pattern of missed/skipped heartbeats

[borup]

normally when i started paying attention to these missed beats back in october 09 (where my anxiety started) they were rare like a few a day and never more than one at a time.
a few weeks ago i helped a friend moving some furniture, and since ive been getting more and more homebound since my first panic attack i immediatly felt panicky after he called.
after moving a few objects constantly thinking about the heart it started missing its beats alot, more than normal, every few beats were missed and it reallyscared me.
anyone else sometimes having many missed beats in sessions and thinking there might be a pattern to it, like when thinking of something or excersising?
i just went to the grocer and they started again, many of them, im really scared as they dont tend to come on that much! seems like excercise brings alot of them but its never been like that!

[RLR]

The type of disturbance you are experiencing is due to vagus nerve stimulation and not as a consequence of any type of problem with your heart whatsoever. It is an extremely common presentation among persons with anxiety or panic threshold and their presence is due to stimulation of the vagus nerve, which sends a parasympathetic nerve response to all terminal points along the vagus nerve, including the heart. You sense the effect at the heart because it is such a dynamic organ and muscle constantly in motion. The vagus nerve also innervates the larnyx and lungs, which is why some people with palpitations can also correspondingly experience a cough reflex on occasion. The vagus nerve is also responsible for producing Globus Hystericus, or Globus Sensation, which is the feeling that something is lodged in the throat and causing a restriction in breathing. In actuality, it is merely parasympathetic nervous stimulation by the vagus nerve.

Understand that these disturbances are entirely incapable of causing your heart to stop or produce some other type of cardiac event. It's medically not possible because of the actual nature and origin of the palpitations. You can more think of them like someone dialing the wrong telephone number. When it occurs, a signal is sent to the unintended party, who becomes aware of the phone ringing and answers the call. The signal has not damaged the phone, nor does it put the unintended party at any risk of harm. It's merely a misdialed number. The same exact circumstances hold true where the heart is unintentionally stimulated by the vagus nerve. It's merely a signal and cannot damage the heart in any manner whatsoever. It's a signal being superimposed over the normally functioning heart beat. Nothing more. It's just a misdialed number, so to speak.

You'll be just fine. This type of disturbance, while unnerving, is entirely harmless.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)

[Kelley]

Hi Borup.
Mine are the same as yours, although i have been experiencing them a little longer. At the moment they are back with a vengeance after going away for a while (thought i was out of the woods). I experience what they call couplets too which is one after the other before a normal beat! Sometimes i get breathless from the anxiety that comes with them and i can't seem to distract myself enough to allow them to ease up! I am grateful for support like RLR has given, it is very helpful coming from an expert! Thanks RLR :)