Skipped or Pause in Heartbeats

[Willard]

I have had numerous bouts recently with atrial Fib And have been in to see my physician. My physical went very well but he did detect a slight murmur and said I have a breathing arythmia. Meaning when I breathe my heart rate slow and speeds up! I have had an appointment with a cardiologist and he listened to me and thought it was a benign sort of thing! I am having a holter monitor put on tomorrow for 24 hrs. and thursday I'll have an echocardiogram done. My symptoms are sometimes a fast heart rate for me 90-100bpm..maybe 110. I experience missed beats or a pause in beats..right as I write this I'm getting 2-3 pauses per minute or so. I get tingling sensations in my arms and upper chest area. The feeling is scary as it happens alot at bedtime feeling a little like tightness or a muscle tightening in my left shoulder in the front. I have been able to put up with these episodes but they really bother me and sleeping is almost impossible.Can sleep deprivation make these worse? I have stopped all caffiene and alcohol...but still continue to have these almost daily..maybe more than once daily. What do you think I should do if all the tests come out negative? Should I proceed with more tests? Thanks for any input you can give me..

[judith]

I cannot tell all of you how much I have been helped by the answers on the forum.   I have realized that I am not alone.  I would like to tell all those with palpitations that frighten them that my mother has had them for 45 years and is 84 years of age.  She is still going strong.  I figure that, if she can do it, so can I.  

Good luck to all of you that may read this message and be assured I'll be praying for all of us!

By the way, Arthur Bloom, I would not wish these problems on anyone, but I certainly hope you have no need for these forums someday and someone answers as smart alecky as you have

[Peter]

I have never answered one of these before but I feel moved by all the people who fear skipped beats. I have researched this for myself for years because I too suffer from them from time to time. Whenever I look up this subject on the internet, I find many, many people suffering from the fear of skipped beats. I have also been to the cardiologist for mine.

Here are some things I know:
1. everyone says that skipped beats are harmless except if you have advanced heart disease.
2. If you put a holter monitor on everyone, about 60% of the people would have some in a 24 hour period.
3. There is a syndrome associated with mitral valve prolapse. People with this condition, (which is not a disease, but a condition) tend to suffer from skipped beats, panic attacks and other things.
4. I get them when I have not gotten enough sleep, too much stress, depression and anything that causes an adrenaline rush.
5. My doctor put me on atenolol which I take when I feel like I am going to have a bout of skipped beats. Since skipped beats are not harmful, I only take atenolol to decrease my anxiety. It comforts me to carry them in my wallet. At least for me, I have come to realize that skipped beats are not a heart condition but a hormone condition. I can feel when I am going to get them. Atenolol works by blocking adrenaline receptors.
6. For some reason, there is a connection between upset or painful stomachs and skipped beats. Over the years, I have seen other people report this on the internet just to have this idea shot down by an expert. However, me and many other people have experienced this.
7. The problem is not the skipped beats, its the anxiety. Over time, I have learned to not let them worry me.
8. My cardiologist says that skipped beats will not hurt your heart or cause it to stop beating. You see, PVC's and PAC's actually add extra beats. The skipped beat is caused by the heart trying to catch up. He also said that your heart could have continuous PVC's or PAC's without any breaks for quite awhile (more than half an hour) and all that would happen is your heart would get tired.

[From: Evelyn To: Sherri]

I too suffer from skipped heart beats.  Now that I have been reading what it really is, I feel MUCH BETTER!!!!  I actually thought that Ectopics heart beats were harmful, thank god their not.  Now I can stop stressing over it.  All of you do the same.  The more you stress, the more you aggrevate your heart and have all of these wierd symptoms.

EB

[Scott]

I too am suffering these ectopic heartbeats. I started getting them at age 35. I noticed that they definately occur more frequently when I am under more stress than usual. The deep breath method works fairly well for most of them, but they sure do scare the heck out of me. I am going to see the doctor to fine out if there are any meds that can control this. Does anyone know if high blood pressure could be causing this?
thanks.

[Michelle Hamilton]

      My mother suffers from skipped heart beats, but it seems to cause leg cramps at night, when her heart slow down to about 30 beats a minute.  She was diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrome, but it seems like her muscles are being deprived of oxygen because of such a low heart rate.  The doctors will not consider checking out her heart, and have called it a heart murmur, which I believe is something different.  Does anyone out there have something similar to this?

[Mike]

My heart usually skips a beat once or twice during a 10-second pulse count after an 8-mile jog (about 123-128 bpm) and skips a beat once or twice a minute while at rest (about 52 bpm). I'm 75, have been in this routine 3 times a week for 35-40 years, and find the skipping is less if I take it easy, more if I strain. I shouldn't press, right?