Runs of Skipped Beats - very scary

[nici]

Hi, I'm Nici, I'm not too far away from 40 & work in sales (yes stressful), work full time & have 3 kids, including one in the army.

I have suffered with anxiety for years with varying symptoms, started when I was 14 or 15 with palpitations at night, developed over the years. At one point I was having attacks of bradycardia, which panicked me so much, this went on for a while & everything settled down. Again, palpitations on & off for years. A few years ago, I started having runs of ectopic beats, started with a few missed beats & one loud thud, but over the past 3 or 4 years, I've had 1 or 2 a year, episodes of long runs of skipped beats, lasting for what feels like forever. Each episode has rectified itself after immense panic settling in, with a huge thud in my chest, few seconds of irregular beats, few minutes of panic attack style rapid heartbeat, then settles down.

I have seen a cardiologist, specialising in heart rhythm & worn a holter for 3 weeks, that was all ok, but all I had was the odd palpitation. Most days I'm fine, it's been over a year since I had anything other than palpitations, but today I had an attack at work, a long run of skipped beats, like a constant fluttering in my chest, just like the one you get with palpitations but it lasted for quite a while, 10-20 seconds, with another almighty thud when my heart kicked in & returned to normal, again with the irregular beats & rapid beats, before returning to normal.....

Does anyone else suffer from these long runs? They scare the life out of me. Thanks for listening x

[diane07]

Hi nici

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[nici]

Thanks Diane, I'm not a nervous person, but apparently quite emotional & not one to scream & shout, which is probably why the anxiety takes hold. Look forward to hearing from other members with similar experiences x

[Jay72]

Hi nici.

I have had the exact same experiences myself for years now. Mine started about 20 years ago when I was about 19/20 years old. I was living in a shared house and attending college. Whether or not any degree of stress bought them on, I have no clue but I would say that living away from home at a young age did have a bit of an emotional effect on me.

At that age, I had no idea what was happening to me and it actually took me a while to realise it was my heart fluttering and not just a wobbly feeling in my neck. I went to A&E where I had a heart trace/ECG thing and there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. Blood pressure fine, heart fine, etc etc and I remember when they discharged me I wondered if they were making a mistake and weren't professional enough to know what they were on about...

Anyway, they continued here and there and I paid several visits to my GP who didn't prescribe anything but old fashioned reassurance. It wasn't until the Internet became what it is today that I actually knew more about these 'attacks' and just how common they are. Sometimes I get them pretty regular and then they might disappear for months. I don't know if they're stress related or not because I have experienced them when I have been totally happy! I have tried various things over the years with varying degrees of success. The first was Magnesium supplements - and I really believe they benefitted me. Others have said it was placebo but hey, who cares? If there's improvement it works.

I must admit though that I don't actually worry about them any longer and haven't done for years. I don't like it when they occur but it's not a frightening experience for me at all, just mildly irritating and strangely enough, since I have had that mindset, they actually have become less frequent.

I've never known the root cause but it's so common that it can't be stress in my opinion. In fact I quite dislike that when someone says it to me. Stress gets used far too often to smear a possible underlying cause but if you have had checks and everything is fine, try to be less worried about them when they happen. I know it's hard but I really do think a different way of thinking helps.

[nici]

thanks Jay, it's good to hear another person's experience.... I have suffered from palpitations for many years, but these episodes are really scary, I've had around 1 really bad episode a year for the past 4 years, last year it took me to pass out & hit the floor for my heart to kick back into rhythm. My cardiologist wants to insert a recording device under the skin, which I am probably going to have to do.... it's invasive surgery though so I have avoided it so far. My echo, trace & holter were all ok....doc thinks it may be Atrial Fibrillation but we have to catch it on the monitor to diagnose. I do get stressed very easily, I'm quite a hyper kind of character, easily excitable..... work in sales full time & have a very demanding family life.... so I can put it down to stress.

How do you manage not to be scared when they occur? I was at work during my last episode.... I went to get a glass of cold water to try & retun my heart rhythm to normal, which did work, but I was close to passing out before it sorted itself out. My whole life flashed before me x

[JT69]

Hi nici

I also suffer with bouts of these and have no idea what brings them on. My episodes can last on and off for a few days and then they disappear again.

I have had tests etc and told all is normal but I still worry when I have them as you just dont feel right and sometimes its so bad I feel I am about to pass out.

Its a little reassuring to know others experience them too...and I have suffered with anxiety and depression for around 15 years on and off so guess its all connected in some way...not a nice thing to experience though.

Jo.x

[nici]

Hi Jo,

Thanks for replying, thanks to Jay too. I think it's all connected, I have had a really stressful couple of years.... money worries, eldest son being out of control, now he's in the army & that has it's own stresses & worries. I have also suffered with anxiety for many years, since as long as I can remember. I'm sure it's all stress related x

[embee]

OMG I just joined this forum today and was going to ask the very same question.

I can relate my skipped beats to periods when I have high anxiety, but they scare me and the anxiety increases.

Good to know that other people experience the same thing. I can relax a little more but will mention it to my cardiologist when I see him next month.

[scouser1959]

hi nic i have the same symptoms since 2008 and they still scare the hell out of me, i have had all the tests and all have come back normal which is good, last week the missed beats kicked off again and the chest pain came back too, it really is scary, but it has now gone, i dont think i can ever be one of the few on here who say they are learning to live with them, i just cannot get my head round it, especially when im lying in bed trying to get to sleep and all i can feel is fluttering and missed beats, still the advise people give on here has helped me to realise that no im not having a heart attack its just ectopic beats!!!

[sue681]

Thankyou for writing about this..i also suffer with ectopic beats.That horrible bubbling and then the thud.Everytime it happens i think my hearts going to stop.lasts a few seconds but feels like minutes..very scary im glad im not alone x

[autumrose71]

Hi, my name is Autum and new to this site:D for many years I too have experienced skipped beats. Most of the time, I was not doing anything unusual and I would find myself waiting for the next one to come on. Over the years I have seen the same Cardio doctor and have been diagnosis was Mitro value prolaspe. I am currently taking inderal and it has helped although it does not make it go away completely. I read that banana and orange juice help because of the potassium in each which is suppose to help with the rhythm, I've tried this and it helps.

It's reassuring that others can relate to feeling this, it's scary and can occupy your thoughts and change how you feel. I hope my comments help others, your's help me find peace with knowing someone else understands.

Autum:wacko: