What the consultant says about ectopic heartbeats

[poncho]

Firstly I would like to say what a relief it is to read some of these posts, It’s so good to know that I am not alone!

I have suffered with eptopic beats for about 2 years. I first noticed them one evening when I was home alone and after trying to ignore them took myself off to A&E where they did ECG, Chest X-Ray and bloods. Since then I have had 24 hour heart monitor and echo scan thing to check everything flowing correctly.
Cardiologist told me he could see from my monitor that my eptopics were coming every 10 minutes on average but they were harmless and not worth worrying about.
After that I noticed the occasional missed beat every few days or so which I learned to accept and brush off.
Then 3 weeks ago I woke with a thud in my chest and eptopics coming very 6-7 beats. I rang a friend who’s a doctor who told me not to panic, they sometimes last for hours he said. Mine have been going for weeks!

They haven’t stopped since and vary throughout each day from 5-6 a minute with some periods of calm, (normally when I am active). They are always worse when I sit down and relax and especially when I’m in bed, presumably because I am more aware of them when I am resting.

People keep telling me “try not to think about it and they will go away”, but how can you not when they are always there thudding in your chest and reminding you!
I go running (about 2 or 3 miles) when they get really bad which helps to reassure me that nothing major is wrong.
I have never been a stressed person but this is testing me to my limit.
I’m off to see the cardiologist again this weekend, is there a magic pill for these things and has anyone tried counselling?

[NattyOne]

Hi Poncho,

I know how you feel. I had four days non-stop of trigeminy (ectopic every 3rd beat). I almost went to A&E, but on the fifth day it stopped, just like that... What triggered it in the first place I don't know. I was not stressed or anything. Maybe gastric bubbling though...

I have had all the tests too. They're just ectopics they say. After several visits to the Cardio Clinic, I eventually got Bisoprolol (low dose), which is a beta blocker. I can take them on 'bad' days. So I do. They don't always work, but they usually lower my heart rate to about 65bpm instead of 90bpm. And the ectopics are less forceful, sort of making them easier to deal with. They are not a magic cure, but are helpful. But I wish there was a proper cure.

All the best, NattyOne.

[selphie]

i HATE them and i will never be able to forget them they scare the shit out of me esp when i get a run of em that stops me in my tracks.
i had 24 holter monitor last thursday and the consultants supposed to be looking at them today.
i was waiting for phone call but havent had one yet so its left me worrying and wondering what they found.
i sometimes dont know whats worse knowing or not knowing.
in the meantime im still getting them everyday there part of my life now i feel like there with me for lifex

[billywizkid]

poncho
i have exactly the same symptoms as you i had them for 3-4 weeks now every 5 mins wont let me sleep. Have some days with no palps but not many driving me to dis pare. Thinking of going to A & E but they just send me home it emotionally and mentally draining me.
Iv had ecg ,and 24 hour trace no results as yet a chest exray and bloods but nothing.

Im snapping at the family and kids i cry my self to sleep im a 43 year old male who do i turn to. All i can here is thump thump thump i should be asleep now its 2am.

[notagain!]

Bending over...and lying down...yuppp today i was kneeling and BAM a flutter/bang in my chest. if I bend down and take a deep breath, it happens...

Yes! All of the above. I was even shopping one day and someone's trolley bumped into mine so that I was jerked to the side with the impact. Immediately the palpitations and 'flutteries' started...I was clammy and thought I was about to collapse, but I drove to the medical centre on autopilot, they called for the ambulance, and after several hours in the emergency ward they gave me a valium and a pariet tablet. I have been in that hospital so many times with the same symptoms, which usually settle down after I'm relaxing in the bed. Anyway...One bright spark finally told me that he believed it was caused by hiatus hernia/reflux.

This morning I had taken my Nexium tablet (Pariet doesn't work) but I decided to kneel down and sort out some books. It took about 30 minutes (kneeling all the time. Then the ectopics started and continued for a few hours.

It's such a relief to be able to chat to others with the same problem, and very encouraging to hear that some can just ignore it. Thanks .

[peter34uk]

Do you guys drink tea?

[smine]

im the same as you, and poncho, and billywizkid... on dec 23rd they just started up and have been banging on ever since, with only 2 days without them. in the past i have had maybe 1 or two on their own, but never experienced anything like this... its quite unnerving and i am not actually an anxious person but ive been snapping and getting a bit freaked out at times too! when there are lots, my chest starts to feel a bit tired, but i can get up and move around with no trouble or dizziness, and if i start some light exercise, they reduce in frequency. i cant sit on the couch & watch tv in the evening because its just too uncomfortable, i can see my chest thumping away and it feels yuck. now im laying in bed and still getting some...

what can anyone tell me about the vagus nerve being a cause?

that's exactly how it is for me peter. bending over, or lying down. and sometimes it doesn't progree to palpitations just feels fluttery. my guess is gut/vagus nerve but that's not something they can test i'm told. but i will say that if i try the relaxation breathing (longer out breath than in) then the missed beats of whatever it is gets worse. i breathe shallow for a while and they pass. so for me that means vagus nerve since extending the out breath stimulates that.

it's weird. i don't like it.

[Daisy Sue]

finding this thread on Google is what brought me to the forum.... i identified with so much of what's been said here, and also i have to say thank you to Admin for supplying the Palpitations Article, which i've just read, and feel a little reassured from...

ectopic beats are something completely new to me, only been aware of having them for a short while, however i've been having noticeable palpitations for some time now. doc has done an ECG on me - normal, i'm now waiting to have the 24 monitor fitting appointment.

it's likely, given my symptoms and history, that my stomach has a lot to do with what my heart's doing - i think the proximity of the two, and the vagus nerve action - have something to do with it. hopefully that's all it turns out to be - time will tell.

my anxiety, as you probably all experience, runs riot when there's something unexplained and potentially scary happening, and i'm all out trying to keep it together right now. i've lived through horrendous clouds of anxiety/panic attacks which lasted weeks at a time, and i can feel myself slipping back into that mode. it's a lonely place to be, and last time around i was alone with it, apart from my CB therapist. this time it's good to have a forum full of people who know what i'm on about, lol.

[kinnygirl1]

finding this thread on Google is what brought me to the forum.... i identified with so much of what's been said here, and also i have to say thank you to Admin for supplying the Palpitations Article, which i've just read, and feel a little reassured from...

ectopic beats are something completely new to me, only been aware of having them for a short while, however i've been having noticeable palpitations for some time now. doc has done an ECG on me - normal, i'm now waiting to have the 24 monitor fitting appointment.

it's likely, given my symptoms and history, that my stomach has a lot to do with what my heart's doing - i think the proximity of the two, and the vagus nerve action - have something to do with it. hopefully that's all it turns out to be - time will tell.

my anxiety, as you probably all experience, runs riot when there's something unexplained and potentially scary happening, and i'm all out trying to keep it together right now. i've lived through horrendous clouds of anxiety/panic attacks which lasted weeks at a time, and i can feel myself slipping back into that mode. it's a lonely place to be, and last time around i was alone with it, apart from my CB therapist. this time it's good to have a forum full of people who know what i'm on about, lol.

Hugs to you - I battle heart related health anxiety and its awful. I started having pvc's yesterday and had them on and off since. Trying to keep calm and "ignore" them, but can't think of anything but of course, so came on here. In a wierd way reading that other people have this too is comforting. x

[Daisy Sue]

Hugs to you - I battle heart related health anxiety and its awful. I started having pvc's yesterday and had them on and off since. Trying to keep calm and "ignore" them, but can't think of anything but of course, so came on here. In a wierd way reading that other people have this too is comforting. x

hiya, and hugs back

sorry you're going through this at the moment, and that it sounds like something you regularly have to deal with. i know what you mean about trying to cope by ignoring symptoms, but that's easier to say than do.. maybe distracting techniques might help you ignore them. but - i know the minute you think 'heart' then it's bound to be a trigger for the anxiety, that's why i'm having silly conversations in my own head at the moment, trying to reason it out & keep the panic away.

do you regularly check your blood pressure and/or pulse? i've managed to go the whole day today without doing either, as i almost scared the pants off myself last night when i felt a missed heartbeat twice. i actually feel a little better not knowing just how fast my pulse is, or how temperamental my heartbeat is right now...