I am missing 1 in 10 beats continiously for over 2 weeks

[madusmacus]

To be honest I'm a bit scared and i might even be imagining light headed ness

I don't have racing or low heartbeats I have 55-70 during the day and resting 56 at night

I can tell when a missing beat will happen due to weird tummy feeling
No thud after the missing beat , just another normal one
general butterfly's in my stomach feeling since this started

I have had acid reflux for years

I have arranged to see cardiologist on Wednesday but part of my brain says I wont make it till then :¬(

Guess I'm here to see if anyone has heard of this type of ectopic/missed beat

Thanks for reading :¬)

[Fishmanpa]

I've heard of people getting palps and etopics but never in the frequency you describe. You would have to sit around counting and monitoring to know that's happening continuously. I'm sure you'll get an EKG and if in fact your heart is missing beats as you claim, it will definitely show. I'm curious as to the results of your visit in a couple days and yes, if this has been happening for 2 weeks, a couple of more days is no risk.

Positive thoughts

[madusmacus]

Thanks for reading :¬)

Its kind of weird I can sit here and feel my pulse now and its like

10-15 normal then... butterfly feeling in stomach and then no beat then a normal beat resumes after the gap - no extra forceful beat - just normal
had about 4 of these whilst typing this sentence :¬(

Guess your right ill probably make it till Wednesday

[Brian123]

I don't always get forceful beats after having an ectopic beat, I usually always feel it in my throat though, the feeling in your stomach could be the anticipation of it happening and causing adrenalin, I don't tend to get the butterlies as much now due to kind of accepting them, but I'm no doctor, but it does sound to me like ectopic beats, it always feels like a delay between normal beats, which is actually an extra beat in the gap, but you don't feel the extra ectopic beat.

[kezzal]

ive had this several times over the last few years and they have been caught on ecg i just got told it was normal nothing to worry about i used to feel a sense of dread with mine but dont as much now they still worry me though

[madusmacus]

Thanks everyone for responding :¬)

I bought a cheep Ecg yesterday to try and catch this in case it is gone by the time I see the cardiologist tomorrow night
Beurer ME80 Personal ECG Monitor - from amazon (I'm too much of a newbie to add links :¬)
xxx.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0082JK9TI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
should arrive before 1pm

I noticed the last 2 weeks I have had some bad acid reflux issues so I started (cautiously) 10mg of omeprazole PPI - the problem seems a bit less invasive today could just be placebo

I will report back after the cardiologists with his findings in case they are of any use to others

Thanks again and I hope every one feels better soon as well :¬)

[madusmacus]

oh well looks like I'm screwed then

cant post links but

i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg269/madusmacus/heart.png

update: actually I just saw a video of this and they called it a PVC
Premature ventricular contraction Ecg looked the same as my one above

[Aaahhfreakout]

Yup, those are PVCs and a small minority of people get them as frequently or even more frequently than that.

However, if you pass all the cardiologists tests and they're almost always single PVCs that are separated by a few normal beats, then they'll say you're fine.

It sounds weird but ten or twenty thousand single PVCs a day can be declared normal. I was actually reading about elite athletes who had this many recently.

Also, some people get a lot for a few weeks like this then it calms down for months or years. I've read of that more than a few times in anxiety and health forums like this one. I hope this is what happens for you. :)

[Phill2]

I went through a period where I used to miss 1 in 4.
Went on for about 2 weeks.
It was a long time ago when anx was really bad but all good now.

[madusmacus]

Thanks Aaaahh and Phill2 for your comments :¬)

I went to see private cardiologist (Wednesday)
He was amazed how good my cheep hand held ecg was

Apart from being Dr reassuring and promising me echo tests (that has not happened), he didn't realy help much
Standard cookie cutter response and drug prescription (beta blocker - not used them keeping as a last resort)

I was expected to be taken seriously and have tests done there and then but no,
this is the UK and even private consultants seem to think of us as just cash
On the stupid side he forgot to charge me - guess ill get a 2x bigger bill in the post

The Ecg they took was a joke, the nurse did it for 20 seconds and it was all over the place graphicaly

So I had to think of my self and self medicate so I started myself on
Magnesium Glycinate 120tabs (2 in the morning and 2 in the evening with meals - 400mg in total)

I have had my 1st two home Ecg now without Pvc's within 30 second sample
(they are still there I can feel them but a hell of a lot less frequent)

Another Thumbs down for UK medical help and Thumbs up for Google
(and that is so wrong) :¬(

Any way sorry for the negative post but I have had such a negative experience.

Thanks all for you input you have all been great :¬)

[debs71]

With respect, I think maybe that you are focusing far too hard on what you heart rate is doing. i think this may be the crux of the issue. To be so specific about your heart rate at certain times and how many beats in so many that you are missing will take a lot of studying and monitoring...a bit too much, IMO.

I have been here before with my own heart rate. I have suffered years of fluttering, missed beats, thumps and bumps, left sided chest pains/aches, etc. I was even told by a GP vis a stethoscope check that my heart rate was irregular. I have had about 3 ECG's in the 13 years I have been suffering anxiety and panic.

I have been told that apart from a rapid heart rate - due to my nerves during the test - that my rhythm is fine.

I am curious to know how you got to a private Cardiologist too? Generally you need a referral letter from your doctor for these private things?

Anxiety will be creating most of your issue here, IMO. When we focus on our heart, we are telling ourselves we are worried - this will create missed beats, flutters, thumps, etc, etc. It is caused by high adrenaline pumping around our body.

You also say that you have had acid reflux for years. This will also be colouring matters. Reflux causes VERY similar symptoms to worrying cardiac stuff - things like chest pain and pressure feelings and fluttering in the chest. It is a bit of a vicious cycle - the more your worry about those sensations and that it is your heart, the worse the reflux will be because of stress, and so it goes on.

I also struggle with reflux. I have been there and done that in terms of thinking it is my heart a million times over.

Anxiety is an incredible force of nature and it has a powerful effect on our bodies as well as our minds. It becomes hard to believe that there really isn't something sinister going on, but 99.9% of the time there isn't.

I would also advise being a bit cautious about starting Magnesium. It is one of those supplements that is worth discussing with your GP prior to starting it, as it does have an effect on the rate and rhythm of the heart, and needs some care.

Try if you can to deviate your brain away from your heart focus. I know it is hard when you are frightened about it, but it can be done. Being productive and busy really does help distract the mind and calms a lot of anxiety-related, physical issues.

[madusmacus]

Thank you for your long detailed reply :¬)

My GP recently lost his license
My new GP cant find my lifetime of notes YET!
I have no faith in GP's and even if I had, they operate in such way as to not be available until I the problem is gone (hopefully)
I have no problems getting private consultants.
I have another one for my SCDS problem.

In UK you Don't need referrals (thank god)

NHS Information is here
xxx.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/892.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=158

"Do I need a GP referral for private treatment?
No, it's possible to seek private treatment from a consultant or specialist without being referred by your GP. However, the British Medical Association (BMA) believes that, in most cases, it's best practice for patients to be referred for specialist treatment by their GP."

In my opinion, turning a blind eye to symptoms (especially cardiac ones) would be tremendously dumb of me.

Thank you for the info on magnesium, this is the 1st time I had read anything bad about it
I am keeping to the RDA as all of the supplement I take is not magnesium

NHS Guideline is here
The amount of magnesium you need is 300mg a day for men

But I will take your advise and talk to my cariologist about this again when he next available in 1.5 weeks time
(He did tell me he was not going to be around for me for 2 weeks so I'm am left on my own for a while now - or find another one)

Thanks again :¬)

[debs71]

oh....ok.

Well in my experience, having had a number of private consutations myself, and also a UK resident, I have never not been asked for a referral letter. Consultants generally get huffy if you pitch up without one. You need not cut and paste, to be honest. I will take your word for it!

Maybe I have just been unfortunate with my private experiences.

I am not for one minute suggesting 'turning a blind eye' to cardiac symptoms - or what you perceive to be - cardiac symptoms. I am just trying to illustrate that maybe a bit of rational thought might be good, such as 'could this be anxiety driving these sensations?'

I think that is pretty fair on an anxiety forum.

As for Magnesium, I did not suggest anything bad about it. It can be a great and useful supplement. I am just saying that Magnesium might have a counterproductive effect on your worry, and be worth some consideration.

It is entirely up to you. Just a suggestion.

I hope your resolve your concerns.

[madusmacus]

Hi debs71,

I didn't mean anything bad I was genuinely grateful for you reply :¬)

I only pasted the link in case others might want to check it out
give people some ammunition if they get told they needed a referral etc :¬)

I am sorry if my reply sounded bad

Byeee

[madusmacus]

Quick update:

Since using the magnesium supplements (proper RDA amounts) my PVC's have gone.

This could have been coincidence of course but I don't want to stop now just to prove a theory.

It is possible I have been more careful in my food and drink and given my stomach time to become less irritable (vagus nerve)