Skipped heartbeats with urge to cough

[80k50k]

Hi

I was diagnosed with SVT in 2005 when I had to go to hospital with bad palpitations that lasted more than 2 hrs. My heart must have been well over 200 bpm while having it. I could hardly walk to the car I was so out of breath and thought I could die any minute. I have been put on Isoptin 40mg (3 times a day) but was told that I could still have PSVT. Since then I had an episode once that lasted 30 mins in 2006 then another one that lasted only a few mins in March this year.

But what has bothered me the most is that I am having skipped heartbearts everyday for more than a month now. (Had them in 2000, but it wasn’t as frequent) What happens is I could be sitting or laying or anything, I will feel my heart stop then the next beat is really strong against my chest. Sometimes I have some in a row and then it makes me cough as if I'm losing my breath and choking.

I have also noticed that it happens when I have been at rest (for eg sitting at my desk at work) and I start to walk. I will get them in rows and they can last for nearly one hour or more. I feel pressure against my chest and I cough a lot when I’m having loads of skipped heartbeats.

I am overweight and I have diabetes (tests show mostly under control). Can it be related? The SVT was since I was a child when episodes only lasted a few seconds or minutes. I never went to doctor for it until I was 29. I'm nearly 33 now. I have also suffered from panic attacks since 1998 but not on a regular basis, just a few random episodes whether I'm stressed or not..

I saw a cardiologist some years ago, he did ekg and echocardiogram, he said everything was normal.I wasnt having the skipped heartbeats or svt when he did it.

Should I be worried about the skipped heartbeats? they are very disturbing. especially when I am at work and I have to be around people and I start to cough etc

Thanks for any reply...

[80k50k]

Thanks to you all. I really appreciated you taking the time to respond to me. It sure helps.

I am female for those wondering.
I have never worn a Holter or loop monitor. I have never heard of anyone having one here where I live. Just had ecg when I was at the hospital or at private cardiologist.

So it is normal to have the urge to cough then. It does disturb me a lot, especially when I am at work and in the middle of a conversation. I wish there was a trick or something to stop it. I know for SVT, there are a few that can help sometimes.
Since we are on this topic, I was wondering.. What happens if say you are on a long flight +10hrs and you have SVT and you can't stop it... Can it be fatal?

Once again I wanna thank you all for your time and kind words. I don't feel alone... and  It reassures me to know that most of the time, they are benign.

[sueinns]

I don't know whether skipped beats are related to your being overweight or having diabetes but I do know that there doesn't seem to be any "typical" person who gets stuck with the little devils.  I am athletic, slim and very healthy except for this darn electrical problem.  

I don't get the coughing but definitely some pressure in my throat, like there is an air bubble there.  Occasionally it works it's way up from my diaphragm and I will sometimes belch.  I don't have GERD so not sure what the relationship is but it's a fairly common symptom.

Have you ever had a Holter or loop monitor?  This will diagnose the skipped beats and is probably something your doctor should prescribe. In structurally normal hearts, PVC's, PAC's and SVT are benign but you need to get the tests necessary to rule out any heart disease.

[madjlp]

For what its worth, when I was at the Dr. I had PACs - we watched them on the echo monitor - and since then I've been able to differentiate them from other chest thumps because the PACs made make me catch my breath - so a cough isn't too far off, same general motor functions.  Whereas, when I have PVCs they feel more like a thump, kick or uncomfortable dropping sensation which occasionally bring a quick feeling of lightheadedness (but don't make me catch my breath.cough etc).  So maybe you can take a little solace in the idea that its related to the same irritable focus as the SVT you had documented previously.  Having said that, any significant change in your rhythm
(take heart in the fact that single skips in isolation or in bunches are pretty common and are generally benign) is worth getting checked out by your doc - just a check up to make sure things still look the same - most likely it'll all be normal and you'll get some piece of mind.  Lastly, I can tell you that my weight (I am a good 40+ pounds overweight) is a factor in how symptomatic my PVCs PACs are - obviously extra weight puts extra pressure on the heart and all your systems really and given your diabetes you've got that risk factor rolled in there too.  Basically all of us who've got the extra weight would benefit from slimming down a little bit - no downside to it thats for sure.  Best of luck.

[yorkshireterrier]

I sometimes feel as if I am about to snore when I am wide awake.  It just happens the once and then disappears again.  It might happen a few times in one day or it might happen once in a week.  No reason for it and Idont know what it is.  I too am having skipped beats.  I dont know if you are male or female but mine seems to be hormonally driven also.

Best of luck

[ireneo]

I've read somewhere about a cannon A wave that follows a PVC and it will cause a surge of pressure in the chest and throat area. It's harmless but feels odd. If you get a few PVC's close together, it will feel like someone's pressing on your throat and you want to cough. I get that quite often. Best of all, when I do cough, the PVC run usually stops and I feel better.