living in fear of missed beats

[hamster lady]

Hi everyone

I have been having a real struggle with my health anxiety about my heart which started after numerous episodes of fast heart rate at night along with palpitations. This lead to panic disorder and I have been struggling with his for 18 months now. I now have a new worry, missed beats which I absolutely hate. I had a terrible one a couple of weeks ago, I was leaning forward to get something out of my wardrobe when I felt this terrible empty feeling in my chest and then there was this horrible pause before my heart started up again. I felt a bit dizzy and was absolutely terrified that my heart was going to stop and it ended up in me having a full-blown panic attack and to make it worse my husband wasn't here and I didn't know what to do with myself. I managed to calm myself down in the end and nothing else happened but it lead to an increase in panic attacks and I am now living my life in fear of it happening again.

I had an ECG 18 months ago which was normal but I have heard that an ECG can't pick up missed beats unless they happen at the time of the ECG. I am still having terrible trouble sleeping and have been waking up boiling hot on a few occassions and with my heart pounding which is usually after I have had a stressful dreams. I have spoken to my mum about my symptoms and she said that she thinks I might be starting perimenopause (I'm 41) and that she and her two sisters both had missed beats in their 40's during the perimenopause. I have had a blood test to check my hormone levels which was normal but my doctor said that it doesn't mean I am in perimenopause because it is difficult to catch the changing hormone levels at first.

I was just wondering whether any of you guys have missed beats and whether it is possible to learn to live with it instead of freaking out and having a panic attack. I really hope they are not dangerous. It is not helping my agoraphobia because I'm scared I'm going to have one when I go out to walk my dog. I am thinking of going back to my doctor to put my mind at rest but it is difficult for me to get to the doctors because my son is poorly with M.E. and I am a carer for him.

Any help or advice on missed beats would be very much appreciated, I spend all day waiting for the next one, I just can't get it out of my mind!
hamster lady

[selphie]

i can so relate to this post if i hadent seen your name then this could have most defently been my post.

like you i went through an episode of this happening all day everyday it took over my life me wondering when i was going to get the next one and getting scared stiff that i was just going to kill over.

its so horrible when it starts to take over your life i couldent tell you how many missed beats i had in one day way too many to count.
i even had them as soon as i woke up when i was laying in bed.

i have also had sooooo many ecg and everyone has come back normal but like you say it is true they can only see if theres anything wrong when you get one thats why they make you have 24 hour monitor on.
i had one of these but it just showed ectopics which the doctor said was perfectly normal..... not to me tho i know how terrifying they can be.

so i really feel for you because these are so horrible nasty things.

the answer is we have no choice but to live with these because if you dont then they end up taking over your life and i can tell you from experience this is bloody horrible.

if they are ectopic beats then there not dangerous but only a doctor can tell you for sure.

there are so many people on here that suffer with these i have for months now and im still here.
i hope you feel better and this has helped a little i know its hard to just do it when people say you have to live with itxxxx

[saab]

Sorry to hear of your problems. Like many people on this forum, I am in the same boat. I often have hundreds of 'missed beats' a day, which started 8 years ago after an operation. I have had ecg's and a holter monitor and have been told several times that they are harmless, but they have caused me huge anxiety.

I am still struggling to accept my ectopics, but I can tell you that everything I have read about them (and I have read a lot) says that 'missed beats' or pvc's are harmless in a structurally normal heart. They are really common - most people have them at one time or another - and they do not cause heart attacks or heart failure.

They are not actually 'missed' beats - the heart does not stop or stall, though it may feel like it. One beat comes fractionally early, so they next beat feels like it comes after a pause. You feel it because the heart chamber has a bit more blood in it than usual and requires a slightly bigger push to move it through. At no point does your heart stop.

Your heart beats 100, 000 times day at least, so a few ectopics are not going to damage it.

If you are still feeling anxious about it, maybe a holter monitor or echocardiogram would put your mind at rest.

I have heard many people say that their palps started around the time of the menopause, and most people find that caffeine, stress, smoking, or even a heavy meal make them worse.

[potato11]

Hi Hamster lady

I read an interesting article a while a go on the correlation between palpitations and female hormones, I've found it again for you :

http://www.skippinghearts.com/articl...-menstruation/

I myself get occasional palpitations at certain points of my menstrual cycle. Sometimes they aren't even palpitations, it just feels like my heart 'wants' to palpitate! ha.

Hope it helps

[NattyOne]

I've had ectopics alot since I turned 39; I'll be 43 this summer. I've tried pinning mine down to a specific reason - but no success there. I've had all the usual tests, like alot of us here on this forum (ECG, Echo, and even a 7 day holter monitor). I also had the hormone blood tests. But just like your GP mine said it's difficult to catch fluctuating hormones in the perimenopause.

It's been tough, but I've now got to the stage that after 4 years I really try to ignore them. Even though they stink!! I'm definitely in perimenopause with menstrual cycles ranging from 18 days to 29 days. My GP says as long as there are no other symptoms (no red flag warning signs such as inbetween bleeding, bleeding after sex, etc.) it's most certainly the perimenopause. It's common as soon as you hit 40 to start getting perimenopausal. Oh happy days...

Take heart, there are ALOT of us ladies on here with symptoms just like yours.
All the best, NattyOne.

[hamster lady]

Thank you so much everyone for all your help, advice and support, I really appreciate it. It certainly seems like I'm not the only one going through the horror of missed beats, it is just so awful isn't it! I have never had a problem with palpitations or missed beats until I reached 39 which was when my problems started so it really could be possible that I am in the periomenopause. There is a history of early menopause in my family too, my mum's mum had her menopause in her 30's! It is difficult for me to tell that I am in perimenopause though because I take the pill so I have no idea what my normal cycle is!

I had a terrible night last night, I went to bed having my horrible falling asleep hallucinations which I get when I'm really stressed and then I woke at midnight absolutely boiling hot. I managed to get back to sleep but spent the rest of the night waking from horrible dreams with my heart pounding, it was awful! I also get these horrible adrenalin rushes when I wake up in a fright with my heart racing, but luckily it settles down once I have calmed down. I have not slept properly for 18 months and I have a horrible feeling if it is perimenopause that it could go on for quite a few more years yet! My mum only had night sweats but didn't have hot flushes during the day, but she did have bad palpitations and missed beats after eating.

The last time I went to the doctor which was last Autumn and mentioned the trouble I was having at night with waking up hot with my heart pounding or racing, I was surprised that she didn't recommend a 25hr holter monitor and she just sent me off for CBT. It would definitely pick up strange things happening at night, my heart goes bonkers at night for some reason! My husband is off work soon so I am hoping to be able to get down to the doctors and offload my fears! Thank goodness for this forum, I have felt really alone with my problem and my parents aren't very understanding and just keep telling me to stop worrying about it and get over it, but it is easier said than done! Thank goodness my husband is understanding though but he will tell me off occassionaly when I keep feeling my pulse! I just feel so fed up that my panic disorder and heart phobia have basically ruined my life and stopped me doing the things I used to enjoy, I even had a panic attack when we went away on holiday in a caravan for a few days in half term! I feel that if I can get rid of my fears about my heart it will help my panic attacks, anxiety and agoraphobia, I think another trip to the doctors is called for as I'm not getting on top of it!

Thanks so much again everyone for your help, I do feel better today knowing that I'm not the only one going through the worry of palpitations!
hamster lady

[selphie]

saab your information as also helped me your explanation was really very good and has helped me understand my ectopic alot more thankyou for that.

hamster lady theres nothing i hate more than being told to just get over it.
its so easy with people who dont suffer with anxiety to say that if they had to live and feel what we feel in a day then they would understand how stressful and scary it is especially these missed beats there so bloody horrible.

i hope your feeling a bit better now listening to others that have the same symptoms as you and are suffering like you.
i had a whole bout of them today after lunch but i was determined not to let them get to me i have a big party at my house tommorow with alot of people coming i know that the ectopics will come and try to ruin the night but i hope to be strong all the best to youxx