I had my very first ectopic heartbeat when I was (28 years old), since then, I've been on beta-blockers (2.5mg) ever since which have helped somewhat but on a few occasions, I had to sleep on my knees just to reduce the amount of skips I was getting in order to get some sleep. I found keeping fit, (going for fast walks/bike riding etc) has helped greatly to reduce the ectopics I get but being at home, raising a baby tends to keep a parent very busy. I've started getting back into 'bike riding', now that my son is in school, I was doing great too until one day, I felt my heart suddenly stop while sitting at my computer, I was unable to feel a pulse for around (15 seconds) although my heart was squeezing blood around my body which apparently prevented me from passing out, my heart wasn't actually beating at the same time, as you can imagine, it freaked me out. Doctors told me this wasn't life threatening but if I felt unwell with this type of 'heartbeat disturbance', then I should go to A&E, otherwise, don't worry about them. This was a one off episode so far and thankfully, I've had no more of those since. Not sure what caused this 'massive disturbance' but I do believe, if I have another one, the best thing to do is to stay calm, take a seat and wait for it to pass. My advice: Try coughing or straining if this happens to you too, this could help get the heart pumping sooner, if it persists (more than one lengthy disturbance back to back, including the feeling that your heart is constantly firing off like a machine gun) then seek medical advice but doctors don't seem to be concerned about those, so you should do the same unless you feel unwell with them.
Just recently, I was given a new brand of drug, it was still a beta-blocker, just made by another company, anyway, (4 days later/4th tablet), I started getting really bad ectopics when walking down the street or even walking to the toilet, they were so bad, I didn't even want to stand up anymore as the skipping was terrible and there also seemed to be a pattern to them which was new to me and really 'freaked me out', it was like having a totally new heartbeat until it calmed down when sitting. I decided to stop taking the new drug since it was the only thing that had recently changed in my life and went to the hospital for tests, all my bloods came back clear/normal and the skipping was a mystery to doctors treating me. After I was patted on the back and sent home, being told it wasn't a 'life threatening condition', I was told to seek further help from my own doctor, of course I wasn't happy about this as I had to walk like a snail to and from the hospital, only to be told to go home after a few hours. I stopped taking in (caffeine, sugar and alcohol) days before I went to the hospital and the day after my hospital visit, the skipping suddenly stopped and my life has returned back to normal, with my 'one or two minor skips' a day. My advice: I was told something interesting by my local pharmacist that "beta-blockers have different ingredients in them, some people could be allergic to certain ingredients that make up a tablet which can flare up a person's condition" so if you're reading this and you've been given new drugs and are now going through a terrible nightmare since taking them, please see someone, I did and since going back on my previous drugs, my heart has calmed back down to normal. I've been through so much and have come out the other side of it, no longer living in fear. Don't let heart disturbances stop you from living, doctors don't seem to be concerned about skipping hearts in general, you should do the same unless your heart won't settle down or you feel unwell during your disturbances.
Good luck to you.
Skippyhearty.
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