Horrible weird beats are back

So, this is where my faithful friend Anxiety and I first met - my heart...

I've posted numerous times on this forum with a wide range of health 'issues' but the one that keeps me so fearful is my heart.

I don't want to post a huge long story but I started getting ectopics during my last pregnancy in late 2018. I was recorded as getting over 1000 a day. They were the classic PVC - skip and thud. They literally stopped last spring when I started taking citalopram but every now and then I'll get the odd run.

As I say, I'm rarely bothered by them now but I can set them off if I lie down suddenly or take a really deep breath. However, over the last week I have noticed they have started again and got more frequent. A couple of days I've had a few big thuds which has made me panic but, last night I was sat down after dinner and noticed a couple of skips and thuds and then some fluttering sensations in my throat/neck and when this happens I akways check my pulse and it was doing a weird fluttery thing, almost like a double beat and then a pause. I've had this kind of weird beat loads of times before but it's the one that really scares me. I've had several ECGS, two 24hr holters, a echocardiogram and a 7 day recorder in March this year after I suffered a similar episode. All have come back normal, apart from the odd PVC. I'm sure when the 7 day recorder was on I managed to capture the tail end of one of the fluttery episodes but nothing was reported to me other than it being normal sinus rhythm and cardiology discharged me. If I pressed the button on the monitor just after the episode would it have been recorded?

For background, I do have very bad anxiety and a stressful life. I have recently just got over a nasty tummy bug that went on a while and left me worried. The dr sent me for all manner of blood tests a couple of weeks ago - FBC, liver, U&E and others I'd never heard of and all came back normal apart from slightly low iron and to increase through diet and re-test in 3 months but they stated I was not anemic. I was anemic during both my pregnancies so I think I may be a little predisposed to a lack of iron. I know anemia can cause palpitations but surely slightly low levels can't?

I also suffer with reflux and have noticed that the last couple of weeks I've not eaten well at all and I feel very bloated and can feel food kind of trapped in my throat. Could that also cause some of my ectopic problems?

I am very anxious at the moment with obviously covid and my eldest child returning to school as she's already behind so I worry about her coping at school and then last week I had my smear test and awaiting the results and an nervous because I am carrier of the high risk HPV. The post just came and I literally jumped when I heard it because I am panicking about receiving the results...

I'm sorry this post is so long but I just hope someone can read it and relate and offer me some support or advice or maybe someone that gets the same fluttery ectopics as well as the more thuddy ones. I hardly slept last night as I had them on and off and they scared me. I feel rubbish today and so tired and I know that makes things worse.

Thanks

Having a magnesium drink all but sorted my ectopic out. I was actually taking it for constipation, but I realised after a few weeks of taking it that my EB's (and palpitations) had all but stopped. When I researched magnesium - it is good for the heart (calming mineral) and a lot of people are magnesium deficient etc.

I still get the occasional one, but I just give a cough, and I don't get anymore..

P. S if you fancy trying the magnesium - check it won't interact with any meds you're on. People don't tend to check herbs, vits and minerals, but some do affect how meds work.

Hi Honeyskye. I feel you. I'm male so can't relate to being pregnant (lol) but...what brought me here now was that I've had a good few missed beats out of the blue and I like to get some reassurance from the forum, which is kind of crazy as I know I'll be fine. I have had palpitations (same sensations you describe) and all the tests (like you) over twenty years. I used to be a wreck. But I don't freak out anymore. I guess visiting a forum for reassurance is a habit, born of being so worries for long. What I wanted to say was...I am certain there is a link between the stomach and my palpitations. The vagus nerve and bloat etc. is well documented so I don't think there is a question that this can't be related. I find that if I burp, I get more palpitations, which goes against what a lot of people say happens (ie burping helps). But clearly this is linked to the movement of air inside and stomach related. Somebody once wrote that palpitations are like turbulence and can't hurt you. Based on what I have read over the decades, and coupled with the fact we are both having a very similar experience, have been tested and are medically fine, we don't need to worry. But we do! I hope that helps in some way.

NoraB: this is great advice. Picking up some magnesium citrate powder in an hour!

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Originally Posted by jayke

NoraB: this is great advice. Picking up some magnesium citrate powder in an hour!

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Word of warning - start low and build up. It's a natural laxative and it will give you the squits if you overdo it.

Hi thanks for those who have posted, I really appreciate your responses and advice.

Just wondering if anyone else can relate? I'm used to having these ectopics, flutters, etc. but I have gone months without being bothered by them and now all of a sudden they are back again on a daily basis. I was trying to find a link and noticed some months they would be worse the few days leading up to my period but I'm still getting them at other times too. I've just had another big flutter and I'm freaking out. I can't deal with these again.

I am so anxious all the time and always on edge but surely these can't all be down to anxiety as there are times I don't feel particularly anxious but I still get them seemingly out of the blue and they stop me in my tracks.

Hi, I can absolutely relate. I have been having them for years now. Sometimes none for a while and then just non stop. Our mind is complicated thing so you will not always feel particularly anxious with ectopics onset.

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Originally Posted by Honeyskye

I am so anxious all the time and always on edge but surely these can't all be down to anxiety as there are times I don't feel particularly anxious

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Yes, they absolutely can be down to anxiety!

You'll get them even when you don't feel particularly anxious is because those stress hormones are still in your body and there are 'calm' moments (a lull in the storm) when you have severe anxiety. I got as those lulls used to trigger panic attacks simply because I felt ok!

It's also worth having a look at your diet, as things start to creep back in - like caffeine, chocolate and other stimulants which will cause sensations like these...

Thanks all, I really appreciate your insight.

You're right about the things creeping back in lifestyle wise - I've started having the odd coffee again and glass of wine but don't really get them when I do. And days I don't have these things, I get them....I've been getting a lot of reflux recently. My throat feels clogged and I burp a lot. Sometimes I can feel acid rising in my throat. I know I am highly stressed but I am so used to operating at such a high level of anxiety I don't know what's normal...

So far this year I've worried about pancreatic cancer, bowel cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, esophagus cancer, covid, DVT and even a bad insect bite...

I can kind of deal with the standard 'skip thud' ectopic but it's the fluttery ones I don't like as I just don't know what they are or what they represent. They stop me in my tracks and will literally induce so much anxiety that I can feel the adrenaline shoot through me. I literally feel on the edge most of the time.

All this covid and lockdown doesn't help and I find coming into the autumn and winter increases my anxiety. I feel like I can't live.

The "fluttering double beat and pause" are PACs.

They are actually much less of an "issue" for the heart to deal with than PVCs. It's really just two very fast normal heartbeats, but it feels horrible to us.

Most people who get PVCs also have PACs as well. It also doesn't help that the sensation of a PVC and PAC can change.

But if you feel your pulse and you feel a double beat then pause, it's almost definitely a PAC. Sometimes you can get the "fluttering" in your chest feeling but not feel it in your pulse. It's very annoying.

You have had extensive testing done on your heart. It's much easier said than done, but I would try not to worry about the strange beats. Just know that literally millions of people have them every day as well.

Thank you so much 2Anxious, that really helps. I did get diagnosed originally with PVCs and PACs but with more PVCs.

The thing that's really bothering me is that I sometimes have weird episodes of what feels like my heart vibrating and fluttering and when I feel my pulse it's really irregular. It happened last night as I was lying down I felt it out of nowhere and I felt my pulse and it was a coue of fast beats then a couple of slow spaced out ones so I coughed and it went back to regular but that was it for me, I hardly slept and now the morning I am tired, on edge and out of my mind with worry.

Can anyone relate to this kind of thing or sensation? I've gone months without any problems and now I am getting something every day again. I have had these odd episodes occasionally before, almost always when lying down but they terrify me that it's some dangerous rhythm disturbance. I'm so terrifed right now that there is something seriously wrong with my heart.

I'm literally sat at work terrifed after what happened last night. I just had a dropping sensation in my chest and stomach which felt like a bit of a thud so they have started up again this morning. I'm terrified that I've developed some kind of dangerous arrhythmia and I'm going to end up in hospital at the worst possible time because the care isn't being given at the moment because of covid, the drs and nurses are all busy and I'm im imaging being left to die on a trolly in a busy A&E or being given the wrong drug.

I'm just utterly terrified. It's that run of irregular beats last night that's playing on my mind. It was like beat beat beat .... beat.....beat almost like it was spluttering.

I've been discharged from cardiology twice now but the tests can't catch everything when they're happening so something could have been missed. Frightened I had a short run of AF or SVT or something.

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Originally Posted by Honeyskye

I'm literally sat at work terrifed after what happened last night. I just had a dropping sensation in my chest and stomach which felt like a bit of a thud so they have started up again this morning. I'm terrified that I've developed some kind of dangerous arrhythmia and I'm going to end up in hospital at the worst possible time because the care isn't being given at the moment because of covid, the drs and nurses are all busy and I'm im imaging being left to die on a trolly in a busy A&E or being given the wrong drug.

I'm just utterly terrified. It's that run of irregular beats last night that's playing on my mind. It was like beat beat beat .... beat.....beat almost like it was spluttering.

I've been discharged from cardiology twice now but the tests can't catch everything when they're happening so something could have been missed. Frightened I had a short run of AF or SVT or something.

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How long did it last for? SVT usually starts very suddenly and stops very suddenly. It will usually go from a normal resting heart rate to 150 - 200 within a single beat. Like, beat... beat... beat... beatbeatbeatbeatbeat etc.

Some people live with *permanent* a fib. It puts them at a slightly higher risk of stroke but that's about it. Even if it was (which I seriously doubt), a short run for a few beats shouldn't worry you that much. If it starts happening regularly, and you really think it is a fib, then it will be easy to diagnose.

It sounds like you are just having runs or PACs, or a mix of PACs and PVCs. It happens.

I've been in the absolute pit of despair when it comes to heart anxiety, so trust me I know exactly how you're feeling. I was even worse.

The most important thing is that you've had an echo and multiple ECGs, so your heart is structurally normal, which means any electrical problems are almost definitely benign.

Lack of sleep and anxiety are two of the highest triggers on the list for dodgy beats.

If I were you, I'd focus on your diet and lifestyle first. Have you tried taking magnesium like others suggested? Make sure you're eating plenty of bananas and avocados for the potassium. Make sure you're 100% hydrated. Stop any sweets, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine. This isn't pseudoscience BS, it really does make a difference. Any one of these things could be a trigger without you even realising.

Thank you again for your reply. I don't think it felt like SVT because it wasn't going particularly fast, it was more like a beatbeat beat beat then back to normal if that makes sense? It just felt irregular like the beats were close together then spaced out. Could a run of PACS and/or PVCS feel like that?

In terms of my diet and lifestyle, yes, the alcohol and caffeine have crept back in. Not ridiculous amounts but I have started to drink both again. Plus, I do consume more sugar than I should. My diet isn't bad but it's not always the healthiest. I was taking lansoprazole earlier this year for reflux but stopped taking them in May because felt like I didn't need them anymore and I have noticed recently that the reflux has come back to the point where some days my throat is burning and it feels like food is not going down and coming back up my throat and I have a horrible acid taste rising in my throat sometimes and I belch a lot. Could this be impacting things? Also, I seem to get these when I lie down or move position suddenly. I was so active but I have stopped because I'm terrifed to put stress on my heart.

Today has been awful, just waiting for them to happen. I've noticed that I've been getting more ectopics and these fluttery feelings almost every day fir the last month. I am highly stressed at the moment and know my anxiety has been building again recently. I'm used to the ectopics but it's this irregular pulse I felt last night that has me in a massive panic that I'm going to die

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Originally Posted by Honeyskye

Thank you again for your reply. I don't think it felt like SVT because it wasn't going particularly fast, it was more like a beatbeat beat beat then back to normal if that makes sense? It just felt irregular like the beats were close together then spaced out. Could a run of PACS and/or PVCS feel like that?

In terms of my diet and lifestyle, yes, the alcohol and caffeine have crept back in. Not ridiculous amounts but I have started to drink both again. Plus, I do consume more sugar than I should. My diet isn't bad but it's not always the healthiest. I was taking lansoprazole earlier this year for reflux but stopped taking them in May because felt like I didn't need them anymore and I have noticed recently that the reflux has come back to the point where some days my throat is burning and it feels like food is not going down and coming back up my throat and I have a horrible acid taste rising in my throat sometimes and I belch a lot. Could this be impacting things? Also, I seem to get these when I lie down or move position suddenly. I was so active but I have stopped because I'm terrifed to put stress on my heart.

Today has been awful, just waiting for them to happen. I've noticed that I've been getting more ectopics and these fluttery feelings almost every day fir the last month. I am highly stressed at the moment and know my anxiety has been building again recently. I'm used to the ectopics but it's this irregular pulse I felt last night that has me in a massive panic that I'm going to die

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Yes, 100%. My ectopics are definitely related to my stomach. I also have acid reflux and when it's acting up my ectopics are far worse. If I'm having bad acid and I lay on my left side, I will have PACs and PVCs until I change position. It took me a long time to realise how connected the two were and it caused so much anxiety over the years. It's to do with irritating the vagus nerve which sends dodgy signals to the heart (benign).

I don't get much acid now because I cleaned up my diet, but when I do, I just take a big gulp of Gaviscon and when my stomach calms down, so do the ectopics.

I do get random ones now and then but SO many people do. They are only a problem for the heart when you're getting into the thousands per day. I've read of people who have 10,000 per day! Imagine that. Some people live in permeant ventricular bigeminy which means every other beat is a PVC.

And yes, runs can feel like that. I have several different sensations I feel, but they're really just the same thing. It can depend on what position you're in when they're happening, how full your stomach is, all kinds.

If you know your ectopics are related to your stomach or your body position/movement, that is an encouraging sign, because the problem isn't actually due to your heart.

I quite often get an ectopic or two when I kneel or bend down. It's simply the heart being a bit irritable. It's very common, and nothing to worry about. I know it's hard to believe that something which feels so awful isn't a big deal, but it just isn't.

Thanks again for your helpful response. At the height of my ectopics two years ago to this month, I was recorded as having over 1000 during a 24 hour monitor. That was when I was around 20 weeks or so pregnant. They all but went away a few months after when I had an echo which was deemed as normal and cardiology discharged me. But then not long after was when I started to notice these other funny beats and runs. Another 24 hour monitor and 7 day event monitor followed over the next year, the last being in February this year and both turned up nothing.

If I was getting a run of these PVCS AND PACS could it make the pulse feel irregular whilst it's trying to regulate itself?

I have noticed that almost every time it happens I've been lay down. I fel a funny fluttery, vibratory feeling that's made me jump up to stop it. It terrifies me. I can even bring on a PVC by taking a deep breath...

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Originally Posted by Honeyskye

Thanks again for your helpful response. At the height of my ectopics two years ago to this month, I was recorded as having over 1000 during a 24 hour monitor. That was when I was around 20 weeks or so pregnant. They all but went away a few months after when I had an echo which was deemed as normal and cardiology discharged me. But then not long after was when I started to notice these other funny beats and runs. Another 24 hour monitor and 7 day event monitor followed over the next year, the last being in February this year and both turned up nothing.

If I was getting a run of these PVCS AND PACS could it make the pulse feel irregular whilst it's trying to regulate itself?

I have noticed that almost every time it happens I've been lay down. I fel a funny fluttery, vibratory feeling that's made me jump up to stop it. It terrifies me. I can even bring on a PVC by taking a deep breath...

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Before I fully made the connection between the stomach/ectopics, I got so frustrated one night that I couldn't lay on my left side without my heart going crazy that I just thought "F it" and stayed on my left while feeling my pulse. It was absolutely all over the place, along with the horrendous feeling in my chest. Basically how you are describing it. That was nearly 6 years ago.

I've scoured the internet about these things over the years. Trust me, "fluttering", "flip flop", "vibrating" are some of the most used words to describe PACs. You're not alone.

I'd look at your diet and get the acid under control. Definitely give the magnesium a go as well. It might just solve the problem so you won't need another monitor.

Feel free to PM me any time for anything.

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Originally Posted by Honeyskye

I'm literally sat at work terrifed after what happened last night. I just had a dropping sensation in my chest and stomach which felt like a bit of a thud so they have started up again this morning. I'm terrified that I've developed some kind of dangerous arrhythmia and I'm going to end up in hospital at the worst possible time because the care isn't being given at the moment because of covid, the drs and nurses are all busy and I'm im imaging being left to die on a trolly in a busy A&E or being given the wrong drug.

I'm just utterly terrified. It's that run of irregular beats last night that's playing on my mind. It was like beat beat beat .... beat.....beat almost like it was spluttering.

I've been discharged from cardiology twice now but the tests can't catch everything when they're happening so something could have been missed. Frightened I had a short run of AF or SVT or something.

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Honeyskye you have literally captured my fears and sensations in your comment. I've had 3 non consecutive nights of fluttering, ectopics and irregular heartbeats, I'm exhausted and terrified. I hate hospitals anyway, but now I would be alone in a hospital far from home that's overworked and under siege because of Covid!
I've been so relaxed about Lockdowns etc until July when I went out to the reopened shops for the first time to get stuff for my husband's surprise socially distanced birthday 6 'boys night' in our garden! The irregular heartbeat was so bad when I got back it felt like all beats were one long flutter. Reading your words and recognising them is very comforting. Hugs from me.