View Full Version : What the consultant says about ectopic heartbeats
BeltaineInchy
30-07-08, 13:29
Hello
No I'm not a heart consultant but I just saw one and interrogated him. Oh and before you think I'm being flippant about ectopics talk to Mrs Inchy about how much they worry me.
First ... and I quote ....
"There are two types of people, those who notice having ectopics and those who don't"
In other words everyone has ectopic heart beats, some more frequent than others, but MOST people just don't notice them or ignore them.
Second. There is a slight relationship between ectopics and stomach complaints, but only in that your heart sits on your stomach, so if it's bouncing up and down with odd beats then it may cause dispepsia and also feel like it is your stomach that has twitched rather than your heart. That explains why a lot of us burp after, or during a bout of ectopics.
Third. A consultant would not normally 'treat' ectopic heartbeats (anymore than they would treat hiccups). I wish I'd asked now, but I got the distinct impression that he considered ectopic heartbeats and hiccups on a par for health risk.
For information purposes I went after having a lot of ectopics (varying from about 1 an hour to ten a minute) over the past three months. I have 'bordeline' blood pressure (130/90) and am taking 20mg propronolol per day (which incidentally he said were a placebo. He wouldn't bother presrcribing less than 80mg per day).
They are going to give me a 24 hour pulse trace. This is purely so he can identify which ventrical the ectopics are originating in so he can pick the best drug if I decide to have treatment. They're also going to scan my heart to see if there is any enlargement from the raised BP (which he doesn't expect) to put my mind at rest that there's nothing wrong with it.
For treatment.... Unless I decide I can't live with the ectopics he won't do anything. If I do then he will either prescribe a targetted beta-blocker, or if there is any risk at all from my BP, which the heart check will show, he will give me something that both lowers BP and stops ectopics.
So, in summary: Ectopic heartbeats are NORMAL! Us hypo's worrying about them is the odd thing.
So now just to get rid of the muscle wasting disease and I'll be ok ......
Inchy
...
/|\
PS. Don't throw away the Propronolol. He recommends taking 10mg for a chill-out tab when you feel stressed.
milly jones
30-07-08, 15:37
inchy
it isnt the ectopics that are the illness hun
its the worrying, the anxiety caused by them
the anxiety needs the treatment not the heart
i have missed beats/ late beats but it doesnt stress me, unlike other things which some ppl find highly amusing.
my heart goes out to anyone with anxiety, whether its sa, ha, gad, ocd or any phobia.
it doesnt matter if ppl dont recognise it as an illness. im just aware of how much it affects our minds, and therefore our lives.
hugs to all anx sufferers
mily xx
Captain America
01-08-08, 17:01
funny, i was just assured by my doctor that i don't have muscle wasting disease. i went home, and experienced 5 or so 'missed' beats when lying down to sleep.
so i guess i'm the opposite of inchy. i got rid of muscle wasting disease, and i'm back to worrying about my ticker!
anxiety sucks.
milly jones
01-08-08, 17:54
hey i was completely relaxed yesterday and experienced missed beats
think it happens to everyone from time to time
some ppl just appear to notice more than others
take care
milly xxx
How come I get them as I lie down on my bed of if I go to pick something up or lean forward.
Andy they feel like a a palpitation about to start up. Anyone feel that???
Captain America
01-08-08, 18:51
that's exactly how it is for me peter. bending over, or lying down. and sometimes it doesn't progree to palpitations just feels fluttery. my guess is gut/vagus nerve but that's not something they can test i'm told. but i will say that if i try the relaxation breathing (longer out breath than in) then the missed beats of whatever it is gets worse. i breathe shallow for a while and they pass. so for me that means vagus nerve since extending the out breath stimulates that.
it's weird. i don't like it.
Not harmfull though is it?
130/90 aint too bad Inchy.
I border on 140/87 and they are not overly worried. As for the ectopics, they used to frighten the life out of me but I kinda, nearly, just, almost, not quite, getting there, accept them now.
I do have beta blockers for stressy times, they do take that edge off.
good luck chap
yanksforever
06-01-09, 17:12
that's exactly how it is for me peter. bending over, or lying down. and sometimes it doesn't progree to palpitations just feels fluttery. my guess is gut/vagus nerve but that's not something they can test i'm told. but i will say that if i try the relaxation breathing (longer out breath than in) then the missed beats of whatever it is gets worse. i breathe shallow for a while and they pass. so for me that means vagus nerve since extending the out breath stimulates that.
it's weird. i don't like it.
Bending over...and lying down...yuppp today i was kneeling and BAM a flutter/bang in my chest. if I bend down and take a deep breath, it happens...
Ectopic mean fear ,fear mean anxiety,anxiety mean somatic symptoms,drugs ,mean side effects and if you are qualified dr.and you are suffering from ectopic beats its a disastorrrrrrrrrrrr.
Firstly I would like to say what a relief it is to read some of these posts, It’s so good to know that I am not alone!
I have suffered with eptopic beats for about 2 years. I first noticed them one evening when I was home alone and after trying to ignore them took myself off to A&E where they did ECG, Chest X-Ray and bloods. Since then I have had 24 hour heart monitor and echo scan thing to check everything flowing correctly.
Cardiologist told me he could see from my monitor that my eptopics were coming every 10 minutes on average but they were harmless and not worth worrying about.
After that I noticed the occasional missed beat every few days or so which I learned to accept and brush off.
Then 3 weeks ago I woke with a thud in my chest and eptopics coming very 6-7 beats. I rang a friend who’s a doctor who told me not to panic, they sometimes last for hours he said. Mine have been going for weeks!
They haven’t stopped since and vary throughout each day from 5-6 a minute with some periods of calm, (normally when I am active). They are always worse when I sit down and relax and especially when I’m in bed, presumably because I am more aware of them when I am resting.
People keep telling me “try not to think about it and they will go away”, but how can you not when they are always there thudding in your chest and reminding you!
I go running (about 2 or 3 miles) when they get really bad which helps to reassure me that nothing major is wrong.
I have never been a stressed person but this is testing me to my limit.
I’m off to see the cardiologist again this weekend, is there a magic pill for these things and has anyone tried counselling?
Hi Poncho,
I know how you feel. I had four days non-stop of trigeminy (ectopic every 3rd beat). I almost went to A&E, but on the fifth day it stopped, just like that... What triggered it in the first place I don't know. I was not stressed or anything. Maybe gastric bubbling though...
I have had all the tests too. They're just ectopics they say. After several visits to the Cardio Clinic, I eventually got Bisoprolol (low dose), which is a beta blocker. I can take them on 'bad' days. So I do. They don't always work, but they usually lower my heart rate to about 65bpm instead of 90bpm. And the ectopics are less forceful, sort of making them easier to deal with. They are not a magic cure, but are helpful. But I wish there was a proper cure.
All the best, NattyOne.
i HATE them and i will never be able to forget them they scare the shit out of me esp when i get a run of em that stops me in my tracks.
i had 24 holter monitor last thursday and the consultants supposed to be looking at them today.
i was waiting for phone call but havent had one yet so its left me worrying and wondering what they found.
i sometimes dont know whats worse knowing or not knowing.
in the meantime im still getting them everyday there part of my life now i feel like there with me for lifex:lac:
billywizkid
07-11-11, 02:06
poncho
i have exactly the same symptoms as you i had them for 3-4 weeks now every 5 mins wont let me sleep. Have some days with no palps but not many driving me to dis pare. Thinking of going to A & E but they just send me home it emotionally and mentally draining me.
Iv had ecg ,and 24 hour trace no results as yet a chest exray and bloods but nothing.
Im snapping at the family and kids i cry my self to sleep im a 43 year old male who do i turn to. All i can here is thump thump thump i should be asleep now its 2am.
Bending over...and lying down...yuppp today i was kneeling and BAM a flutter/bang in my chest. if I bend down and take a deep breath, it happens...
Yes! All of the above. I was even shopping one day and someone's trolley bumped into mine so that I was jerked to the side with the impact. Immediately the palpitations and 'flutteries' started...I was clammy and thought I was about to collapse, but I drove to the medical centre on autopilot, they called for the ambulance, and after several hours in the emergency ward they gave me a valium and a pariet tablet. I have been in that hospital so many times with the same symptoms, which usually settle down after I'm relaxing in the bed. Anyway...One bright spark finally told me that he believed it was caused by hiatus hernia/reflux.
This morning I had taken my Nexium tablet (Pariet doesn't work) but I decided to kneel down and sort out some books. It took about 30 minutes (kneeling all the time. Then the ectopics started and continued for a few hours.
It's such a relief to be able to chat to others with the same problem, and very encouraging to hear that some can just ignore it. Thanks .
im the same as you, and poncho, and billywizkid... on dec 23rd they just started up and have been banging on ever since, with only 2 days without them. in the past i have had maybe 1 or two on their own, but never experienced anything like this... its quite unnerving and i am not actually an anxious person but ive been snapping and getting a bit freaked out at times too! when there are lots, my chest starts to feel a bit tired, but i can get up and move around with no trouble or dizziness, and if i start some light exercise, they reduce in frequency. i cant sit on the couch & watch tv in the evening because its just too uncomfortable, i can see my chest thumping away and it feels yuck. now im laying in bed and still getting some...
what can anyone tell me about the vagus nerve being a cause?
that's exactly how it is for me peter. bending over, or lying down. and sometimes it doesn't progree to palpitations just feels fluttery. my guess is gut/vagus nerve but that's not something they can test i'm told. but i will say that if i try the relaxation breathing (longer out breath than in) then the missed beats of whatever it is gets worse. i breathe shallow for a while and they pass. so for me that means vagus nerve since extending the out breath stimulates that.
it's weird. i don't like it.
finding this thread on Google is what brought me to the forum.... i identified with so much of what's been said here, and also i have to say thank you to Admin for supplying the Palpitations Article, which i've just read, and feel a little reassured from...
ectopic beats are something completely new to me, only been aware of having them for a short while, however i've been having noticeable palpitations for some time now. doc has done an ECG on me - normal, i'm now waiting to have the 24 monitor fitting appointment.
it's likely, given my symptoms and history, that my stomach has a lot to do with what my heart's doing - i think the proximity of the two, and the vagus nerve action - have something to do with it. hopefully that's all it turns out to be - time will tell.
my anxiety, as you probably all experience, runs riot when there's something unexplained and potentially scary happening, and i'm all out trying to keep it together right now. i've lived through horrendous clouds of anxiety/panic attacks which lasted weeks at a time, and i can feel myself slipping back into that mode. it's a lonely place to be, and last time around i was alone with it, apart from my CB therapist. this time it's good to have a forum full of people who know what i'm on about, lol.
kinnygirl1
17-01-13, 21:52
finding this thread on Google is what brought me to the forum.... i identified with so much of what's been said here, and also i have to say thank you to Admin for supplying the Palpitations Article, which i've just read, and feel a little reassured from...
ectopic beats are something completely new to me, only been aware of having them for a short while, however i've been having noticeable palpitations for some time now. doc has done an ECG on me - normal, i'm now waiting to have the 24 monitor fitting appointment.
it's likely, given my symptoms and history, that my stomach has a lot to do with what my heart's doing - i think the proximity of the two, and the vagus nerve action - have something to do with it. hopefully that's all it turns out to be - time will tell.
my anxiety, as you probably all experience, runs riot when there's something unexplained and potentially scary happening, and i'm all out trying to keep it together right now. i've lived through horrendous clouds of anxiety/panic attacks which lasted weeks at a time, and i can feel myself slipping back into that mode. it's a lonely place to be, and last time around i was alone with it, apart from my CB therapist. this time it's good to have a forum full of people who know what i'm on about, lol.
Hugs to you - I battle heart related health anxiety and its awful. I started having pvc's yesterday and had them on and off since. Trying to keep calm and "ignore" them, but can't think of anything but of course, so came on here. In a wierd way reading that other people have this too is comforting. x
Hugs to you - I battle heart related health anxiety and its awful. I started having pvc's yesterday and had them on and off since. Trying to keep calm and "ignore" them, but can't think of anything but of course, so came on here. In a wierd way reading that other people have this too is comforting. x
hiya, and hugs back :)
sorry you're going through this at the moment, and that it sounds like something you regularly have to deal with. i know what you mean about trying to cope by ignoring symptoms, but that's easier to say than do.. maybe distracting techniques might help you ignore them. but - i know the minute you think 'heart' then it's bound to be a trigger for the anxiety, that's why i'm having silly conversations in my own head at the moment, trying to reason it out & keep the panic away.
do you regularly check your blood pressure and/or pulse? i've managed to go the whole day today without doing either, as i almost scared the pants off myself last night when i felt a missed heartbeat twice. :blush: i actually feel a little better not knowing just how fast my pulse is, or how temperamental my heartbeat is right now...
kinnygirl1
18-01-13, 18:34
hiya, and hugs back :)
sorry you're going through this at the moment, and that it sounds like something you regularly have to deal with. i know what you mean about trying to cope by ignoring symptoms, but that's easier to say than do.. maybe distracting techniques might help you ignore them. but - i know the minute you think 'heart' then it's bound to be a trigger for the anxiety, that's why i'm having silly conversations in my own head at the moment, trying to reason it out & keep the panic away.
do you regularly check your blood pressure and/or pulse? i've managed to go the whole day today without doing either, as i almost scared the pants off myself last night when i felt a missed heartbeat twice. :blush: i actually feel a little better not knowing just how fast my pulse is, or how temperamental my heartbeat is right now...
Hi yeah my "heart anxiety" started about 2 years ago. Seem to have had various heart related symptons over these years, chest pain , pain in left arm and these flutters and thuds... had many checks 2 ECGs, 24hour tape and blood tests and the only thing that has ever been found is a low iron count...so it's anxiety related. I just need to believe that! I do go through periods of doing much better but these flutters have worried me these last few days. Yes always checking pulse and feeling a missed beat makes it even worse so I don't know why I do it! I have no means of checking blood pressure, which is prob a good thing:roflmao:Hope you have had a good day today! K x
:) i've had a better day today than previous days... still not used my stethoscope, although i've spied it in my room a couple of times, and made myself ignore it :D i am very naughty, i also have a blood pressure monitor - probably not the best toys to have around the house when you're an anxiety sufferer lol. normally, i don't even think of checking pulse/pressure etc, it's only when i feel ill and don't know why, i do tend to check then. i am sure half the time i feel yuk is due to anxiety itself, and the logic side of me knows checking will make me worse...
i guess the good thing is, we all know this viscious circle, so it's comforting in a way to know i'm not the only one.
i also have the left arm ache, and as much as i think it feels muscular, that little voice is doing the "what if.." thing.
really good news for you that all the tests, including the 24hr monitor, have come back clear, so you know deep in your mind that your heart is in good condition.. you just need to convince the rest of you now :D
kinnygirl1
18-01-13, 21:56
I know! I go through phases where only 1% of me believes it's my heart but at the moment I am probably around 40%, cos of the flutters. Having had the tests does help reassure me, but the niggles are still there, "what if they missed something" etc. Coming on here and seeing that others understand helps a lot though.
The comment about low iron is interesting.
I started have what I think are ectopic heartbeats about 12 months ago, but they where so bad that they would really take my breath away badly. It felt really horrible. I ended up in the A&E a few times and rushed to a city hospital one time also. Yet no one could ever find anything wrong. Finally I got iron levels checked and I had no iron, very small blood cells and a HG level of 8 (due to a bowel problem that I am now getting treatment for). I had an iron infusion and wait for that to work.
After the iron infusion my ectopic beats slowly faded, but now after a year I still get them, not very often and not nearly as bad, but I feel them in my chest and a slight feeling of less breath. Normally happens when I am at rest. It's like a swallowing feeling in my heart ... its a weird feeling, can feel it a bit in my throat and sometimes my heart rate speed up just after it happens. When I was getting the more severe ones it was like a bang in the chest.
Is that what other people feel when they get them ?
Anyway I am pretty sure mine was caused by the very low iron levels and hopefully they will completely go one day. I have had stress tests and echo's, holters, countless ECGs ... never a problem found.
ectopicsufferer
18-06-14, 18:18
hi all
reading all the posts i have had ectopic heartbeats for 7 years now, went thru a period of time where i got them once in a while however over the last 3 months now they have been back with a vengeance ranging from lots to a few here and there daily big thumps runs of rapid beats .... i read a CBT self help article and its the only thing thats helped me to cope with this plus im now due to see CBT therapist soon ... i rely on telling myself that its just adrenalin and adrenalin can be a complete ****** when he wants lol ... on another note i have low calcium levels and totally unrelated but i thought i would mention it as people connect the heart palps to the stomach i also have a gastric band fitted however ive been getting palps alot longer than ive had the band
I dont understand why they come when they come i dont understand why all of a sudden im getting them so much but i do mostly stay strong by believing in the CBT therapy of the cause being adrenalin, it keeps my head above water and hey im still here after 7 years and no matter what type or how many palps i get tonight ill still be here tomorrow xx
Brad Dennison
13-11-15, 18:05
I've had occasional ectopics all of my life. As a hypochondriac, I've done a lot of reading on this topic, from modern medical journals to old Chinese medicine. Ectopics can apparently sometimes be caused by a misaligned spine, which makes the vagus nerve unhappy. If posture is less than perfect (I have a little spinal curvature, which gives me a sort of Alan Alda posture. Bent forward at the shoulders and neck). Certain vertebrae, when misaligned, can cause ectopics or palpitations or both. Other causes can be too much caffeine, and some people experience this an hour or so after drinking red wine. If you have to kneel down, try to keep your upper body as vertical as you can. Especially your neck.
:yesyes: Found this guy on the net he is a cardiologist from York in England and this videos about eptopics are very interesting, one of his videos is called Anxiety and ectopics: The Missing Link , look him up on YouTube, York Cardiology
WiredIncorrectly
13-09-17, 19:22
"There are two types of people, those who notice having ectopics and those who don't"
I have to wholly disagree with this here.
If any of you guys/girls get the thud type skips you know that they are impossible to ignore. They stop you in your tracks and scare the living s**t out of anyone who has them.
I'm telling you this as fact ... these would be impossible for anyone to ignore.
The doctors who make up these claims have never experienced them first hand. They can only go on research.
Some people might have the tiny flutter. I can ignore them. But what I can not ignore is the thuds, and the ones that feel like: hard beat ... pause ... hard beat ... fast pulse ... back to normal. And if you get these in short runs, or have bouts of them for hours, you aint ignoring them. Simple as that.
And I think many will agree these can not be ignored because they cause physical symptoms and feelings.
Doctors don't fully understand it and I think many are still clutching at straws.
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