Hi everyone

I have suffered from palpitations and ectopics for 3 years now but today I had an extremely scary episode of irregular heart beat whilst taking my dogs out for a walk with my husband. I just bent forwards a bit because my dog was sniffing something and then my heart went really slow, then sped up, went slow again and then eventually went back to normal. I just stood there terrified clutching on to my neck to feel my pulse thinking that my heart was just going to stop. My husband tried to reassure me but I felt a panic attack coming on and spent the rest of the walk with legs like jelly, a dry mouth and trying to fight off a panic attack.

I have recently undergone some heart tests because of my terrible palps and fast heart rate at night which my doctor thinks are anxiety. I have had a chest x-ray and a 24hr holter monitor a month ago but my results are still not available. I phoned the surgery again this morning and she couldn't tell me anything because they have just had a new computer system put in. I told the receptionist that my doctor wanted to see me again when my results came through but I have got to wait 2 weeks for an appointment because she is away next week. This waiting for results is causing my anxiety to rocket and now I'm more worried than ever because of what happened this morning.

My husband wanted me to go to the doctors this afternoon but I couldn't face it and they always just say it is anxiety anyway and also I feel fine now apart form feeling horribly anxious! I am now terrified that I do have a heart problem and I have read lots of times about how an irregular heart beat can cause a cardiac arrest.

Have any of you guys had similar episodes of an irregular heart beat, which lasts a short time and then returns to normal? Could it have been a nasty PVC? I didn't feel faint and I didn't have any chest pain when it happened thank goodness.

I am now scared to go out now and walk my dogs on my own in case it happens again. I had worked so hard to get over my agoraphobia but now I feel myself slipping back into it again because of what happened this morning. Many thanks in advance, hamster lady