Ectopic heartbeat/missed beats - help needed urgently thanks!

[betty72]

Okay I will try and keep this short but I never seem to manage it! A couple of years ago I had a scare where my heart was skipping beats now and again. It increased to once a week all day so my doctor sent me for a 24 hour ECG. Tests came back fine and consultant said it was ectopic. This was about 1-2 years ago roughly. Anyway for a while they came and went and disappeared for about 5 months. In March this year my dad was diagnosed with cancer and died within 6 weeks so it was terribly stressful as I was helping to care for him and was with him til the end. These missed beats came back a week before his funeral which was 6 months ago and now I get them all day every day sometimes every few beats. I've had the odd week or two off from this awful problem which is affecting my day to day life. My doctor is sending me for another test in a couple of weeks not because she is worried but because she thinks it will calm my nerves and stop these episodes. I've been trying not to think about them but the last several days they feel a bit different. They come every several seconds and sometimes I get two or three missed beats in a row and my heart seems to be wobbling all over the place. I read an article about ventricular fibbrilation and now this has made me worse! I don't know whether to go to A&E or just try and calm down. Does anyone else get these unusual episodes? The skipped beats every few seconds I can just about manage but when they come one after the other and wobble it is scaring me witless! They are also worse when I am walking about and seem to calm down when I'm resting. Any similar stories and advice would be appreciated. My doctor has done a couple of 3 minute ECG's and nothing showed up (typical!) and all she said was that no-one has the same heartbeat which didn't make me feel better. My 24 hr ECG was about a year ago I think so could things have changed that much? My main query is does anyone have 2 or 3 in a row many times a day and the wobbling sensation frequently? Thanks for reading this. :weep:

[BornWorrier]

Some people on here have loads in a row, all day every day!

This is SUCH a common problem (I think nearly all of us are freaked out about this particular thing) that there's a special page devoted to ectopic beats on here. Click on "Palpitations" on the left.

Also, type ectopic beats into the "search" box - and read through all the posts about them. I promise you'll feel loads better.

As terrifying as they are, ectopic beats really are nothing to worry about - they're a variation of normal. I know it's hard to believe that when you're getting them, but it's true.

You won't get atrial fibrillation. This is a different condition affecting a different part of the heart - and ectopic beats CAN'T cause them.

Seriously, have a browse through all the posts on here :)

[Maj]

I can sympathise with you so much because I too suffer from ectopics. Infact I did a post the other day saying that the result of my 24 hours tape registered 6000 missed beats. I've had them for months. They are getting worse instead of better - even although I know they can't harm you - it's all a mystery to me!!! Seriously though, I will admit that I have a couple of things going on in my life at the moment which need to be sorted, so that's the only reason I can think of for them happening. My heart skips, flips, wobbles - it's got a mind of it's own, lol!!! I feel that if your heart gets into this pattern then it takes a bit of time to get out of it, it's almost as though it becomes a habit. You can be sitting, not a care in the world and they start out of the blue. So I know where you're coming from but all I can say is that the doctors all say they are harmless and that nothing drastic will happen. We've just got to accept this and get on with things,although it's not easy at times.
Myra:hugs:

[Going home]

Hi there. Like everyone else has said these are so common and ive had them on and off at some point over the years...mostly missed beats and a sort of fluttering like a little bird where my heart is. It can be triggered by stress or too much tea, coffee, alcohol, smoking etc...in fact anything that sets off adrenaline. That's why we can also feel them when we're sitting 'relaxing'. See, us anxious people only THINK we're relaxing lol! the old adrenaline is still bombing around our bodies, unless we're taking meds to calm us down that it. So your heart is only reacting to the adrenaline which has nowhere to go, and why people who are active don't get them quite so much...so the experts tell us.

I know it might sound strange, but often people with stomach/digestion problems can get missed heartbeats too, and one of the reasons for it is to do with the vagus nerve. Its the longest single nerve in your body and runs from the base of the brain down to the groin, passing through the stomach and saying hello to the heart and other organs along the way. If this nerve is irritated by anything in the stomach its possible to trigger the ectopics. So there are lots of reasons for them, and when the tests show they are harmless, it means they're coming from the part of the heart that's just being irritated by our lifestyle and not diseased.

Hope this helps a little
Going home xx

[Andy84]

I sympathise. I too suffer with ectopics. They can be VERY scary but they are harmless. In fact everyone gets them.

I should also say that I'm sorry to hear about your dad. That's awful news. However, it should highlight to you something. That has caused stress and teh symptoms have restarted. There is a strong connection there. Skipped beats are often caused by stress and you have certainly been through the mill with it recently. Try to relax. If teh test shows up anythign they will most likely put you on some kind of medication - the doctor suggested that to me but really, I didn;t need them...and neitherdo you probably.

Cut out alcohol and caffiedn for a while. This can help. Get a few relaxation tapes too.

[SleeplessFog]

Thank you for posting this thread. I have been experiencing weird symptoms since last night. I am kind of freaking out. It feels like it is just off, weird feeling. Occasionally I get a hard thud. It has got me sort of worried :(

[Andy84]

That sounds pretty normal. It's classic skipped beats. They are totally normal and can be casued by stress and panic. You'll be okay, I promise :)

[Ddcoo]

I'm off to the doctors in an hour for the same thing. I have had ectopics for a long time and have had 24 hr ECG in the past, but have been getting some discomfort in my breastbone//back area and lots of ectopics and when undressed can actually see my heartbeat which is most unnerving, so I am going to see if I need another test of whether it is caused by acid reflux. Thanks for all the info from everyone.

[skippy66]

"Skipping, thumping or racing hearts are a worry I hear a lot about. Nearly every day someone tells me their heart is missing beats, quickening alarmingly or causing a nasty fluttering in their chests. They lie awake at night listening to the shooshing sound of their pulse in their ears or buffeted by the gentle rocking motion case by their beating heart.

Many of them are convinced they're about to suffer a serious heart attack. Some of them think they are never going to wake up. But heart "palpitations" are extremely common and usually harmless. I have more than 7000 extra heartbeats every day and can even show you the ECG trace to prove it. The funny thing is, the more you worry about them, the worse they get.

Worry leads to the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and these have a powerful stimulatory effect on the heart muscle making it buck and jump like crazy.

When you're busy or exercising that's fine. Your blood pressure needs to go up when you are exercising and most people never even notice palpitaions when they are busy.

But when you are sitting idle or lying in bed at night unable to sleep, adrenaline can cause dramatic "heart in the mouth" disturbances in rhythm. Usually these palpitations are triggered by anxiety or stimulants such as nicotine, alcohol or caffeine. Most people will suffer from palpitations at some stage in their lives.

They are the reason for between 30 and 40% of all referrals to heart clinics - where cardiologists try to find out if they are due to any serious underlying problem.

Most folk can be reassured by a brief chat, a quick examination and an ECG recording of the heartbeat.

Others might need thyroid and other blood tests or an echocardiogram to detect structural heart disease. Or they may have an ECG taken over a 24 hour period analysed by computer.

But most palpitaions are pefectly normal. So take heart - and stop worrying"

Dr Hilary Jones, GMTV Doctor