Pulled chest muscles

[jim]

You know the ones that make you wonder if you are having a heart attack?

I had this happen once. I was uninsured at the time, so I didn't go to the doctor which, in retrospect was idiotic.

Hubby did the exact thing last year. Fortunately he had insurance & went to the ER. Had an EKG & they kept him overnight for a stress test. Then he was a little embarrased. The doc told him "Better safe than sorry."

Definitely.

It does scare you, I've had a few of these. Fortunately with this one it was very specific movements that caused it to hurt, so I ruled out heart attack right away. But I'm 44, and although I don't have a family history, my heart is on the right side of my body (dextrocardia) and I was hospitalized 7 years ago with an irregular heartbeat. It converted at about 3am, I was scheduled for the paddles at 7am to get it back into rhythm. So when something feels weird I get a little jumpy.

[jim]

You know the ones that make you wonder if you are having a heart attack?

I had this happen once. I was uninsured at the time, so I didn't go to the doctor which, in retrospect was idiotic.

Hubby did the exact thing last year. Fortunately he had insurance & went to the ER. Had an EKG & they kept him overnight for a stress test. Then he was a little embarrased. The doc told him "Better safe than sorry."

Definitely.

It does scare you, I've had a few of these. Fortunately with this one it was very specific movements that caused it to hurt, so I ruled out heart attack right away. But I'm 44, and although I don't have a family history, my heart is on the right side of my body (dextrocardia) and I was hospitalized 7 years ago with an irregular heartbeat. It converted at about 3am, I was scheduled for the paddles at 7am to get it back into rhythm. So when something feels weird I get a little jumpy.

I don't blame you.

Now that I'm 50, my heart will do a 'whoops' beat every once in a while
and it certainly gives me pause.

Mine has always done that, I've been told not to worry about it. This incident I had was completely different. No pain, but I really thought I was going to die. Dizzy, lightheaded, couldn't catch my breath. Once the ambulance came to work to pick me up, they were getting like 180 beats at my neck and 60 on my wrist. My blood pressure readings were so bizarre probably because they couldn't really do it accurately.

What surprised me was just how calm I was when I really truly thought there was a chance I was going to die.

Then they shoot me full of this drug at the emergency room and it was like shutdown mode. You know the science fiction movies when they shut down some giant piece of equipment and the machinery goes from this loud hum and ramps down to silence? That's what I felt my heart do instantly, and it happened so fast I was wondering if they gave me too much and it was just going to keep going until it just flat out stopped.

Once I realized I wasn't going to die, I actually was thinking the paddles would be ok if for nothing else than some good stories to tell after. They woke me up at 4am (why don't they ever let you sleep in a hospital) and told me I had "converted", which of course they didn't have to tell me because you pretty much can feel it. No paddles for me.

I would have gotten so much mileage out of that.

CLEAR!

BOOM.

FLOP FLOP.

[Tambourine Man]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

[jim]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

You name it, I've had it. And no, that name doesn't sound familiar.

What happened with me was that at 14 during a chest X-ray for a football injury they finally put the X-Ray up correctly. I had had previous chest X-ray's, but I guess they just flipped them backwards. So they realize at 14 my heart is on the wrong side (actually the right side), and send me for a bazillion tests. Everything was fine, but the doc told me that once I hit 22 or so to go through the tests again.

Of course at 22 I didn't, I had been an athlete etc... and had no issues and didn't even think about it. Once my heart went bonkers, the first thing I thought was I should have had those darn tests done at 22. I just knew my heart was screwed up, stuff switched around and tied in knots and what not, and it was about to fail.

So back to the heart people, a whole battery of tests.

Other than it being flipped, nothing wrong. Good, strong, healthy heart they say. No explanation for the episode, although I wonder about the skipping a beat thing.

I don't know what I've had, but I've had so much stuff done that I'm sure I've had the tests you are talking about. The great thing is when I do an EKG - they can't hook it up right. I tell the nurses, and they just look flustered and confused and hook it up like they would normally. Then ten minutes later the doctor comes in looking all concerned, staring at the read outs. Then they do a mirror image and it turns out ok.

[Tambourine Man]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

You name it, I've had it. And no, that name doesn't sound familiar.

What happened with me was that at 14 during a chest X-ray for a football injury they finally put the X-Ray up correctly. I had had previous chest X-ray's, but I guess they just flipped them backwards. So they realize at 14 my heart is on the wrong side (actually the right side), and send me for a bazillion tests. Everything was fine, but the doc told me that once I hit 22 or so to go through the tests again.

Of course at 22 I didn't, I had been an athlete etc... and had no issues and didn't even think about it. Once my heart went bonkers, the first thing I thought was I should have had those darn tests done at 22. I just knew my heart was screwed up, stuff switched around and tied in knots and what not, and it was about to fail.

So back to the heart people, a whole battery of tests.

Other than it being flipped, nothing wrong. Good, strong, healthy heart they say. No explanation for the episode, although I wonder about the skipping a beat thing.

I don't know what I've had, but I've had so much stuff done that I'm sure I've had the tests you are talking about. The great thing is when I do an EKG - they can't hook it up right. I tell the nurses, and they just look flustered and confused and hook it up like they would normally. Then ten minutes later the doctor comes in looking all concerned, staring at the read outs. Then they do a mirror image and it turns out ok.

Glad to hear it. If it ever happens again, take note of what your dietary habits have been. High caffeine intake causes my heart to do back flips. I'd imagine it could do the same to an otherwise healthy heart.

[G. Keenan]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

I once had a doctor think he heard a mitral valve proplapse in my heart and suggest I get an echo, but I never got it done.

I thought it just meant that you needed to make sure you took antibiotics during and kind of surgery, even dental. Is there more to it than that?

[jim]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

You name it, I've had it. And no, that name doesn't sound familiar.

What happened with me was that at 14 during a chest X-ray for a football injury they finally put the X-Ray up correctly. I had had previous chest X-ray's, but I guess they just flipped them backwards. So they realize at 14 my heart is on the wrong side (actually the right side), and send me for a bazillion tests. Everything was fine, but the doc told me that once I hit 22 or so to go through the tests again.

Of course at 22 I didn't, I had been an athlete etc... and had no issues and didn't even think about it. Once my heart went bonkers, the first thing I thought was I should have had those darn tests done at 22. I just knew my heart was screwed up, stuff switched around and tied in knots and what not, and it was about to fail.

So back to the heart people, a whole battery of tests.

Other than it being flipped, nothing wrong. Good, strong, healthy heart they say. No explanation for the episode, although I wonder about the skipping a beat thing.

I don't know what I've had, but I've had so much stuff done that I'm sure I've had the tests you are talking about. The great thing is when I do an EKG - they can't hook it up right. I tell the nurses, and they just look flustered and confused and hook it up like they would normally. Then ten minutes later the doctor comes in looking all concerned, staring at the read outs. Then they do a mirror image and it turns out ok.

Glad to hear it. If it ever happens again, take note of what your dietary habits have been. High caffeine intake causes my heart to do back flips. I'd imagine it could do the same to an otherwise healthy heart.

I'm pretty sure it was a combo of no sleep + lots of caffeine + a wad of Copenhagen in my mouth while I was working out.

GK - you are talking about a heart murmur. Is that the same thing? I had that once too when I was in my teens, but they haven't heard it since. I'll just give you a heads up, if you ever decide you are done with kids and go in for the big cut, they are going to shoot an antibiotic in your hip that will absolutely paralyze you for a minute. It seeps down your leg and they have to hold on to you while you keep walking to get it through your system. Way worse than the actual procedure.

[G. Keenan]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

You name it, I've had it. And no, that name doesn't sound familiar.

What happened with me was that at 14 during a chest X-ray for a football injury they finally put the X-Ray up correctly. I had had previous chest X-ray's, but I guess they just flipped them backwards. So they realize at 14 my heart is on the wrong side (actually the right side), and send me for a bazillion tests. Everything was fine, but the doc told me that once I hit 22 or so to go through the tests again.

Of course at 22 I didn't, I had been an athlete etc... and had no issues and didn't even think about it. Once my heart went bonkers, the first thing I thought was I should have had those darn tests done at 22. I just knew my heart was screwed up, stuff switched around and tied in knots and what not, and it was about to fail.

So back to the heart people, a whole battery of tests.

Other than it being flipped, nothing wrong. Good, strong, healthy heart they say. No explanation for the episode, although I wonder about the skipping a beat thing.

I don't know what I've had, but I've had so much stuff done that I'm sure I've had the tests you are talking about. The great thing is when I do an EKG - they can't hook it up right. I tell the nurses, and they just look flustered and confused and hook it up like they would normally. Then ten minutes later the doctor comes in looking all concerned, staring at the read outs. Then they do a mirror image and it turns out ok.

Glad to hear it. If it ever happens again, take note of what your dietary habits have been. High caffeine intake causes my heart to do back flips. I'd imagine it could do the same to an otherwise healthy heart.

I'm pretty sure it was a combo of no sleep + lots of caffeine + a wad of Copenhagen in my mouth while I was working out.

GK - you are talking about a heart murmur. Is that the same thing? I had that once too when I was in my teens, but they haven't heard it since. I'll just give you a heads up, if you ever decide you are done with kids and go in for the big cut, they are going to shoot an antibiotic in your hip that will absolutely paralyze you for a minute. It seeps down your leg and they have to hold on to you while you keep walking to get it through your system. Way worse than the actual procedure.

Yeah, basically a heart murmur.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Tambourine Man]

Jim, have you ever had an echo done on your heart? Your syptoms sound very much like mitral valve prolapse, a condition I found out I have about 15 years ago. 2 years ago, I noticed an increase in symptoms, so my doc puts me on this 24/7 monitor that will record your heartbeat when you press the special button. Anyway, I couldn't stand wearing the damn thing and had no episodes during the month that I wore it. All symptoms just disappeared.

But I know what ya mean...those heart flutters and skips are petrifying, especially when sleeping.

I once had a doctor think he heard a mitral valve proplapse in my heart and suggest I get an echo, but I never got it done.

I thought it just meant that you needed to make sure you took antibiotics during and kind of surgery, even dental. Is there more to it than that?

Yeah, you have to take antibiotics for any surgery, even a regular dental visit.

It's usually harmless and asyptomatic, but I'll let the folks at the Mayo Clinic do the explaining. It can be serious. My sister has it, as well, so it's very often a disorder that runs in families.