Why did my heart beat make the numbers on the screen look like ripples in water?

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rigganator
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Hey guys,

That's my first post here, and I couldn't find any other place online where I can ask something like that and get rational scientific explanation. Here's what happened to me today and I have no idea what would cause it.

I went to a coffee shop in afternoon to take a break from work. While I was standing in line I started to look at the electronic LED display on cashier's machine where shows how much you need to pay. Out of nowhere I start feeling my heart beat and the numbers on the screen start looking like a drop hitting a still water with each heart beat. It happened 2 times in a row. Then I shook my head off, then I looked at it again, it happened one more time and it stopped. I don't have any weird sicknesses, mental illness, and I don't do any drugs. Just went through a cold about a week ago.

Honestly it does not make any sense to me, and it freaks the crap out of me. I hope it will never happen again, but still I'm trying to find any reasonable explanation to something like that.

Any good feedback would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
 
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Were you taking any sort of cold medicine or remedies?

Any other symptoms before or after this event occurred?

Did you have a true migraine later that day?
 
It may have been an effect of eye movement. Despite what your brain makes you think, your eyes are never still; they jitter about constantly. Occasionally this can produce some strange effects, especially in conjunction with certain types of lights that have their own flicker.

Long and short of it: it's not uncommon. I would not fret about it, unless it starts recurring on a regular basis.