Heart skips

[radioguy]

My heart has been skipping for about 4 years now. I am 33 yr male in good health. Two years ago I had a 24 hour holter, echo, elecrto cardio, thyroid test and chest xray. According to my doc. no problems present. I was however diag. with GAD and was given Zanax for about two months. Took myself off with docs approval and started natural therapy for GAD. I seem to get heart skips (beats normal, pause, big beat, normal again) when under stress or just whenever. It usually catches me off guard and is very upsetting. To the point where I become anxious and or very depressed. I have been researching the possibility of a gastro connection though not convinced. I do suffer from occasional reflux usually from wrong foods. I am 6'2 and 235 lbs. Heart pulse resting 72 and BP is 130/82 I thought a lower weight may help. I have also begun exercising more vigorously, seems to eleviate the symptoms for short periods of time. I live in a northern Ontario Canadian community and my family doc has moved to another city. Like most other people in this community now have to resort to a walk in clinic for med help. I find this frustrating as you nget a different doc. every time. Please write back with any suggestions.

Radio Guy.

[CCF-M.D.-KE]

Dear Sir,

Sorry to hear about your symptoms.  Without specific information on the results of your holter monitor test I can only speculate on the problem. Premature atrial contractions (PAC), can result in a pause such as the one you describe. It is also possible for premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) to be contributing to what you are experiencing. If possible I would recommend seeing a cardiologist for another holter monitor test along with obtaining the results from your previous test. I think a specific rhythm problem should be identified first. There may be treatment available to decrease your symptoms, even if the problem itself has no long term effects.
Lastly, I would recommend regular exercise and weight loss may also help your symptoms.  


Thanks for your question,


CCF-MD-KE

[stevebu]

One thing is certain after following these posting for years, heart skips (pac's pvc's) are common for many people, including you.  I understand your frustration.  I have looked for patterns, tried many diffent things, but there seems to be no way to predict or supress them.  Sometimes I am sleep deprived, drinking coffee, and doing all the wrong things, but I only get 1 or 2 in a day.  I then go through periods when I try to eat really healthy, get enough sleep, but I get hundreds a day for weeks on end.  It is worse than predicting the weather.  

I stopped my exercise program because I got tired of the several hours afterwards when they were out of control.  I had all the tests a couple years ago, and I was told everything was normal.  Well, something is a little off because I don't think these miss fires are how the heart is suppose to work.  Do I keep going back for more tests?  I don't think so.  I have just decided to accept them, and if I drop dead then I guess the pvc's and pac's will no longer be a problem.

What I am saying is if you have all the tests, and nothing bad is found, then what else can you do?  It also seems like the how many is too many, and when you treat them, changes from year to year and doctor to doctor.  The only thing that remains unchanged is that they are a mystery and millions of people have them.  Good luck.

[Squims]

Could anybody clear up a question I have on this same subject.  Is there a difference between PVC's/PAC's and heart skips caused by anxiety?  I've read previous postings by people such as Arthur that refer to Foci and a build up of heart tissue that indicate that premature beats are somewhat unavoidable.  Anxiety on the other hand would be a physical reaction to adrenaline, so would I be right in assuming that this is a different mechanism?

[heartbeat]

Radioguy, I know how you feel about these skips, they can scare you.  Maybe it makes you feel better if I tell you I have them as long as I can remember, and I'm a 73 year old female.  Sometimes I go for days without any skips, other days I get a whole bunch of them.  I was checked out by a cardiologist, had all kinds of tests, my heart is okay.  Was told not to worry about them.  And here I am, doing lots of walking and biking and just ignore them.  Ever since I had all these tests I do not get scared anymore, feel it is just a symptom I have to put up with, like my bad back etc.  I also get short episodes of a racing heartbeat, now these episodes do worry me a little, but was also told they are benign.

[josemanuelcruz]

Dear friends,
First, try to give a answer to Squims. The difference between PVC and PAC is that, although both are permature contractions not originated by the sinus mode (were the electric impulse for the contractions should be normaly originated), PAC's have origin in the atrias and PVC has origin in the ventriloques. For what I have read, and as I also have experienced, PAC/PVC are more frequent (or we notice them more) when we are anxious, so, yes, anxiety plays a big role on it.
Now, since I'm also new in having frequent PVC, here is some question to the more experienced (unfortunately) people in this forum. Is it normal to a person that as none or very sporadical PVC a day (less than 5 PVC/day) can start one day to have about 500-600 PVC/day for a period of days or weeks. This is happening to me since 3 days ago. Had a Holter a month ago that was normal (only 2 PVC) and a stress test 2 weeks ago also normal (only 1 PVC in the begining of recovery period). Also, very detailed blood and urine analyses ok. 2 years ago had a normal echocardiogram and Dr. didn't ask for another now.

[josemanuelcruz]

Just to add to my post. I think that skipped beats are always PVC or PAC and the role of anxiety is that it can trigger the skipped beats or worst their occurence if they are already present.

[BGA]

Radioguy, I am sorry to hear about your concerns. I just wanted to mention this to you because you said you have GAD. I'm sure your Dr. has covered this but you never know and any little bit of info might help. About 8 months ago I was diagnozed with Hyperthyroidism (overactive). I was getting what I though were heart palps about 4 times a day. Sometimes they were so bad I was convinced I was about to have a heart attack. I was told it was because of an increased heart rate due to my my thyroid condition. I was put on 50 mg of atenolol and for a while I felt better. After some months they had continued to the point where I was getting quite scared that I had a heart condition. I had 4 (yes 4)! EKG's an Echo and 3 different Dr.s listened to my heart and lungs. All tests came back normal. My problems continued and my family Dr. sent me to an internal medicine specialist who did a Gastroscopy as he discovered that a lot of my complaints were of a gastrointestinal nature rather than a heart one. The test came back showing that I had H-Pylori bacteria in my stomach and that was what was causing all of my problems. The increased acid in my stomach was causing heartburn and reflux and what I thought were heart palps turned out to be esopheogal spasms.
I just wanted to let you know as I know how scary this can feel. I was told the spasms can feel very similar to heart palps and that is often why people are misdiagnozed. Good luck with everything.

[The Ole Timer]

Arythmia ia a troublesome problem, that many people have and it is reasuring to hear from others with this problem and the comments given by others as to how they deal with it. I have a very long post that I could make, explaning my own personal problem with it, including the actual stopage and restart of my heart beat, due to arythmia and just how it all started.

Just where does one post this kind of info and or ask questions related to arythmia ?

[Mel22]

My cardiologist explained to me that what felt like a skipped beat was actually the result of a premature beat and the pause that followed was either the chamber filling up or something along those lines--point being that there really is no absent beat but a premature beat that causes the sensation. I liked this explanation better than thinking that my heart was for some reason failing to beat!

I used to really freak about PVC's but when I had all the tests including a stress-echo and was told that things were fine (even with some trace MR and TR and even some PI), I had a choice either to accept those findings or continue through life in a state of constant agitation--no fun by itself but especially bad for someone experiencing PVC's as anxiety only exacerbates the condition.

So now when I experience a PVC (not nearly as frequently anymore which I am sure is due to decreased anxiety) I just decide to ignore them. Sometimes, if the PVC is a particularly forceful beat or if I have more than one in a row (like 3 with a few normal beats in between) I have to consciously decide to forget about it. But I do it; I make that decision. Then before you know it, I really have forgotten about it and I'm fine. In the past, I would begin to worry, sometimes for the whole day, maybe experiencing a few more and really freaking out--taking my pulse and blood pressure, etc. Just a vicious cycle.

Everynow and then I come to the board for reassurance. I admit it. It's a hard thing to completely let go of. But if you can get yourself mentally in a good place about these things, you can really effect the quality of you life.

Good luck, everybody and thanks!

[Mel22]

I didn't mean to imply that you should not get a second opinion. I've had several cardiologists (due to health insurance changes) and they all concur. I would always recommend a second opinion or even a third, but I wouldn't spend my life's energy looking for something to be really wrong with me.

[josemanuelcruz]

Dear friends,
Everyone tell's that PVC, PAC

[faleen]

i have been having pvcs for about 10 years and the drs all say they are no biggie. the thing i am concerned with is that the other night i was feeling the pvc flutter and i checked my pulse and noticed there was no pause. it was like instead of flub dub it sounded like flub dub dub. i have a stethescope so i listened. i never get any other symptoms and its always when im at rest or eating. anyone else ever notice this?

[Ianna]

Hi,

Make your post right here.
Let us hear about your heart stopping and restarting.
Sounds serieus.
What was it?
-
Goodbey   -   ***Ianna***

[Mel22]

Sorry, can't help you there. I don't get the flutter. I hear alot of people talk about it, though.

[Mel22]

josemanuelcruz,

Hi Mr. Cruz,

What is the secret to getting you questioned posted? I notice you have several questions posted. I never am able to ask a question (always full). Thank goodness you and others like you have similar concerns as myself.
Anyway, I was just curious.

Take care!

[josemanuelcruz]

I live in Portugal and we have GMT (the same as London, GB). Usually I try to post at 2 PM to get space.

[heartbeat]

I think the "flub dub dub" you felt could be "Atrial fibrillation", an irregular heartbeat.  If it lasted only a very short period (minutes) I would not worry about it.

[amela]

I am slowly recovering from bulimia.  I notice that my heart skips a beat every so often.  It feels like a flutter and when I feel my pulse, I can actually feel it pause and start again. It makes me nervous.  I mentioned my bulimia because I read about electolytes, and how a lack of them can result in serious heart problems.  I am terrified because I did this to myself.  I am wondering if I can actually fix this by taking supplements or if it will be ok as I am beginning to eat better and retaining a normal diet again?  Is it too late?  Please let me know.

[mxg3]

Radioguy,

My symptoms are very similar to yours.  I also get the heart skip where I feel a pause and then an big beat and then normal again.  I also have been under quite a bit of stress.  I had terrible problem with heartburn and my doctor prescribed nexium.  It has really worked great.

I had all of the various tests performed.  My holter monitor showed 911 extra atrial beats within a 24-hour period.  I also went to a cardiologist at a top hospital in Chicago and he told me that there is nothing I can do except take a beta blocker (Toprol).  I have decided not to take it because, it only affects the symptom and not the cause.  

Doctor said that in extreme cases, they could locate the renegade cells that are causing the extra beats and stop them from doing so.  I told him that I would rather live with this than go through such a procedure that has many side effects and risks.

The one thing that I want to add to this discussion is that while I have felt this condition most of my life to a very minimal extent, my problems started last year when I had one of the most stressful days of my life.  From that day on, the fluttering has not stopped.  While I have periods where it does not happen for week or two at a time, I experience it almost every day.  

Do other people have the same experience?  It seems like doctors discount the anxiety part of the equation.

Also, I notice that if I do not eat right, the condition is more prevalent..e.g. if I skip lunch.  Also, caffeine makes the condition worse so I have stopped drinking coffee.

Finally, the condition is worse at night -- especially when I go to bed.

Mike

[joe_q]

<a href="http://www.ltcadvocate.org" target="_blank">.</a>

[joe_q]

<a href="http://www.ltcadvocate.org" target="_blank">.</a>

[Namva]

Four years ago I had a particularly bad bout of PAC/PVCs and went to my Cardiologist. After the usual tests he informed me that they were nothing to worry about. My home and company doctors said the same. Becoming less anxious the frequency decreased. I still got them but just ignored them.  Recently I have experienced a significant increase and started to become anxious again. I'm quite sure that indeed anxiety is a contributing factor to increases in frequency. However, I have also discovered something else and I'm interested to know if anyone else has made the same connection.  Spending a great deal of time in front of a PC both at work and at home I believe that I have developed a kind of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) which affects my upper torso front and back.  I have noticed that my body posture, especially when seated, can significantly increase the number of PAC/PVCs I get. This is also noticeable when seated at meal times or when driving the car (i.e. shoulders haunched, arms stretched out). Has anyone else experienced the same?

[Gnatty]

This site has saved my sanity!! I am a 49 year old Australian woman. I first started noticing extreme thumping in my heart when I was planning my daughter's 21st, about 6 months ago. In the past, I had had occasionally moments of palpitations, but nothing more than a few minutes here and there when I was under stress. However, like mxg3 said, the internal tapdance started at that point and has never let up since, not for a day. I have done all the stuff you folk have done - been to the doctor, had a stress test, worn a holter monitor which did pick up the ectopic beats. And, like all your doctors, mine said that I was healthy and that there was nothing to worry about. Easy to say. As well as the fandango rhythm, I also get a sort of fluttering sensation in my throat. I am not so much worried about heart attacks as just being irritated by the sensation. Sometimes I even get to thumping my chest area just to see if I can make it stop for a while. I find it particularly evident when I'm driving.

Yes, I am a perfcetionistic person and I do get anxious - but no more than at other times in my life. And I have long periods when everything is fine and I'm not anxious, but the thumping continues. I too went on a course of Beta-blockers, which minimised it somewhat, but I could still feel them. I didn't like the tiredness that went with it. I am fit and not overweight and I do not smoke, drink very little and have only moderate caffein intake. I also do not eat meat - only fish, dairy produce & vegetables.

I am particularly interested in the comment made by someone (sorry, can't remember who) that it may be connected to gastrointestinal problems. I sometimes suspect that my stomach is not too comfortable. I'll follow up on that. Thanks so much for just showing me that I'm not alone. It drives me crazy at times.

[jmcruz]

Dear friends,
In some positions working in the computer I also trend to have more PVC's. As well, when I have more PVC's I also trend to feel a gas sensation, over my upper gastrointestinal parts, coming up. I don't know if it's the nervous that PVC origin or there is a gastro reflux that induct the PVC. I suspect of the both and this leeds to the subject anxxiety. I also feel much more PVC when I'm anxious.