Skipped Heartbeats

  My question is what exactly causes a skipped heartbeat.  I get them only when I'm extremely anxious or nervous.  An example would be that over the weekend my sister's baby died.  Everytime I talk about this my heartbeat seems to skip beats.  Also, every time I have to get up in public and speak, it skips beats.  Just wondering.....

[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

Dear Curious, thank you for your question.  You are probably having premature atrial or ventricular beats that are usually entirely benign.  During periods of anxiety or stress, these premature beats increase in frequency and severity.  Other common precipitants of premature beats are alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.  After a premature beat, the heart rhythm is reset and a pause ensues.  This pause makes you perceive that you are having skipped beats when in reality, you are not.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.  Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.