Heart skipping beats....

[aurora75]

Hello (I am new here),

I would really like to hear someones opinion on this:

Since a week before Christmas I started having skipped beats en masse (about 50-60 a day I guess). I went to the doctor and she said it was stress.
In February I started having days without skipped beats, but mostly they are here every day.
I think it might be true I have a lot of stress in my life:
Studies at university (both my husband and I) and therefore very poor economy. Way too large workload. Two small children and me doing 85% of the housework. Problems in our relationship (I thought about leaving). And recent death and heartattacks in our family. Plus my dad's having triple by pass next week.

It is just so difficult for me to relate this to my heart acting up. I can not convince myself that it doesn't indicate I am having a physical problem.

1½ year ago I had two EKGs and a 24 holter monitoring because of an episode of extra beats (probably originating from the trouble in our relationship). The EKGs didn't catch any extra beats that I know of, and I was told to be normal. And after half a year the went away again.

I'm in good physical shape, but might tend to have a little too much wine at times (to relax).

The thing that scares me this time with the extra beats, is that they come in series. They might come on every 5-7 beat for maybe half an hour! Especially if I wake up at night or when I go to bed.

I really hate it, and am nervous about this new development in their occurance. My doctor says it doesn't matter how they come and that they're still harmless.

What do you think? Is it ok that they never caught any on the monitoring?

Do you think it is "just" stress?

Thanks for your time. And sorry for mis-spellings. I'm not a native English speaker.

aurora75

[emlou71]

Hi aurora, a good friend of mine suffers with skipping beats just like you. She has been for numerous tests and her doctor just keeps telling her that she is fine and there is nothing wrong with her. She also suffers with health anxiety, checking her pulse and blood pressure every day, etc, so her doctor thinks the skipping beats are down to anxiety. I don't know much about this with not suffering from this myself, but I hope this has helped in some way.

[Allwaysdyin]

Hi Aurora

I have suffered from these stupid beats for a while now, I did not even know what they were until I found this site. I could never make them happen and they would never have a certain pattern they would just come when ever they felt like it. I have had every test know to man and they come back fine my doc reckons it is perfectly natural and try not to worry about it (Yeah Right!!!). But since reading the stories about these beats and the Doc's reassurance I have managed to almost completely ignore them. What I do is as soon as I get one I start doing doing something to keep myself busy. I hope you find something that helps you. All the best.

Greg

[shaz01]

Hi Aurora,

I also suffer with them and they quite often happen at night when you start relaxing and lie down, also this morning I woke at 5.00am with them. My doctor also reassures me they are fine, although I find it hard not to worry about them.

Shaz x

[Worrier]

Hi Aurora,

I had the exact same thing about 5 years ago non-stop for 4 months. I was absolutely terrified and thought I was going to die. When I eventually couldn't take it anymore I went to the doctor (even though I was terrified) and had an EKG and a thyroid test and everything came back okay. Within a couple of days of going to the doc and getting the tests the weird beats went away and I haven't really had them since. Occasionally I might feel them for a few minutes but now I know I don't need to worry about it being something deadly, I can reassure myself that I am okay and then they subside. I hope this helps.

[JaneS]

Hi Aurora
I sometimes get what I can only describe as flutters in my heart - not sure if that is the same thing but it feels weird and makes you stop for a second and think - "wooo what was that". I did get it repeatedly for a period of time maybe serveral months but eventually it did stop. I am sure it is stress and anxiety related and it is also very common apparently - when I mention it to people they say "Oh yes I get that".

[aurora75]

Thank you for your answers. I am beginning to realise that they are caused by stress/negative thoughts.

I just found this on a site (London Cardiac Institute):

"One of the most common causes of palpitation is the skipping of the heartbeat that occurs from extra beats or extra systoles. Most of the time these are simply beats from a secondary pacemaker in the heart that create irregularity in the pulse that feels unusual. The heart is otherwise normal, and the beats themselves are of no significant consequence. Usually a test is performed normal as an echocardiogram to verify that the heart is structurally normal.

The heart has a single dominant pacemaker called the sinus node. There are several sites within the heart that are additional pacemakers that at times can be overactive. These sites can produce skipped beats that may occur as infrequently as 50 times a day, or as often as thousands of times a day."


From that I can read that when I get the extra beats bad, I get them infrequently!!!


aurora75

[shaz01]

Hi aurora,

Thats interesting!!!!!!.

Shaz x

[aurora75]

Shaz,

It is! AND comforting....when we can get our minds to realise it.

I mean, what are the odds for these guys just writing this for fun?

Do you know that feeling, when you can see that everyone else gets premature beats beacuse of stress, but when YOU get them, it's something else?

Some undiscovered heart disease....attacks that messes with the rythm, and eventually might kill you...*snap*...just like that....

aurora75b

[shaz01]

Aurora,

now your scaring the hell out of me.

Shaz x x