hard heartbeat/skiped a beat

[stacey]

I am a 28 year old male that is worried about my heart beating hard for no reason at all. I first noticed it 4 years ago while lying on the couch watching tv. Suddenly my heart was beating not fast but really hard. It has done it off and on once a day since then. I have had lots of tests with no results. Holter, echo, ultra sound and nothing. I am under no stress in my life and have avoided caffene and smoking. Today I was stacking wood and my heart started beating fast and hard then suddenly it skipped a beat. I stopped working and it would beat 3 times and skip a beat. This happend for about 30 seconds . I thought I was going to die right there. I dialed 911 ond they came out and said everything was normal. HELP!!!

[Annya]

Hi
I can  imagine your panic..I too have suddenly started having hard beats and then missed beats..it seems like it stops foreevr and then starts again..unlike you I have not yet had all the tests..just an ECG. It is very frightening.

[Jill]

Hi Stacey,
I have been dealing with the same problem with the irregular heart beat for at least 5 years.  I have seen many different doctors and they say that everything is fine.  At one point, one doctor said that I have mitro valve prolapse.  The same doctor does not hear the click that they should hear when listening to a patients heart with mito valve.  I have been taking a beta blocker to help this condition.  They say that it will not make it go away but just mask the symptons. I wish I wouldn't have to be on this medication as they say that you cannot be on this if you want to become pregnant.  I had read a couple years ago in the local paper of a father who was trying to find help for his 6 year old daughter. She was on the max amount of beta blocker that an adult could take to help her heart palpitations.  He found that a certain combination of herbs and vitamins would help this condition.  I went to the health food store that was mentioned and was told that this combination was now selling in a product called Cardio Power.  Evidently CoQ10 and Hawthorne Berries is the key combination.  I took this product and after about 6 months my symptoms went away.  It is sort of expensive but I figure my health is worth it.  I cannot find this product just anywhere.  It is made by TwinLab and I just wanted to tell you about it.  If it helps you that would be great.  I have found that there are alot of us out there with irregular heart beats and it is very scary. Let me know it it works for you. Good luck!

[ChrisMcG]

Hard to believe it isn't dangerous, but sure enough, it isn't.  It sounds like you are really just experiencing your first "episodes" so you are really freaked by them still. I know I will never forget the first few times I had that happen.  They may increase a bit with age, but that does not mean they are any more dangerous.  Believe it or not, once you have fully reassured yourself (through resarch, etc.) that they are really totally harmless and merely unnerving and uncomfortable (mentally anyway), you will in fact get used to them (sort of).  I have the same thing, and I did get a prescription for a beta-blocker, but with good nutrition and sleep, etc. I find they sit on the shelf.  Do your research and read about all the gazillions of people dealing with the same thing and you will feel much better.  If you are like I was, I'd just never really heard of such a thing before and was terrified.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

IT sounds like you have PVCs or PACs and a normal heart. There is really no treatment required for this situation, but since you seem bothered by the symptoms, I suggest talking to your doctor about treatment with a beta-blocker.

[g]

Stacey,
If you haven't already you might like to check out this site:

http://www.med-edu.com/HyperNews/patient/get/arrhythmias/ventricular-diagnosis.html

G