Yesterday I surfed for the first time in 5 weeks. At one point I realized that my heart was “thumpin” really hard and fast and then it just kind of subsided. I had just been mildly paddling and sat up when I noticed it. I wasn’t winded and the surf was small but it felt like someone was using the inside of my chest for a drum. My initial thought was it was because I was lying down with pressure on my chest. Has anyone else encountered this? Is that normal for surfing?
…you were thinking of Pamela [AGAIN ? Oh geez !!] as you paddled out , weren’t you Dave, you naughty boy ?
… edit …
p.s. - if it persists…see a doctor…or lower your contact time with Pammy.
Actually, now that you mention it, I was thinking about you, Ben!
ridiculous and non surfboard or surfing post deleted by ben
If I have a heart attack out in the line-up because I didn’t get the info I need cause you hi-jacked my thread AGAIN…
Hey Ben, do you haze all the “freshman” with queer jokes or is there just something special about me?
second edited post on the same thread …strike three, I’m out …
aquafiend65 is the new Mark Heghemann who was the old Ricky C. who was the old…
Go away!
Quote:
aquafiend65 is the new Mark Heghemann who was the old Ricky C. who was the old…
Go away!
…see what your David Hassellhof "avatar’’ is doing to people , Gary ??
PLEASE, change it…NOW !! [And that’s an ORDER !!]
ben
Yes SIR!
Quote:
aquafiend65 is the new Mark Heghemann who was the old Ricky C. who was the old…
Go away!
Oh, c’mon rolliges. Ben and I are just having a little fun. Don’t be starting rumors about me. You might get a reputation as the new Roy.
Quote:
If I have a heart attack out in the line-up because I didn’t get the info I need cause you hi-jacked my thread AGAIN…
Hey Ben, do you haze all the “freshman” with queer jokes or is there just something special about me?
what the f*ck is a “freshman”, d-u-u-u-d-e ?! [ now , THAT sounds pretty bloody gay to ME !! ]
eg : ‘hey, come here boy, and meet this freshman’…
" bugger off mate…don’t get fresh man , with ME ! "
tehehe
you know, I saw a post the other day from a shaper who used to post on Swaylocks quite a bit, but said that he’d not been checking in so much lately because of all the non-surfboard-design related posts… this thread seems like an example of the latter.
If you want to amuse each other with gay jokes, etc maybe you can do it by PM?? Or at some other forum… let’s not drive away the guys who can answer your questions when you have them…
You guys are gay. 
I sometimes get the same feeling in my chest, I have no idea why either. I eat a lot of junk food though? It seems to help to relax and take a few steady breaths. It feels like it might start cause of the pressure on the chest, but sometimes I’ll get it from running up a few flights of stairs or something like that. I guess you and I need to eat more fruits, hah.
Go to the doctor. Seriously. That thumping sensation could be nothing to worry about, or it could be something serious. Your doc should be able to make an assessment, and may conduct EKG and/or stress tests to check your health. Don’t screw around with thumping in your chest, even if you feel and look fit.
Good luck!
Ken
Hopefully its not too late to get this thread back on track.
You may be experiencing a cardiac arrythmia called atrial fibrillation. It is when the upper chambers of the heart lose their normal rhythm, but the lower ones - the ventricles, the important ones - do not. Ventricular fibrillation is what defibrillators are used for.
Millions of people walk around with atrial fibrillation 24/7. Millions more feel it from time to time, including me. I first felt it when I was 24. It lasted for 2 days and I went to a hospital. They were very reassuring. Upon asking around, I found my mom, one of her sisters, and their father all had it as well. Barry Bonds was diagnosed with it last spring. It does not affect athletic performance or preclude challenging physical effort.
You can read all about it if you Google “Atrial Fibrillation”. If it still sounds like what you had, ask your doctor. But no, you aren’t going to drop of a heart attack in the surf just because you feel this.
Monzablue and Benny1 are basically right.
I do a different type of heart exam, but I’m in that environment all day, so this might help:
“Thumping” is generally PVCs: premature ventricular contractions, in which the ventricle is beating abnormally early. It may be an irregular ventricular reponse to atrial fibrillation or it may be generated from some other source(s) within the atrium or ventricle itself (ectopic foci - essentially conduction “sparks”).
The average person may experience 10-12 PVCs per day. This is considered within normal limits. If you get three in row, it’s called a “run”. Get up around ten in a row, and you’re getting into ventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia might progress to ventricular fibrillation. With v-fib, the heart basically just twitches like a bowl of jello being drummed by Keith Moon, and doesn’t pump. If this occurs, and you can’t get to defibrillator (the thing Benny1 mentioned), then it could be potentially life-ending or changing. I did an exam once on a guy, former attorney, who had hypoxia as a sequela to v-fib, and is now functionally a six-year-old. I think that death is more common, though.
On the one hand, PVCs are pretty common, and it’s not likely a potential problem unless you are getting frequent runs. If it is happening frequently, it’s good to have it checked out. I hope you have good insurance: I think that holter monitors (King of Hearts) and stress tests run about 800 to 1000 dollars. If you do see a cardiologist, try to find someone who specializes in electrophysiology.
I hope that this helps.
Physical and mental conditioning are fundamental to surfing. Layoffs affect performance. So does anxiety. But get checked out. Take a word of advice, I am not called Tiktokman for no reason.