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[KittyKats]

Hi Ladies,

I started getting episodes of racing heartbeats when I first went into menopause in September 2019. I saw a cardiologist and she said apart from very brief episodes of SVT I was getting a sinus tachycardia which was probably caused by stress and perimenopause. I went onto Estrogel and Utrogestan last May but am still getting the attacks. They last about 15 minutes and I feel breathless and anxious then I go very cold afterwards. My heart rate goes up to about 135 beats per minute and it's extremely disconcerting when outside. It then takes about 30 seconds to go back to normal. It's predictable!

I am getting a second opinion from another cardiologist and he has said he thinks my sinus node has become overreactive because of lack of oestrogen and that my sympathetic nervous system is on overdrive.

I have a 7 day monitor on and luckily it has caught an episode today. I just wanted to know if anyone else has suffered similar and did HRT help? Maybe my dose is too low. 2 pumps of Estrogel and Utrogestan vaginally alternate nights.

Any advice greatly received x

 

[Moonflower]

Hi KittyKats,
I'd love to hear what you find out.  It's so frustrating not being able to get answers isn't it?  Cardiologists just tell you your heart is ok and it's probably hormones and let you get on with it. It sounds like you got a bit more info out of yours.  Have you heard of Sanjay Gupta (the York Cardiologist)?  He's probably the most holistic one I've come across and he does consultations for about £70 for half an hr. But meanwhile you're living in fear.  Palpitations are horrible!  I had extra heart beats nearly all of last year (up to a 1000 every day) wondering what on earth was going on.  I had all the tests and thought I would feel reassured but still was desperate to banish them from my life.  They calmed down just before Christmas and I had a good 3 months of peace but they've suddenly started up again as I start HRT for the first time! I'm also on the gel (only 2 pumps) and utrogestan.  My periods stopped 2.5 years ago. 
Best of luck with your investigations and I hope things get better for you. 

[KittyKats]

Hi Moonflower,

Thanks for the message. I will keep you posted. The cardiologist I saw is a specialist in post menopausal women's hearts! He seems to know a lot about hormones. I guess they have to distinguish between rhythm disorders and benign palpitations. Thanks for the Gupta tip. I have seen him on YouTube. He's lovely and his videos are so reassuring. I may have a consultation with him as my follow up with results isn't until May 

Meanwhile I am losing confidence when out and about as I feel very vulnerable when I have an 'episode' as I freak out! You mentioned you are on the Estrogel and Utrogestan. I'm guessing you are taking the Utrogestan orally? The consultant did day that when progesterone is higher and oestrogen is lower it causes palpitations and that it was best I took it vaginally. That's why many women suffer in the second half of their cycle. So I'm wondering if you could try a few days without the progesterone and see if it helps?

Wishing you well xx

[Moonflower]

Oh wow, who did you see and how did you find them? (i.e. the specialist in post-menopausal hearts)
Sanjay Gupta is nice and the first thing he said to me was it could be hormones. 

Have you thought of trying beta blockers? My partner's mum takes half a tablet when she goes into atrial fibrillation.  Her heart has reached 250 bpm!  Luckily it doesn't happen too often.

Yes, I take the utrogestan orally. That's so interesting about the uneven balance between the two.  The nurse told me to take it daily without breaks as my periods are no more.

It's been horrible today. Lots of thumps. Worse than ever really.  They seemed to have calmed down late afternoon.  I even tried one pump this morning (and one last night) to try and even things out but that's clearly not worked!

I think palpitations are common during the perimenopause/menopause.  All my friends seem to have had episodes without realising the link but they seem to have settled now they are all post menopause.  Mine did stop in Dec (after a whole year) but have started up again starting HRT nearly 2 weeks ago. It does get you down.

Please PM me so we can carry on this discussion without boring everyone else. I'd love to learn more.

Kind regards,
Moonflower

[KittyKats]

Hi Moonflower! I am unable to PM you for some reason. Can you PM me? I think it's because it's saying I have only posted once even though I have been on here ages.

Thanks! x

[emma5131]

I had this exact problem - horrible ectopics and episodes of racing heart.  It all went away on raising my Oestrogel from 2 pumps to 3 then another 6 weeks later to4.  Now the ectopics are barely noticeable and no episodes of racing heart. So many are not on enough oestrogen to stop this annoying problem. A lot of doctors suggest a dose that might help the hot flushes/anxiety but not enough to help the rest of the autonomic nervous system

[KittyKats]

Hi Emma, thanks for your message. I will start to increase the gel. I had a long episode this am for more than half an hour but my GP called straight after and does not think it is menopause causing this as she said meno palpitations normally last just a few seconds to minutes. How long did it take you to see improvement? It's such an awful symptom!

[Sparrow]

It's not good to assume that every symptom is the menopause.  With that in mind have you had your thyroid checked.  A racing heart can be a sign of thyroid problems.

Take care
Shadyglade

[KittyKats]

Hi Shadyglade,

Yes we put everything down to menopause but it might not be. Strangely enough when I was perimenopausal I didn't have any of these heart symptoms. And I'd miss two months of periods then go back to regular. The cardiologist is doing thyroid and catecholamines testing. The GP is referring me for a kidney scan in case it's an adrenal tumour.

[Sparrow]

That's good.

Looks like you are being well looked after. 👍

[joziel]

KittyKats, how are things going with your heart palpitations?

Just asking because I am also trying to figure similar things out and whether they are caused by high or low estrogen. I just had the classic skipped beat in the evenings and at night, before I started HRT - which is very different to what I have now.

Since starting HRT, that became a constant fluttering that went on for hours sometimes and was associated with episodes of high blood pressure (feeling like I am pulsing against the bed at night sometimes) and waking early (4.30am-6am) with the jitters and feeling a lot of adrenaline or like I've had a lot of caffeine.

I'm at 62.5 and now I'm too scared to go up or down because I don't know which way to go    HRT has solved so many of my other peri health issues and I feel I need the estrogen. Bloods were still pretty low on the 50 patch (233nmol) and I am supposed to be gradually increasing to 75.