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Author Topic: Palpitations, now a heart murmur urgh, was it HRT? any help?  (Read 4462 times)

Jojo2675

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Palpitations, now a heart murmur urgh, was it HRT? any help?
« on: January 16, 2026, 09:20:53 AM »

hello  :) I just joined today, as I have seen so many fabulous posts on here from yourselves as i am always randomly reading and always come across this site to help with HRT/menopause answers, so I thought right I may need some help myself here with what I am experiencing or any thoughts, see what you think?

Im 51 end of next month, I was experiencing very odd sensitive to heat dizzy spells last summer, which I have never had before, along with panic attacks and just generally feel odd. I thought hmm this might be a case of Peri as i came off the pill in 2023 and had a break ,come mid 2025 it was like boom the symptoms appeared out of nowhere, Im quite an anxious person but not on this level : ???

So went off to the docs, she popped me on the estrogel pump, one on each arm and the progesterone 100mg x2 tablets at night for the 14 day on period then off. I have been on this since late August of last year and its been fabulous, no dizzy, anxiety spells, sleeping, moods better, partner is very happy!  ;D

However, hmmm lately I have been getting these rather odd palpitations, like a thud in the middle of my chest, rather annoying, more on edge and when I was coming down from a huge mountain climb after christmas, boy I had the worst palpitations which with electroytes they kind of went, but thought I would get this checked out!

Off i went again to the docs, she said oooh you have a systolic murmur, when she listened to my heart, we must get this checked out with some tests and lets put your estrogel up to 3 pumps a day. (I havent got to that part as its a huge jump from 1 a day  :-\)

So I am now off to the cardiologist,  :'( but hmm not too sure what to think really, is it HRT how did it come about, anyone else had this and got to the bottom of it or suggestions?

thank you for reading  :) xx
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bombsh3ll

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Re: Palpitations, now a heart murmur urgh, was it HRT? any help?
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2026, 08:03:34 PM »

Palpitations are very common in perimenopause and it sounds like this murmur is an incidental finding which has probably been there all your life.

I would make sure you have had an ECG and basic panel of bloods including full blood count, electrolytes and thyroid function whilst awaiting your cardiology appointment, and beyond this try to put it out of your mind as the vast majority of murmurs are completely benign.

There is no way this can have been caused or worsened by using hormone therapy as until recently your own body was producing the exact same hormones in much higher quantities.

You could also try supplementing magnesium and potassium. There is a proprietary brand called "heart calm" which has both.

Just don't let the cardiologist tell you to stop your hormone therapy - this has happened far too often in the past and whilst many are now menopause literate and aware of estrogen's cardiovascular protective effects, medical education tends to be very siloed so there are still some who believe incorrectly that HRT is dangerous.
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