ectopic heart beats

hello

i am a male of 32 years of age and i have been getting these ectopic heart beats for 8-9 months as well as the beats i get tingling sensations in the back of my lower rib cage, both side and musle twitching . i have had ecg's, blood tests, excercise ecg's,  ct scans and respirotory tests and they have all come back normal. Over the last few days i have been getting hundreds of these booms in my chest, this is not normal for my pattern do i have anything to worry about. As ever time i visit my GP he put it down to anxiety and tells me to relax. i do find that i nottice the beats allot more when i am sitting or relaxing. I have been told by my GP that it is ok for me to start excercising again. please help clarify for when i get these booms it fills me with dread.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

If you have a structurally normal heart, normal EKG, and no other risk factors for sudden cardiac death, premature beats are not of clinical consequence.  I know they cause symptoms but there is no good way to stop or decrease them in most cases.  You are going to have to trust your doctors on this one.  If you can't do that, consider a second opinion but understand that they will probably agree.

[3dragons]

I have experienced similar booming with my ectopic beats, feels like my heart is going to beat right through my ribcage and/or fly out of the base of my throat. I am not sure of all the other circumstances, as I am not a doc, but I have found that my dose of Toprol (a beta blocker) has helped sooth the booming a little... I still get it with the bigeminy, but not as severely. However, our other circumstances may be very different. Still, might be worth asking about...

[crystalhanzelka]

what risk factors for SCD would you be talking about....?  Or better..what are the risk factors?

[LukeL]

I am guessing the risk factors for SCD are the same for getting a heart attack. Also throw in any family members who died suddenly at a young age (by young I mean under 45-50) Other risk factors like unusally BP or heart rate response to exercise or stress would show up on a complete cardiac workup.

[jondsam]

I have had similar types of symptoms for around 3 years.  The doctors do not know what causes them, and can do little to nothing about them.  If I were you skip the cardio doctor and go straight for the Electrophysiologist