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..

[Snooks]

I first began experiencing "skipped beats" in April 1994, on Easter Sunday to be exact. I ended up in the ER completed stressed out when they continued, intermittently, for more than 1/2 an hour. No chest pain or anything indicative of a heart attack. The premature/skipped beats were recorded on a EKG(?) strip, so I knew I wasn't going crazy. It was very frightening! I was 33 at the time. Since I was in a stressful job at the time, my primary physician passed it off as being stress related,...but I wasn't convinced.

Without meds the symptoms subsided, at least until the Fall of 1995. My second child was born and, again, the symptoms intensified.I began to think maybe it "was" all stress related. I, too, wore the holter monitor but, of course, nothing was "captured" during that 24 hour period. Later I wore a loop monitor for a week and several irregular episodes were captured.

My Cardiologist told me my problem was not life threatening,  and said he could put me in a room with lots of other people  
who had the same problem and still not come to a definite conclusion as to why this was happening. Very reassuring...NOT!

I have lived with this malady for six years now. My symptoms are not as intense as those described by some of you, but are none the less annoying...worrisome...and still as scary as they were the first time. More recently the skipped beats are sometimes followed by pressure in my head and then a strong beat until things get back into sync. I also sometimes feel what I'd describe as spasms(like the left side of my heart is flopping around).

I have been told the problem could be related to diet(low blood sugars, an irritable vegas nerve that runs through the stomach and heart?, and stress)As I rarely consume caffiene, that was ruled out as a cause.

This is my question: Do any of the women who have experienced these skipped beats believe that hormones play a part? I have thought that all along...but have yet to find anything conclusive that hormones can cause this problem. Have any of you explored this possible relationship with your doctor? And, if so, what was the response?

I still do not believe that what we're experiencing is "normal" or non-life threatening. Are there any good books out there on the subject. If so, or if you have a favorite informational web site, please let me know.

Thanks! And best of luck to everyone in their search for a cure...or at least in finding a definite cause for this affliction!

Snooks

[weyman]

Chris, I also have a slow heart rate. I first noticed it about 15 years ago, 24 at the time. Just recently the skips or palpatations have gotten worse, the only thing I have at night sometimes is my arms going to sleep, or becoming numb. I don't think that's the same thing you were talking about. My normal heart rate is 60, lower at night, I've been told this was normal and nothing to worry about.

[shannon]

yes i am 19 years old and i have found out in the last 3 years i have skipped beats by my classmates. I went to the docter and he gave me a EKG and everything came out normal. Recently, i have been experienceing rapid heart beats, even if i just lying down!
and i'm afraid to go to the doctor! does anyone have any suggestions? my-email is ***@****

[Andy Michael]

The Doc says that I've got atrial ectopic beats !! What an awful feeling when they are at their worst. They seem to upset my stomach and be worse after meals. Is this a common experience?

[chris]

I have been having these irregular heartbeats for many years and in the beginning was very worried about them. After having an ECG and wearing a monitor for 24hrs my doctor told me nothing was wrong. I have not worried about them for over 5 years and have had no other problems in that time, even when under stress.
During the past 6 months I have had many nights where I am woken with total loss of use of both arms, which is not nice at all.
My resting heartbeat can drop into the low 40s, I hate to think how slow it might be when I am asleep. Has anyone else suffered from loss of limb control in this way? Control returns once I am awake and sitting up.

[Terri]

Can you tell me what palpitations feel like?  I have had the occasional skipped beat feeling. I have also had a quick beating feeling that thumps irregular.  I can feel it in my chest and it beats fast and irregular. Kind of like thump....thump thump thump pause then thump.  I'm sorry if this sounds silly. It will do this  then stop then do it again.  Sometimes it will last for 30 minutes on and off.  It's frightening.  I have no pain or other symptom when this occurs.  I wore a Holter Monitor and they told me that everything was okay.  I have been under some stress lately and wonder if this could make it worse.  I would appreciate any reply.

thank,
Terri