Has anyone here had ongoing heart palpitations after your surgery? I had them at some point before my jugular vein decompression in January. But now they have returned, and have returned fiercely.
I have them now and they are lasting all day long. I even have the dry cough and the pressure in the sternum. I I’m coughing all day long with this heart, palpitation, and pressure.
This worries me very much.
I just had post images done but an MRV (vs CTV). I have not yet spoke to my neurosurgeon yet.
I know some of you eagles have had this in the past. Could this be carotid related? Or calcified stylohyoidligament? (not able to include a photo.)
This was PRIOR to my surgery on the left side. How do I know what’s normal with the carotid artery?
An echocardiogram will tell you if there’s things you ought to be concerned about the heart. Your doctor can then tell you if an electrocardiogram is necessary to checking the electrical currents of the heart. If nothing shows up on either, then it very well could be vagus nerve related, or some other “benign” issue… My sympathies – we just came through a bunch of cardio-testing for myself, and worry doesn’t help a heart’s palpitations at all! We got the echo done, then ordered our own Livenpace heart monitor (similar idea to a holter monitor) off Amazon for around $200, and that does 24 hour testing, and then connects to your phone/laptop to show the electrical graph. Mine showed PAC’s and PVC’s which the doctor wants to watch. She was of course most concerned about the PAC’s…
Thanks again for your response GeorgiaKay. Wow you’ve been busy. I hope you get answers with your heart monitor. Did your doctor not give you one? Or did you just want additional info?
It could be irritation of the carotid sinus, if you haven’t had an ECG as @GeorgiaKay says I would try to get one, you should really rule out anything cardiac related.
The vagus nerve can also be affected & is next to the IJVs , this can cause palpitations- it can take a while to heal after surgery so this is a possibility as well.
I would also suggest perhaps getting blood tests done to check your electrolyte levels, too low levels of sodium, magnesium and potassium can cause palpitations, and also you mentioned hypnic jerks in another post, sometimes deficiency can cause jerking and irritable muscles…You mentioned doing strenuous exercise as well, so maybe that’s a cause?
@Luckee7 typically your PCP can order a cardiac recording monitor you wear for 2 weeks and then follow-up with a cardiologist to discuss the results. The monitor tells you the type of episodes you are having, PVC, SST, AFIB and the like and their duration. The stress of everything you are going through and the fear that gets generated could also be the source of the palpitations. The heart is highly sensitive to stress hormones. Anything you can do to help yourself feel safe or steady in the midst of what you are going through could be helpful.
Chicks—- thank you so much for the response. That’s exactly what my PCP did… She ordered me a heart monitor that has not come yet. Hopefully that will Shine some light. It is very worrisome when it’s causing coughing and pressure in the sternum. And when it’s ongoing for hours and hours.
Jules-
I did have an EKG also and they said it was normal. I was not in an episode, of course! I will have to Google carotid sinus. Overall, I am suspicious that my carotids might be involved. I have a calcified ligament that could be compressing. NS stated that carotids are very strong arteries versus the floppier Jugulars.
My PCP would have ordered a holter monitor if we wanted her to. However, she thought there’s plenty going on that seeing a cardiologist is the next step. So she made the referral, and we went home and scheduled…for mid-July, at the earliest! That’s when we decided to go ahead and order our own monitor and get some readings a while. We took them in to the appointment last week with the PCP and she saw reasons to be concerned with the PAC’s and A-fib (and admitted she was impressed what buying our own device helped prove!)
Agreed with @Chrickychricky about stress adding to the palpitations. Unfortunately, there’s no monitor to alert us when the stress gets too high – unless, of course, it’s our hearts that tell us!
I still have a feeling that fixing the compressions (including vagus nerve compression) will help reduce some of the palpitations I deal with. Am not speaking for your case, though!
Dealing with EDS/CTD, compressions, neck surgeries (4), heart issues, etc. has made us dig deeper into the human body and traverse paths (imagination: driving through the vascular alleys and getting stuck in jams - compressions, of course) we never imagined in years past. What we DO know now makes us wonder how much we DON’T know! Another way of saying it is the more we learn the less we realize we know. I am so thankful for a husband as interested (or more!) in learning about these things as I am. Am not walking the journey alone – he’s by my side, providing the stability I need. I trust God will reward him for his sacrifice…
@GeorgiaKay - Give your husband a hug for me! I’m so glad he’s walking beside you & is interested in learning as you do about all you have going on. What an immense blessing for you to have an advocate at your side!
Do you have a calcified section of stylohyoid ligament that wasn’t removed, @Luckee7? I agree with you that your extreme dizziness & heart palpitations seem like they could be carotid related (or related to carotid sinus irritation as @Jules mentioned).
NS clipped the calcified ligament on the surgery side. I still have another calcified ligament on the other side intact. This cough is worrisome. It is positional, and I feel it most one laying down. Also when laying down to getting up and vice versa. The chest tightness and cough in the middle sternum area.
Carotids on non surgical side extremely visible in neck, esp in high pressure. (60% compressed. Nakaji didn’t recommend surgery)
I wonder why Dr Nakaji didn’t recommend surgery, if the section of calcified ligament is left & it’s close to the carotid then it sounds like it would be beneficial to have it removed? I do think the cough could be vagus nerve related…
The surgical side was the tiny, hypoplastic side. Possibly had been not working for so long and just didn’t Plump up after decompression. (This was dominant side per NIR.).
The large side is compressed also at C 1, By 60%, and looks like an hourglass. It’s big towards the bottom And top.
Someone on here looked at my images, but I’m not sure if he’s still on. The name, TML? Could that be him?
On the images, it looked like my carotid was coming in contact with a jugular vein and Also calcified ligament. I mentioned this to Nakaji and he said that the carotid and the jugular were lined up together anyway.
Is the calcified ligament the reason I cannot recline or lay on back?
I would suspect the calcified ligament is the problem thus I disagree w/ Dr. Nakaji. Any compression of the carotid is risky as it can predispose you to TIAs & even occasionally a stroke. The fact that the calcified ligament is in contact w/ both your carotid & IJV (60% compression is significant!) means it could also be irritating or pressing on your vagus nerve (the 3rd party in the carotid sheath w/ IJV & ICA being the other two) which could be causing the heart palpitations & cough.
It does sound like the calcified section of ligament on your non surgical side may be causing symptoms then, it may be that unless this is addressed, you won’t know what’s causing what…
