Skipped heart beats sensations since having my 3rd child!

[alistinker]

HI

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Back in February of this year I had my 3rd child.  Around 5 weeks post partum I experienced what I can only describe as 2 or 3 thumps in my chest.  This made me have a full blown panic attack.  I had been under alot of stress as my baby was born with severe reflux and constanly screamed for hours on end plus having 2 other kids demanding my attention.  I didn't get these strange heart beats again until about a week later when my period returned and then i got the strange skipped beats again.  I saw my OB and family doctor who diagnose post partum anxiety which I am now taking Doxepin for as the SSRI's made my anxiety worse and I had great success with a similar med back in the UK called Dothiepin.  I still get strange beats now and again and they cause me much anxiety.  My dr (even though has not done any tests on me!) is convinced it is a result of alot of anxiety after giving birth and hormones.  He started me on Atenolol 25mg at night to try to sort out these "funky" heartbeats as he likes to call them.  It works well but sometimes i still feel them a little.

What i want to ask is....are these PVC's that I am experiencing?  IF so how does my dr know they are not serious without doing further tests?  My dad has heart disease and had a triple heart bypass 4 years ago and had a pacemaker/defribulator fitted last year(his cadiologist says his problem was because he was a heavy smoker for 50 years!).  I don't smoke, i have given up alcohol but I am overweight.  

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

[andrea frog]

PENNY thanks for sharing you know i just started my period yesterday and YES i notice them very much right befor i start .I just was talking with my husband last night about that .... hormones ... and your word are a comfort in that you have them like that and im understanding them more thanks to this site...............Andrea

[PennyCandy]

I wanted to post here to try and reassure some of you younger women. I am 50 years old and not overweight. I'm in excellent health with normal blood pressure. When I was 19 I started to get the missed heartbeats followed by the thump in the chest. I developed panic attacks thinking I was going to die! I had some tests and the different doctors didn't think much about my complaints. According to them I was fine. I got over the panic attacks. I take no medication because I prefer the natural route. Sometimes I STILL think I'm going to die in my sleep but I'm still here! I do know that there seems to be a hormonal connection. I get the missed beats a lot before my period. And I get them ALOT! During my hormonal times every 5th or 6th beat is a skipped one. I have learned to live with it and I know many women with the same problem. Doing some research has told me to take calcium and magnesium, get plenty of fluids, no caffeine, don't smoke, exercise and I take coQ10. I also take folic acid, B vitamins and omega 3's. I drink a glass of red wine occasionally but I notice that alcohol makes it worse. I haven't hit menopause yet but I'm assuming the missed beats will get worse when that happens. Basically I'm letting you all know that you may have this condition for years and its probably NOT going to kill you. The best thing is to have the tests for peace of mind. Then try to ignore them and live your life.

[Inanga]

hi i think i have these incidents occasionally too. I have noticed I can stop them quickly by breathing deep and slow. Also for me they seem to occur more when I haven't been doing any exercise for a while. I imagine with a new baby you're so busy that you don't have time or the inclination to give yourself some exercise. Doing some might help you feel better, sleep better and might just erradicate those beats. I have absolutely no qualificatiosn in this - just my own expereience which might afterall be different from yours. Best of luck anyway.

[andrea frog]

hi all
im glad im not the only one with these annoying beats (not that im glad u all have them, just im not alone)
i have been on toprol for over a year and still have them i even had to have my dose lowered to 25mg / day . they are scary
cause you are not suppose to feel your heart beat. mine did increrase after i had my second child so that is why im on med and he will be 3 on nov 6th. i was told i would prob have them for rest of my life so this med is going to be a part of the rest of my life . we are thinking about another baby and my dr said toprol is safe during preg. im hoping if we do have another 1 that it may go away but not holding my breath.
thanks for reading
      andrea

[alistinker]

Hi

thanks for replying.  I am sorry you are experiencing these horrible beats.  Does the Toprol help you at all?  I find the Atenolol decreases the intensity of the beats and stops me from panicking too much.  Let's hope we don't have to suffer too much longer.  Congrats on your new addition!

sharon

[kaeleigh]

Hello
        I too have been having the same as you. Mine started about 6wks after i had my third child. These skipped beats drive me up the wall. I have been to a cardo. and have had a echo,ekg,holter moniter,stress test, and a loop mointer. All came back normal. I was told it was my hormones.I also started to have anxiety attacks I seem to have these when it is time for my period. My daughter is going to be a 1yr old next month and i still am having skipped beats. I am taking Toprol 50mg I am also taking anxiety med. I asked my doctor when these will stop i was told it could take up to a year and a half for hormones to get back to normaland sometimes longer. I am so glad i found this fourm it makes it a little easier knowing there are others like me.

[alistinker]

Thanks for taking the time to post.  It helps and reassures me when i ready of other moms experiencing the same.  Can I ask how long it took for your heart to settle down.  My baby is 7 months and I can't see any improvement.  Maybe It is just that i am so focused on this only symptom at the moment.  I know i need to sleep but sometimes i am so tired that I find it impossible to get a good night.  Baby is teething again and so she is up twice a night again but lucky for me Hubby gets up for her.  You are right about the SSRI's...it made me worse.  I am taking an older type of anti d called doxepin and although it gave me fast heartbeats in the beginning from dizziness it soon settled down.  It's these dam pvc's that are the biggest concern for me right now.  

thanks again everyone you are very kind to take time out to post.

sharon

[alistinker]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond.  For those of you taking the extra heart vitamins like potassium and slow mag....was this suggested by any dr's or did you just decide that it would a good idea?  I have thought about taking extra potassium and magnesium but wasn't sure how my body would cope with it if my levels were not low?  Is there a risk in taking these supplements or does our body just dump any of it that is does'nt need?

thanks everyone again.


alistinker
sharon

[momof6]

Hi, I am so sorry you are having these darn arrythmias! They are very scary and can capture your mind to where thats all your thinking about. And rightly so when they are happening frequently! I started having my arrythmia after my fourth baby was born. I just call it a arrythmia because I get the pvc and pac and other corky beats that can be very scarey! I am now pregnant with our 7th baby and have so far been doing ok with the exception of a quick few beats here and there. I did have all the cardio testing and all come back normal. Although since I started having these arrythmias my t-wave is abnormal but the doctors say not a concern. I found it very strange and didnt even realize I had it already thru two pregnancies. They say its just my hearts finger print now. I did have a emergency c-section with my fourth baby and sometimes wonder if all that stress made my heart sensitive now. If I were you I would get a cardio work up like a echocardiogram,maybe a stress test,and blood work. And wear a monitor for a while to see if they can catch your irregular beats. They've caught my pvc and pac's but not all my other garbage that goes on sometimes. But since my heart tests have come back normal they say not to worry. So I take that advice and try my best when I get some of the scarier beats to just relax and take a slow deep breath and it usually is gone just as fast as it started. Then to not fixate on it and go about my business. Sometimes I can just feel like my heart is just more irratable and Im going to have them. I do take lorpressor and patassium and slow mag. for heart rythme. I feel my heart beats more smoothly and calmly just by the potassium too. Do take care of your self and make time to get a walk in everyday and drink plenty of water and eat good wholesome foods. I grind my own whole wheat and make our bread it is wonderful to receive fresh vit.and minerals that is already died off when you buy it from the store. It has lowered my cholest. too! So pack those kiddos up and head out for a wonderful walk, you will notice you'll probably get less of those pvc too. God Bless momof7 to be:)

[jfisher]

Stress and anxiety definately rank among the top causes of PVCs and PACs. Since you've just had your 3rd child, I doubt you have the spare moment that's peaceful enough to practice relaxation techniques. I'm in corporate management, so I too have little free time to sit and rest. I've been on 50mg-100mg of Toprol XL for nearly 7 years, but it's not very effective anymore. My doctor put me on Adavant (spelling?). I took it for about 5 days. That was almost a week ago, I've only had one or two symptons since then.

[suze UK]

I am in virtually same boat.I think I have had occasional ectopics from early 20's.My friend was working in cardiology and said not to worry as missed beats very common.However during both my pregnancys I felt my heart racing at times and missed beats more frequent,Gp not concerned.I do feel heart racing more frequently now and when it does the ectopic beats happen every 5-15 beats but do settle within a few minutes when my heart rate slows.Anyway have been to GP again and she is refering me to cardiology as a precaution,Im just worried I may have svt as well as frequent ectopics!My kids are age 6 and 4 so perhaps it is stress related,I am now 34.

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hi Alistinker,

Post partum PVC's are very common and increased anxiety as a result of stress/sleep deprivation/hormones is also normal.

The only way to know they are PVCs is to catch them on monitor (holter, event monitor, etc) and correlate them with symptoms.  That being said, more than 99/100 times, these sensations are benign PVCs and PACs.  With a normal physical exam and relatively benign cardiac history, treating conservatively is not the wrong thing to do.  The odds of it being something serious or life threatening is VERY low.  I am not saying other tests shouldn't be done, it is just a different approach.  If  you want to know for sure just tell your doctor  you would feel better knowing than assuming.  We order holters all the time on people that we know have PVC/PACs, but are occassionally surprised by the results.

I know I am not Dr. Phil or Oprah, but don't forget to take care of yourself too.  Make sure you have time to yourself sometimes, make sure you stay fit and eat right.  Fast food is the enemy of fitness and wellbeing.  Not only will this help prevent heart disease but you will feel better too.

Good luck and thanks for posting.