Ectopic beats! Help!

[Benjy83]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all doing well. Got a couple of questions I need answering about these annoying beats. Firstly, do any of you feel they get worse in the afternoon? I this I haven't had one yet today but in the afternoon they are always worse!

Secondly, when you have anxiety do you feel your throat is full of phlem or something?

What symptoms does everyone else get with these things?

Thanks for your time in advance.

Ben :yesyes:

[valleybear]

Yes, mine get worse as the day goes on. Can't really link anything specific to them as other symptoms come and go . Very often they are the only things going on...and on....and on!

[LeeBee]

Benjy, there is evidence that ectopic beats could be related to digestion. It's all to do with the vagus nerve, which runs across the top of your stomach, past your heart and up your throat. It is responsible for telling your brain when your stomach is full, and is also partly responsible for regulating your heartrate.

When stimulated, the vagus nerve can send signals to your heart that makes it chuck in extra beats, causing that beat-beat-beat-pause-THUMP ectopic pattern.

Other posters have noted that ectopics can be worse after eating. I sometimes find this. The feeling of phlegm in your throat might be a bit of acid reflux. Maybe try an antacid to calm your stomach down, see if it helps with the ectopics.

[House fan]

Hi Benji

LeeBee is absolutely right, I have just been diagnosed with irritation of the vagus nerve, due to excess acid. I have suffered this condition for a year now, and eventually I had to tell the GP what was wrong, as up until then he didn't have a clue!!! Imagine that!

Everytime I eat something (anything), 30 minutes later I get palpitations, which last for 3-4 hours, then they die down, and guess what..... then it's time to eat again. A cycle which has gone on daily for a whole year.

When you eat, excess acid from your stomach comes to life, and can irritate the vagus nerve as LeeBee has suggested, which in turn affects the heart rate. Hiatus Hernia is another possibility here. When food enters the stomach, extra pressure is put on the hernia which sits beside your diaphram, which is right next to the heart and lungs. Again, this causes ectopic beats and breathlessness which in turn makes us panic, thinking something is seriously wrong with us!

I have been prescribed omeprazole 20mg, for 4 weeks to clear up the over acidity and this should allow any inflammation to calm down. I would suggest you go down the antacid route also, just to see if it makes any difference.

House.