Ectopic heartbeats need medical attention ?

[happybuddha]

Hello,

I hope I am posting in the right forum.
I am Male, 25 years, overweight, smoker, Indian. I came across this site while searching for a treatment for ectopic heartbeats and boy.. never knew so many other people also suffer from this.
I did search the forum and read a lot of posts on ectopics.

A little history :
I once had chest pain 2 years ago, and some doc told me I had a heart attack, which ofcourse wasnt true ( You cant imagine the level a mans character can fall here, for money ).
Pretty recently I had a couple of scans done. 2d Echo, TMT and ECGs.
All normal. Just that I have an RBBB pattern in the ECG. I am an overweight boy and have relatively more fat on my chest, so I guess that is normal too.

My ectopics started pretty recently though and I think they are different. I have ectopics all the time. I go to the company doc here once (at times twice) and have my pulse checked. So on random checks of 1 minute, I have about 3-4 ectopics. Which I think is normal. Yeah.. I know how it feels to feel that sudden rush of blood.

They just happen. No specific condition that triggers them. Makes them worse or anything.

Last night I had alcohol and went to bed. Which is unusual, for I would drink only on weekends. I generally expect a faster heartbeat rate when I lie down for sleeping after consuming alcohol. However, last night, I really could feel those sudden rushes of blood that we know as ectopics on every second heartbeat. Since I could feel my heart beat faster so the ectopics also happened faster. Couldnt sleep properly either.

Do none of the forms/variants/frequency of ectopics require medical attention ?



Thanks in advance for your time spent on this.

HB

[LeeBee]

Hi there, welcome to to the Health Anxiety forum.

My ectopics don't appear to be connected to anything either, except that I'm more likely to get them within an hour of eating a meal. Several other members have experienced a similar link with eating and ectopics. Apparently it is something to do with the vagus nerve, which runs across the top of the stomach and is partly responsible for regulating heart rate.

I tend to get them more when I'm just resting quietly, when I first get into bed, for example. Or possibly I just notice them more at these times.

From everything I have read, standard ectopics are harmless to a healthy heart. It is only if you already have a heart condition that they can be dangerous. Your heart has been thoroughly checked and found to be healthy.

Anxiety can also cause more ectopics as your heart reacts to the adrenaline and cortisol realeased in response to your anxious feelings.

All I can suggest is plenty of potassium and magnesium in your diet, lay off the alcohol, exercise to lower your bp and increase your fitness and - try to relax. Ectopics haven't hurt us so far, no reason why they should in the future :).

[happybuddha]

Thank you for reply.

[janeybaby25]

if you are over weight, a smoker & drink these factors certainly won't be helping your anxiety. Have you been to see your GP? I am sure everything you are suffering from are classic anxiety symptoms but my advice would be go see your doctor & get a check up. Take care. xx