View Full Version : Etcopics
Just folk up to what I can only explain as my heart out of sync and flip flopping for about 10 mins which was very scary now 2 hours has past and I'm still getting the odd one every couple of mins, by looking online and self diagnosis it sounds like etcopics, I've had these before on many occasions but why did I get about 20/30 within a few mins it was very scary and I still am on edge about this, any help or respons would be appreciated thanks x
They are very scary anyway without getting multiple ectopics at a time! I too have had these ectopics for many years. Sometimes I wake up & my heart is racing or when I lay on a certain side. Are you anxious about anything? What did you eat last night & what time did you eat? Have you had any recent major life changes or events? All these reasons can contribute or cause ectopics. When I am tired I get them much worse too.
I recently had a spate of them, noticing them mostly every day. Although I had a scan of my heart when I was in my mid 20s I informed my GP & she has arranged for me to have a 24 hour heart monitor & blood tests to rule out a deficiency in electrolytes.
It would be sensible to mention this latest episode to your GP too as there can be nothing more reassuring than peace of mind!
Hi thanks for replying, I'm currently taking venlafaxine for gereralised anxiety disorder but have never had anything like this, I though there was something serious wrong with my heart it was so bad I'm still getting them now but not as bad as a few hours ago, it was very strange tho as my heart wasn't beating fast it was very slow in the 50's, I did eat chocolate before going to bed but that's nothing out of the ordinary, now I'm really self aware of my heart beat and very anxious
Well caffeine has always been on the list of causes I've seen for ectopics. It also depletes magnesium levels and magnesium is important for keeping your heart in sync.
Yeh think your defeninetly correct, but never experienced anything like that before maybe had one or two at a time but that was like 30 in a short space of time which was very scary
I only ever used to get single ones but twice this year I've had them lasting for around 20 minutes after exercise and one time when I had about 6 in a row (with normal beats between). I was told its only dangerous if you get a run of them where it's every beat.
Hi Kev, I have experienced all kind of ectopics (PVCs / PACs) during my life. 20 years ago I had them when resting / walking, but never when exercising. Some days I would feel 50 during the whole day, other days I would feel 500+. Then they would disappear for months, to come back again with different patterns. Usually I could stop them by laying, which is weird because some people report exactly the other way.
Then I had other weird patterns, for example PVCs when bending, PVCs when standing up after sitting for long periods, PVCs after meals, PVCs after exercising, all kinds of PVCs you can imagine. But I never felt very frequent ones, until 3 months ago when I started having 10-15 per minute with a fast heart rate during panic attacks. Sometimes I enter bigeminy (every other beat a PVC) and sometimes I feel short runs of very fast beats (probably supraventricular tachycardia). And so far, I'm still here. And i've had lots of tests since last year, including at least 6 EKGs, blood tests, chest X-rays, stress test, echo and Holter. Cardiologist told me this new pattern of frequent PVCs is caused by anxiety and ignored my complains. Basically she told me to forget that I have a heart if I want to live a normal life. I know that's not possible, but I think your skipped beats are caused by anxiety too, just like me. And yes, they assume weird patterns everytime, and they change those patterns once in a while.
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I was told its only dangerous if you get a run of them where it's every beat.
No, even this is not dangerous, unless you have some heart issue. Lots of people who have PVCs experience short runs of NSVT (non sustained ventricular tachycardia). 3 PVCs in a row is already NSVT (technically). These short runs of NSVT are usually between 3-12 beats and people with normal hearts have no bigger risk of sudden death even if they have runs of NSVT.
On the other hand, sustained ventricular tachycardia is dangerous indeed, but it's only considered VT if lasts more than 30 seconds.
The big point is.. people with NSVT won't go in VT, unless they have a reason for that. short runs of NSVT is a relatively common find on Holters, if everyone who experience this was going to die soon, the worlds population would be reduced by several million people in a short amount of time :D
And by the way, most of the time these fast beats are short runs of SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) which is not dangerous at all. Your can have SVT at rates of 200bpm+ for hours and it won't damage your heart.
Thank you for taking time to respond with this that's explained things a lot better for me, it must be hell for you suffering this all the time I'm still very shook up after yesterday morning constantly panicking about my heart, wish I could live without knowing I had a heart that's all I ever seem to fixate on these days it's became I very bad habit of constantly checking my pulse and feeling every slight pain is a heart attack, I had all the tests done 3 months back stress test Echo and everything was clear but then I never had these ectopic beats
Thank you for taking time to respond with this that's explained things a lot better for me, it must be hell for you suffering this all the time I'm still very shook up after yesterday morning constantly panicking about my heart, wish I could live without knowing I had a heart that's all I ever seem to fixate on these days it's became I very bad habit of constantly checking my pulse and feeling every slight pain is a heart attack, I had all the tests done 3 months back stress test Echo and everything was clear but then I never had these ectopic beats
the ectopics appear in your life suddenly and usually they don't go away anymore. They come and go, sometimes you can be "free" for years, but my experience says they will come back someday. I started feeling mine when I was 20 (I'm 40 now) after stressful situations (anxiety and panic attacks). Since then, I learned to live with this very annoying feeling for all these years. I got to the point that I would accept them as normal and don't even get anxious anymore. But last year I had two very strong panic attacks when I ended up in ER, and since then it has been a nightmare. These new frequent ectopics with fast heart rates are super scary, believe me. I wish I had only the "normal" ones back.
In your case, maybe they were already there, but you never felt them. Some people have 20,000+ ectopics / day and don't feel a single one. Other have 20/30 and think they're going to die. I've read a study when they concluded that about 70% of the population 40+ have at least one ectopic in 24 hours. For younger people, this percentage is a little lower, I think something like 45% or so.
This is very similar to my story. I started having ectopics in my 20s & now i have hit 40, they have come back far more frequently, with or without being anxious. Just used to be the odd one! I had 7 in a row the other day. I am still here though. Waiting on blood results for electrolytes & nurse to fit 24 hour monitor. Bloods be back tomorrow :)
This is very similar to my story. I started having ectopics in my 20s & now i have hit 40, they have come back far more frequently, with or without being anxious. Just used to be the odd one! I had 7 in a row the other day. I am still here though. Waiting on blood results for electrolytes & nurse to fit 24 hour monitor. Bloods be back tomorrow :)
I had a Holter less than one month ago and it was "funny", it caught only 5 PVCs and 3 PACs, which is almost nothing for me. If I used the Holter one day later, it would have showed 100+, including a run of 20-30 in less than 5 minutes with a fast heart rate. But somehow we never have the Holter when we really need it.. By the way, I'm also going to have blood tests for electrolytes and thyroid this week ;)
It has came back worse than ever I'm so scared for the last hour I've been getting them constantly don't know whether to phone nhs 24 about 10 or so a min my heart not beating fast or hard but just jumping banging and flip flopping constantly
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Help anyone is it normal to get these for more than an hour getting really scared now thinking phoning nhs 24 ? Getting over 10 a min
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