Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

  1. #1

    Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

    I have suffered from health anxiety since my early 20s. This is when I started noticing skipped beats and had a stress echo which was normal at the time. Fast forward 15 years later and they have been on and off over the year sometimes none at all. This past week I have been stressed due to air travel and Covid, and tending to a sister's surgery recovery. The skips started about a week or so ago but got much worse through this past week some days lighter than others. I am noticing after a fuller meal for an hour or two I feel the skips maybe up to 10-15 in those 2 hours total. Of course I have myself convinced this is different etc. Some beats I can tell are skips other I cant tell if its my stomach doing something or maybe even the bloat is making my heart react. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    4,918

    Re: Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

    Quote Originally Posted by serena7272 View Post
    this past week I have been stressed due to air travel and Covid, and tending to a sister's surgery recovery. The skips started about a week or so ago but got much worse through this past week some days lighter than others. I am noticing after a fuller meal for an hour or two I feel the skips maybe up to 10-15 in those 2 hours total. Of course I have myself convinced this is different etc. Some beats I can tell are skips other I cant tell if its my stomach doing something or maybe even the bloat is making my heart react. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    So many non scary (but most likely) things will cause this; dehydration, hyperventilation, stimulants (what kind of things are you eating and drinking?) stress, hormone imbalance etc

    You could try eating smaller meals, drinking more water, and not focusing on this symptom. I used to have these a lot, but I started taking magnesium for something else and I found that that the skipping, fluttering and whatnot all but went...
    __________________
    A thought is harmless unless we believe it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    7,300

    Re: Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

    Hiyer,

    Its not surprising this happens when your stomach is full. Your vagus nerve is close to the stomach, and it is that which is stimulated to produce the ectopic beats. If your digestion is also slightly upset, and a bit gassy, you can guarantee they will be worse. I've had them for 35 years now, and if I've been tensed in my stomach region they happen, and I can even make them happen by pressing into the area just below my ribs or wearing something tight around my upper waist.

    Due to the vagus nerve, there is a very strong connection between your stomach and your heart. An uncomfortable stomach can trigger ectopic heartbeats. An overfull stomach can trigger ectopic heartbeats. Stomach issues like indigestion, GERD or ulcer causes irritation that travels to the heart.


    Palpitation that is caused by vagus nerve stimulation rarely involves physical defects of the heart. Such palpitations are extra-cardiac in nature, that is, palpitation originating from outside the heart itself. Accordingly, vagus nerve induced palpitation is not evidence of an unhealthy heart muscle.

  4. #4

    Re: Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

    Yes, absolutely! I don't necessarily that a full stomach causes the skipped beats (as far as I know, medical evidence for the role of the vagus nerve is spotty at best), but way too many people report this connection for it to be a coincidence. For me, reflux and skipped beats really correlate. When I have both, I can go through a perfect morning with neither symptom until I eat something. Then: Boom!

    The best advice I can give you is to get enough sleep. Getting as close to 8 hours as possible helps me more than regulating alcohol, food intake, and all the other things frequently mentioned.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    712

    Re: Skipped heartbeats especially after eating a full meal

    Quote Originally Posted by Justus View Post
    Yes, absolutely! I don't necessarily that a full stomach causes the skipped beats (as far as I know, medical evidence for the role of the vagus nerve is spotty at best), but way too many people report this connection for it to be a coincidence. For me, reflux and skipped beats really correlate. When I have both, I can go through a perfect morning with neither symptom until I eat something. Then: Boom!

    The best advice I can give you is to get enough sleep. Getting as close to 8 hours as possible helps me more than regulating alcohol, food intake, and all the other things frequently mentioned.
    I agree, especially about the reflux and sleep seemingly related to skipped beats. Any time I have a bad flare up of reflux, I'm almost guaranteed to get some skipped beats. My doctor seems to agree that it's pretty common as well.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Skipped Heartbeats after Exercise
    By Melonpony in forum Palpitations, Ectopics, Missed beats, Heart Worries
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 04-09-18, 11:54
  2. Feelings of skipped heartbeats
    By annoyed707104 in forum Palpitations, Ectopics, Missed beats, Heart Worries
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 04-10-15, 18:03
  3. feeling of skipped heartbeats
    By Jiahui2805 in forum Palpitations, Ectopics, Missed beats, Heart Worries
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 21-06-15, 22:31
  4. Skipped Heartbeats
    By Meg37 in forum Health Anxiety
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 28-03-12, 14:00
  5. Skipped Heartbeats - HELP!
    By leodaly123 in forum Palpitations, Ectopics, Missed beats, Heart Worries
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-01-12, 22:46

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •