98 replies to this topic

[6ort]

For the past 17 months or so I have been trying to find a way out of this hell-circle of symptoms that have just befallen me out of nowhere in late 2012.

It all started one day when during lunch my heart started beating much much stronger than normal. I had trouble falling asleep due to the intensity of the beats, but oddly enough my blood pressure and heart-rate were normal (HR is usually pretty low, 50-60). In all this time I have done numerous heart tests (a ECG, 24-hr monitor, treadmill stress test and ultrasound) and they have not found any problems with the heart. Yet, the pounding continues. A couple of months later I have also started getting weird rushes of what felt like adrenaline in my chest, then my heart would skip ocasional beats, or stop suddenly, followed by a rush of some kind where it would restart with the next beat being stronger.

I've done numerous lab tests and the only thing that I can find as problematic is a high TSH (I take NDT thyroid hormones for that which, admittedly, don't do much other than lower my TSH) and I have high cortisol.

I have done norepinephrine and epinephrine tests in urine to rule out a tumor and done an abdominal scan but this all came back normal as well. I also sweat excessively for no reason even when the ambient temperature is fairly low, I am always tired and wired at the same time, can't really relax. Think it's of note to mention that I've been dieting in some way or another since 2009 with sometimes very low calories and alternate day fasting. I have not had health problems before doing these things.

I've experimented with numerous supplements and the only one which helps a bit is taurine.

After a bit of reading it seems that the only things that would lead to an increase in heart contractility would be something that would increase calcium in the heart, like norepinephrine through the sympathetic nervous system. And I believe that is what is involved in some way or the other as all these symptoms came around the same time. I know my hormones are messed up because I have some other apparent problems but the heart thing is bothering me the most. Interestingly the thing that provokes it the most is stretching, that really seems to make it beat like crazy for 20-30 seconds, along with random muscles in my body twitching at a fast rate during that time. It seems like being stuck in some state of overexcitation, and not sure how to proceed from here. Beta blockers would probably be unwise due to the already very slow heart-rate (which I've had even when I was still healthy).

[Adaptogen]

It sounds like you have an anxiety disorder. Since the tests have ruled out any obvious heart problems, this seems the likely conclusion. being overly aware of your heart rate is not helpful either, and tends to trigger more panic attacks.
anxiety would also make sense as to why taurine seems to help. (gaba agonist -> anxiolytic effects).

Do you exercise regularly? Do you consume cannabis, nicotine, or high amounts of caffeine?

My advice:
1) daily exercise of some form, weight training several times a week, cardio a few times a week. By getting your heart rate up in a healthy and necessary way, you will learn to disassociate a rapid heart rate with feelings of panic.
2) practicing mindful meditation (although it is possible that focusing too closely on your breathing could set off an anxiety attack)
3) nightly magnesium of ~400 mg.

I've had positive results from theanine. It is mild, but unique in its effects, and i think it is worth a try for anxiety, at 250-800mg range.

Beta blockers are not a bad option, but you should keep that in mind as a last resort, and first try to conquer the problem on your own. with a resting pulse of 50-60, beta blockers would probably not bring your HR too much considerably lower than this. Additionally, there have been some studies done in regards to beta blockers and fear extinguishing. The effects stay, even after you stop taking the beta blockers. However, there can be some rebound upon halting use. I do not think they are necessary for your situation.

[6ort]

It sounds like you have an anxiety disorder. Since the tests have ruled out any obvious heart problems, this seems the likely conclusion. being overly aware of your heart rate is not helpful either, and tends to trigger more panic attacks.
anxiety would also make sense as to why taurine seems to help. (gaba agonist -> anxiolytic effects).

Do you exercise regularly? Do you consume cannabis, nicotine, or high amounts of caffeine?

My advice:
1) daily exercise of some form, weight training several times a week, cardio a few times a week. By getting your heart rate up in a healthy and necessary way, you will learn to disassociate a rapid heart rate with feelings of panic.
2) practicing mindful meditation (although it is possible that focusing too closely on your breathing could set off an anxiety attack)
3) nightly magnesium of ~400 mg.

I've had positive results from theanine. It is mild, but unique in its effects, and i think it is worth a try for anxiety, at 250-800mg range.

Beta blockers are not a bad option, but you should keep that in mind as a last resort, and first try to conquer the problem on your own. with a resting pulse of 50-60, beta blockers would probably not bring your HR too much considerably lower than this. Additionally, there have been some studies done in regards to beta blockers and fear extinguishing. The effects stay, even after you stop taking the beta blockers. However, there can be some rebound upon halting use. I do not think they are necessary for your situation.

I ride a bicycle fairly often and do strength training 3x a week. Nothing too intense because physical activity makes the beating way stronger so that it sometimes skips and gives me chest pains. Then I also tend to hear my pulse in my eardrums, and feel it in my neck etc. so I am afraid of pushing myself too hard until my heartbeat can somewhat normalize again.

I have never touched cannabis or cigarettes. I drank coffee for a short while some months ago and concluded that it often increased the adrenaline feeling around mid-day so I stopped.

I've mixed magnesium chloride solutions myself at home and taken it for many months both orally and transdermally and it did relax my muscles a bit but did nothing for above symptoms.

One thing I forgot to mention is that all of this started a couple days after I had a fairly stressful event at college - a presentation for which I was unprepared for... my hands and voice were shaking etc. Consciously I brushed this off pretty quickly after the whole thing ended but I suppose it could have stirred my autonomic nervous system up and now it is stuck in some distressed state. Because I am not really (and never was) an anxious person per se - so if there is a source for all this anxiety it must be something chemical in nature. I definitely didn't do myself any favors with all that low-calorie dieting which really compromised me in many areas. my thyroid took a hit and my TSH was 5-7 without meds (which I am still dialing in the dose).

But I am going to give a try to some of the things here you mentioned, I was recommended also some other things like tianeptine, benadryl, etc. which I am a bit scared to take as the only thing I've taken are the fairly safe amino-acid, mineral and vitamin supplements so far. Is there anything else I could look at other than theanine, supplement-wise?

[Adaptogen]

it's very possible that the anxiety attack during your presentation is what triggered your problems.

One bad attack is enough to cause a panic disorder. At least, this was the case for me. I wouldn't mess with benadryl as an axiolytic or 'bad memory extinguisher'.
Assuming this is all a result of anxiety, and nothing else, i think it would be a good idea to push yourself hard in the gym. you don't need to necessarily wait for your heartbeat to normalize. you need to disassociate rapid heart rate with feelings of fear. this can be done by purposely inducing rapid heart rate, and taking it just as it is- the healthy functioning of the body as a result of epinephrine.

You could also look into bacopa and ashwagandha. Both are pretty good for anxiety and health. Of the two, bacopa has more potential because (i think) it actually upregulates gaba, whereas ashwagandha is just a gaba mimetic.

[sthira]

Have you looked into mitral valve prolapse? http://www.nhlbi.nih...ics/topics/mvp/

[Adaptogen]

if he had mvp, the echocardiograms would likely have picked up on it, i think. still, that is yet another reason for adequate magnesium supplementation
http://www.ncbi.nlm..../pubmed/9070556

[mitomutant]

What values do you have for QT/QTc interval (EKG) ?

[6ort]

QT 386 ms, QTC 448 ms.

 

They looked at my heart with almost all tests and said that nothing changed since my birth. I had a couple of things like a heart murmur and such but that never caused problems and he said all the parameters are still the same and there are no problems with the heart. He didn't even see the murmur anymore.

 

I do not think this is a heart problem. Because this just started happening out of the blue. 17.11.2012. Like a switch flipped in my body, and from that day on my heart has not beat normally.

I have these miniature rushes of adrenaline just from doing simple actions like crouching or standing up. My heart beats very strongly, when I walk up a set of stairs I can hear blood rushing through my eardrums, my whole neck and chest and everything jumps up and down with each beat. I get occasional skipped beats as well.

 

I can't live like this anymore. It's not going away. It's been 18 months already -  I am going crazy. I was supposed to be done with college in 2013, I am still not done. It is handicapping my life to such an extent that I'd rather be dead.

 

I will get some serum tests for adrenaline and noradrenaline, and ask for beta blockers. I need to find at least something that helps, so that I can get further guidance. I know that if I found the right thing it would disappear just as quickly as it came, but I have been unsuccessful in that.

 

P.S. Thyroid medication does not help either. Whether being on nothing at all vs 120/30 T4/T3, nothing changes.

Edited by 6ort, 16 June 2014 - 08:44 AM.

[6ort]

I am taking pregnenolone 300-400 mg the last week or so, and I feel a fair bit better. Heart palpitations less noticeable, less adrenaline symptoms, feel less stressed... not out of the woods yet but it's making it tolerable. Where to go from here? Should I get complete hormonal work up? There must be a good reason why pregnenolone helps.

[Nemo888]

Get your IGF1 levels tested. I was getting episodic tachy/bradycardia from low growth hormone. Once supplemented it went back to normal. If your IGF levels are low it would also explain the low FT3 as growth hormone is used to convert FT4 to FT3. Easy to prove or disprove with a simple blood test. I had no anxiety problems.

 

I might even get a pituitary panel TSH, LH and FSH with free testosterone as well. No blows to the head, car crashes or a history of sports like football?

Edited by Nemo888, 26 June 2014 - 03:21 AM.

[mono]

I'm in a similar boat. I've always suffered from anxiety/panic disorder but only recently started getting chest pain/palpitations. At first I couldn't understand how a physical symptom could be related to a mental state, and I was pretty worried about it. Could barely sit down without feeling agitated and it would keep me up at night while I lay in bed trying to sleep. Keep in mind it was a purely physical sensation to me, I was never having an anxiety/panic attack at the same time!

Anyway I got it all thoroughly checked out and everything was normal and the doctors have me the lowdown on it being an anxiety reaction. I admit I found this difficult to accept. The tests are very good and thorough these days.

My pdoc suggested I take valium next time I got palpitations, this of course allowed my mind to relax and the sensation diminished quite dramatically. Given the fact that the palpitations always pass, overtime I disassociated my concern with something being wrong with my heart and replaced it with an understanding that it was a manifestation of my anxiety. The palpitations don't bother me so much anymore I just let them pass, and the intensity of them does tend to dissipate - the intensity seems to rise and fall over periods of months. Exercise does help, I personally surf and being out in the ocean is one place where I never get symptoms, plus the endorphin relief after a good session always seems to relax my heart.

Check out this it's worth a read: http://en.m.wikipedi...osta's_syndrome

[6ort]

I have tried Xanax and some other things which are supposed to help, and other than making me feel dazed and sedated they did not lower my symptoms or make me feel better overall.

 

I don't believe there is anything in my head that I need to "sort out" because I think and feel (mentally) the same way I always did. The pregnenolone is the only thing that is making a noticeable difference. Coupled with my blood tests I know I have hormonal problems because of that. I just need to find someone who will take me seriously. It's equally dangerous to write something off as "anxiety" if it has an actual physical reason. I spent the last year and a half walking around from doctor to doctor getting absolutely nowhere, they would not help me or even take interest in figuring out what is wrong with me. IT was so ridiculous. Wait 6 months for the next appointment and suffer, only to walk out of the room with no more knowledge or relief than before. Of course, I kept trying things on my own all that time as well. And like I said, the pregnenolone, together with a medium quantity of thyroid hormones, is the only thing keeping me together at the moment. Not all the meditation in the world would have given me this relief, because there is an underlying chemical cause to this entire issue. I already feel much better and more normal because my symptoms are less. So that is a circle, but you have to break it at the right place, because for me meditation and relaxation and various herbs did absolutely nothing.

 

It's just tough to sludge through this all on your own, having to do the research and obtain knowledge that your doctor is supposed to have, and can't rely on anyone for help.

[Nemo888]

I'm in a similar boat. I've always suffered from anxiety/panic disorder but only recently started getting chest pain/palpitations. At first I couldn't understand how a physical symptom could be related to a mental state, and I was pretty worried about it. Could barely sit down without feeling agitated and it would keep me up at night while I lay in bed trying to sleep. Keep in mind it was a purely physical sensation to me, I was never having an anxiety/panic attack at the same time!

Anyway I got it all thoroughly checked out and everything was normal and the doctors have me the lowdown on it being an anxiety reaction. I admit I found this difficult to accept. The tests are very good and thorough these days.

My pdoc suggested I take valium next time I got palpitations, this of course allowed my mind to relax and the sensation diminished quite dramatically. Given the fact that the palpitations always pass, overtime I disassociated my concern with something being wrong with my heart and replaced it with an understanding that it was a manifestation of my anxiety. The palpitations don't bother me so much anymore I just let them pass, and the intensity of them does tend to dissipate - the intensity seems to rise and fall over periods of months. Exercise does help, I personally surf and being out in the ocean is one place where I never get symptoms, plus the endorphin relief after a good session always seems to relax my heart.

Check out this it's worth a read: http://en.m.wikipedi...osta's_syndrome

 

 I was getting tachycardia while I was sleeping and I have been wondering about orthostatic hypertension lately. Shink tried to label it night terrors, but I was just physiologically jacked up. HGH costs too much but IGF1 LR3(50$ a month) worked for me, First night I took it I slept well and HGH worked even better and seemed to reverse the damage. With my very limited perspective it looks like some sort of damage to the brain stem. Lyme disease can cause POTS sometimes. I did contract it while serving as well. The problem is if you have an uncommon condition no one will waste the resources looking for it.

 

My advice don't panic just because you are panicking. Nothing very good or very bad lasts for very long.
 

[mono]

Please do keep us updated on any info/developments you find regarding treatment of your palpitations/chest pain etc.

 

I have personally found valium will settle my palpitations quite dramatically which does suggest it is related to anxiety, as strange as it seems as I can get the palpitations when I am totally relaxed! I don't want to be using valium regularly though due to it's cognitive decline. Perhaps another health positive supplement that works on GABA such as ashwaghanda/bacopa may be of some benefit.

 

I tend to go through phases where I barely notice them, compared to when then they can be an absolute pain in the ass. Just got some rather agitating chest pain myself which makes me consider a beta blocker despite my experience with potential side effect profile of mainstream medication.

 

I'm going to do a bit of research myself and this thread has made me consider talking to my doctor again despite all the tests being clear.

 

The only options I can think of is to do a bit of indepth research over the net, or find one of those "alternative/holistic" doctors who are willing to do a bit of inquisitive experimentation into treatment options.

 

Anyway please keep us updated as I will with any further insight I have, and all the best mate!

Edited by mono, 02 July 2014 - 10:09 AM.

[6ort]

Really hanging in there thanks to the pregnenolone. It's saving my life I think. I ordered 20 more grams from smartpowders and it's making me feel good enough to not go insane in the meantime. Damn, now late at night I almost feel normal. Anyway, I'm about to switch doctors and then hopefully get a complete hormonal work-up and see where that takes me. So glad to have found something that gives at least some relief.

[neurotransmitter]

I am in the same boat as the OP. Finally fed up with the annoying symptoms I did some test. The first up is TSH. Here is the report and it's very hard to decipher what the numbers mean can someone help me out?
 
http://oi61.tinypic/5cab90.jpg (open the link in browser put dot com after tinypic to view the report. the spam restrictions don't allow me to put dot com links here insane for the admins to do this)

Edit: link is fixed now; you can just click it.  -mod

Edited by niner, 29 August 2014 - 03:02 AM.

[6ort]

2.4 TSH means you are a bit hypothyroid. Ideally you would be between 0.5 - 1.0. Nothing to serious though, you could try some dietary changes and supplements and see if it helps. The doctors probably won't treat you with this TSH but it is high enough that you could have hypothyroidism symptoms.

[neurotransmitter]

Thanks for translating the report for me. Well that's a bit confusing I mean if you have palpitations/racy heart wouldn't you be experiencing hyper as opposed to hypothyroid where you heart is actually relaxed?

 

Anyways, great to hear its not serious but the search still continues. I still believe my palpitations has some connection with thyroid or some other hormones not producing enough of them. I'm certain its not anxiety since I can still feel them even when I'm calm. Maybe I should get T4 and T3's done before completely ruling out thyroid.

 

 

 

[6ort]

Not having enough thyroid hormones causes some drastic changes in cellular metabolism seeing as it's needed in pretty much every cell of the body. The effects of hypothyroidism can vary somewhat between different people but if you look around a bit, you will see that there are indeed people who have heart palpitations (usually a pounding heart like I do) from not having enough thyroid hormones.

 

I know what you mean about the anxiety, I don't consider myself as having it either and I know I have hormonal problems, but the doctors just lump me in the same category as all the people who have it and give me benzo's and atenolol. Why am I going to take atenolol if my pulse is 58? Ridiculous.

 

Anyway, if you are going to test it further then get T3, T4, FT3, FT4, and it wouldn't hurt to get antibodies (Anti-TPO and anti-TgAb) just to be sure you don't have Hashimoto's. If you want to see if hypothyroidism is indeed your problem the best thing would be to find a doctor who would be willing to put you on a trial of natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) because usually, they work a lot better than synthetic hormones. Then, if you felt better you could keep taking it for 6 months - 1 year while doing some other tweaks and that could be enough to fix it.

[mono]

Very interesting thread.

I'd like to stay updated on this.

Will post more later.

[6ort]

No sign of mono :D

 

 

Anyway, I started taking atenolol some days ago, just a low dose, 25 mg's. It seems to help a bit for a couple of hours after taking it (probably due to the short half-life), but ultimately doesn't feel like it's solving the problem. It doesn't lower my pulse much either. Hence, I don't feel like this is adrenaline driven.

 

The palpitations tend to get noticeably worse after eating wheat. And become quite less noticeable early in the morning 2-3 AM. I feel quite good at that time.

 

This leads me to believe there is a digestive/hormonal component here. Definitely not anxiety. Would like to hear from others if you've made any headway. I am going for further hormone tests.

[mono]

Well I'll post what is working for me.

I had a psychosis 2013 which AAP's brought me out of. Tried no meds but symptoms returned - mainly adrenalin like rushes and hallucinatory based fear/panic feelings as well as (imo) anxiety related palpitations. A huge part if this for me was disassociating my fear of these palpitations and understanding I was ok and it was only anxiety.

Now on low dose of AAP - takes care of symptoms. Taking 1000mg EPA/DHA + 150mg coq10 daily for around 3 months so far and doing a pretty intense exercise regimen also for around 3 months so far. Involves 30-40 mins of cardio (jogging/swimming) 3-4 times per week as well as strength/weight based hitt at around 15-20 minutes 1-2 times per week.

My heart rate as dropped around 10bpm and no palpitations to speak of for the last month!

[6ort]

Thing is, when I look up anxiety I don't have any of those symptoms. I feel the same mentally as I have always, except that now I have this heart problem, and before I didn't. It doesn't get worse in any social or high stress situations. I was writing a test a few days ago. There was a lot of people there. My palpitations didn't get worse. In fact they were less noticeable at that time because I had people around me to keep me occupied.

 

Then I came home and ate some wheat products. BAM, got worse. Few weeks ago I had pizza and it messed me up so bad that the palpitations didn't calm down until the next day.

If it was anxiety, then benzo's and atenolol would do something. They don't. And then I also feel better at night. So what now. Am I supposed to go to a psychologist for imagine-anxiety and get therapy for something I don't (know) that I have? I don't think I can have anxiety and not know it. Like I said, I feel the same as always. I also don't have a high heart rate so it's unlikely to be adrenaline - my pulse is in the 50s. So what can increase the force of the heart, for 2 years non stop?

 

No clue what to do. Cardiologists tell me everything is fine with my heart. Endocrinologists don't want to look at my hormones beyond my thyroid, which I am taking meds for - they do nothing.

Should I go to a gastroenterologist and have them shove probes down my throat, since food makes me worse? I really don't know anymore. This problem really doesn't make sense.

Edited by 6ort, 17 September 2014 - 01:27 PM.

[niner]

Then I came home and ate some wheat products. BAM, got worse. Few weeks ago I had pizza and it messed me up so bad that the palpitations didn't calm down until the next day.

If it was anxiety, then benzo's and atenolol would do something. They don't. And then I also feel better at night. So what now. Am I supposed to go to a psychologist for imagine-anxiety and get therapy for something I don't (know) that I have? I don't think I can have anxiety and not know it. Like I said, I feel the same as always. I also don't have a high heart rate so it's unlikely to be adrenaline - my pulse is in the 50s. So what can increase the force of the heart, for 2 years non stop?

 

No clue what to do. Cardiologists tell me everything is fine with my heart. Endocrinologists don't want to look at my hormones beyond my thyroid, which I am taking meds for - they do nothing.

Should I go to a gastroenterologist and have them shove probes down my throat, since food makes me worse? I really don't know anymore. This problem really doesn't make sense.

 

6ort, I have something vaguely related-  a year or two back, I started having a really strong pulse when I was trying to sleep.  It didn't make sense relative to heart rate, anxiety, etc.  A cardiologist found nothing wrong.  Eventually I figured out that "something" having to do with blood vessels around my ears has changed, and if I lay on my side, I have a strong perception of my pulse.  Essentially I am hearing it.  It's bothersome enough that I have to find ways to lay where it doesn't happen so I can sleep.  This makes me wonder if your problem isn't more on the perceptual side, rather than the cardiac side.  One thing that I have in common with you is a low calorie diet.  I've been low cal / low protein for some years now, probably slightly CR.   I'm starting to make an effort to eat more, particularly protein.  Maybe a diet alteration would help you?  Just a thought.

[mono]

Anxiety doesn't always directly correlate.

Think of ot this way. Stress releases toxins > toxins lead to vessel damage > damage causes palpitations which can happen with complete randomness.

This is not an accurate description. Just giving an example, if not an analogy of how stress or anxiety can cause palpitations even when you're not feeling stressed or anxious.

Not saying this is your case either. Just making sure you fully understand the possibility before you dismiss it.

[6ort]

6ort, I have something vaguely related-  a year or two back, I started having a really strong pulse when I was trying to sleep.  It didn't make sense relative to heart rate, anxiety, etc.  A cardiologist found nothing wrong.  Eventually I figured out that "something" having to do with blood vessels around my ears has changed, and if I lay on my side, I have a strong perception of my pulse.  Essentially I am hearing it.  It's bothersome enough that I have to find ways to lay where it doesn't happen so I can sleep.  This makes me wonder if your problem isn't more on the perceptual side, rather than the cardiac side.  One thing that I have in common with you is a low calorie diet.  I've been low cal / low protein for some years now, probably slightly CR.   I'm starting to make an effort to eat more, particularly protein.  Maybe a diet alteration would help you?  Just a thought.

 

 

The only time I hear it in my ears is if I have my ears pressed against a pillow, or when things are particularly bad. Normally I don't hear that so often.

 

But I DO feel it in my chest, all the time. And that one is definitely not in my head. Because my family members felt it too, and even a doctor commented on how hard my heart skipped one time when he was listening to it with a stethoscope (sp?), but gave no mention as to the cause or what to do about that.

 

The skipped beats do not happen on a good day either. But the pounding, or the increased cardiac force is there all the time. Like you would flip a switch labeled "Force of heartbeat" on that day from normal to "extreme", and kept it there.

 

This is absolutely, 100% happening. I have been lifting weights and exercising since 17 and running and jumping rope and all kinds of things. Never in my life have I felt my heartbeat work like that, no matter what I was doing. And now, even something simple like standing up can make it beat harder than those activities would ever make it. So, if this is all just my perception, then the next things I expect to be seeing soon are ghosts and goblins, you know?

 

The most ridiculous thing is how I go to all these doctors and they either don't see, or are utterly uninterested in my problem, sending me away with more tests that I have to wait half a year to get, or another useless pill. That's how I am still here 2 years later with the same problem. Of course, I have tried numerous things on my own in that time, but with limited success. The things that I can say helped at all would be: thyroid hormones, pregnenolone, taurine (seems to have lost effect recently), and atenolol a bit. Beyond that, there's barely anything.

 

In those 2 years I have tried changing my diet numerous times, and what I am eating now are the foods which I can safely eat without making the palpitations worse.

I eat eggs, lots of fruit (except oranges, those used to mess me up), cottage cheese, meat, rice, potatoes, organ meats, and so forth. Those foods I can tolerate. But usually wheat products trip me up. And sometimes just eating the wrong food at the wrong time makes it worse as well. But mostly wheat products are a definite trigger.

[niner]

When I talk about perception, I don't mean that you're imagining it.  What I meant was that if the problem wasn't with your heart, maybe it was a sensory thing that makes you perceive it differently, the way that I perceive my heartbeat differently now than I used to.  It's not "all in your head", there's really something happening.  It's just a matter of what.   However, if other people can feel it, that suggests that it's a difference in cardiac behavior.  It would be cool if you could get instrumented to follow the arterial pressure in real time.   The connection with food is interesting.  What happens if you drink alcohol?  Alcohol can sometimes induce a palpitation-like feeling in me.

[6ort]

I don't drink so I can't say right off the bat but I can test it to see.

 

There is definitely a change in cardiac function, but not one necessarily mediated by problems in the heart. So I agree with you there.

 

I've run a battery of tests, cardiac included. Ultrasound, ECG, 24-hr holter monitor, treadmill stress test. There were some "things" noted there which sounded fishy to me but the cardiologists (both the one who took the test and the one I went to for a second opinion) said that my heart was perfectly fine. My blood pressure is between 130-140 at rest and does not correlate with the intensity of the beats. Pulse between 50-60 at rest. In short, it all checks out as far as the heart goes, physically. At least what can be seen on those machines. I don't think the ECG can measure force of heartbeat for example. It is mainly used to detect rhythm disturbances.

[mono]

Tried beta blockers?

[6ort]

Yeah, taking 25 mg atenolol but it doesn't do much. Can't take more due to already low pulse. I suppose the problem is not adrenaline so atenolol does not do much, if it was adrenaline my pulse would be higher as well I guess.