Heart racing whole night also get ectopics/heart flutters i am so worried..

Hi lovely people. I have been getting ectopics or missed beats whatever you want to call them, most days for a long time now.. Some days are better than others. I went to GP who arranged for me to have a 24 hour tape fitted after the ECG he did looked normal. Ironically, the day I had the tape fitted i had this horrible episode of palpitations, heart really racing seemed like all night long for hours! For some context i did have a cold virus and sore throat coming out and i had taken a Clarithromycin antibiotic and i noted that one of the side effects which was not usual could be palpitations but it was only one 500mg tablet. I went to A and E the next morning after being advised to by a friend who is a nurse. They checked my vitals which were fine and did an ECG and it was normal, this has really affected me and i already have health anxiety that i am trying to deal with. Could anyone please offer some advice/support i would appreciate it so very much.. Thank you x

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Originally Posted by sammiej123

Hi lovely people. I have been getting ectopics or missed beats whatever you want to call them, most days for a long time now.. Some days are better than others. I went to GP who arranged for me to have a 24 hour tape fitted after the ECG he did looked normal. Ironically, the day I had the tape fitted i had this horrible episode of palpitations, heart really racing seemed like all night long for hours!

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Your post from 2018..

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Originally Posted by sammiej123

I have been getting multiple ectopics recently which are really scaring me and making my life a misery. I can put up with the odd one but not all day on and off. The more I get them the more I worry! I am having an ECG this afternoon but I bet I wont get them when I am hooked up to it.

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Have you had this issue constantly for three years? Or is this a recurrence?

A clear ECG generally means that the heart is working as it should do; just a little fast. Ectopic beats are normal and nothing to worry about in a healthy heart. I get them most days..

Lots of things cause these symptoms..

Stress is the number one cause of this symptom and the more you worry about it, the more it will happen because you will be releasing the stress hormones adrenalin, cortisol, and norepinephrine into your system (fight or flight). If you can think about how your body normally reacts to danger (fast heart rate etc) you'll understand that it's your body doing exactly what it's designed to do - it just feels unpleasant when you're sitting still or standing instead if running away or fighting the 'danger' etc because you expect the heart to race under those conditions, right? Not when you're at rest. But your brain doesn't know the difference between a 'threat' that's real or just in your head - it will respond the same way.

Also, hormones with women. Lots of peri-menopausal and menopausal women start to have this issue at this time because of hormone imbalance.

I get them more when I'm stressed and when I ingest stimulants and medications - like Ibuprofen. Recently I noticed that my heart was racing and I had lots of ectopic beats. I couldn't work out what was wrong because my stress levels are low (for me) and my diet is as good as it can be. So I finally worked out that my husband had put non-decaf teabags into the caddy and I'd been drinking the stuff for weeks! :scared15:

Tweaks to diet can help enormously; as can not focusing on the sensation. We perceive it as dangerous when it's not. It won't damage the heart and we can control it ourselves by doing abdominal breathing which turns on the parasympathetic nervous system (calming). It's instant, free, and has no nasty side-effects. :yesyes:

Well the good news is you had some palpitations while you were wearing the monitor and if they were of any concern your doctor would have called you.

Palpitations is blanket term meaning any time one can feel ones own heart beat, doesn’t mean something is wrong. Unless your experiencing other symptoms with your palpitations like dizziness or shortness of breath there is no need to worry. I know it can be scary but in structurally normal hearts free of heart disease they are benign.

I see you suffer with ectopics and I can tell you the more you worry about them, the more they will happen. There are a few things you can do to try and keep them at bay like making sure you get enough sleep, staying away from caffeine, not smoking, keeping your stress levels down and getting your anxiety under control. You can try eating more foods that are magnesium rich or try a magnesium supplement. A lot of people seem to have success with that.

Thank you kind people for your responses. I had the racing heart again this morning at 4 am, i do have a virus cold/throat so I am wondering if it is this not helping, I am exhausted today... I havent had the results of the tape yet as they are with the consultant who has been on annual leave. So my doctor has not yet seen them. I am seeing him later but i dont find him very supportive, this is really getting to me and my anxiety is through the roof :(

How did it go?

Thank you for asking..

Basically I have to wait for the consultant to look at the 24 hour tape which will take ages... I rang up today as i have been getting the old faithful heart flutters/missed beats all day today, so i thought i would chase up my referral. I was told that he has one admin day a week and about 60 sets of notes and tapes to look at.. doesnt give you much hope does it..

I can feel my mood sinking lower and i feel like crying all the time, i have lost interest in everything i am so worried. They have been really bad today worst than normal..

I wish I could get some reassurance... Thank you again ..

Thank you for your reply - still getting them had heart flutters/ectopics all day today I am feeling so worn down by it all.. i feel like i cant cope with it much more..

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Originally Posted by sammiej123

Thank you for your reply - still getting them had heart flutters/ectopics all day today I am feeling so worn down by it all.. i feel like i cant cope with it much more..

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If your ectopics are truly affecting your quality of life you can ask them to place you on a low dose beta blocker. It will not stop them from happening but it may help the way they feel when they do happen. I personally would try other things before I jumped on medication but I also know how miserable these things can be and everyone has different levels of what they can and can’t handle. There are three reasons doctors will treat ectopics, 1. Someone gets them and has some sort of heart condition that make PVCS less benign for that person 2. Someone’s daily PVC burden is more then 20% of their daily heart beats and 3. The ectopics are badly affecting someone’s quality of life.
Sometimes it’s hard to accept that something that feels so awful can’t harm you but I promise you that everyone gets these miserable things, it’s just that most people don’t feel them. Your being able to feel them does not put you at more of a risk then someone who does not.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me, i greatly appreciate it, they are really wearing me out and anxiety provoking..