I am having skipped and irregular beats

[shannonm75]

Had them for years. At last today I had an echo stress test and all looks good. I had get my heart beating as fast as possible and the echo done before and after.

I wore a Holter monitor home tonight. I had that done in March by a GP who passed it off as super ventricular premature beats but as bad as I feel when they are at their worst, I am mentally distressed. Sometimes the doctors like to pass it off as my anxiety but I believe deep down that it is also organic in nature some how. My specialists talks like it's arrhythmias. I don't imagine they will kill me. They started out very slowly when I was 10 years old and it was always passed off as anxiety, etc.

Since I reached my 30s they are worse. Sometimes my heart feels squeezed, pulled, it jumps, jerks, jolts. The strong ones leave me weak for a few seconds. Every few years I have some beats that make my eyes go black like blindness. I told the doc this.

Blood supply cut off? I heard one man say he went temporarily blind because he had a hole in his heart but I don't think that is my problem.

Does anyone else have these "arrhythmias" yet there is no obvious signs of physical problems from your tests?

I am hoping the doc can put me on a med to regulate the rhythm even if this is all benign since it bothers me so much.

I'd rather not have any kind of invasive tests and hope it does not come to that. I have wanted answers for so long.

It's such a mystery to me. What's important to me is some relief.


This discussion is related to Mitral valve prolapse and palpitations.

[Jerry_NJ]

You didn't mention "ablation" and it seems to me that my be the best path to a cure for you.  At your young age it seems best to do something to accomplish a cure rather than just symptomatic relief.

You may benefit form working with a Cardiologist who specializes in arrhythmia - and ElectroPhysiologist (EP).  

Have you ever had an echocardiogram?  That is a test that will tell a lot about the physical health of your heart.  Many people have rhythm problems (electrical) with an otherwise healthy heart.

[shannonm75]

I'm pretty sure that echo and stress tests was a part of the echocardiogram. It's like a sonogram of the heart-that was done.

Ablation is the lst thing I want to think about because as I said by "invasive" I'd rather not go that route.

[shannonm75]

I meant the last thing not the 1st. My mother has similar problems and she has never had an ablation. She does have to take heart meds. I am afraid it might make things worse anyway and that would just knock me for a loop.

[Jerry_NJ]

I do "that" all the time, there are at least two typos in the post I made in response to your post.. :>(

I understand a reluctance to undergo surgery, however it is done.  There are always risks, but I think well under 1% if the ablation is in the right side of the heart, where I think your problem is.

I've discussed doing an ablation to cure my atrial fibrillation, and both my cardiologist and the consulting EP said: no.  They say my symptoms are too mild to run the risk.  AFib requires entry into the left atrium, the most difficult place to get to by catheter, so I think it has risks in the 3%+ range.  

Unlike you, my symptoms do not bother me much, still I am working a couple paths to get back into sinus rhythm, but ablation it seems will not be among them.  I am twice your age, so I am among the luck.  I did not have any known heart rhythm problems until I was in my 50s, albeit I may have had a leaky mitral valve long before that.

Has your doctor talked about any medications?  Some get relief from low dose beta blockers, I think that is about as mild as on can go on medications.  The medication get more syptomatic (side effects) and risky as one works up the scale of strength/risk.  Propafenon and Rhythmol are the two strongest I've been on... not using either now.  Again, I am in AFib, not the same problem you have, but some of the same drugs are used in most cases.

[shannonm75]

I got a call today referring me to an EP so I go next Thursday. I will see what my options are and hope they are not invasive. I don't even like the sound of some of the non-invasive tests-something about a pacemaker and inducing  the arrythmias or something. I am scared-I am afraid I am going to have to walk out of the office and say I can't handle this. But I want a chance at non-invasive tests that I can agree upon if it comes to that.

[Pamz]

My son had an ep study prior to having his icd implanted.  The dr completely controlled his heart trying to induce a bad rythm so they could determine where the arrythmia came from and if they found it, determine if they could ablate it.  They didn't find it and put in the icd instead.  He said the ep study wasn't bad, just strange feeling your heart rev up & slow back down.  He also had no issues with the icd, it's a really small incision and is just a small bump in his chest.  It healed very quickly and now he's safe from sudden death.  I don't know if an icd would help skipped or irregular beats but I think, if they'd tell me it'd help, then I'd consider it if it was me.

[shannonm75]

What's an icd?