Skipping a heart beat- palpitations

I've been on TRT for about 10 weeks now and been experiencing heart palpitations, my heart skips a beat once in a while, 10-20 times a day. I've been drinking 2-3 cups of tea a day, not sure is this is the caffeine or a side effect from TRT. i noticed it more in the last couple of weeks, i stopped taking Anastrozole almost 4 weeks ago, and i am assuming my estrogen is high, not sure if that has any effect on the heart. BTW, i had heart palpitations in the passed but it was once in a blue moon, but lately its happening every day for the last two week.

Test does increase your red blood cell count, which in turn, can lead to increased blood pressure. Have you tested your BP lately? Or what about getting your blood levels tested? That is something that you need to get checked after you begin TRT and rechecked periodically. It can become a problem for some people.

To the best of my knowledge, anastrozole shouldn't have any effect. Any chance you're on Thyroid meds? That can certainly effect if it your dosage is too high. What about stress and or anxiety? That too can be a culprit. I'd start by cutting out the tea though. Don't know how long you've been drinking that much but some teas have a surprising amount of caffeine, even more than coffee in some instances. Work by process of elimination and it would probably be a good idea to go see the doc too. No need to mess around with cardiovascular issues.

Best of luck.

F/T

My wife has had occassional heart palpitations her whole life. In a long, round-about way for an initially unrelated reason, we found the need to have her heart checked out by a cardiologist recently. Through an echocardiogram, they found that she has a bicuspid aeortic valve. The typical valve is supposed to have three cusps, but 5-10% of people have two. For some reason, having two results in earlier calcification of the valve than would normally occur. The end result is that she will likely need a valve replacement within the next 5 years!

I'm not saying that your condition could be in any way related to her condition. But the only ones who would really be in the know are those who have made it their profession to be experts in the field. I'm not a cardiologist, but I do have a good understanding that a heart is kind of important. ;)

PVC's, premature contractions leading to skipped beats is fairly common among those endurance trained.
When my pulse was about 50 bpm skipped beats every minute or so. Doc said harmless in my case.

My heart seemed to skip some too in the first 2 months. Has since settled down or I am ignoring it now. I did add more potassium for a while. No idea if that helped or not. So there you have a bunch of useless info except for that fact that you are not alone.

thanks for the replies! yea i read what could cause it and i do all of them! stress, caffeine, work hard, etc...i have no pain whatsoever, but i do get anxiety attacks in the middle of the night once in a blue moon, i wakeup and can't breath! i will see my doc anyway, i don't want to take any chances! Also want to mention, I've been doing HIIT cardio three times a week, not sure if this adds to it!

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Originally Posted by clemont51

PVC's, premature contractions leading to skipped beats is fairly common among those endurance trained.
When my pulse was about 50 bpm skipped beats every minute or so. Doc said harmless in my case.

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Yah, I've heard about that too. I can actually speed up or slow down my heart beat by controlling my breathing but I don't even feel it. It's only when I check my pulse. I'm not talking over several mins, I mean from one breath to another. I used to do a lot of biking and I was told the same thing. Endurance athletes tend to have it and I believe it's actually a good thing that your body supposedly is more efficient. i.e. the less beating it has to do = less work = longer lasting. Something like not having to over rev a motor. I read somewhere that Lance Armstrong has some ridiculously slow heart rate even when exerting himself, which is why he's so good. ...But I digress.

Just to reiterate the last part of my previous comment... best to get it checked by a doc. I heard about the heart thing being kind of important too.... =)

i hope your ok brother.. please go see a doctor,,

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Originally Posted by forrest_and_trees

Test does increase your red blood cell count, which in turn, can lead to increased blood pressure. Have you tested your BP lately? Or what about getting your blood levels tested? That is something that you need to get checked after you begin TRT and rechecked periodically. It can become a problem for some people.

To the best of my knowledge, anastrozole shouldn't have any effect. Any chance you're on Thyroid meds? That can certainly effect if it your dosage is too high. What about stress and or anxiety? That too can be a culprit. I'd start by cutting out the tea though. Don't know how long you've been drinking that much but some teas have a surprising amount of caffeine, even more than coffee in some instances. Work by process of elimination and it would probably be a good idea to go see the doc too. No need to mess around with cardiovascular issues.

Best of luck.

F/T

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didn't answer your question regarding blood work! yes i do regular blood work, the last one i did was about 4 weeks ago and i have another one to do within a week or so.

How does your your Hemoglobin [Hgb; Hb] level look? Is it elevated?

15.1, range is 12.5 - 17

Lots of causes for this and some require medical attention. Best to find out for sure. I've had it off and on for years and don't worry too much about it. Caffeine in excess, or alcohol in excess can aggravate it for me. I remember the doctor saying he could put me on meds to stop/control it, but he said I'd probably hate the sides of the meds. I'd say just get it checked and be sure.

went to the doc today and said my condition is called PVC, basically once in a while one pulse fires too soon, he attributed this condition to caffeine! so he asked me to get off caffeine and will do blood work like potassium, calcium and other levels to make sure! thanks for all your replies!

the doc prescribed Bystolic (nebivolol) 2.5 mgs per day for my skipping heart beat, i don't have high blood pressure, would this conflict with my TRT?

No, it's probably a good idea.

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Originally Posted by prop402

No, it's probably a good idea.

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Thanks Prop!

It's just sympathetic nervous stress bro from the testosterone, not some genetic problem of yours. I get it too when u just load up on the dose.

but i never heard of this side from test! do you have any research on research information on this?

Have you checked the expiration date on your vials? I try to save some money by using some old open vials of testosterone. After that, I noticed some very serious heart palpitations. They were so bad that I could barely get from my bed to the bathroom and back again.

I complained to my hormone repla***ent doctor that my heart was skipping, but I wasn't entirely honest about using the expired vials. I knew that he would instantly conclude that this was my problem. I just threw the vials away, and got off the stuff for about a month. The palpitations did not go away completely. Sometimes they came back with a vengeance. I got a blood test. The results came back with my testosterone at 45 (about right for a woman) and my estrogen was nonexistent. I think I know why my estrogen was nonexistent. I was taking something I got off the Internet called Liquidex. According to another form, it knocks the estrogen out completely.

I searched the Internet for a while and found that low estrogen can cause heart palpitations in men and women. This problem is more common in postmenopausal women. I stopped taking Liquidex. and Anastrozol. I opened a fresh vial of testosterone. So far so good. My heart palpitations are rather minimal now and seem to be improving with time.

I hope this information helps.

I hope your heart thing ends up being a non-issue. Personally, I don't think I could survive without caffeine...

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Originally Posted by healthpointe

Have you checked the expiration date on your vials? I try to save some money by using some old open vials of testosterone. After that, I noticed some very serious heart palpitations. They were so bad that I could barely get from my bed to the bathroom and back again.

I complained to my hormone repla***ent doctor that my heart was skipping, but I wasn't entirely honest about using the expired vials. I knew that he would instantly conclude that this was my problem. I just threw the vials away, and got off the stuff for about a month. The palpitations did not go away completely. Sometimes they came back with a vengeance. I got a blood test. The results came back with my testosterone at 45 (about right for a woman) and my estrogen was nonexistent. I think I know why my estrogen was nonexistent. I was taking something I got off the Internet called Liquidex. According to another form, it knocks the estrogen out completely.

I searched the Internet for a while and found that low estrogen can cause heart palpitations in men and women. This problem is more common in postmenopausal women. I stopped taking Liquidex. and Anastrozol. I opened a fresh vial of testosterone. So far so good. My heart palpitations are rather minimal now and seem to be improving with time.

I hope this information helps.

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thanks for the info, i believe my palpitations started once i got on TRT, i never noticed them before. however i started noticing my heart beat way before my PVC's started and way before TRT, basically i felt my heart pounding even when i was resting, it feels like i just finished running 10 miles! even now i feel it pounding and i can feel the blood moving through my veins! according to my doctor its benign, he also said 1/2 of the world have PVC's and only 20% notice it, once you are aware of it it will never go away! i can't imagine my clinic selling me expired anything, but will check the date. thanks again! and 1/2 of the world has itand

I got them bad every day and know its coffee and tea . I stopped all caffeine and a week later they all had stopped. (HAD THEM FOR OVER 10Y) I still have lots of tea and coffee but not as much caffeine ones , Even one coffee will kick them off again but not as bad as they were.

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Originally Posted by ConArmas

I hope your heart thing ends up being a non-issue. Personally, I don't think I could survive without caffeine...

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thanks! me too, i couldn't give up tea. actually my doc has PVC's and he said have your tea and try not to worry about it. easy said than done, but still have my tea and still worry about it, LOL!

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Originally Posted by devildog1967

I got them bad every day and know its coffee and tea . I stopped all caffeine and a week later they all had stopped. (HAD THEM FOR OVER 10Y) I still have lots of tea and coffee but not as much caffeine ones , Even one coffee will kick them off again but not as bad as they were.

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sorry to hear you have them too DD, yes coffee really makes them worse, but tea not as bad!

i noticed something weird like maybe that yesterday when i was driving home.. hard to describe but basically for a split second i felt something weird in my chest and it almost made me feel dizzy but just as soon as it started it was gone.. is that similar to what ur talking about or is it difft?? it did make me think it may have skippd a beat but im not sure.. it has happened before but not often at all..,

Ask your doctor about sinuses/allergies. I had the racing pulse and a pounding headache. Gave blood thinking hemoglobin was high. Wasn't.

I thought I was headed toward an annuerism or heat attack. He pushed on some pulse points on my head. Hurt. Said my sinuses were blocked. Got two shots and an antibiotic and all calmed down in about 3 days.

He's my HRT doc as well. He said right off the top that hrt was not the problem.

According to the maker of Bystolic it should not be given to those with poor liver function nor those with irregular heartbeat (skips)