Skipped heart beats

[Matt1975]

Hello-

                                                I am a 27 year old male that has been diagnosed with an anxiety/panic
disorder. Quite frequently, I have episodes where my heart seems to skip a beat. I can feel this when I take my pulse. Also, I feel a little bit of a thudding sensation in my chest/abdomen. These episodes occur most often when I am feeling anxious but not always.
I am in good health and am very physically fit. I have had three EKGs all of
                                                which have showed nothing unusual. The doctors I have seen always brush
                                                off my compliant as nothing or "I don't see it on the EKG". I am writing to see
                                                if there is some sort of medical/scientific explaination. What can I do about
                                                this problem because it really bothers me and triggers/exascerbates my
                                                anxiety?

                                                Thanks, Matt

[karie]

Rick had a wonderful posts and thanks for sharing on healthy living and our hearts and nervous systems.
I am taking 250 mg. Magnesium, 500 Calcium , Multi- Vit and Klor-Con eff tablets in water for potassium which can stop pvc's for 4 hours at times. Walk daily and follow all guidelines. Have you been told symptoms will progress with years so saty of betas until needed ? Any tests helful in your diagnosis? Any heart murmurs, mvp ?

[Gustav]

Wise words Rick. It is all about taking positive action rather than sitting in fear of the next 'skip'. For those who are having a bad day, I went to see a third Cardiologist last week. If only I got air miles per visit. All tests were fine. His final words were: 'It is a completely benign phenomena. No one has ever died from this and i'm not saying that to imply that you will be the first.' He was the first one then to ask how I can break the fear factor cycle. In a sense it is whatever works for you. I have tried (with some sucess) accupunture. My therapist is very down to earth and listens to my anxieties and trates me accordingly. The first one I saw was too clinical and wore a white coat. No good for me. The lady I see now offers treatment and therapy - a perfect combination. In fact she sees me as a bit of a challenge.
Harking back to Rick. Take positive action don't sit and wait...
Wishing everyone a peaceful holiday season. R E L A X !

[rick1234]

For those of you that have these skipped beats (PVC's or PAC's), as you know they can be a real pain.  I have found a few things that could help aleviate these.  First, as suggested by the docs, eliminate caffiene.  BUT...ALL caffiene.  No chocolate, coffee etc.  Also try to eliminate MSG.  This is found in a lot of foods and not always labeled as MSG.  Try to avoid things with "natural flavoring". If you smoke, stop.  I know some of these changes are more difficult that others but if you really can't stand these skipped beats, you should make every effort to make them stop. If you drink alcohol, i recommend cutting back on that too. Also, try taking a magnesium - calcium supplement.  Look for a product that has 1000mg of calcium and 500mg of magnesium. Take this on a daily basis and give it at least 30 days straight to potentially see an improvement.(if you are on any meds, please run this by your doctor first) Try to incorporate some exercise like walking and do some stress reduction like meditation.  Do I follow all these rules myself?  well, diet wise yes but I need to spend more time on the exercise and stress.  I realize that when one feels bad, it is not easy to do all these things.  The average person that doesnt know what these feel like has no way in truly understanding what you are going through.  Come here to talk because sometimes when you know you are not alone in something, it feels better.

rick

[sheryl1945]

My skipped beats also cause me much anxiety...I'm no doctor, but I do think that once we become overly concerned with them, the anxiety causes them to increase.  Wish I could get my mind off my heart!  I take xanax which helps the anxiety greatly, but I don't take as much as I'm supposed to because I don't want to get too dependent upon it.  Self-defeating, I suppose.  Have had the skipping beats for YEARS but they still scare me!

[stirz4]

I am so pleased to have found so much information on this subject of skipped beats. I too am really paranoid about this happening and it really gets me down, I get awful anxiety.  My problem has only started since I got pregnant with my 3rd child.  The docs told me it would go away when I delivered, but guess what, it didn't! Funny thing is I used to get these odd beats before my monthly cycle for a day and never thought anything of it.
In fact it almost runs my life (which I know sounds really pathetic).  It's almost like the fear of it happening makes it happen even more.  I have recently had an echo, stress test etc done and although my echocardiogram results showed - i'll quote here 'a suggestion of a small floppy segment of the anterior mitral valve with trivial mitral regurgitation' my consultant said that it was within normal limits and would not be causing any problems and that it was NOT mitral valve prolapse. All my other tests were completely normal. I am starting an anti-anxiety med on Monday in the hope that this will calm me down a bit as I know my anxiety makes it worse.  It's strange to see so many of us affected by the same thing, I didn't realise it was so common.  Julie

[sheryl1945]

I can't thank you enough for posting a comment to me.  I'm so glad I'm not alone in this!  I have a definite "heart neurosis" and am sensitized to each beat of my heart it seems.  I get a lot of skipping when I bend over, but to tell you the truth I feel just fine and have no other symptoms.  Someone recommended I order books by Claire Weekes and I am going to do so.  Although I feel physically fine, my nerves are another story!  So tired of worrying about my heart.  Thanks again for writing; I got much comfort from your comments.