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View Full Version : ectopic beats....stress, grief...help please



rossgirl
25-10-07, 10:08
Hi all,
I was a regular browser and occasional poster on these boards a couple of years ago, as I used to suffer panic attacks and bouts of very fast heartbeats.
They resolved themselves over time, but I have recently started having regular episodes of ectopic beats.
When I had the fast beats before, I was checked out several times by cardiologists, nothing sinister was found and I was sent on my way. Now I don't get the fast beats, just regular, upsetting ectopics, lasting for a few hours at a time. I have been to my GP with these, of course as soon as I arrive and he listens to my heart they stop. Sods law. But he did his best to reassure me that it was nothing to worry about.
When I get them, I am always tired and stressed out. Last week I got them after arriving back in UK after a 9 hour flight from the US, then the morning after, as I guessed my body was all out of kilter. This morning I am having them now, I am sure because of a stressful few days with my partner who is not being very supportive and is unhappy at the moment. This resulted in a minor skirmish this morning, and a few tears on my part. It is also half term, and so having my daughter at home is more stressful then usual.

SO my question is, should I be worried, or does this sound totally benign? Is the stress enough explanation for why these are happening to me? I am quite a highly strung person, it doesn't take much for me to get wound up, and I have a few unresolved issues involving the death of my mother 8 years ago, as in I never grieved...I didn't get the chance being an only child, I had to be there for my father who fell to pieces and constantly told me he was going to kill himself. Fortunately he didn't, but I didn't ever get the chance to feel sorry for myself, and I wonder if this is all coming out now. I feel as if my chest is squashed, and the only way to relieve it is to cry and cry. My partner as I said before is not v supportive, he is a true stiff upper lip type, so I feel as if I may explode if these thoughts don't come out.

Sorry for rambling, it all needs to come out somewhere. Any help gratefully recieved.

Amber.

Elly 2
25-10-07, 10:55
Hi Amber, it's a catch 22 situation. Definitely stress related. My doc explained it to me like this: when we get worked up about anything ie in both your case and mine about ectopic beats, we produce adrenalin which is a stimulant which makes the heart beat faster, but the more worked up we get the more chance of our hearts producing ectopic beats. The ectopic beat which often feels like a missed beat is actually an extra beat. When our heart beats the beat waves hit our chest wall then disappear, but with an ectopic beat, it produces the extra beat (which feels like it's missed a beat) before the first beat has disappeared which produces the peculiar feeling. My doc and cardiologist say it's normal, most people have ectopic beats but not everyone is aware of it. I hope this is of some help, and I hope you feel better soon.
Big hugs
Elly

nanny
25-10-07, 10:58
Hi
If it's any help i have had these for years too, and somwetimes i get worse episodes than others where they go on all day long and no matter how many times i have had them they still scare me.

Thing is it really is just stress and anxiety, if you have been checked out and they say all is ok then try to believe them and relax a bit more when you get them, try not to think about them as this makes them 10 times worse as i find out myself.

I know it's easier said than done , but as i tell myself....i've had em for years and i'm still here so they can't be doing any harm:)

lorac
25-10-07, 11:48
Hi

I too have been getting these for a number of years on and off, sometimes I get them in the middle of the night whilst sleeping. At first they used to scare me but now I just ignore them and they go away. This is definately stress as Nanny said try not to worry about them coz this just makes them worse. I started getting these at the age of 30 when my second child was born and am now 47 and Im still here so try not to worry.

carol
xxx

angiebaby
25-10-07, 12:32
I too have been having them, sometimes all day long, for 12 years. I have been checked out and they are benign, but they are horrible and scary. I try to ignore them but i don't do a very good job, lol, and they do still scare me unfortunately. I know how you feel but they do not do any damage at all and most people get them but a lot of them don't know about them. I also get palpatations, fast heart beats, on and off for no reason. Irregular heart rhythm too, which i was told was normal for everyone.
But i am suffering at the moment with hearing my heart beat in my left ear, lol, i don't like this one either.x

richard sharp
25-10-07, 16:32
i suffer from the same scary beats too. isnt it strange how some people like your partner cant offer you any sympathy when they are happening? perhaps its because we are sensitive to them, we feel them more than others. keep doing the things you want to do, dont let them control you.

Pickle
25-10-07, 16:47
Hi Amber

I'm so sorry you are having a hard time at the moment.

I read your post and I could have been reading my own story. My mum died in March 2000 and altho I have a very supportive brother, my dad spent almost 18 months living with me and my two children. I too felt I couldn't grieve as I had all these other people depending on me to be strong. After 18 months everyone seemed to start living again and I was needed even less. I felt that it was too late to grieve so pushed evey feeling I had as far down as I could.

Since Monday I've been having chronic anxiety attacks and had no idea why - until lunchtime today. I had been feeling lost and totally alone and my best friend just happened to mention my mum which set me off. I'm not very good at showing my feelings so I just gulp it down and show a smile. Today I just cried, and cried.

I too am beginning to think its the grief of the last 7 years and like it or not, these feelings have to come out for either of us to start to heal.

Take care

ViniH
06-09-09, 08:40
Have any of you considered that palpitations and arrhythmia can be caused by anaemia? Try taking iron supplements.

oldtime
03-03-13, 10:22
I'm getting them now and they are scary. My dad is 83 and has had an irregular heart beat for 10 years. His heart now beats 30-40 beats a minute and he can still go for a three mile walk with me. Our bodies are pretty tough even if we don't always feel that way.

Dhruba
19-08-13, 15:18
I am a 19 year boy from India. I have same ectopic beats SPECIALLY WHEN STRESSED. Each beat occur every few normal beats and this thing last throughout the night.....