Should I be worried about an 'extra' heartbeat?

[worrywart22]

I was checking my pulse this morning (I do it at the same time every day) and noticed that I feeling little flutters in my chest and that my heart went beat beat beat instead of beat, pause, beat, pause. basically it was 3 quick beats in a row which felt like an extra beat inbetween my 2 normal ones. It happened maybe 3 times in 5 minutes and hasnt happened since. I didnt feel dizzy or anything while it happened. should I be worried? ive read somewhere that this can happen in the lead up to sudden cardiac arrest and now im so scared and worried!

[jayware33]

We're not doctors so it's difficult to give you any reassurance. What you're describing sounds like an extra systole, an extra beat. When there is an extra electrical impulse that triggers a premature beat in your heart, there is little blood that get pumped out, so the heart has to fill a little more and the you can have a forceful beat afterwards as there is more blood to squeeze out. These are known as the general term palpitations. They can be ventricular or atrial (PVC/PAC) in most cases. These are usually benign when no family history of heart disease or accompanied by other red flag symptoms such as: dizziness, shortness of breath, pain or especially losing consciousness.

I would advise you to see your GP if they're bothering you as ectopic beats/extra systoles can be worrying when you start to notice them. Most people have them, not all of us notice them though. I've been having them for around 18 years now.

They can be a sign of something serious, of course they can but they would be in the instance of any underlying heart disease or congenital heart defect which I'm assuming you don't have? If they're appearing in isolation, I'm very confident that you're ok. Remember, most people experience extra beats and we're still here. Worrying will only create adrenaline and this will likely trigger more anxiety and symptoms.

So, to summarise: they're most likely benign and will do you no harm. Get them check over with your GP who will probably tell you the same thing. No one on here can give you 100% accurate advice, just guidance and their view :-).

[ScaredLizard]

Sounds like PVC/PAC it's a premature beat of one of your ventricles and often feels like a fluttering or a skipped beat. They are completely benign and everyone has them. Most people however just ignore them

[jayware33]

Sounds like PVC/PAC it's a premature beat of one of your ventricles and often feels like a fluttering or a skipped beat. They are completely benign and everyone has them. Most people however just ignore them

They're completely benign where no heart disease or other defects are present. yes, in most cases they're totally benign.

I wanted to correct as we do t want everyone just to ignore them and assume they're nothing. In most cases this is true, but they should still be checked out even if just a visit to your GP :-).

[worrywart22]

We're not doctors so it's difficult to give you any reassurance. What you're describing sounds like an extra systole, an extra beat. When there is an extra electrical impulse that triggers a premature beat in your heart, there is little blood that get pumped out, so the heart has to fill a little more and the you can have a forceful beat afterwards as there is more blood to squeeze out. These are known as the general term palpitations. They can be ventricular or atrial (PVC/PAC) in most cases. These are usually benign when no family history of heart disease or accompanied by other red flag symptoms such as: dizziness, shortness of breath, pain or especially losing consciousness.

I would advise you to see your GP if they're bothering you as ectopic beats/extra systoles can be worrying when you start to notice them. Most people have them, not all of us notice them though. I've been having them for around 18 years now.

They can be a sign of something serious, of course they can but they would be in the instance of any underlying heart disease or congenital heart defect which I'm assuming you don't have? If they're appearing in isolation, I'm very confident that you're ok. Remember, most people experience extra beats and we're still here. Worrying will only create adrenaline and this will likely trigger more anxiety and symptoms.

So, to summarise: they're most likely benign and will do you no harm. Get them check over with your GP who will probably tell you the same thing. No one on here can give you 100% accurate advice, just guidance and their view :-).

Thank you so much. I have maybe experienced (or noticed) it twice before so its not a regular instance for me