Ectopic heartbeats are driving me crazy!

[betty72]

Hi 2 years ago I had my first "attack" of ectopic beats which only lasted seconds and didn't reappear until 6 months ago. When they reappeared they were only occurring once a week sometimes all day but always on a friday which was strange! I had a 24 hr ECG in December and specialist said was fine. They disappeared again for about 4 months which was a relief. Unfortunately my dad passed away in June and I helped care for him, was with him when he passed and planned the funeral so was under a lot of anxiety and stress. Since a week before the funeral (10th June) I have been experiencing them every day (with the odd day or two not as bad) nearly every several seconds. One thing that I find strange is that they are not as bad when I'm sitting down (which is not for long with 2 kids!). Does anyone else experience this and does anyone else have them every several seconds? I'm worried now that it has developed into something more worrying but I did got to the doctor a couple of weeks ago (typically on a day where they weren't as bad and didn't show up on an ECG) and she didn't seem concerned and said it was probably linked to my dad and they should start to calm down. They're not! It's so delibitating as I feel every one and get that "flight or fight" feeling in my chest and I just want it to be normal again. I know its a vicious circle and I do my absolute best not to think about them and when I do I still feel them. After 2 months solid of experiencing them its getting me down as I feel this is how its going to be now for the rest of my life. Does anyone else have hundreds of them every day without being on medication as I would prefer not to? Advice please many thanks :unsure:

[pammy1944]

I suffered with ectopic heartbeats for 10 yrs and they drove me batty.they are the stuff that nightmares are made off to me.I found ( by chance) that the meds i was on were the main cause of them , saying that, if i'm tired or stressy then they appear.I'm told by cardios that they are harmless and not to worry .....yea right .......not worry when your chest is jumping around !!I think you will just have to go with the flow and try your very best to relax ..........I found that coughing would stop a run of them in their tracks. I personally wouldnt resort to meds for them as they can be counterproductive and create problems of their own .....best course of action , in my opinion, would be to quietly talk to doc and explain that althought you have been told they are harmless that you would like some reassurance from him ...............good luck and try your best not to worry xxx

[peacemaker]

I also suffer from those strange beats!!, long time ago I had 2 long ones one after another, I saw a gp and then I made blood tests and ECG, then I saw the cardiologist who told me that they are normal and many people have them, because of stress, fear, anxiety etc, he advised me to exercise regularly and reduce caffeine intake (coffee, tea etc) and also smoking. now I rarely have them, and when I have one I start to reassure myself that they will go on their own, and they do!

[countrygirl]

ive had them since I was 19 yrs old and am now48 yrs old!! When they are bad like you I can have them every 3rd beat for weeks on end and its horrible. As previous poster says coughing can help. I have never found what kicks mine off - low potassium was mentioned once as this can trigger ectopic beats so I eat a banana a day but I still have odd bad spell but much much reduced to a few years ago before the banana a day bit.
I have had a 24 hr ecg which has picked them all up every 3-5 yrs so have had about 5 of them so far - had echo of heart and it was normal - told by numerous Drs that they are harmless but horrible and yet I still don't like them and worry they have changed to something bad:blush:
As prev poster says best not to take any meds as anti arrythmia drugs are nasty and can in themselves trigger fatal arrythmias or heart failure.
Just remember they are harmless but horrible!