Tachycardia and/or A-fib - What does it feel like to you?

I know everyone is different but I'm curious what others have experienced symptom-wise with either Tachycardias, A-Fib or even A-flutter.

My dad had Tachycardias and A-fib. He died young. His brother now has it too and is struggling with it. My cousins and I are getting tested for the gene that runs in families that have a-fib. I'm on a 30 day event monitor which already recorded by itself twice in less than a week of wearing it. I'm hoping its nothing but I've been having "episodes" of palpitations that make it feel like my heart is in my throat and beating super fast. It feels really off and it makes me do those annoying small coughs like when you have a tickle in your throat. I also get shortness of breath, pressure on my chest and I feel a tad woozy. Its been going on for years but only once in a blue moon. It comes out of no where, nearly always when I'm resting. It feels nothing like a panic attack.

Normally like my heart is pounding super hard, dizzy, short of breath, etc.

The worst it ever was...I was breathing but my blood couldn't get oxygenated so I felt like I was suffocating. A couple times I passed out. :/

Really short of breath, like my heart is going to jump out of my throat, light headed.

All the stuff that you said you experience sounds exactly what I go through.

Quoting Punk Rock Princess {EBFT}:" Normally like my heart is pounding super hard, dizzy, short of breath, etc. The worst it ever was...I ... [snip!] ... was...I was breathing but my blood couldn't get oxygenated so I felt like I was suffocating. A couple times I passed out. :/"

Eek. The cardiologist asked me if I ever fainted. Thankfully, I have not.

When your heart feels like its pounding, where do you feel it? Just your chest? When I feel the symptoms I described, I feel off but its not like a huge event. I feel like a pansy for even going to the cardiologist but with my family history, I didnt want to risk it any more.

Did yours show up on a stress test or how was it discovered, if you dont mind me asking?

Quoting LittleTiger:" I know everyone is different but I'm curious what others have experienced symptom-wise with either Tachycardias, ... [snip!] ... but only once in a blue moon. It comes out of no where, nearly always when I'm resting. It feels nothing like a panic attack."

those coughs are a defense mechanism.. dont' cough small.. cough hard. it can snap your body out of it. It causes a "vagal response".. which lowers your heart rate. Or.. bare down like you have to poop, or pop your ears.

Some people have no symptoms.. others feel short of breath, or some can actually feel their heart racing.

Quoting __Julia__:" All the stuff that you said you experience sounds exactly what I go through."

How often do you experience them?

I'm so full of questions but I'm getting no answers from the doctor yet. Its killing me that I have to wait close to a month before I find out the results of this Cardionet monitor. My uncle just had an ablation and hasnt been available to talk about it. I'm only 24. My dad's didnt start till his early 40s.  

Quoting LittleTiger:" Eek. The cardiologist asked me if I ever fainted. Thankfully, I have not. When your heart feels like ... [snip!] ... I didnt want to risk it any more. Did yours show up on a stress test or how was it discovered, if you dont mind me asking?"

I feel it in my chest, it's not a huge event most of the time. It was only really bad right after giving birth to my first baby. My b/p was normal so it wasn't blood loss but my heart rate was around 200 and I couldn't breathe so it was dx then.

Quoting snglemama:" those coughs are a defense mechanism.. dont' cough small.. cough hard. it can snap your body out of ... [snip!] ... your ears. Some people have no symptoms.. others feel short of breath, or some can actually feel their heart racing. "

Oh also gently pushing on your eyeballs with your eyes closed helps. Sounds weird but my m/w recommended it and it helps sometimes.  

Quoting snglemama:" those coughs are a defense mechanism.. dont' cough small.. cough hard. it can snap your body out of ... [snip!] ... your ears. Some people have no symptoms.. others feel short of breath, or some can actually feel their heart racing. "

Thank you for the info. I'll have to try those out the next time it happens.

Quoting LittleTiger:" How often do you experience them? I'm so full of questions but I'm getting no answers from the doctor ... [snip!] ... just had an ablation and hasnt been available to talk about it. I'm only 24. My dad's didnt start till his early 40s.  "

Probably about once every couple of weeks. I noticed it when I was in high school so about 4 or so years ago.. and ended up being sent to the cardiologist by my regular doctor. I don't really remember a lot of the specifics but they did an EKG, gave me a heart monitor to wear for 2 days and at the end of it I had an ultrasound done. Basically they said that it wasn't severe enough to take any action on it but to come back if it gets worse. (I don't remember what they said they could do)

I hate it. I have to sit down for a couple minutes when it happens and I do that cough thing too... Its scary for me. I hate that I have no control of whats happening and it reminds me that if my heart just decided it wanted to stop it could... and if it did get worse right now I have nothing to do about it because I have no health insurance  

Quoting snglemama:" those coughs are a defense mechanism.. dont' cough small.. cough hard. it can snap your body out of ... [snip!] ... your ears. Some people have no symptoms.. others feel short of breath, or some can actually feel their heart racing. "

This is good to know! No one has ever told me this before.

Quoting __Julia__:" Probably about once every couple of weeks. I noticed it when I was in high school so about 4 or so years ... [snip!] ... to stop it could... and if it did get worse right now I have nothing to do about it because I have no health insurance  "

Awe. I dont like the loss of control either. I've always felt like a ticking time bomb because of what my dad's side has experienced. Now that, I'm having issues, I feel like I'm completely doomed. I told DH that we need to get life insurance on me as soon as I hit 40. I'm petrified that I wont see my kids get married and have babies.

Quoting Punk Rock Princess {EBFT}:" Oh also gently pushing on your eyeballs with your eyes closed helps. Sounds weird but my m/w recommended it and it helps sometimes.  "

what???!!!

Im a trained ICU nurse, never heard that one. It may help the feeling.. but it's not going to get you out of A-fib.

Quoting LittleTiger:" Thank you for the info. I'll have to try those out the next time it happens."

are you having A-fib... or just bursts of tachycardia? tachycardia just means fast heart rate.. it can be caused by different things... and originating in different areas of the heart... and treated differently.