Long irregular heart rate episode....scary!

[belle]

Hi..
I had this last November, it lasted 4 days before i called an ambulance. First i was suspected to have Atrial Fibralation because my heart rate was all over the place, fast, slow, thumping, massive pauses...

I was hooked up to and poked at for 9 hours before they let me home feeling no better. I too was given beta-blockers but normally my BP is really low, so i've been too scared to take them because i know it lowers it even more.

I've had minor episodes since, i dread it ever happening again. I went through a cardiologist and was diagnosed with atrial ectopics.

I am a 33 year old women.

[>>andy<<]

Hi..
I had this last November, it lasted 4 days before i called an ambulance. First i was suspected to have Atrial Fibralation because my heart rate was all over the place, fast, slow, thumping, massive pauses...

I was hooked up to and poked at for 9 hours before they let me home feeling no better. I too was given beta-blockers but normally my BP is really low, so i've been too scared to take them because i know it lowers it even more.

I've had minor episodes since, i dread it ever happening again. I went through a cardiologist and was diagnosed with atrial ectopics.

I am a 33 year old women.

Hi Belle, that sounds really awful,they sound almost sound exactly the same problems that I had.Seems these nasty symptoms really know how make us suffer don't they?

So how are you now,I presume you did manage to get back into a regular pulse rhythm eventually.
Are you still under he cardiologist ?
Take care.
Andy.

[>>andy<<]

Well, now a month since the original episode happened to me.
I've now seen a cardioligist and a murmur has been detected in one of my valves.
He explained everything and I had a Echo done straight away to confirm his diagnosis.
Eveyone is saying at least you know whats causing these symptoms,(ectopics,palps,irregular beat episodes),but I am scared.

I'm a 35 year old guy,been told that heart is not 100% and must be on beatblockers and now must be on Asprin too,just in case of clots that may form and cause stroke,not exactly the first year of fatherhood I had imagined,instead I am just worrying and aware of my pulse all the time just waiting for the 'Big One'
Deep down I am devastated,upset and can't even sleep properly for the worrying.(my wife has been amazing,but with an 8 month old boy to look after,it's getting all too stressful for me )

I hate feeling like this.

[Cathy V]

Andy, im sorry you feel so down and that youve had this diagnosis. Strangely enough, after i gave birth to my first son, who is now 36, i went for my 6 week check and the doc said i had a heart murmer, but that it was nothing to worry about. The murmer sort of went away of its own accord and hasnt been detected since then, but a few years later, i started with the ectopics, and have had them on and off for best part of 33 years, as i may have told you in one of my replies to your origional post. Interesting.....

Cathy xxx

[Rachey poos]

Has the doctor told you to worry andy or did he say you will be just fine!! I bet he said you will be fine xx keep positive ... xx

[>>andy<<]

Has the doctor told you to worry andy or did he say you will be just fine!! I bet he said you will be fine xx keep positive ... xx

He said he wants me to do a 24hr heart recording while I'm on Atenolol to see what effects the medication is having on me,otherwise he wants to see me in 12months time. Don't suppose he'd be that worried if he's put 12 months between appointments???
It's just the fretting and worrying that makes it worse everytime I get a symptom I think of the leaking valve and start to imagine all sorts of things going wrong....

[pedropanic]

Hearts are a funny thing aren't they, they feel like something you are at the mercy of. I was admitted to the ER with cardiac dysrhythmia and the doctors ran around and freaked out it was one of the worst experiences of my life; I thought I was dying.

I have been living in fear of this happening again, but mostly because my experience in hospital was so terrifying and the doctors were so useless and discouraging.

Don't feel guilty for being afraid, anyone would. You actually sound very brave! It's horrible living in fear, but it's definitely this cycle of fear which adds to the symptoms for me, and of course the symptoms add more fear and the cycle of panic begins!

If your cardiologist doesn't want to see you for 12months take it as a good sign and try not to add fear to every symptom. If you can learn to accept the symptoms and not add fear then you can begin to live with just the symptoms, not the added fear of the symptoms.

Also don't recoil in fear from your fearful thoughts about horrible things going wrong, we ALL have these thoughts. Let them come and accept that they are there but they are not important, rational or realistic. As you say it is the fretting and worrying which is making this intolerable, try to accept the symptoms and anxious thoughts without worrying about them, they are very normal parts of anxiety over what sounds like a very manageable health matter.

You might also find solace in finding a good GP that you can go to and discuss not only your heart symptoms, but also your anxiety about them and how this anxiety is affecting your life.

Take care and go easy on yourself; you've had a scary health episode and your a new Dad, you're doing well to not be hiding under the blankets! Take it easy mate.

[lisajane34]

hi, im totally new to this site, thought it was time to see what other people have to say about this problem.
i was reading your origonal post about your hospital stay and it sounded like myself!! iv had ectopic beats for around 4 years now, and they have ruined my life to be blunt, i feel i cant get on and enjoy my life as i am waiting for the day my heart gives in! i know deep down this wont happen as iv had all the tests but this doesnt stop me waiting for that strange beat (that i get constantly) or running to a&e!! im scared to excersise, or even walk up the stairs to be honest, as i think i'll have a heart attack, its made me scared to go on holiday, as i need to know where the nearest hospital is (just in case lol) things seem to be worse when iv got indigestion (strange i know!) i get indigestion bad, probably due to stress and this seems to flair them up. iv been on propranolol for 4 years but to be honest i dont think they do much for me, as im fighting my own mind all the time. eating too much def makes em worse adn also been tired. i desperately want to be able to run around wiv my sons but im too frightened. i also get all the other classic panic symptoms which make my fear worse ie chest tightness, breathlessness, numbness in my arm etc and of course these fuel my heart attack fear, i had all the tests years ago and the only thing they came up with was benign palpitations due to anxity, which made me feel a bit better at the time, but deep down i dont beleive them, im convinced they missed something, if anyone has any ideas to help me get my life back, would love to know, sorry for waffling on, lisa-jane xxxxxxxxxx

[Belinkabelle]

iv had ectopic beats for around 4 years now, and they have ruined my life to be blunt, i feel i cant get on and enjoy my life as i am waiting for the day my heart gives in! i know deep down this wont happen as iv had all the tests but this doesnt stop me waiting for that strange beat (that i get constantly) or running to a&e!! im scared to excersise, or even walk up the stairs to be honest, as i think i'll have a heart attack, its made me scared to go on holiday, as i need to know where the nearest hospital is (just in case lol) things seem to be worse when iv got indigestion (strange i know!) i get indigestion bad, probably due to stress and this seems to flair them up. i desperately want to be able to run around wiv my sons but im too frightened. i also get all the other classic panic symptoms which make my fear worse ie chest tightness, breathlessness, numbness in my arm etc and of course these fuel my heart attack fear, i had all the tests years ago and the only thing they came up with was benign palpitations due to anxity, which made me feel a bit better at the time, but deep down i dont beleive them, im convinced they missed something,

This could be me!

I spent this evening at A&E, convinced that this time they had to pick something up. I'd been feeling sort of weak this afternoon, like just a few steps would be too much for me. I'm only 26 and in reasonable shape so this isn't usual for me. Anyway, I had to walk home which involved a hill. I deliberately took it slow, but no more than a third of the way up my heart was racing. It wasn't the fast beat you get with exercise, more of a 'half beat' if that makes sense. I get ectopics too but this was different. I managed to convince myself I was fibrillating and was going to collapse and die - my heart just wouldn't slow down or settle into a comfortable rhythm. Then came feelings of impending doom, chest pain and breathlessness. I ended up calling my boyfriend to take me to A&E. They found nothing.

This sort of thing has happened before and I've had numerous investigations, none of which have yielded anything sinister. I still convince myself that something has been missed, that because I'm not having the 'episodes' during an ECG the doctors assume everything is fine. I struggle to sleep about half the nights of each month, lying in bed listening to my heart beat, wondering whether it's too fast, slow, faint, hard etc.

Now my chest sort of aches and I feel on edge. I'm to be referred to a cardiologist for the third time. Sometimes I can go a couple of months without ectopics or this palpable, sort of primal anxiety and then all of a sudden it's back, seemingly without warning. I'm at a loss to know how to prevent these episodes. I too avoid exercise because I associate an increased heart rate with fear. I avoid alcohol and so miss seeing my friends often because I feel I'm the odd one out. I don't smoke. I'm scared to go on holiday, to fly, to use medications in case they make my symptoms appear. I'm now even scared of local anaesthesia at the dentist because many have an ingredient which increases the heart rate. I worry about how I will cope with pregnancy or birth (I'm scared of that too) or if I am faced with really frightening life events. Perhaps worst of all, I am a mental health nurse and work with people to help decrease their anxiety. On some levels I am ashamed I can't sort myself out and feel I'm a hypocrite. Funnily enough, psychotic patients don't really scare me! I'd be more likely to get ectopics whilst writing up notes!

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat. Just reading through some of the posts on here helps me a lot.

[Basejames]

iv had ectopic beats for around 4 years now, and they have ruined my life to be blunt, i feel i cant get on and enjoy my life as i am waiting for the day my heart gives in! i know deep down this wont happen as iv had all the tests but this doesnt stop me waiting for that strange beat (that i get constantly) or running to a&e!! im scared to excersise, or even walk up the stairs to be honest, as i think i'll have a heart attack, its made me scared to go on holiday, as i need to know where the nearest hospital is (just in case lol) things seem to be worse when iv got indigestion (strange i know!) i get indigestion bad, probably due to stress and this seems to flair them up. iv been on propranolol for 4 years but to be honest i dont think they do much for me, as im fighting my own mind all the time. eating too much def makes em worse adn also been tired. i desperately want to be able to run around wiv my sons but im too frightened. i also get all the other classic panic symptoms which make my fear worse ie chest tightness, breathlessness, numbness in my arm etc and of course these fuel my heart attack fear, i had all the tests years ago and the only thing they came up with was benign palpitations due to anxity, which made me feel a bit better at the time, but deep down i dont beleive them, im convinced they missed something,

I too have exactly this and the reason im on this now is because ive just been having skrewd up heart beats for the last half an hour. I too belive this is more than just palputations the worst one i had was a short one but i had a panic attack on top of it and that caused me some serious pain in my heart and ever since it seems to be more sensitive to these iregularities. i find anxity, stress, caffine, alcholl all effect mine but not all the time it may be a case of combinations caffine and alcahol. i dont know to be ohnest as they always seem to accure at the most random times. ive even had it happen when ive got got up and go to the loo its goes odd sometimes. im not sure but i think blood presure may have something to do with it but thats a guess.