Couldn't agree more Sparkler. Palpitations can be very frightening & if you have them 24/7 as I did for quite a few years, they take a lot of getting used to. Night time was the worst for me - like yours, the palps used to wake me & I also wondered how this could be, given medics often relate them to stress & as you say we're relaxed in sleep. I used to long for a regular heart rhythm to reassert itself, something I'd previously taken for granted, but never will again!
The persistence of palpitations from start of peri through several years postmenopause was one of the main reasons I finally began HRT. To my huge relief, the palps more or less stopped within a few weeks, but I'd also had a change of thyroid medication around the same time & both menopause & thyroid probs can be a cause. With each change of HRT, while I've been trying to find best fit, the palps have returned for a while, with Utrogestan being the worst cuplrit in this respect. Now 7+ years postmenopause I've recently had another short resurgence after a change of HRT. I also tend to get palps in response to changes of thyroid meds, whether the dose is adjusted up or down.
Like you, I learned to meditate in peri & did this every day, it does help calm body & mind over time & I came to regard it as an important coping strategy. Interesting that your cardiologist advised this as it validates its usefulness. Mine didn't suggest it, I just started it in desperation & later sought out a counsellor who used meditation in his practice. When the palps were at their worst I'd been admitted to a cardiac ward & had the full range of investigations there & before & after as an outpatient: ECGs, 24hr Holter monitor, echo, treadmill test. Only "harmless" ectopics were found. It did help to know this, but I continued to find the condition very unnerving as the palps came in long episodes of an hour or two at a time & no-one was sure of the cause at that time. It wasn't until 3 years postmenopause that I met a gynae who'd previously worked in Cardiology & she told me many women had presented with palps for whom no abnormality was found - but they were all menopausal. It would have been reassuring to know this years before!
I'm glad beta blockers helped you. I also had them for a while. They blunted the sensation of the ectopics but unfortunately didn't right the rhythm, but with a thyroid condition, reactions to meds can sometimes be different to those with a healthy thyroid, so I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying them if their doctor recommends them.
Menopause can be a terrible shock to the system & the body can really struggle to adapt, especially if there are other health issues ongoing and/or stressful situations coinciding. Anything we can do to reduce the load can only help, any form of relaxation that floats our boat & as much rest as we can manage.
Wx
