Heart Thump (Page 1)

Hey mitch. I have suffered from what sounds like the same problem for about 5 years now. At first it scared the crap out of me but I went to a cardiologist and everything came back fine. Sometimes I get this feeling once a day or sometimes it happens several times a day. Sometimes the thump is so hard I feel a little lightheaded for a moment. Do you smoke? I know if I smoke a lot during the day or drink too much caffeine it causes the heart thump more often. I believe it's most likely nothing major and is probably caused by stress or stimulants such as nicotine or caffeine. If you're still worried about this problem I would suggest getting a second opinion. I know a few other people with the same problem and they seem to be fine as well. Hope this helps some.

Hi mitch:

i started getting the exact same things... As a matter of fact, they were the start of all of my anxiety. Do they feel kinda like your heart misses a beat and then does the hard thump? Thats how mine are. This last summer, I had just gotten married, bought a new house, moved to a new town, and started a new job all in about a three week time span. I didn't feel stressed out, but those kinda things are all stressful even if you don't feel it. Anyways I had that strange beat one night and it scared me so bad. It happened over the course of a couple more days, and I had my first panic attack.. Went to the e.R. Cuz I thought for sure I was having some sort of heart problem. Ekg, everything else was fine and perfectly healthy they told me. Anyways, so I dealt with them for a couple of months before I started realizing that I had anxiety. Since then, for about a month or so now, I have gotten control of them, I am way less stressed out, and I also found that caffeine & alcohol were major factors to when they happen.

I am having these same symptoms and I'm worried. It is great to see these posts showing that it is likely Stress related rather than Heart Disease or something. I am a 46 year old female, overweight and not very active. When I do exercise, even just taking a walk, I have an asthma attack--which is new to me as I have never had asthma before.

I will be making an appointment with my doctor asap to rule out any heart problems. I definitely have stress in my life but not sure how to take care of that.

I have the same sort of thing. I feel a lump come up into my throat and I put my finger on my neck and my heart feels like it stops. I had all the test and stress test and all came back fine. My doctor told me it really doesn't stop it just tries to catch up it’s a electrical thing.. But it feels like it stops.. alcohol and caffeine was a big problem.. I stop doing both and now I hardly ever have them.. Not worrying about dieing helped too.. They are SO CAUSED by stress.. You can actually make them worst thinking about them.. If all of your test came back ok.. Lighten up with the coffee and drinking and relax.. You will find then few and far apart! And remember a lot of people have them and they don't die! You will be fine!! What was cool when I talked to my doctor about them.. He told me just what I was feeling.. Because he has them too..
Funny, I kept telling my Husband my heart was stopping he brushed it off and kept saying “right” well one day we where in the car and I had them over and over again, and I said put you hand on my neck.. He did, and I had one.. He say Holly S--- your heart stops..  I said Yeah I’m been telling you that.. But like I said it really doesn’t stop..

Anyone ever get a thump that is so hard in your chest that it actually feel like it hurts?

i have a 14 year old that is very big he says he gets a thump every now and then is this normal

verofire writes,
"Anyone ever get a thump that is so hard in your chest that it actually feel like it hurts?"

I do believe there's an underlying cause other than anxiety - I am 52, I got my second one in 3 days at about 2:45 am this morning. Just like the first one I had just woken but still lying down and drifting back to sleep again. Each time I find myself quickly grabbing my upper right chest area as if someone had punched me from the inside of my chest cavity. Both times I had just woken up; it happens so quickly I have not been able to catch any after effect feeling other than the ensuing anxiety it generates. It didn't seem like anything woke me up and I can't figure out why. The only similar thing is that both times, my body temperature was elevated (very warm- but that's probably because our house is always cold so I wrap up in thick warm blanket). This can't be normal. Maybe what I experienced is different, (maybe it is a latent anxiety effect - don't know if that makes any sense)but I'll haul myself to a Doc by next week.

I have those symptoms of the thump. Sometimes it will happen a few times a day, then I won't get it for a while. They are very scary and no one believes me when I say it feels like my heart stopped. When it happens it makes me take a deep breath then my anxiety kicks in.
I understand where you guys are comming from for sure. Anyone else notice they take a deep breath as it happens it is messed up.

yes i have to take a deep breath too and it is a scary feeling .... i have serious heart problems in my family .. so i don't completely believe it is anxiety because my symptoms come when i am most relaxed.. i had an ultrasound done on my heart and i am wearing a halter monitor for two days ... i see the cardiologist on monday ...we shall see what happens

I have had the samething too. Mine happend at my business and i had to go to the ER. i had Afib and my heart started racing for no reason. 250/minute. did echo,holter monitor, stress test, everything came back fine. It sucks im only 23. Heart problems run in my family as well. Im about to take medicine for anxiety and to help my stress and emotions. I'll let you know if this helps.

i get the same thing,sometimes 3 to 4 times a day,abig thump,then it feels as though my heart skips a beat,sometimes it feels as though it hurts,been to doctors and had a ECG done and bloods everything came back ok? im now changing my diet and doing some light exercise to see if it helps

i get the same thing,,ive had them for 15 years ...they went away for a few years but come back when im under alot of stress..just like a thump..and sometimes alot of air comes up and i burp..very odd and frightnening but i have also been tested so many times and everytime all was fine...so i just go with it..and yes the more u anticiapte them happened the more they do!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I've had tests done and everything too. All normal. Everyone says it's anxiety/stress, but since it causes anxiety right after the thump, my paranoia about it gets the best of me and makes me think the worst. It's a very terrifying experience. I try not to think about it b/c I'm sure I'll just bring on another one lol. For me it happens anywhere from 1-3 times a week.

Does anyone feel a wave of heat come over you when this happens too?

I have the SAME symptoms and YES I get the heat wave. I will actually start to sweat a little too mostly on my forhead. Currently I have been drinking nothing but tea (caffine) and chain smoking while sitting on my ass doing nothing. Im not usualy like this but I recently had surgery on my foot an couold not get around very easily. Its also worse if im laying down. Other symptoms are a swollen neck feeling or tightness anxiety burping and farting a bloated feeling in my stomach feeling the need to take a deep breath anticipating a thump having to move my bowels and being scared or panic. I have found my personel magic pill...Ativan aka: lorazapam. Its only 1mg and very mild also it does not give me any problems with being addictive even though I have had past drug problems with both opiates and alcohol, cocain an other pills. Well I hope my open and honest confession has helped you an someone else. P.S. the reason I came on tonight is because they are really bad like 2-3 every minute. I know its from sittin around like a crackhead with all the cigs an caffine. k good luck

Hi all. I have the same thing. A few times a day it seems, it feels like I have an air bubble or something that comes up into my throat, if I put my fingers on my neck, it feels like my heart stps beating. I spoke to my doctor and he says he has it too and the first time scared him so he researched. He found that the same muscle that makes a person burp,is also a main muscle of the heart. So more than likely it is caused from not releasing a burp. I would try to force yourself to burp or cough immediately after having an episode and see how that works. I will also cough everytime to help bring the burp out. Hope this has been helpful.

Well I think I'm a bit different.. I'm 14, not very active and has no sickness I know of. I get a big thump when I sitting down Or lying down. I came on this site because I had about 2 in the space of about a minute so I got worried. I came on here and started readng everyones reply, and since I started. Ihave had heaps of thumps. I don't feel stressed out or anything but this is creaping me out now that I have had lots in a short amount of time. I also get gurgling and gassy kind of sounds all around my body but mostly in my chest when I lye down.

Should this be something to go to my GP about?

I'm 19. I just recently was at work and stressed as hell. Then I had the THUD in my chest. It scared me shitless. I figured it is a number of things:
1: Acid Reflux; this can cause mussel spasms & burping with uncomfortable, but not painful, weirdness in your throat and chest. This was the main cause of my issue. I'll explain further below.

2: Stress and Anxiety go hand in hand; I found that when I'm stressed it comes around more. In fact, I got hit with both the Acid Reflux and the stressful heart thud at once. It was hell and still is as I sit here.

I recently started drinking raw milk and it was great! Then yesterday, at lunch, I had cereal for the second time with some crappy store bought milk my dad likes. I THINK THAT WAS IT!! That possibly caused my Acid Reflux.
Also, I was so stressed. I work for a call center and they have recently been changing a lot of their online features so people have been flooding our telephone lines. Plus, they expect us to answer emails and chats AT THE SAME TIME!! Flu season has been killing our staff numbers too so it's double the work. This was the cause of the stress. Not to mention I work as a free lance designer and I have like 2 HUGE sites to work on when I get home so this equals like 2 hours for relaxing. It's crappy. So I'm learning to control my thinking and just relax. My father says why think about the past or future or worry about a stressful situation that you have NO CONTROL OVER. It makes tons of sense and is totally helping.

I'm broke as hell so I'm not going to go to the ER or doctors because I can't afford it. Plus I pretty much know what is causing it.

I have the same thing - started a few years ago and has been there on and off ever since. It basically feels like my heart has skipped a beat and then does an extra big THUMP to make up for it. I was checked out and advised it was just stress. Don't worry, you're not alone!

These posts have made me feel so much better already. I have a history of stress and anxiety but have managed them well for many years. Suddenly I've been getting all of the sumptoms described in these posts - heart thumping, missed beats, hot flushes etc and they have really frightened me. I come from a medical background and I was really letting my mind run away with me and was stressing myself out even more.

Reading these posts have pretty much cnfirmed my problem.

All I need now are suggestions on how to stop these sympoms please ! All of my usual relaxation techniques ae not working. I don't drink caffiene, soke or drink alcohol so I am unable to cut those out.

I am not on any medication, but occasionally take Kalms (Hops and Valerian herbal remedy) to calm my nerves. Otherwise I am a fit and healthy very busy working mum !!

Heh, I don't Drink, Smoke, or dabble in Caffeine either. It seems that people who don't do those things have the biggest issue since we have no vices to get rid of. I'm not sure. I think simply relaxing, and enjoying life is the main thing. We're so worked to hell and subconsciously stressed about the dumbest thing like money and our homes. None of those things matter really. It's about Life and other people that are truly our source of happiness and anti-stress.

I take Kalms when it gets bad, plus do a little yoga or go for a long walk. Singing in the car helps, as do long baths! Basically anything that makes me relax - the culminative effect is relief from the symptoms