View Full Version : Pulse in my eye
Hi there
I am having a really weird problem that I can find no information about. I can see my pulse in my eye. I am aware of it mostly in brightly lit conditions or at the computer, but in my right eye I can see it sorting of pulsing in time with my heartbeat. It is so obvious I could count my pulse by concentrating on this - it is very distracting. Of course I am starting to worry about all sorts of serious things...
I have had an ophthalmologist look in my eyes and they said nothing wrong. But it is still there, it's been there a couple of months now.
Has anyone else had this?
beadbabe
funkyfairy
11-03-09, 10:25
hi, i also have twitchy eye.had it for a while now,comes and goes.also had opticians all is okay.just gotused to it now.
think it is just a twitchy nerve.try not to worry
xx
I get that alot too, normally when im a bit stressed out, been doing it for years and have got used to it now, nothing to worry about. :)
I have had worries with my eyes since december. I have been to the doc about them probably 5 times now. Ive been to the pharmacist about them 3 times. On the phone to NHS about 3 times and yesterday I went to the opticians, explained the situation and had him take a thorough look. Nothing. I have had a lot of twitching and aching... and intermittent blurring and they still look a funny colour and really bloodshot. I have no choice but to trust the doc now. Maybe you need glasses and its a kind of eye strain? I go through periods where my eyes start shaking left and right and my vision jitters side to side... but Ive had that forever. Im wondering if maybe eyeryones eyes are just unique and react normally "to you" when in comparison to others they seem different. The optician would know. If they said there was no problem, I would trust them as it could just be stress related. x
Hello
thanks for the replies. I am not sure if I am explainng myself very well. It is not twitching but I can actually see my pulse in my eye - it flashes with every beat of my pulse.
Anyone else noticed this.
Hi beadbabe
I
'm new to this forum but after reading your message I wanted to reply so have just joined. I also feel the same pulse you've explained, it's in my left eye and pulses in time with my heartbeat. I find this so worrying too and really annoying. I went for an eye check up yesterday but all is fine with my eyes and was told that stress may be a cause.
Are you an anxious person? I am so I feel it may be to do with this but it still scares me and I often feel like there must be something wrong...I need to stop that now tho considering I've just been told my eyes are fine.
Anyway, just wanted to say that I experience the exact same thing as you. I've had it for about 8 months now!! I've also just started to get floaters, do you have any of those? SO annoying!!
No need to fear, if it was something serious you would certainly know about it by now. It could be caused by any number of things, most of which aren't anything to worry about, such as a tension headache, migraine (that's usually when I get it), concentrating on computer screens, tiredness or temporarily increased blood pressure caused by stress or anxiety.
Veins do throb with the rythm of the heart of course so it is working normally. However, if you're worried, see a doctor or optician just for your own peace of mind. They should be able to explain it to you in a couple of minutes and have a look at the eye in the highly unlikely event there is anything to see.
If you have major visual disturbances you should try to see a doctor or optician straight away to be on the safe side... but I doubt there is anything to worry about at all :)
I have had the pulse in the eyes for a few years now. It really frightened me when it first happened. I get it in both eyes and yes it pulses with my heart rhythm. I just don't worry about it any more, I guess if it was anything serious it would have shown by now.
You should see an optician & get it checked x
Hi Beadbabe,
it made me feel so much better to read your blog, I felt like I was crazy trying to explaine this eye-blood-pressure-thing to anyone. I just recently had a baby 4 months ago, and I was diagnosed with Preclampcia. I delivered my daughter 2 months early. Long story short, My blood pressure was really high, My daughter is fine and I am fine now, but about 2 months after my blood pressure had come down, I noticed that if I stared at a wall or looked up at a light, I was able to see my pulse in my vision. If my eyes are not focusing on anything, or I am watching t.v., or look around the room I don't notice it, but when I focus my vision on a wall or the floor, I can see my heart beat in my field of vision. I went to two doctors and had my eye pressure, blood pressure, viens in the back of my eye checked. Every thing came out normal, but I can still see my heart beat in my eyes wheather i am active or relaxed. The second doctor told me that since I had just had a baby and I was not sleeping very well (maybe 2 full hours a night) that I probably had a lot of adreneline in my system caused by little sleep. Well my daughter is now 4 months old now and I'm still not able to get a full nights rest, and I still see my pulse in my vision. If this symptom lessons or goes away, I'll let you know ASAP. Do you sleep well?
:flowers:hiya
i am really new to this site although i have looked at it several times for different things but this morning i woke with this pulsing in my eyes exactly the same, as described i have had it on and off for years now, I can see my pulse in bottome of both eyes beating in time with my heart beat especially if i look at white walls or anything light, i too have had all checks on my eyes, but i do suffer with migraine and i have glaucoma in both eyes and a cataract - but through all these checks when i have mentioned to consultants etc the pulsing no-one knows what i am talking about so its obviously not anything to do with eye disease as such, why i have woken up like this this morning i dont know, just completely freaked out now but i am so glad (i dont mean glad you have it cos its horrible) but glad that i am not the only one with this, i have calmed down now hope this helps - its has helped me, i know the post/thread is old not sure quite how this works yet) but thanks.
Kathy:flowers:
Dungeonmaster
15-03-10, 22:11
It is reassuring to read your posts and know that I am not alone and if I can be of some help, it does appear that the eye pulsing is most likely NOT life threatening. I would decribe mine as a pulsing at the edge of my vision, both eyes; sometimes a little darkening but usually translucent and most noticeable looking at brightly lit surfaces. Oh yeah, it usually is in sync with my tinnitus :shrug:
I have recently been to my regular eye doctor who referred me to a retinal specialist. After all of their testing (dialation followed by pressure checks, veins, retina, macula check, etc) they can find nothing wrong except for a slight astigmatism and the usual age-related presbyopia (losing near focus). The retinal specialist said it's probably not blood pressure since I'm not hypertensive (high bp) but for some other people it cetainly could be a contributing factor; couple that with the fact that it's my entire field of vision and he says my eyes are a-ok. He suggested that I'm probably more "sensitive" to it and noticing it but that sometimes anxiety can also cause that effect. I asked if it could have something to do with the astigmatism or my eyes trying to constantly focus and he said probably not; he suggested I try relaxing and/or ignoring it as I'm just freaking myself out.
Hi everyone,
I have this problem, too. When mine happens, my vision gets extremely dim, each time my heart beats (it's like a power surge). Imagine installing a competition-grade stereo system in a car that has a bad battery. Then, turn on the headlights and crank up the stereo. With every beat of the music (you know, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!), your headlights get so dim, that they almost turn off, each time the bass hits (typical "guy" analogy - hehe).
In addition, there are times, when my upper body throbs/lunges, with each heartbeat. People have actually remarked on this, before.
I also suffer from MANY other (related?) symptoms, and have had them, for a very long time. Some of my related symptoms include:
Vasospasm - where my nipples, toes, fingers (and other extremities), turn white. This usually happens, when I'm cold.
Migraine - I get these, without the headaches. I get wavy lines, in my peripheral vision, similar to the haze that you sometimes see, when you pump gasoline (or, how it looks, when it is really hot and humid outside - imagine the desert).
Neuropathy - I get "pins and needles" pain, in my hands and feet, like when you sit on your legs and they "fall asleep" - that's what I feel, 24 hours a day.
Pain in my legs - I get this horrible pain in my legs, when it's cold outside or if I've been on my feet for too long.
Edema - my whole body is swollen, with fluid, especially my feet and legs - what's weird is, the right side of my body is MUCH larger than the left side. I look like one half of one person, stitched to one half of another person.
Seizures - lately, I've been having seizures (mainly on the left side of my body), which occur many times a day. I "spaz" up, on the left side of my body (from head to toe).
Floaters - I see silver, floating stars, in my vision, at different times throughout the day, even at rest.
Dyslexia - Lately, I have been transposing letters and numbers, when typing or reading (not just a little, either - I do it a lot).
Hyperekplexia (Exaggerated Startle Response) - I've had this, since birth, but lately, it has been a lot worse - Imagine yourself walking down a deserted road, late at night, just after having seen a horror movie about axe murderers on dark, deserted roads - and, then, someone jumps out, from behind a tree, at you! Think about what your reaction would be, and that's what I do, when I hear the slightest sound or if I notice someone walk into a room. And, I'm talking about someone that I live with, in my own home, just casually walking from one room to another, just minding their own business. I gasp, clutch my chest, as if I am having a Heart Attack, and shake nervously. It's a horrible feeling, to have on a regular basis!
These are just a few of the things that are going on with me. Every system in my body is malfunctioning. In fact, all of my organs are swollen. I don't know why this is, but I would owe my life to the person who ever figures it out. My best guess is that something is causing the Vasospasm, and I believe that the Vasospasm is responsible for all of the symptoms that I've been having. And, whatever this illness is, I agree with my Doctor, in that, I've had this illness, all of my life. Several of my Doctors believe that I have some type of non-transmittable Auto-Immune Disease, but none of them know which one. They all agree that there is no cure and no treatment, however. I have to disagree; I believe that it's something simple that is causing the Vasospasm, like some type of Disease involving the blood vessels.
For those, who are interested in reading about ALL of my symptoms and diagnosed illnesses & disorders (as well as photos, lab results and test results), please feel free to visit my web page, at nodiagnosis.weebly.com .
I look forward to reading your responses. Have a great day. :-)
Joe
TwistedAliceMcGee
21-11-10, 11:27
Hi there
I am having a really weird problem that I can find no information about. I can see my pulse in my eye. I am aware of it mostly in brightly lit conditions or at the computer, but in my right eye I can see it sorting of pulsing in time with my heartbeat. It is so obvious I could count my pulse by concentrating on this - it is very distracting. Of course I am starting to worry about all sorts of serious things...
I have had an ophthalmologist look in my eyes and they said nothing wrong. But it is still there, it's been there a couple of months now.
Has anyone else had this?
beadbabe
Hi, I wanted to let you know that it is possible that you have some vitreous detaching. This can be a sign of full retinal detachment and can cause blindness. Please go see an eye doctor. I have had the same problem and now have a large "web floater" in my left eye. It causes me a lot of problems as I can not see through it well enough to read, when it is in the way. I need to find an eye doctor, as well, as I am very worried, because I have another flashing pulse in my eye.
TwistedAliceMcGee
21-11-10, 11:33
Hi everyone,
I have this problem, too. When mine happens, my vision gets extremely dim, each time my heart beats (it's like a power surge). Imagine installing a competition-grade stereo system in a car that has a bad battery. Then, turn on the headlights and crank up the stereo. With every beat of the music (you know, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!), your headlights get so dim, that they almost turn off, each time the bass hits (typical "guy" analogy - hehe).
In addition, there are times, when my upper body throbs/lunges, with each heartbeat. People have actually remarked on this, before.
I also suffer from MANY other (related?) symptoms, and have had them, for a very long time. Some of my related symptoms include:
Vasospasm - where my nipples, toes, fingers (and other extremities), turn white. This usually happens, when I'm cold.
Migraine - I get these, without the headaches. I get wavy lines, in my peripheral vision, similar to the haze that you sometimes see, when you pump gasoline (or, how it looks, when it is really hot and humid outside - imagine the desert).
Neuropathy - I get "pins and needles" pain, in my hands and feet, like when you sit on your legs and they "fall asleep" - that's what I feel, 24 hours a day.
Pain in my legs - I get this horrible pain in my legs, when it's cold outside or if I've been on my feet for too long.
Edema - my whole body is swollen, with fluid, especially my feet and legs - what's weird is, the right side of my body is MUCH larger than the left side. I look like one half of one person, stitched to one half of another person.
Seizures - lately, I've been having seizures (mainly on the left side of my body), which occur many times a day. I "spaz" up, on the left side of my body (from head to toe).
Floaters - I see silver, floating stars, in my vision, at different times throughout the day, even at rest.
Dyslexia - Lately, I have been transposing letters and numbers, when typing or reading (not just a little, either - I do it a lot).
Hyperekplexia (Exaggerated Startle Response) - I've had this, since birth, but lately, it has been a lot worse - Imagine yourself walking down a deserted road, late at night, just after having seen a horror movie about axe murderers on dark, deserted roads - and, then, someone jumps out, from behind a tree, at you! Think about what your reaction would be, and that's what I do, when I hear the slightest sound or if I notice someone walk into a room. And, I'm talking about someone that I live with, in my own home, just casually walking from one room to another, just minding their own business. I gasp, clutch my chest, as if I am having a Heart Attack, and shake nervously. It's a horrible feeling, to have on a regular basis!
These are just a few of the things that are going on with me. Every system in my body is malfunctioning. In fact, all of my organs are swollen. I don't know why this is, but I would owe my life to the person who ever figures it out. My best guess is that something is causing the Vasospasm, and I believe that the Vasospasm is responsible for all of the symptoms that I've been having. And, whatever this illness is, I agree with my Doctor, in that, I've had this illness, all of my life. Several of my Doctors believe that I have some type of non-transmittable Auto-Immune Disease, but none of them know which one. They all agree that there is no cure and no treatment, however. I have to disagree; I believe that it's something simple that is causing the Vasospasm, like some type of Disease involving the blood vessels.
For those, who are interested in reading about ALL of my symptoms and diagnosed illnesses & disorders (as well as photos, lab results and test results), please feel free to visit my web page, at nodiagnosis.weebly.com .
I look forward to reading your responses. Have a great day. :-)
Joe
You have a huge circulatory issue. I think, if you don't see a doctor for this, you need to see one.. I had blood clots in my ankle, due to a bad sprain and birth control pills (don't take those), and I have the same kind of pain my legs. I suggest you check it out.
TwistedAliceMcGee
21-11-10, 11:39
It is reassuring to read your posts and know that I am not alone and if I can be of some help, it does appear that the eye pulsing is most likely NOT life threatening. I would decribe mine as a pulsing at the edge of my vision, both eyes; sometimes a little darkening but usually translucent and most noticeable looking at brightly lit surfaces. Oh yeah, it usually is in sync with my tinnitus :shrug:
I have recently been to my regular eye doctor who referred me to a retinal specialist. After all of their testing (dialation followed by pressure checks, veins, retina, macula check, etc) they can find nothing wrong except for a slight astigmatism and the usual age-related presbyopia (losing near focus). The retinal specialist said it's probably not blood pressure since I'm not hypertensive (high bp) but for some other people it cetainly could be a contributing factor; couple that with the fact that it's my entire field of vision and he says my eyes are a-ok. He suggested that I'm probably more "sensitive" to it and noticing it but that sometimes anxiety can also cause that effect. I asked if it could have something to do with the astigmatism or my eyes trying to constantly focus and he said probably not; he suggested I try relaxing and/or ignoring it as I'm just freaking myself out.
Pulsatile tinnitus? Yeah, I have that same issue, it's in sync, I think it's because pulsatile tinnitus often syncs up with the heartbeat.
Anxious_gal
21-11-10, 12:04
I get this when my heart rate is up , never thought anything of it till i read this post.
Hi All!
I dont want to panic, cause I dont want to panic myself either.
However, I've been having some trouble with my vision since one year now.
First I was diagnosed Central serous retinopathy and then they said there was nothing wrong with my eye. I think they are wrong, retinopathy is a problem with the retin in which the two films that constitute the retine separate from each other due to some fisiological malfunction. But the most interesting thing is that this happens in the centre of the retine just where the optical nerve lies.
When high blood pressure occurs it makes the cells from one side of the retine work improperly, generating a spot of "separation", thus bringing some "dark spots" in the eyesight.
I've been having spots (almost transparent but dark anyway!) in my left eye just in the centre but sometines not so centric, and this spots appear at the same rythm with my heartbeat pulses. I'll go to the doc next week to tell him about this. I dont know if it is a recurring retinopathy but I'll try to find out!
Best regards
Fran
RemainCalm
29-05-12, 20:09
I went to my optomolgist several days in a row in 2009 and he could find nothing wrong with my eye. I had lost vision, color, blurriness in my left eye. He sent me for an MRI and then to a neurologist and a spinal tap and found I had an auto immune disease called Multiple Sclerosis. I found this thread because I was having that heartbeat flashes in my bad eye. I am under a lot of stress and I am pregnant! So it may be just those things coming to the surface, but I saw all the posts with similar history to mine and I wanted to comment. :yesyes:
Hi BeadbabeI to have similar problem usually when I,m walking my dogs and exerted myself ,my right eye has a pulse I to can count my heart beat. Seems to happen only after exertion
Hi,
I worried a lot when this first happened to me a few years back. To be sure we're on the same page, I would describe the sensation as the eyeball itself pulsing with each heartbeat. It is disturbing even if you are familiar with it. I've had eyelid twitches in the past and they're no problem.
I have severe neck problems, ie: arthritis and some fusing of a few disks. This causes a lot of tenseness in the muscles making it difficult to turn my head right and left. If I turn my head a certain way, it must cut off the circulation because I'll get really dizzy. It also happens when I'm sitting at the computer holding my head in the same position for a long time. I just have to turn my head back and forth to release the tension.
Anyway, I put this neck problem down partly to my pulsations. It happens sometimes if I've been out walking my dog and bend over to take off his leash. The eye will pulsate for a bit. Every time, it's stopped by itself after a few seconds.
When I first noticed it, I went to the optometrist for my regular eye checkup and asked her about it. She had no answer for me.
I know it also can be caused by high blood pressure (I don't have that), but if you think about it, your blood pressure does go up when you are exercising, tense or even when you are overheated. There seem to be many causes for it, but it would appear that it's nothing to worry about unless it becomes worse or something else happens with your eyes.
I have those irritating floaters too. They used to be a dot here and there, but now I have what i can only describe as blobs of jelly floating across the surface. This gets worse if I'm tired and if I eat a lot of sugar. I need another eye exam now, so my need for new glasses probably contributes to some of it too.
Sylvia
---------- Post added at 15:40 ---------- Previous post was at 15:16 ----------
Hi, I wanted to let you know that it is possible that you have some vitreous detaching. This can be a sign of full retinal detachment and can cause blindness. Please go see an eye doctor. I have had the same problem and now have a large "web floater" in my left eye. It causes me a lot of problems as I can not see through it well enough to read, when it is in the way. I need to find an eye doctor, as well, as I am very worried, because I have another flashing pulse in my eye.
I have ugly gobs of something floating in my eyes that the doc says are floaters and there's nothing we can do about them. They've gotten so much worse in recent years but he still insists they're very common.
Now and then, I have those light flashes in my eyes. They start with a loss of vision in part of my eye that slowly moves to the centre of my eye so I can't see people's faces on TV. It's not so noticeable if I'm looking into the distance. Eventually, the block will start shimmering and look like the jagged edge of a zipper. This I equate with a flash of lightning.
I've been to a specialist who said nothing was wrong. It went away for a few years and recently returned. I looked it up on the internet (official medical sites) and found out that these are what they call eye migraines. Some people have them with pain only, some with flashes of light and temporary vision blockages with no pain. I have no pain with mine. These tend to last up to 20-30 minutes, which is exactly the description given. This is possibly what you are getting with those flashes.
Here are 2 sites that explain ocular migraines:
allaboutvision.com/conditions/ocular-migraine.htm
webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/ocular-migraine-basics
Hope this helps.
Sylvia
I have noticed this too, especially on a light colored wall. I don't have high BP or MS. Vitreous detachment I have, but not the same as retinal detachment, so don't panic over that, but that is usually seen as flashes of light. Interesting so many people have this pulsating eye. Maybe we are hyber-aware.
hahaha, yes, I thought that was odd too, finding so many people with the pulsing. Oddly, my optometrist looked at me like I was off my rocker when I told her about it.
when I my physician sent me to the specialist about 5 years ago, it was because of those light flashes. He didn't say anything about them, but during the eye exam, the light he shone into my eyes was very painful. That's new for me to have such pain. I squirmed from the pain, but he didn't seem concerned.
Eye problems can be quite scary, so being naturally anxious at anything medical, and since this is ongoing and getting worse with no answers, I'm worried. The optometrist checked me 2-3 years ago, said my eyes were fine, needed new glasses. Then she did a more intensive exam and found that one optic nerve is bigger than the other. She said I could be getting macro degeneration. My medical doc says it's possible to have different sized optic nerves that do not indicate disease. I tend to believe him more.
She also suggested that I also have "indications" of possible glaucoma and cataracts. Talk about scaring the c... out of someone. Then I thought, what are the odds that one person could have all three problems? I decided, probably low and that she probably doesn't know what she's talking about. But you never know.
Sylvia
I am glad I found this thread coz I thought it was some scary thing! But I have had it for some time, and still alive . . . I am overly aware of things, though.
When seeing a optician about the same problems, she assured me it's related to the pulse in your eye lids. So if you have high BP or pulse they'll be more prominent but nothing to fear!
Hi everyone, I just registered here today so I could respond to this thread. I too was having that slight pulse of my heart beat in my vision, in my right eye, sometimes when I was looking at a bright white colored wall or bright computer screen. I mostly noticed it if I was concentrating on the white background. It was most noticeable to me when I was anxious or stressed (of course when I was noticing this slight visual pulse that made me more nervous and was kicking my anxiety into overdrive) and had caffine. I had an appointment with my opthamologst 2 days ago. He performed a very thorough eye examination. I was assured that this is completely fine, as long as you're not losing vision (brief blackouts) and there is no pain, or bright flashes of light. What we are seeing is the central retinal artery which carries the pulse from our heart, as it brings the fresh supply of blood through the retinal artery. He said generally, that is the sign of a healthy eye with good blood supply and we are probably noticing it because we are very perceptive of variations in what we experience. When lighting and pupil size is just right, we are experiencing the rhythmic blood flow.
PLEASE - use this as a general guide of MY examination, take the time to make an appointment and discuss with your opthamologist as they need to give you a thorough examination to be certain everything looks fine.
Wishing you all the best and good health.
fma11122345
07-07-18, 23:34
Hi there. Something like this happening to me all of a sudden since 3 am this morning. I work up to use the bath room and my eyes felt like they where beating out my head caseing this breff blackish flash (I think ) in booth eye's it feels like my eyes are shaking and makes me slightly dizzy, yes I have huge health anxiety and was in a attack before this was happing due to twitching eye lide and other body parts. But I'm really scared of a brain tomur, ms, Parkinson, als, stuff like that.......
Thanks
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Mopsyflopsy
30-10-18, 22:13
I am an OAP now but have had this for years if I am sitting in bathroom with bright light. Over the years have mentioned to GP AND at each eye test for new specs and have always met silence or”nothing to worry about”.
Hope this allays your fears. Thinking about it, it’s not all the time and may we’ll be stress related. I have just had my eighth op and eyes have been ok but I noticed this tonight so googled it and discovered you all. So glad to find I am not alone but am under stress at the moment and getting down the bottle of Bach’s Rescue Remedy!!
fma11122345
30-10-18, 22:59
Its funny that you say that, I've been alright with it for a few months now. But tonight I noticed it again and was like wow, that's still happening? I don't think its anything to worry about to be honest. I only see it in bright rooms or when I'm looking for it.
I am an OAP now but have had this for years if I am sitting in bathroom with bright light. Over the years have mentioned to GP AND at each eye test for new specs and have always met silence or”nothing to worry about”.
Hope this allays your fears. Thinking about it, it’s not all the time and may we’ll be stress related. I have just had my eighth op and eyes have been ok but I noticed this tonight so googled it and discovered you all. So glad to find I am not alone but am under stress at the moment and getting down the bottle of Bach’s Rescue Remedy!!
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