ECTOPIC HEARTBEATS

[MAZZER]

I HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH BENIGN ECTOPIC HEARTBEATS, I HAVE AN EXTRA BEAT FOR EVERY SIX NORMAL BEATS, WHICH MEANS I HAVE THOUSANDS OF EXTRA BEATS A DAY.  TO SAY THESE ARE DISTRESSING IS AND UNDERSTATEMENT.  HAD ALL THE NECESSARY TESTS, A 24HR MONITOR,STRESS TEST AND ECHOCARDIOGRAM.  HEART DOC TOLD ME EVERYTHING WAS 'NORMAL' WITH MY HEART TO TRY NOT TO WORRY AND TO GET ON WITH MY LIFE AND TRY TO IGNOR THEM, ITS SOMETIMES VERY DIFFICULT.

I AM A 52 YR OLD FEMALE, ECTOPICS STARTED 3 YRS AGO AT SAME TIME WAS HAVING PERIOD PROBLEMS SO HAD A MIRENA COIL FITTED NOT LONG AFTER STARTED INTO THE MENOPAUSE AND ALSO MOVED HOUSE.

SO QUITE ALOT GOING ON AT THAT TIME JUST WONDERED IF ANY OF THESE THINGS COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE START OF THE ECTOPICS.

WHEN ECTOPICS FIRST STARTED THEY WOULD LAST FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS THEN I WOULD HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS WITHOUT THEM, THIS WENT ON FOR THE FIRST TWO YRS BUT NOW I HAVE THEM ALL THE DAY LONG EVERY DAY.  I DONT THINK I HAVE THEM AT NIGHT THOUGH BECAUSE WHEN I WAKE DURING THE NIGHT I AM FREE OF THEM. DOES ANYONE ELSE SUFFER FROM THESE CONSTANT ECTOPICS AND IS THERE ANYTHING OTHER THAN BETA BLOCKERS THAT MIGHT HELP TO RELEIVE THEM.

[Carrie41]

Do you actually feel a skip every six beats?  I get that every couple of months and it is very distressing for me as well.  I am in constant anxiety mode wondering when the next ones will hit.  I get PVC's and PAC's and SVT.  Just curious if you actually feel it stop and feel a skip every sixth beat or is it something they just picked up on an ECG and you couldn't feel it?

[LadyNRA]

I am basically your age (51) and just started these Ectopic beats 3 weeks ago.  I get about 3-7 PVCs a minute though, just like you, they appear to either go away or simply not be noticable, when I'm in a total state of relaxation (just before sleep) or during sleep because if I wake up gently (not with an alarm) I don't notice them first thing after waking up.  I also don't notice mine much if I'm up and moving around, only when I'm stop moving or am sitting, and even then they rarely get strong (pounding) like some peoples.  Mine is typically more of a flutter. And yeah, it is annoying when I'm aware of them.  I use distraction when I can.  Doing something I enjoy, because whether they are happening or not, I'm not really aware of them at that time.  For instance, I visited friends last night and I sat there for roughly 2 hours chatting and listening to stories and didn't FEEL a single PVC flutter.

I am also on Toprol XL (200 MG) for my blood pressure which was low in the past but in the last 7 or 8 years has steadily climbed to rather high levels.  Since the ectopic beats started long after taking this dose, that probably isn't "the culprit".  I was also taking lisinopril for months for BP but, again, my BP was not coming down to normal levels, so he doubled my dose about 5 days before the PVCs showed up in such large #s.  Prior to that, I'd get a 15 sec. flutter perhaps 3 or 4 times a year, if that.  I didn't even know what it was, thought it was stomach gurgles/gas.  So this dramatic change in the # of PVCs was quite sudden. Stress test 6 years ago was fine/normal.  Echo back 3 years ago was normal, echo during my recent ER visit was normal.  

I am seeing a cardiologist who I guess will review all this stuff and my meds.  Perhaps he will change my lisinopril dose back and try something else.

[MAZZER]

Hi Carrie, thanks for your reply its good to hear from others who know how it feels.  
Yes I do actually feel my heart skip a beat every 6 beats then a thud as it starts again this is why it distresses me so.  
I forgot to mention prior to the start of these ectopics 3 yrs ago I was taking beta blockers for high blood pressure but one day whilst visiting the docs he took my pulse and was very concerned at how slow it was, so he immediately took me off the beta blockers and replaced them with 10mg Olmesartan Medoxomil which I thought could have also contributed to them starting.

Who knows thanks again for giving me your time.

[MAZZER]

Hi Lady,
thanks for your reply, hopefully you will not be plagued by these ectopics for very long, my doc said they can go as quickly as they came.

Apparently everyone has an ectopic heartbeat now and again and this is quite 'normal' but to have them as regular as we do is I think not very normal.

If you have episodes where you dont notice them, then please try not to worry about them, honestly the only reason I am distressed is because I can feel my heart skip a beat them straight away theres a thud, its this feeling that distresses me, it feels like I could just die.  This was picked up on the ECG, my doc was surprised that I noticed this, he said most people dont!!.

Its odd you should mention the medication though, because I too am having treatment for this, I sometimes wonder if my medication currently Olmesartan Medoxomil could be contributing or if in fact coming off the beta so suddenly started them. (I was taken off beta blockers suddenly 3 yrs ago same time as these ectopics started because my pulse was down to 36 beats a minute)

Good luck with your visit to the cardiologist I hope you get your meds sorted and please God the ectopcis will go.

Keep me informed. is ur name Larna. mine is marian

[LadyNRA]

Hi Marian,

I hear you.  I am having these feelings now.  Like I said, mine don't thump hard each time so much as flutter and mildly thump so it's more annoying than outright painful.  And I do notice my energy levels have dropped since these started but, thank God, no chest pain, associated with it.  Being as overweight as I am, I can't be as active as I'd like.  That's what I'm hoping this program will do for me.  Get me more active, maybe take me off the higher dose of lisinopril, and reassure me.  I am not terrified, but there is generally a low level of anxiety connected with it when I feel them a lot or when I'm planning on going for anything other than a short walk. So I am in a mildly axious state on and off for most days. I do understand that there is probably nothing wrong and that they will go away as quickly as they showed up, and I'm eagerly awaiting that day, let me tell you!!!  And yes, it does help to talk to someone in the 'same boat'.  

Lori

[dolly7]

sometimes i get them 30 or so times in a minute for a half hour at a time or longer. not very often . but it has happened.when this happenes it  makes me feel terrible.because i just wonder how a heart can even function correctly when every other beat is a extra one.
other times it is just on and off durning the day.
last month for 3 weeks i only had a couple i noticed in three whole weeks.that was a wonderful 3 weeks and was so nice!
a good diet does seem to help me.eat smaller portions and eating all healthy things. taking fish oil with omega 3's and tomato juice,grapefruit juice. ect.. just thigs that are healthy seems to make the extra beats less.
but even with a good diet still bad days will come... today for about a hour it was pretty much hell with one hitting every other beat.  I stated praying because it was frightening. after that  i got up and went outside walking they subsided. sometimes if you get moving around when the extra heart beats are coming real feequently,then the excercise seems to toss the heart back into a more regular rythm.
gosh its so hard living with these things when they go into every other beat or more than a handful a minute.
My best advice is just get checked out by your doctor real well and never underestimate the power of prayer and seeking GOd for peace. If you dont have someone to pray with find a good Christain church. sometimes the only way I can feel ok with these extra beats happening to me,is to really just trust God that he is there with me no matter how many extra beats may come my way.