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

[Gustav]

I am not a doctor but I have the same thing. Mine usually occurs when I bend over or when I lie on my back. 2 days ago I saw a Cardio (one of the very best in the UK) and explained this bizarre phenomenon, he told me that it happens to most people - it's just that people like us are hypersensitive and therefore so much more AWARE of what is going on in our bodies. For example he said that if you ask most people do they 'hear' their own heartbeat, they will reply no. In fact I asked my sister the same thing the other day and asked her what her resting pulse is and she said she had no idea. We are so acutely tuned into the heart muscle we detect every slight wobble and arrythmia - despite the fact that EVERYONE has them. They just dont feel it.
A doctor or Cardio that shrugs their shoulders at fears connected with benign irregularities is only guilty of dealing with our fears in an insensitive way. I, for example need lots of reassurance or my worry increases. I don't need a doctor who looks at me pitifully and says 'no idea bud' and send me on my way. If that is your case - change your MD or specialist!
You are not alone. Try  not to be scared. If a Cardio tells you thay can find nothing wrong then maybe, just maybe they are right. And what we experience really is just 'one of those things'! The mind and the body are so interconnected that you have to break the cycle. The more we worry the worse the skipped beats happen.
I too think constantly that i will drop down dead. But, you know what, I wont. And nor will the MILLIONS of others who experience what we do. Good luck and make plans for the future!

[sheryl1945]

I'm a 57 year old woman and have episodes of skipped beats.  They occur primarily when I'm bending over; the beat stays irregular until I stand up straight.  I've had every heart test in the book and the results all came back normal.  I take tenormin for rapid heartbeat and it works very well on me.  I have terrible anxiety; have been hospitalized 13 times for severe depression/anxiety.  I am TERRIFIED of this skipping in my heart.  Why does it occur when I bend over?  No doctor has explained this to me and I'm scared to death, expecting to fall over dead every time I have to bend over.   Please help me!  (Would you believe I had to take a half mg of xanax just to write this??)  I live in constant fear of the skipped/irregular beats.  I do have two 60% blockages in two arteries but they told me they don't need to be treated at this point in time; in the future I may have to have angioplasty (which doesn't scare me).  I told the cardiologist about the irregular beat when I bend over and he just shrugged his shoulders.  I'm praying this is benign and nothing to worry about.  PLEASE help me, I'm so scared!

[Bodene]

I too smoke...and typically feel pretty smooth in the morning. But as the day progresses it peaks and wains. I'm not sure what effect the nicotine would have on it...but it is a stimulant so it might have a direct connection. I try to avoid caffeine after say 5pm since it seems to affect my heartrate at night when I try to sleep. To remedy that I use sleep meds. I wish I could stop my tobacco use, but heck...we all need at least one vice , don't we? =)

[Gustav]

At last - some kind of support network. I suffer the good old ectopic nightmare too. I used to get one or two now and again and treated them as a curiosity rather than anything else. After a particulary stressful and exciting year they got more frequent and became a daily part of my life. Sitting reading - I get a surge feeling or an ectopic. After a run the same. Lying in a certain position, the same again. Bending over to tie a shoelace. There seems to be only a partial logic to it. Some days are worse than others. I had all relevant tests, stress, ecg, echo, blood, and was basically told that i had a healthy heart and not to worry. Some reassurance did help the symptoms but just when you think you may have won the battle, the sensations reappeared with a vengeance - plunging me again into a fearful depression! I took all the doctors advice. Keep fit, moderation in everything, plenty of fruit and veg and no smoking. I lost weight, looked great but still was being worn down by the ectopic-ness of my life. And boy does it feel lonely. It's not something I feel I want to share with my friends.You walk down the street feeling sorry for yourself and look at other strolling merrily along crying 'Why me?'
Anyhow, next week i am having another round of tests - I have given into the fear again..!. I am still scared. Some days I can be brutal with myself and tell myself to stop being a worried idiot and that those seemingly healthy 'not a care in the world' people probably have more to worry about than I do.
My resting heartbeat is naturally low - in the mid forties so I guess any sensations are magnified. But at least i have just found this site..!
Good luck to us all...we will outlive everyone!

[bruin]

Thanks for your comments.
I would like to know,
Is smoking and coffee and alcohol anything to do with this problem
I do smoke, and the reason I ask is, when I wake in the morning obviously I havnt smoked all night, I feel well with no skipped beats. Its when the day progresses and the smoking maybe , and this is when I get the problem, or at least i think its that way.
I really do value the comments, and at least I now know that I am not alone in this,

Thankyou,

Bruin.

[Bodene]

Bruin...the doctors will do several tests on you that are painless and time consuming. The only thing that's really painful or uncomfy are the dye tests. Since your problem likely is caused by your hole in the heart thing, they'll probably treat you with drugs. They have some awesome drugs out there that cater to virtually every type problem. I bet they have a drug that was created especially for people with your condition. The doctor might say...yup..lotsa folks have that...take these once a day and you'll be rockin.   I urge you to go. I was terrified to go get my workup done last year, but I did it...and afterwards thought..heck..I shoulda done that ages ago. The peace of mind it gives you to actually KNOW what is going on is much better than the risks you are taking by hiding from it. If you have kids or a family that know about this...trust me...they are worried too. If you can go get looked at...then relay the info to them...it will ease their fears as well. Hope my straight forward comment doesn't offend anyone...but I felt compelled to say something. Peace, Bodene