Skipped Heartbeats

[roland]

Doctor, A few months ago while checking my pulse, I first noticed my heart skipping beats. This now happens regularly throughout the day. I never had this problem before. Are these also referred to as PVC's? What caused this to happen? Will these skipped beats go away? I started taking Zestril for high blood pressure right before these skipped beats started to occur. Did the Zestril do this to me? Could a blockage cause these skipped beats? Thank You....for your time.

[sheryl1945]

One thing I neglected to tell...a stress test showed that I have two 60% blockages; not enough to do anything about at this time, and my cholesterol is now normal due to Lipitor, so hopefully there will be no more clogging!  However, when I bend over, as I've said, I get the arrythmia; could the blockages be causing that?  I get no symptoms, and the arrhthmia occurs ONLY when I inhale; when I exhale, even though I'm still bending over, the hearbeat goes back to normal.  I am SO scared; please be careful how you answer me; I have terrible panic attacks.  I only hope it's a NON-life-threatening arrythmia!

[Ianna]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your (lenghty) post!!
It was VERY, VERY helpful.
And so true!
Feels like mine, (pvc's and palps) have to do with the stomach and esophagus too. And the diaphragm quivering. Or is it the stomach vibrating? It feels like it is the heart vibrating but nothing could be seen in tests regarding this: my heart is structual normal.
And ooohh that vagus-nerve....isn't he something!!
I'm going to follow your advice a couple of weeks and see what it does.
-
Thanks again and stay well!
-
***Ianna***

[MikeB]

November 23, 2002

About two years ago I posted details of my personal experience of excessive palpitations (PVC's - ectopic beats) - up to 20,000/day at worst - and how I got rid of them.

Since then, my wife began to suffer from 'acid idigestion' and  herself developed dreadful palpitations - sufficient to cause her shortness of breath on occasions - they would go on all day and all night. At first she refused to believe she was repeating my history (see below) and consulted a cardiologist who gave her all the usual tests and prescribed a beta blocker which did nothing.  At my suggestion (and some nagging!) she started on REGULAR Maalox and later switched to Gaviscon (Gaviscon Advanced in the UK). No surprise to me, the PVC's gradually disappeared over a three week period. She was later diagnosed with acid reflux from a hiatus hernia and put on 20mg Prilosec.

I'm prompted to re-post my history because I've just started to take Vioxx which in commom with Ibuprofen (for example) can leave the stomach and esophagus unprotected from stomach acid and bile. Even my low dose of Vioxx (12.5mg) has certainly reminded me of what acid reflux feels like although I still use 20mg Prilosec myself.

My strongly held belief is that provided no other cause is found by your doctors for PVCs then you've got little to lose by trying the effect of over-the-counter antacids and maybe something like Prilosec from your doctor.

Here, then, is my history which prompted many, many replies of thanks from PVC sufferers who found relief from my suggestions. In many cases, they had often suspected acid reflux and indigestion was linked to their problem but rarely, if ever, did their doctor agree.

Please pardon any irrelevancies in the following.

Good luck.

----------------------
From: Mike Brewer  ***@****

03 March 2001

Since posting this on 19 January 2001, I

[clark05]

Regarding Arthurs comments on 14 Nov.
Whenever the upper airways of my lungs are congested the missed
heartbeats seem to occur.  The usual posture whilst sitting
and lying on my left side in bed.
When I had a bad cold last Christmas I took de-congestants
and was able to clear the upper airways - hey presto! the
missed beats went away for 5 months.
Then suddenly whilst sitting down and bending forward one night
they suddenly came back (that was 6 months ago)and I`ve been
having extra beats regularly ever since. My upper airways
have been congested for months but I can`t find a good
de-congestant that will clear them. Does anybody else have the
same problems connected to the lungs.

[sheryl1945]

You're such a dear for answering me!  I feel MUCH better.  And you're right about everything...I'm a pulse-taker but trying to break that habit.  I'm also a very anxious person as I'm sure you could tell.  I've had all kinds of heart tests (I'm 57) and thank God they all came out fine.  I don't really get a lot of skipped beats; it only occurs when I bend over, but as soon as I straighten   up, my heart resumes a normal beating.  Thanks again for your important information; you've helped me tremendously!

[arthur]

Again, I am not a doctor of medicine, so this is strictly my opinion.  Based on everything I know and have experienced in the past three years (PAF now cured, and many PACs 0-6/min, on-going) if all tests regarding your heart (structure and arteries) have come out clean, and the cardio you are seeing has stated that your heart is otherwise structurally normal, then PACs that are likely to be focally-driven, are nothing but a nuisance...they are not dangerous.  They prey on your psyche, making you overly anxious, which is completely normal.  The thing to do is to get as much info as possible about your condition, attempt to understand it's root causes, appreciate what turns the little buggers on, and try and forget about them.  It's not easy to do that, since your anxiety will try to force you to pay attention to them, make you check your pulse frequently, and generally become more depressed about the whole thing.  

I am 54 and I get these critters at about a 0-6/min clip depending on a zillion factors.  I workout strenuously, play competitive soccer in two leagues (over 40 and over 50)...I have pushed myself to the limit and beyond with no consequences.  Sometimes I feel the critters flopping about, often I don't feel a thing...It's just the way it is.  Maybe they will disappear someday, and maybe not...I have decided not to wait.

First step is to ignore your pulse check (which I am sure that you perform regularly)...You'll find that without checking your pulse, you will be less sure that anything is occurring, and eventually, totally unsure.  At that point you will have achieved a reasonable cure for your problem.

Good luck.

-Arthur