Friend has worried me about my heart

[countrygirl]

I am 46 yrs old female and have had premature ventricular contractions ( ectopic beats) for past 20 years! At their worst they can be every third beat and can last for days on end and at their best I only notice the flip flop and sinking feeling in the chest a few times a day. I have been holter monitered 5 times and had 4 days of monitering in hospital 6 years ago plus an echocardiogram to make sure all valves were normal.

I was told by cardiologists many times that my arrythmia is harmless but very unpleasant. They even said that some people with bad ectopics can't feel them !!! so the Dr's don't even tell them they have them ( very hard to imagine).

Also if I get anxious as in attending medical tests or just seeing a Dr my heart rate goes up to over 100bpm. This gets rid of the ectopics! which I have been assured is classic benign pvc's as the ectopics only occur when the heartrate is normal.

So my friend has been in hospital with suspect heart issues, she had chest pain - she told me they don't know whats wrong with her she had been diagnosed with everything from pulmonary embolism to angina to arrythmia.
she said she gets ectopic beats then her heart races up to 100bpm and she then gets chest pressure. Oh then they thought it was a wind problem.

While she was telling me all this my heart was flip flopping around like a wet fish and I was feeling all wobbly. After the phone call I got my long suffering husband to listen to my heart. He said I didn't have a really fast heartbeat. I then got more ectopics which he again listened to and said they only happen when my heart slows down and were my normal irregularity.

Two things are worrying me

First is that having a fast heartrate when nervous can do you some damage or shorten you life as in your heart will wear out.
When I told my Dr this she laughed and said your heart doens't have a set number of beats you know - I darent tell her I had read somewhere that it did

Secondly how do I know when my ectopics are my normal ones and have not changed to something that could be dangerous.

Sorry for the ramble but I am sure you will all understand my anxiety.

[Neilr1978]

I am 46 yrs old female and have had premature ventricular contractions ( ectopic beats) for past 20 years! At their worst they can be every third beat and can last for days on end and at their best I only notice the flip flop and sinking feeling in the chest a few times a day. I have been holter monitered 5 times and had 4 days of monitering in hospital 6 years ago plus an echocardiogram to make sure all valves were normal.

I was told by cardiologists many times that my arrythmia is harmless but very unpleasant. They even said that some people with bad ectopics can't feel them !!! so the Dr's don't even tell them they have them ( very hard to imagine).

Also if I get anxious as in attending medical tests or just seeing a Dr my heart rate goes up to over 100bpm. This gets rid of the ectopics! which I have been assured is classic benign pvc's as the ectopics only occur when the heartrate is normal.

So my friend has been in hospital with suspect heart issues, she had chest pain - she told me they don't know whats wrong with her she had been diagnosed with everything from pulmonary embolism to angina to arrythmia.
she said she gets ectopic beats then her heart races up to 100bpm and she then gets chest pressure. Oh then they thought it was a wind problem.

While she was telling me all this my heart was flip flopping around like a wet fish and I was feeling all wobbly. After the phone call I got my long suffering husband to listen to my heart. He said I didn't have a really fast heartbeat. I then got more ectopics which he again listened to and said they only happen when my heart slows down and were my normal irregularity.

Two things are worrying me

First is that having a fast heartrate when nervous can do you some damage or shorten you life as in your heart will wear out.
When I told my Dr this she laughed and said your heart doens't have a set number of beats you know - I darent tell her I had read somewhere that it did

Secondly how do I know when my ectopics are my normal ones and have not changed to something that could be dangerous.

Sorry for the ramble but I am sure you will all understand my anxiety.

Hi country girl,i have been having ectopic beats for over 5 years and im only 29.At first i thought oh my god heart attack!!!!.Ive seen dozoens of docs 3 specialists and 7 ecg,s as well as bloods done and they have all said benign ectopics,And like so said about raising heart rate and they go away,as soon as i exercise they go away i feel great.I dont listen ot family or friends that have had heart problems because that sets the old cogs turning in my head lol,and i start stressing,everyone is different,yes chest pains among other things can be a sign of a heart condition but in the most part people are fine.About the heart thing your doctor is right the heart does not have a set number of beats then that it,its the strength and health of your heart.Worrying is not good for general heath in the long term,but when you start panicing your heart rate goes up,its getting a work out,when you exercise your heart goes up just like when you stress.And think no doctor in the land says panic attacks are dangerous and put a strain on your heart,and as you know when a panic attack comes on it can feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest!!!.Try not to stress to much ,i know its easier said than done,good luck!!

[TracyL]

Howdie Country Girl

I hear you and know exactly where you're coming from. I've suffered the dreaded things for many many years. I have my good days and bad. Having a bad time at the minute as they keep coming every day and very frequent and it feels like every beat is wrong. I know the answer is to calm down, but still the worry continues.

You are not along we're all in this together.

take care
Tracy

[Jaco45er]

Hiya Countrygirl

I get ectopics a lot, espeically after a few drinks the night before (so unlike me ) but I do find that when I exercise, and get a little fitter they tend to be less frequent.

If there was an issue with your heart, the ECG/Holter tests would have picked it up, so be assured by what they say.

As for exceeding 100bpm? It's actually a good thing. When I go to the gym (it's been nearly 8 weeks now, I really need to sort my life out) my heart beat hits 160bpm. This is the reason why we exercise. The heart is a muscle, and the more you train it the stronger it will become.

This is why I think exercise is probably one of the best remedies for anxiety. Not only does it have a positive effect on anxiety, if you are a "health worrier" like me, then you come to realise that exercise, no matter how gentle, is doing you good.

Good Luck

Jaco

[Alabasterlyn]

Hi countrygirl, I really wouldn't worry after all the tests that you've had. I am certain if there was anything remotely wrong it would have defnately been picked up.

I'm now 52 and have had ectopics since I was in my early 20's. I usually get them when I am sitting down resting and although I've been to my GP about them he has never been concerned enough to send me for tests.

A heart rate of 100bpm when you are feeling anxious is nothing at all. I know people with that kind of heart rate when they are resting! It's totally normal for your heart rate to rise when you are doing things or are feeling anxious. If you read the Claire Weekes books she says that a healthy heart can beat at 200bpm and cause no harm at all.

[neil1975]

Hi Countrygirl,

I just want to add about the heart beating fast which I used to worry about too and was afraid to exercise at the time. But since starting to do more exercise and getting the heart pumping faster I have noticed that I less aware of when my heart rate is beating a bit more quickly. Also the British Heart Foundation have just started TV adverts encouraging people to get their hearts beating more quickly to help prevent heart disease.

Another thing is that I recently read a book about some fella who runs ultramarathons which are sometimes 24hour long races. His heart rate will be anywhere between 150 - 170 bpm during that race for such a long period of time and he is probably one of the fittest people around.

Take Care,

Neil

[countrygirl]

Huge huge thanks everyone - lovely to hear from so many of you. Very interesting about fast heartbeat - it had never occured to me that the heart can't tell the difference between anxiety speeding it up or exercise. I think somewhere I read that athletes have a slow heart rate and this is desirable but as usual you only get to read a bit of something it never tells the whole story.

Also I have read and seen to much on TV about people whose hearts beat so fast they need emergency treatment - how come I can remember these things so clearly yet no amount of Dr reassurance gets through to me!!

So so glad I have found this forum- you are all so friendly and helpful.

[MistyBlue]

Countrygirl, I have had an SVT with a heartbeat of that varied from 160 to 300 bpms for six hours, with arrythmia. Now this is scarey. BUT this is 7 years later and I am still alive to tell the tale. AND even though I went through that it was NOT life threatening. (This was no way related to PVCs and PVCs are not a sign that it will happen). My SVT was triggered by a medication I was taking.

I do have PVCs and they don't worry me at all now, and I a major sufferer of health anxiety. What helped me was that my doctor said to me when I said my heart rate was 100, he said, "So what, only 20 beats extra a minute". He was so casual about it thatI just don't worry anymore. If my heart can stand a heart rate of around 300 beats per minute for six hours, then 100 beats a minute is peanuts.

All I'm saying is that our hearts are stronger than we realise. So try to sit back and stop trying to control your heartbeat and trust your heart to work properly itself.

[flinty90]

just a quick note your heart rate can be at 150 bpm for a full two weeks solid without it damaging one strand of your heart. your heart is an amazing thing and all you can do is look after it best you can , that means working it as much as you can and resting it adequetly,

your body is a vehicle at the end of the day that carries your soul around
treat it like your car
Keep it clean
service it regularly
drive it as much as you can as it always needs a good blow out
fuel it with the best fuel you can

and enjoy it thats the main thing x

[angiebaby]

I know how you feel. I constantly worry about my heart since i have been ill, three years. I worry if it goes slow and i worry when it goes fast, but normally it goes fast! I hate it so much. I have also been having ectopic beats/PVC'S/PAC'S, whatever they are, for 12 years now, never been caught on ECG or holter monitor though, typical. They told me that it was fine and normal.
But i read from your posts that most of you get ectopics when you are resting or your heart beats are slower. I get them at any time and whether my heart if fast or slow, so is this normal too, getting a little concerned about that one now, lol. My heart has been as fast as 240bpm i believe and that was very scary. But normally it is around 120-130bpm and it still does scare me. I try and not let it bother me and just let it happen and let it go, but i can't. Get too worried, vicious circle really.
I have the flu at the moment and my heart is over 100bpm today and i am trying to convince myself that it is just because i am all grotty and this is normal. But even to just move out of the chair gets it going like the clappers, i can feel it in my stomach and my ears. But like i say i am trying to convince myself this is fine.
I am 37 now and am still going but the ectopics do still worry me and i don't like the way they feel either.x