skipped heart beats

I am 46years old female for past month i have been having what i would describe as missed heart beats have been to doc had loads of blood tests all normal ECG normal(extra heart beat) Blood pressure normal heart rate sits at 66______76 at rest raises when excercising no chest pain or breathlessness but when i feel what is like a skipped heart beat i get scared and anxious. I sometimes don't feel them unless i feel my pulse is this normal i never feel them when i am on the go. Please reply

[dolphin8808]

Yes this is very normal. Once we realize we have extra beats, we tend to be totally intune with our bodies. I feel every extra beat and for the longest time (still sometimes now) they make me anxious and scared. Even though my cardio has repeatedly told me to stop worrying so much about them. Easy for them to say! But I have been able to accept them. Think of it like this, I would rather have an extra beat then a missed beat! lol. :) The anxiety is very natural, it's just a matter of acceptance which can be very hard to do.

[yogacat]

Do you have a heart monitor with an irregular heartbeat detector on it?  I think anxiety makes the heart work harder cuz of the flood of chemicals....but for me, I would have the monitor just to see if there is an irreglar heart beat..I think those monitors are essential for those of us with low pulse and no symptoms.  This is how I found my afib.  With a regular monitor, it shows as error, cuz the beat can't be detected if it is in afib.  I don't know about the other arythemeas. just the afib.  Best of Blessing Today, Carol

[jpek]

what you describe is very common.  Skipped beats can cause stress and anxiety, which can cause skipped beats.  An evil little circle.  Read up on the vagas nerve.  It can definitely affect the heart rythme.  After reading up on palps, it would seem that they are very common in our age group.  I use relaxation techniques to reduce the frequency of palps.  I have definitely noticed a reduction.  Take notes on what triggers the palps.  ie  food intake, laying down after eating, tension in the throat, stress, etc.  Once you understand the triggers, you may be more able to avoid the palps or evern diagnos a problem.  In my case, I had stomach issue that were later diagnosed as a hiatal hernia.  I will not get into that, but suffice to say that the stomach can affect the vagas nerve, which in turn influences the hear rythme.  Good luck, and feel free to contact people on this site for answers.  I have learned alot from the good people on this site.  jpek

[merileegal]

The feeling of having your heart feel like it's skipping a beat is very alarming when it first starts to happen. Mine started flip flopping around in my chest when I was in my early 20s and later I started having SVT attacks but that also is another story. Like the others have said, they really are quite common. Most people don't feel them at all. The older you get, the more likely they are to happen. I was able to get a diagnosis on my arrythmia, PACs. The heart has many electrical cells in the upper and lower part of the heart. The main source for the electrical charge is in the SA node but occasionally one of the other cells that have electrical charges fires off before the SA node and so mine feels like two quick beats with what feels like a pause. I'm still trying to understand it.  I found arrythmia sounds on Youtube with a description. The more research you do, the better off you'll feel about things.

jpek is right in that it is a good idea to try and find triggers. The heart seems to be sensitive to certain things that irritate (???) electrical cells in the heart. One of the biggest trigger is adrenaline which may be caused by anxiety, stress, eating too much, going too long without eating, certain drugs, caffeine, msg, and for me fish oil. Even when you think you figure it all out, you still have some. For me, I'm just going to trust my ep who says not to worry about them. I've had them for almost 40 years and I'm still alive and kicking.

[joy1815]

Hi  thanks for your reply it is so good to hear from someone who knows what skipped heart beats is like. Your reply was a great help to me although the doctors tell you everything is fine you need reassurance from someone who has had same symptoms. The more you think about them the more stressed you get the more it happens . After reading your reply i have tried not to focus to much on them hardest time is bed time, but havn't felt any for the past 2 weeks so once again i very much appreciate your help thanks.

[joy1815]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my question on skipped heart beats. It is good to hear from people who have the same problem as it can be pretty scary once again thanks as reading all your replies has helped me a lot                                                        THANKS