Multiple Skipped Beats

I'm a 45-year-old male who was diagnosed with Lone Atrial Fibrillation after three scary episodes of missed heartbeats mixed with rapid heartrate in December of last year. At the same time, I also started to develop all the hallmarks of some sort of anxiety disorder. No doctor has come out and said, "You have an anxiety disorder," but waking up from bad dreams with a rapid heartrate, getting jittery when tough situations present themselves in work and at home, anxious feelings when I'm watching an exciting show or sporting event on TV, high blood pressure (140/110) when the kids get a bit out of control, getting incrdibly agitated at slight provocations like getting cut off in traffic - all these things seem to point to anxiety. Also, I've been reading a lot of the posts in this forum for the past couple of months and recognise myself in what a lot of you have been saying is happening to you. So with all that background, here's my question: I'm taking a beginners fencing class at a local university, and last night, as we were warming up prior to starting the class, my heart started to skip uncontrollably. My pulse was about 100 BPM, and my heart would beat for two or three beats, skip one, the next two or three beats would be extra fast, fast for the next two or three beats, then start all over again. Could this be a result of me being anxious prior to the class starting? There is a competitive element to this class, what with me being by far and away the oldest person amongst all these youngsters starting college for the first time and me not wanting to be shown up by them. Also, I had eaten a medium-sized meal about 1 hour prior to the start of the class. Would this, allied with the initial physical exertion, have contributed in any way to the missed beats? Or am I fooling myself into thinking I have anxiety when what I really have is an undiagnosed heart condition that needs attention from a cardiac specialist? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

SuperDub,
Everything you've described falls into the Anxiety category. You might have a heart condition along with it, but you are very aware of your body and concerned about what it is doing. I hate to tell ya, but that is what Anxiety Disorder is like. [Sigh...]
I've gone through the rapid heart rate, EKG's, Holter moniter, blood work, Cat-scan, etc. etc. My heart races, skips beats and sometimes even seems to "flip over" in my chest. Every test I've had done so far has turned out normal. That isn't to say that you don't have a heart condition. It is a good idea to get checked out to allay your fears. But when the doctors start telling you that you are extremely healthy, that's when it might be a good idea to seek counselling for the anxiety part of it. Your heart might stop doing all that crazy stuff when you stop worrying so much. And when you understand what this disorder does to you, you might stop all the worrying.
One thing that might help is to type in a symptom into the forums search. That will show you just how many people are experiencing the same things when they are panicking. Also, most definitely, read First Steps on this site. It was a lifesaver for me!!
I hope this helps!
Oh.. and keep up with the fencing!! That is very cool!!! [Wow!]Any kind of exercise is very good for you!!
Andrea

"Honey, if ya ain't feelin' the bumps in the road, ya ain't goin' nowhere!" (A wise Georgia Granny's take on living life to the fullest! LOL!)

Hi Superdub,
I get the missed beats too and three years ago had the usual ECG and 24hr monitor, which just said I had an isolated ectopic heartbeat. I get the same as you sometimes, multiple skips etc., or sometimes just in singles but that last for ages.

I am still not convinced its just anxiety, but everyone tells me it is and not to worry as they are harmless. I think you should have all of the tests and then if they're ok try not to worry about them, and learn to ignore them.

Did you carry on with the fencing lesson and if so, what happened to the skipping beats?
Take care,
Linda.

Thanks, linjane and in1peace. Your comments helped a lot. I'm still coming to grips with the anxiety demon rearing its ugly head at the strangest times. It's hard to convince yourself it's nothing when your mind tells you you're going to keel over from a massive heart attack any minute, but the mind can be trained, I suppose - unfortunately, I'm on the first page of the training manual and need some help now and then to refocus. Do either of you have ongoing high blood pressure? My doctor advised me to take mine on a regular basis and during a typical day I can be in the normal range for a few hours, skip into hypertension for an hour or two, then go back to normal for a few hours. It seems like any time I have rapid heart rate or skipped beats, they're preceded by a rise in BP. Does anything like that happen to you? Like I say, I'm still trying to learn about this anxiety thing, so my apologies for the very basic questions. Thanks again for your help. And by the way, linjane, I continued on with the class and the skips stopped after about five minutes, but I spent the rest of the class waiting for them to return (which they never did).

Hi Superdub,
Well done for carrying on with the class!!!

I don't (think) I suffer from high blood pressure at the moment. I did when the missed beats first started and doc put me on beta blockers but as it started to go back to normal he gradually took me off them and it is has been ok. My pulse is usually fast when I have it checked though. Also, I'm pregnant now and I am hoping that the high blood pressure doesn't return, I've never suffered with it in pregnancy before, but also didn't have the missed beats with any of my last pregnancies. I have had them all day today and I've been terrified again - HORRIBLE THINGS!!!! You said you were diagnosed with Lone Atrial Fibrillation - does this require any medication and have the doctors explained anything about this illness to you. I would be interested to know, because all I have been told is that I have isolated ectopic heartbeats and they can't harm you, but it worries me I get them nearly every day without a break.

Sorry to have gone, take care,
linda.x

SuperDub,
Glad you are still fencing!
Yep.. I have high blood pressure. It might have been one of the things that contributed to the downward spiral into panic. When you find out you have high blood pressure you start thinking about heart attacks and stroke.
When I started on BP medication, it kept my range just under high normal. But to tell you the truth, when I started having panic attacks, I couldn't bring myself to check. Because I was already convinced that this was either a brain tumor, heart attack, stroke, or all three! Adding any more fuel to my panicky bonfire would have made me self-destruct. So I can't really tell you what my BP was. Today I had it checked and it was 106 over 70. I was in shock! I almost jumped up and hugged the nurse!! My psychologist believes that even though my progress in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is hard to measure, my subconcious mind is already using the skills I'm learning and my body is relaxing. I hope she is right!


Linda:
I can't remember why missed heartbeats and "fluttering" occurs more often in pregnancy, but it's true for many women. There's a medical reason, but can't remember what it is. My heart always did that with every pregnancy. I was always told that this was normal and that it would stop after I gave birth.


"Honey, if ya ain't feelin' the bumps in the road, ya ain't goin' nowhere!" (A wise Georgia Granny's take on living life to the fullest! LOL!)

Thanks again, linjane and in1peace. The more I read from you guys, the better I feel about what's going on. Linjane, from what the docs tell me, there's no medicine that will cure Atrial Fibrillation. The only thing you can do without having invasive surgery is to cut back on potential causes - alcohol, caffeine, heart stimulants (things like cough medicine or decongestants). I've quit everything that could contain any of the above and so far (touch wood) I've been A-fib free for almost 10 months. I get the ectopic beats, too, but they're nothing like the A-fib. An A-fib episode is truly unique and something you'll never forget. Mine consisted of rapid heartrate (120-140 bpm), with six fast, strong beats, a long pause (1-2 secs), one very strong beat (almost like someone hitting you in the chest, then a couple of regular beats, then back to the six fast beats etc. Part of my problem with anxiety is that when the rapid heartrate starts, my mind thinks, "Oh oh, A-fib!" and things just get worse from there. Most likely, I won't go into A-fib ever again, but because the rapid heartrate is associated with both A-fib and anxiety, I have to work really hard to make my mind realise it's only (only?) anxiety, because the last thing I want to do is go into A-fib again. Compared to A-fib, ectopic beats are a walk in the park. As for the blood pressure, I went to the doc on Friday and he prescribed me some medication to lower the BP. It'll take about a week to start seeing results, so hopefully in a few days, my BP should be in the regular range again, at which point we're hoping the rapid heartrate will also improve to the point I'm not woken every night by it as have been lately. I'll keep you both posted on any progress. Thanks again.

**there's no medicine that will cure Atrial Fibrillation**

There are several medicines that can really control continuous AF.
Its the transient ones that doctors are loathe to treat providing your cardiovascular system is not compromised.

I guess you're talking about ablation for the surgery. Its nore common for other abnormal rhythms to have ablation than for AF - that tends to be managed conservatively.

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Hello, I have been suffering with very rapid heart beats and multipal ectopic beats for an age. (since I was kid actually, I am now an old woman of 59!) I used to suffer with SVT which was so bad that I ended up in hospital on several occasions, eventually the problem in my heart which caused the SVT was corrected with an ablation. (almost 5 years ago) Since then I have not had another attack of SVT (my hear would 'stick' and go at an abnormal pace of about 220-240..very disabaling and very scary) What I do get now is fluttery heart beats, very fast heart beat, most commonly at night, and ectopicts by the dosen sometimes! I also have an increase in asthma every now and then and, I cough a lot at night if I am having a bad night with fast and skippy beats. I suffer with very bad nightmares which I wake from with rapid heart beat. I don't know if the dream causes the rapid beats or if it is the other way around! I am afraid of the SVT coming back although the cardiologist is happy with my poor old heart. I know that the problem is mostly in my head but the manifestion of all of this is very real and scary none the less. I am finding reading every one else's exparience's very helpfull. I have had loads of tests and I must be OK I think...It's the 'I think' bit that get's you though isn't it? I have lost confidence, I am sometimes afraid to go to bed, I get very tired and things get huge in silly head! I also get pins and neadles and dizziness. I don't really want to go far from home anymore...I am a mess in some ways. But I'm not daft and quite nice and my doc say's I am getting PA's but doesn't give me any possitive help except Diasipan. So, thank's you lot out there playing this silly game with me, you are helping. Della xxx PS, Superdub, I also have high BP which is monitored.

Hey there folks, what is this atrial fibrilliation? Years ago I had ecgs and a 24hr monitor however nothing showed, my heart goes fast sometimes but its when it jumps and goes haywire that scares me!!!! I had to go to the dentist on Wed and I hate it and since then I fell total yuk also knowing I have another two appointments aint helping. As far as blood pressure is concerned mines goes up when the doc is checking it, hes monitoring it but thinks its anxiety causing it and so far no medication, however I dont think this will be the case for much longer. I cant get beta blockers either cause I am asthmatic.

Shaz x