Ectopic beats?

Sometimes i get this thud or noticeable skip, and this may sound odd, but these often disappear after i hold my breath for a few seconds..What happens when i do this is I'll hold my breath, excale, then i get sort of a pause in my heartbeat, then it seems to return to a normal rhythm....

1. Might this be an ecotopic beat?....On a Holter monitor i had couple years ago, a benign type of beat was recorded, think it was this..The accompanying echo study w/the Holter was normal...

2. Generally speaking, and this probably gets asked often but are the more dangerous episodes of rapid heart rates and/or palpitations accompanied by passing out, dizziness, etc?....

3. I do drink an excessive amount of soda (6-8 cans of Coke Classic a day) though my weight is good, 5"10 145 lbs. and I'm very active, non-smoker...Can caffeine from soda contribute to skipped beats, and/or rapid heart rates?....

[CCFheartMD11]

The most common symptom caused by ectopic beats are palpitations, or the sensation of your heart fluttering or skipping a beat. What you are feeling is a pretty classic description. Caffeine can certainly affect the frequency with which one experiences ectopic beats, and the first thing I usually tell my patients with these symptoms is to cut back on caffeine.

The life-threatening arrhythmias do often cause more significant symptoms, including syncope (passing out) and even sudden cardiac death. They are more common in people with structurally abnormal hearts. There are some people who tolerate some of the dangerous arrhythmias quite well, so there's no easy distinction in terms of symptoms.