The worst 'missed beats' I've ever had

[hr1027]

Hey guys I've posted a couple of times before but didn't get many replies, however I'd really appreciate some replies from a few different people now because I'm struggling. I've been suffering with the missed (ectopic) beats all week but they have gotten so much worse. Last night I had them pretty much from 6pm until half 5 in the morning when I finally managed to fall asleep. It was terrifying because it was every second beat being missed so at times it literally felt like my had stopped for a few seconds. It's continued in to today, it wasn't as bad in the morning and afternoon but at the moment I'm getting 15-25 ectopics a minute and they are so powerful. They are those horrible feeling ones where it your whole body shakes and they are really terrifying, especially when they are literally coming one straight after the other. I actually went to a and e with them in the past when I was getting around 5 or 6 a minute and the cardiologist completely assured me that they are nothing to worry about but it's just that these are so much worse. Also I read someone else's post on here and they said if you keep getting them your pacemaker will eventually go out of sync or something and your heart goes into cardiac arrest which terrifies me :( I also had an ecg on Tuesday which came back as fine and have had blood tests and the scan that looks at the shape of your heart (I think it's called an echo scan?) But anyway I would love to know if anybody else has them this bad and if I should stop worrying so much despite them being so scary. Would love some replies 😢

---------- Post added at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was at 19:05 ----------

Anyone?

[nomorepanic]

Do you have a pacemaker then?

Have you read the website article on palpitations?

[KK77]

More important than symptoms is treating your underlying HA, because you've posted about numerous tests and seeing "cardiologists" before. Yet your HA continues.

There are a number of resources on NMP, as Nicola says, including a free CBT programme at https://cbt4panic.org

[hr1027]

No I don't have a pacemaker - the cardiologist who caught the ectopics on the ecg said I don't need a pacemaker. I guess that's what scares me though in the past I've had terrible ectopics and then they go after a week or two and I'm completely normal. KK77 you might be right maybe it is health anxiety but it's still so real and scary... does anybody else get them this bad?

---------- Post added at 23:37 ---------- Previous post was at 23:36 ----------

And thanks Nicola those articles do help to be fair

[hr1027]

Hey, thanks for the reply I read all of it and feel bad for you. I hope it eases off and eventually stops bothering you. I don't think we have the exact same issue (mine isn't that bad) and my heartbeat was not irregular- for me its just caused by anxiety. However I wish you the best of luck in recovery!!
Here is what happened to me which I hope may help any other sufferers:
Ill start by saying I'm only 18. So I was getting missed beats (between 6 and 20 a minute) all day on Saturday and Sunday and even Monday. However I decided to go to a and e and get them checked out. When I got there they took my blood pressure and body temperature - both normal. They then conducted an ecg which caught the missed beats but also showed me something much more important- my heart is still operating well thank God and there is no sign of damage or any cause for concern- it was all working well. I then had to go see a specialist with my ecg result (at this point I was still getting around 10 'ectopics' an hour). He was very happy with the results and said any abnormality would have been found on the ecg. I asked him about cardiac arrests and how I was scared of them and he told me that only if the ecg picked up an abnormality that would be worth worrying about- so if you've had an ecg and get loads of ectopics there is nothing to worry about. The doctor also listened to my heart while the ectopics were going on and took my pulse. He said the pauses are nothing to worry about and he could literally feel them. Though he did sympathise that they're extremely uncomfortable he said when you get them don't stress because it makes them worse, his exact words were 'don't worry if you get them just listen to some music or watch some Netflix' lol. He also drew some sort of heart diagram for me and showed how the heart rhythm is controlled, and said sometimes this can be interfered with but it's nothing to worry about especially since your ecg has shown everything to be operating well! There are actually things we can all do to improve out situations- eat healthy because if we don't we are asking for illness (buy an amazing book called healthy at 100 if you can), excercise often and don't sit around too long (the doctor said exercise is fine with ectopics but obviously don't go too crazy with it if you're getting loads), and the hardest thing to do, stop worrying. I've been guilty of it so I can't really say it but stress does us more damage than the actual symptoms. One final thing, with ectopics or any symptoms go with what your own doctor says and trust them. Everybody is different and the chances are you are fine if suffering with these symptoms so don't be scared if you see somebody else on the forum or anywhere who had heart symptoms which turned out to be real problems etc, if your doctor says you're all good they know you better than people on the forum so do your best not to worry and good luck! Feel free to message me if you get bad ectopics and need to talk!

---------- Post added at 17:35 ---------- Previous post was at 17:33 ----------

One last thing, I've noticed when I make the decision to stop being scared I feel so much better! Of course the symptoms stay because it takes time for the body to leave it's anxious state but the ectopics definitely ease off when you genuinely choose not to worry. Like Claire weekes says, accept and let time pass it will do wonders!

[MrAlan]

12 months ago I started to also have them. The just came out the blue (or at least i started to just notice them). Big fuds which sometimes made me gasp for air! I went to the dr and they done a 48 hour heart rate monitor on me to see how often I had them (maybe you could ask for this)

They re assured me this was normal but of course I was scared and the fear was coursing more ectopics (around we go)

Ectopics can come on from stress / anxiety - As i had a cousin die at 39 years old from cardiac death they done all the tests under the sun over the 12 months - mri, stress test, holtor, scans - alls sorts. All came back normal which meant one thing - ANXIETY

Some with anxiety just notice them more than others because we are looking for them!

Other things that can cause it is too much alcohol and caffeine - they are not the cause i believe but do make them worse.

At the end of the day anxiety and or lifestyle can cause them. Many people have them however if you were like me and no matter what people tole me i.e. 99% are benign I will believe I was that 1% that will die - in this case you need to get to the drs and ask them for the tests - you also need to say you feel you may have anxiety and if any counselling such as CBT can be available. This will help in the long run