What causes your missed beats?

[londonchris]

Hi all,

As a sufferer from PVCs (benign Ventricular Ectopic Beats) I wondered if anyone knew why theirs come on and whether you know of any triggers?

Mine seem to come on far more when I'm tired or have indigestion. This is near enough every day :doh:

In terms of caffeine etc - to be honest it seems to make no difference. I've tried decaff tea and I drink it now but to be honest I've had cokes before and its made no difference at all to the frequency or timing.

I don't get enough sleep, that's for sure. But one week when I went to bed early every night, I didn't have an ectopic all week.

In addition, exercise seems to sort them out - although when one does happen during exercise it feels more scary as your heart is beating harder anyway!! :scared15:

To be honest, as I work full time my evenings are too precious to sleep away so I don't keep the sleep patterns up. Whilst I've been regularly exercising the ectopics seem to have reduced but I'm still too anxious to go full flow cardio workout on the running machines :mad:

Anyone else got any tips or thoughts? :shrug: :yesyes:

[molly36]

Hi chris i have suffered ectopics for a long time and they have at times taken over my life.I know my triggers sometimes after eating,lying on my left side,too much caffene,going into stressfull situations .But sometimes they just happen for no reason.And being over tired def is a big trigger for me also.The only thing that stops them is becoming less afraid of them.I havent had many lately as im too fixated on my stomach.Its about accepting that they cannot harm you but thats not as easy as it sounds cos when they come in runs i just freeze and think this is the end.I know when i was cycling lasty year and got really fit i also didnt get as many not sue cos i was more active and not dwelling on them.To be honest i would say out of everything is to not fear them and they seem to lessen a lot.hope this helps.kind regards molly

[Towers]

Hi Londonchris,

My missed beats tend to be set off by being at work.

I also get them after eating a sandwich at dinner time and a meal at tea time - however, when I have my cereals at breakfast I don't get them then.

I like to get a good night's sleep and mornings for me are the best part of the day with hardly any missed beats.

[londonchris]

That's interesting Towers, I tend to find mine a worse in the morning when I'm groggy and tired and before I eat. Do you think they're worse at work by association or stress or just because you work during the day when they may be at their peak?

The fact you find they're worse after a larger carbohydrate meal like sandwich or dinner suggests it could be vagus nerve related?

It's interesting to hear other people's views on these. For ages I thought I was the only one who struggled with these horrible things.

I haven't had any all day, but had two in quick succession at lunchtime when I was walking out of the office. Haven't had any since.

[Towers]

Hi londonchris,

I work as a cleaner so my job is quite a physical job - my missed beats tend to start after about 3 hours of work - but I always thought that exercise (cleaning is a bit like exercise) was supposed to be "good" for ectopics? Maybe I will have to get a different job!:shrug:
Glad you have had a nice day with hardly any :yesyes:

Towers