Skipped/ectopic beats! 😟😫

[Loz36]

Hi guys!
First timer here, so glad i found this, has put alot of my concerns at ease knowing others are going through same as me.
Ok, ill try and keep this short. Ive been having skipped/ectopic beats since i was 23, had tests done, ecg, echo, 24hr monitor all came back normal nothing to worry anout. Sometimes i can go weeks and months without them then they all of a sudden appear, mainly when im at rest/ sleeping. Im now 36 and am still experiencing them, they STILL frighten me and make me anxious after all these years! I have been on the ecg machines few times in the past all normal. Past week ive been getting the skipped beats everyday and as i said, still scare me..😭☹

[Carys]

Arrgh I just wrote you a long reply and lost it, I'll try again..


Hi and welcome,

I have had ectopics since I was 20 and am now nearly 50. I have had no other issues with my heart, it is strong and healthy and I've had no other irregularities. I had an ecg back in the day, which showed the benign ectopics and my heart has been listened to a few times since then, as part of routine health checks, and all is good.

Personally, I can related mine to periods of high stress and anxiety where I hold my stomach and stomach muscles tight for long periods of time- I am tense and it affects my vagus nerve. I dont know if you are aware, but this nerve runs near the stomach so all sorts of stomach related things can affect it, and then cause ectopics. For example if my stomach is really full and I have indigestion, I get ectopics. If its really bad'y irritated , they occur if I lean up against my stomach like on the bed, or against a windowsill...I can feel the direct connection to my vagus nerve. Once I've irritated the part of me that causes them, even if I'm not anxious, the pattern of having them can go on for weeks and months. Ectopics generally happen for most people when they are not active, lying down in bed or not doing anything physical.

They won't do you any harm..and after a few quick catch up beats your heart restores its normal pattern. They do feel unsettling, and if I sometimes get long runs of them....like one ectopic, two or three quick, one ectopic and more quick...that last several minutes...I can't deny they make me jump up and start pacing. Incidentally, doing that stops it immediately as I am active and changing my heart rate. :winks: However, they generally don't bother me at all now after so many years of having them. I've known doctors say they have them, and all sorts of people and they live the same long and healthy lives as people without them.

I found this article, just did a quick search, as I was looking for a better explanation of the vagus nerve link. I don't know if all the information is useful on it, and I don't endorse any suggestions it makes as such, but it does describe the benign nature and links to the stomach. Posture change Can make a difference when the problem occurs e.g. if I am lying on my side, I change to my back/stomach.

https://medium.com/@jancovorstermyafibheart/10-ectopic-heartbeat-vagus-nerve-palpitations-tips-for-you-b8b2acd4dbbe

Happy to talk about it further if you have further questions or worries. I would say just accept them for what they are, a benign bodily function. Your heart won't stop. :yesyes:

[WiredIncorrectly]

Hi guys!
First timer here, so glad i found this, has put alot of my concerns at ease knowing others are going through same as me.
Ok, ill try and keep this short. Ive been having skipped/ectopic beats since i was 23, had tests done, ecg, echo, 24hr monitor all came back normal nothing to worry anout. Sometimes i can go weeks and months without them then they all of a sudden appear, mainly when im at rest/ sleeping. Im now 36 and am still experiencing them, they STILL frighten me and make me anxious after all these years! I have been on the ecg machines few times in the past all normal. Past week ive been getting the skipped beats everyday and as i said, still scare me..��☹

Wow you sound just like me. I've had them since I was 18, now 33. Last month I had hardly any ... or at least I wasn't aware of them. Now I'm having so many. In September I had a bad episode and went to ER. Everyone on here told me not to go to ER. I didn't listen and I went. I was sent home, nothing wrong.

I've come to realise that for me they are "normal". The problem is my anxiety. You should learn to stop worrying about them, even when they're bad. It makes it much easier to get on with life. Pay attention to changes in lifestyle too. They are much worse for me when I diet, fast, or eat less than usual. If I get less sleep they are bad too.

Today I've had ectopics that could easily throw me into a downward spiral ... if I let them.