.

How does it ruin your ride? Are you out of breath? Heart keeps pausing and giving you that awful ‘kerCHUNK’ as it starts again?

All of the above, at its worst im left feeling as weak as a kitten. Almost fainted a few times
Actually I lie, heart beat is very fast not slow

Tick, I also get these but usually related to drinking caffeine

have a rest and get it sorted…..DO NOT ignore it, the last thing you want is for your heart to go into AF.
that will ruin your cycling for sure.

Did you get symptoms when you had the 24 hour tape machine on? And, when you were given the “all clear”, was it “we’ve seen your heart rhythm when you have symptoms and it’s nothing to worry about, or “we didn’t see anything abnormal on the tests that we did, so it’s probably fine”?

Intermittent palpitations are a tricky thing to diagnose, mainly because they’re unpredictable. The only way to really know what’s causing them is to see an ECG when they’re happening. A 24 hour tape is one way of doing this, but there are ways of recording the heart for longer, such as CardioMemo (where you activate the recording when you feel palpitations) or an implantable loop recorder (like a USB stick under the skin on your chest that can record for around 3 years if necessary).

Seeing a cardiologist seems like a sensible thing to do.

Trust me im not ignoring it, just frustrated with the slow pace of the nhs. Sadly my GP isn’t helping much

What ton said about AF.

legolam I managed to make the palpitations happen three times during the ecg. Didn’t concern them much.

Ayrithmia (spellink) is not fun, never had it but know a few who have. Get it seen to, don’t ignore it, and if in doubt TREBLE NINE it – this is the one instance that the emegency services will not mind even if it turns out to be nothing.

You can cycle with a Heart issue I know cos I do, its not all black but you need it looked at.

Fair enough. If nothing showed up on the ECG, then I’d be less worried.

What do you mean by palpitations, do you mean an ectopic beat? I had an ectopic beat for a while which was quite alarming, just need to stop booze, caffeine, late nights, and all other fun things, and it went in a few months, I still get the odd flutter from caffeine though. A friend who had a different kind of palpitation (extended periods of 220+bpm) had a small piece of her heart removed, though this was in the US. Anyway, you need to follow it through with the NHS as you seem to be doing and it’ll be OK.

I saw a cardiologist after having a really high heart rate for like hours after finishing a ride. Had the ECG, exercise ECG and ultrasound on my heart and they found nothing. Doc said my results were exemplery and I should live to 90 !
Have cut out caffeine completely now and that definitely helps.

just need to stop booze, caffeine, late nights, and all other fun things, and it went in a few months

sadly, +1

it sounds very similar to what I ended up with. Had a 7 day ECG and turned the cause was mainly caffeine and alcohol. I now don’t drink caffeine at all and try to limit or cut out alcohol days before riding. Pester your doctor to get the cardio to diagnose you correctly in case it might be something more serious

Thanks for the replies all. I guess more abstinence is required. Im losing weight because of it so it’s not all bad. I may bite the bullet and at least get the first consultation done privately if nothing happens soon.

In the same boat as bigjim, flapjack and moda. Last May suddenly started getting what I now know were loads of ectopic beats. Eventually saw a cardiologist who found nothing structurally or functionally wrong. Cut out all caffeine and alcohol and they gradually went away over a period of about 6 months. Haven’t noticed any ‘flutters’ since (touch wood) October and now allow myself the occasional cider (still no caffeine though).

Although it was all weird and scary at the time it wasn’t affecting my riding, so I guess the moral is if you’d are bad enough to interrupt the ride, lay off until you get a proper diagnosis.

This all sounds familiar. I’ve posted this before but thought it was worth posting again if it helps you know other people are in similar situations.
I get irregular an irregular heartbeat after overeating, caffeine, or excessive alcohol. Above all I get it when cycling, usually shortly after a hard effort. When cycling it makes me feel weak and unfit; not really short of breath just low on energy. My Garmin read a bpm over about 50 over the norm when this happened (well over 200 often).
I’ve had several tests and seen a few couple of cardiologists, a small episode was caught on a ecg recorder. Both cardiologists said that there was nothing to worry about and it’s probably paroxysmal af, maybe that is reassuring even though googling about it isn’t! I haven’t been riding much in the last year so I’ve had few attacks, if it’s started happening regularly I’d be straight back to the doctors.

One last thing is that if you apply for a PHI (permanent health insurance) and you have seen the doctor about this then you are likely to be refused cover, which is nice considering the doctors consider it nothing to worry about.

Permanent AF is another matter though and something that you should worry about – read Ton’s posts on it.

Disastrous ride tonight, had to give up and turn back. Tomorrow I’m giving in and getting a private appointment, bye bye new saint brakes 🙂

Thanks again all, wish me luck

Sorry, what’s “AF”?

Atrial fibrillation

Let us know how you get on bigh. Good luck

I was getting ‘flutters’ when resting.. went to docs and sent to hospital where theygave me away a recorder that i was wired too.. had to wear it for 3 days. everytime i got a flutter i had to look at the recorder and write down the exact time it happened. returned to hospital to get results and it turned out it was an ectopic beat.. as above, cut down on caffeine was the main one and living a bit healthier..

Quick update.

After months of giving up alcohol and caffeine, and basically getting nowhere, i finally feel as if i’ve made progress. I stopped eating so much bread and for a week now I have been trouble free.
I realise I’m in serious danger of counting unhatched chickens here but what the hell, it’s easter 🙂
So it could be a gluten thing, seeing cardiologist on Friday still but right now i’m a very happy easter bunny.

I had similiar systems, had ecg, and heart tests, no issues, I’ve had heart issues in the family so was naturally worried, which added to the anxiety, I finally had a blood test and was diagnosed with an abnormal thyroid, now on a daily dose of levothyroxin, all good now, although I still get palpitations and anxiety if I drink too much, especially red wine. Sounds like you’re doing all the rights things, a simple blood test might rule out other issues.

bigh, good luck and fingers crossed for you mate.

keep us informed with your progress.

… interesting – I kinda get this sort of thing too. Some useful ideas above. I was just taking it as ‘one of those things’, which I guess is a bit stoopid, considering it’s my heart ‘n’ all. Tends to happen after a hard effort on the bike, weirdly – as I slow down and take a breather. Ectopic beat/paroximal AF – dunno what’s the difference here?

DrP to the forum? 😉

I’ve had ECG stuff – echocardiograms, specialists look at me – all say it is fine and not to worry about, but the one piece of advice given to me by the last cardiologist was that, given my (exceptionally) active lifestyle, as I aged, I would run the risk of developing long-term AF (I’ve also had two short episodes of AF previously). He suggested that I should try to limit both the intensity and duration of exercise that I do – which is now my mantra.

This said – I probably do love all the ‘bad’ stuff too much also – very strong coffee and, like everyone I do drink a few pints of beer occasionally. Not sure I could actually live without caffeine though! Hmmmm… this bread/gluten thing is interesting…. I’m wondering if milk could be a similar issue. Bread/milk/beer/coffee – basically all my favourite things 😕

no eyed deer, thats exactly when I get them too.
Im currently taking some vitamin supplements and i also take Aloe vera gel tabs, but nothing helped until i stopped my bread based diet. Not easy with a packed lunch required every day.
Rewski, Red wine is a trigger for me too, all the next day im screwed 🙁
Ton, thank you.