Arrhythmia newbie

[Pietron]

Hi guys, let me start by saying that finding this website is a relief in itself!
I have had short bouts of 'palpitations' all my life really, but usually only for a few seconds, mainly in bed at night and a deep breath or slight change in position is enough to send them packing. Howerever, the other evening as I sat quietly reading, my heart started missing beats. I calmly waited for it to pass but it didn't. My heart continued to skip beats for the rest of the evening, ceasing only when I went to bed (and tried unsuccessfully to sleep). When I got to work the following day, it all started again, now it seems like the arrhythmia is the norm, with only maybe half an hour here and there when my heart beats normally. I have sat with my finger on my pulse and my heart seems to do maybe 4 beats, then miss a beat, 4 more beats, then miss a beat, maybe 6 beats then another missed beat, at it's worst, my heart will not beat more than 10 times without this 'missed beat' for hours at a time. I have a family history of strokes on my dads side and heart attacks on my mothers side, not very reassuring.
There seem to be no other symptoms with this, I drink/smoke only once a week (I know, this is still too much) I am a little overweight and have been for half my life, but I cycle to and from work every day and rarely get  breathless. How much should I be freaking out? I'm off to see my Doctor on Christmas eve.....

Anyway, thanks for listening, well, reading, sorry it's nothing new, have a great Christmas or Christmas break. xx

[Pietron]

Thanks for the reply.
I have no other symptoms at all and can carry on my normal daily activities with no problems. I have had palpitations all day today and cycled home with them with no problem. I have been reading other people's stories on here and oddly enough I seem to be able to identify with the people who have these episodes along with digestive problems. I have had really bad stomach gas lately, along with acid reflux. After I ate my meal tonight the palpitations went away, only returning about 90 minutes later, 90 minutes with no fluttering heart! It felt great! Then after they returned, I found that if I sat up straight and expanded my rib cage, the palps stopped, and returned immediately when I 'deflated' my rib cage. Very strange.

[yarrow]

Ectopic beats or palpitations are very, very common, which is to say that everyone--everyone--has them.  However, not everyone perceives them.  People who are more in tune, for better or worse, with the little twitches and noises our body makes are more likely to feel the odd beats.  Just google 'pvcs' and take a look at what comes up.

That's not to say absolutely that what you're experiencing is perfectly OK.  You always need a doctor for that, so keep your appointment on Christmas Eve.  This is particularly important since you seem to have a strong family history of cardiovascular problems.

But in the meantime, take a note of how you feel and function when you're having your funny heartbeats.  Can you do your your normal daily activities like walking, dressing yourself, going up and down stairs, even breaking into a run now and then?  If you can do these things without having fainting, terrible shortness of breath, breaking into the worst, most drenching cold sweat you can imagine, or crushing heart pain, the chances are that what you are experiencing is not dangerous.

Oh, and keep your fingers off your pulse.  That's a nervous twitch that won't give you much useful info, unless you do have some of the more dangerous symptoms I listed above.  Your doc will be able to interpret what's going on, whereas unless you've had significant training in cardiology, there's no point in monitoring your pulse.