Crazy fast and irregular beats out of nowhere !!

[panicface]

Hey,

I've had ectopic beats for decades (missed beats) I barely even notice them, except when the persist for days.

But lately (randomly) I'm laying in bed and my heart does what I feel like is an ectopic beat and then goes crazy - like super fast and irregular - I immediately LEAP OUT OF BED!!! run for my keys and wallet thinking I will try to make it to ER.. all the while coughing madly (as I read coughing helps)..

I also am jumping up and down and FREAKING OUT - as I always think 'this is it - i have so much undone)..

Each attack lasts less than 10 seconds and then my heart goes back to normal.. It can be a month between episodes or longer usually.

Tonight I just had the WORST one.. I don't get dizzy, or blackout - doesn't last long enough.. But I do get so anxious that i pop a xanax.. full body sweat.. greatful to be alive still.

i've read a lot about Afib and NOBODY talks about the sheer TERROR when heart is jumping around erratically - they talk about getting a conversion if it LASTS FOR DAYS.. wtf? Days? 10 seconds and I'm a madman.. :(

Anyone else get this?

I wore a halter a few years ago - but like I said - only happens once month at best.. so can't find it..

i'm 44yo male and in average health (carrying a few more pounds)

Thanks for ANY FEEDBACK>> going to sit here watching old star trek episodes until the xanax kicks in..

[Aaahhfreakout]

Yup, that is pretty much exactly the same as me. Ectopic beats for years then random 10 to 15 second runs of ectopic beats months apart that freak me out.

In my case I ended up buying my own little ECG monitor to catch it. Turned out to be runs of atrial ectopic beats, which was reassuring as at least it's not ventricular. I'd not recommend buying a monitor if you suffer from health anxiety, however, as you'll have a temptation to wear it all the time!

I think a run of atrial ectopics is not necessarily atrial fibrillation, by the way, as fibrillation comes from all over the top of the heart while the atrial ectopic runs all come from the same place. It's quite possible you're having runs of some kind of ectopic beat from a single irritable point, rather than A-fib.

To start, I'd recommend asking your doctor if you can borrow a monitor of some kind for a month to see if you can catch it. Make sure you say it's causing major anxiety and knowing it was harmless could be really helpful.

[Mike_NY]

Yup, that is pretty much exactly the same as me. Ectopic beats for years then random 10 to 15 second runs of ectopic beats months apart that freak me out.

In my case I ended up buying my own little ECG monitor to catch it. Turned out to be runs of atrial ectopic beats, which was reassuring as at least it's not ventricular. I'd not recommend buying a monitor if you suffer from health anxiety, however, as you'll have a temptation to wear it all the time!

I think a run of atrial ectopics is not necessarily atrial fibrillation, by the way, as fibrillation comes from all over the top of the heart while the atrial ectopic runs all come from the same place. It's quite possible you're having runs of some kind of ectopic beat from a single irritable point, rather than A-fib.

To start, I'd recommend asking your doctor if you can borrow a monitor of some kind for a month to see if you can catch it. Make sure you say it's causing major anxiety and knowing it was harmless could be really helpful.

Do you have a link for the ECG monitor?

[panicface]

Yup, that is pretty much exactly the same as me. Ectopic beats for years then random 10 to 15 second runs of ectopic beats months apart that freak me out.

In my case I ended up buying my own little ECG monitor to catch it. Turned out to be runs of atrial ectopic beats, which was reassuring as at least it's not ventricular.

Thanks for this. It happened a few nights ago, nothing since. I've been making some lifestyle changes (working out, no sugar, etc) I think that was the trigger - but then we ALWAYS look for a trigger don't we..... Depressingly sometimes it just seems random.

Can you share a link with the machine you bought? Does it show if it's atrial or ventricular? That would be frigging awesome to check. Yes I WOULD wear it like the paranoid guy I am - but I've been having ectopics since the age of 15 (nearly 3 decades) so it would help me to understand what's going on.

I'm able to do long bouts of cardio, laps, weight-lifting, 'vigorous' sex (lol) etc without palps, ectopic, or strings - so I 'hope' my heart is strong - it's only when I'm just laying there I get these strings of palps that seem without pattern..

(sigh)

Thanks again for response. ;)