extra long beat

[Terri]

I am 39 years old and take a beta blocker for pvc's and tachacardia.  Had all the routine tests done 4 years ago and they found my heart to be normal.  I have noticed lately, particularly at night while lying in bed that I can feel and extra long beat.  When this happens I feel it through my whole body.  It feels like everything ceases functionally for that split second.  My hearing even appears to stop and I have like an echo in my head.  It almost feels like an electrical shock.  When I take my pulse it is not skipping a beat, the beat is lasting longer and then I go back to regular beats.  What does this sound like and is it dangerous.  What would you suggest I do?  Should the beta blocker take care of this?  I am on inderal 60mg time released.  Would this be caused by something structurally wrong with my heart or in the firing of it.  Thanks for your help.

[BillyboyAA]

I can too relate to this same feeling and have had many, many tests done and nothing can be found wrong with my heart.  It is all blamed on stress/anxiety.  Does anyone else, when they feel these pauses, get breathless for that second, and also feel like their heart will not begin to beat again.  It is so scary and the last time it happened, I went to the ER and was hooked up for two hours and I could show the doctor on the monitor the pauses, and he released me and told me it was my heart beat reacting to my breathing i.e. sinus arrhythmia, which is O.K. and normal.  I also received a prescription for Xanax.  If any of you feel these, try this when you inhale deeply, your heart should go a tad bit faster.  Then exhale, it will get slower, this is when I feel the pause, or what I think is a pause.  The doctor in the ER told me it was a normal Variable function of the heart with breathing.  If any of you try this, let me know how it works out for you and maybe it will too give you piece of mind that you are just in great shape.  Good luck all and let me know!!  ***@****..

[BillyboyAA]

I can too relate to this same feeling and have had many, many tests done and nothing can be found wrong with my heart.  It is all blamed on stress/anxiety.  Does anyone else, when they feel these pauses, get breathless for that second, and also feel like their heart will not begin to beat again.  It is so scary and the last time it happened, I went to the ER and was hooked up for two hours and I could show the doctor on the monitor the pauses, and he released me and told me it was my heart beat reacting to my breathing i.e. sinus arrhythmia, which is O.K. and normal.  I also received a prescription for Xanax.  If any of you feel these, try this when you inhale deeply, your heart should go a tad bit faster.  Then exhale, it will get slower, this is when I feel the pause, or what I think is a pause.  The doctor in the ER told me it was a normal Variable function of the heart with breathing.  If any of you try this, let me know how it works out for you and maybe it will too give you piece of mind that you are just in great shape.  Good luck all and let me know!!  ***@****..

[Michael Brewer]

You may not actually be missing a beat when you think you've skipped on. An ECG will usually show two beats coming too close together. the heart then compensates by fitting in a long pause.

You might like to read one of the posts I've put on replies to PVC questions.

Or you may e-mail me and I'll send you 9 pages of stuff about PVC's and there relationship to acid reflux snd esophageal inflamation - it may ring a bell with you.

70403.***@****

Mike

[Lauro]

Kas, describe what they do for a heart catherization.  Is this just looking into the arteries and how dangerous is this.  I have heard that for females it is more dangerous due to small arteries?  Also, if I need this, I think I would want a doc who has done these in his sleep.  Please also describe the Stress Echo?

thanks,  Becky

[coach Phil]

I have been missing some beats and I also have medium heart murmur.  Tomorrow the doctor is going to hook a 24 hour portable ekg (the size of a cd player).   Next week it is on the treadmill.  It worries me a little. I am 58 years old.  I just do not want to go under the knife to change a valve and have heart that is missing some beats.
They have to stop the heart and then restart the heart when changing a valve.  With a heart missing some beats, I wonder if will start again...

[kas]

Same thing happens to me.  I am 46 and have had the symptoms you all describe, which have gotten worse, over the last 4 years.  Recently, I have had shortness of breath and  pains in my legs or thighs when walking up an incline.  I have recently had an echo-stress test which proved to be normal.  I had a heart catheterization four days later, as the cardiologist said i have symptoms of someone with a blockage.  It showed that I have a heart of a teenager!  Good news.  I went to see the doctor for follow up, two weeks later.  He upped my verampimil and that seems to have taken care of the flip-flops.  I continue to be short of breath and light-headed when I go up stairs or inclines.  I am working on an excercise program to rule out a conditioning problem.  I see the doctor in three months to check on the progress.  I also have hypothyroidism which is being controlled by Synthroid.  Still concerned!!

[fancynancy]

Count me in too...I have those flutters-pauses-skipped beats!  They really do feel like every bodily function completely stops for a couple of seconds.  Or like you just took a fast elevator from the 10th floor to the basement!  Sometimes I get that little split second adrenalin rush, sometimes I don't.  Sometimes the flutter feeling is hard, other times it's so mild I can barely notice it.  Yes, it does make you rush your fingers to your neck, and keep them there...just waiting to feel what happens when that crazy sensation comes again!

  I can have several in an hour, for weeks.  Then they'll almost disappear, and happen only once or twice a day. I can't connect them with any stress, or food (though chocolate is a suspect), or activity. WHAT GIVES?!!

  I agree, this all doesn't seem normal to me, no matter what the doctors all say.  Maybe it's not life-threatening (thank God), but it sure doesn't seem healthy.  Besides, it's not at all comfortable, when it happens.

BTW, I did the 24 hour Holter monitor.  Yes, those sensations happened, and I logged maybe 30 or so.  Yet the Report only registered 13 PACs.  Go figure.

It's kinda sad to know so many of us go through these feelings.  But it's quite comforting to know we're not alone--!

[Jodie]

But do you notice that some pauses are much longer than just that split second pause after a pvc?  That is what scares me. Like i have said, this happens maybe once a year but it comes out of nowhere.  I'm just fine and all of a sudden there is no heartbeat. (I don't feel that early beat first)  The pause seems to go on for 3-4 seconds.  Then it speeds up for about 2 minutes (really fast, really irregular). My doc says not to worry. (easy for him to say).

[Jodie]

Hi Danni
I left you a message at the bottom of th page from your other post.  Hang in there.  I know how it feels.

[DANNI...READ THIS PLEEZE!!]

Hi all....I'm 17 female, and well yes i have that same skippy beaty, fluttering like y'all. These have been goin on for 3 yrs now...about every 2 days..couple times a day. See I never worried because it happened at night in my bed, but last weekend I passed out after playing hockey..these flutter's have never happened in sports before..now I'm scared. I stay away from caffine, alcohol, aspertame..all things that can induce an attack, but they still happen, and I don't have very much stress. It seems to me that PVC'S and PAC's are not taken as seriously as maybe they should be by doctors..this is not normal to fear that your heart is going to stop ans you'll drop dead three times a day at 17. I'm glad I found some ppl who experience what I do..as it's hard to try to explain to my friends how it feels..i had a holter done a couple of week's ago and of course my heart didn't skip...well thanx for the support and I hope we can get to the bottom of this prob..

[SAL]

Could it be a thyroid glad malfunction

[SAL]

Hi Guys, I am glad to have read this thread, I am feeling the same thing heart beats 3 times then a split second pause which is Ok with me. Though when the pause lasts a second or two then beats fast and hard feeling it through my chest boy does it worry me. Always wondering if the pause is not going to stay stuck and bye bye. I too have taken a series of heart test 2 years ago and everything was perfect. BTW I am a 35 year old male and this started about 4 years ago. Sometimes the long pauses could happen once or twice in a day, and sometimes I can go for weeks without a glitch. I am wondering if stress and anxiety has anything to do with it. Also Don't know about the rest of you but my pauses usually happen when I am relaxed. I play hockey once a week and taken some tae-bo lessons and never did it happen during or after.
Wish some heart doctor would post a reply here and tell us what exactly is going on I heard of PVC but doesn't re-assure me much. Can it get worst and be either harmful or fatal in the future?
Good luck to all
Sal

[Penny To All Above]

I always jump up in the hope that it will kick start my heart! I had the EPS study to make sure that my pauses weren't too long, which seems a bit extreme when all other test were normal, but I also had a positive tilt table test and heart problems run in my family.  the EPS wasn't very pleasant but it was reassuring when everything was deemed OK.

[Teresa]

Just yesterday I had an E.C.G. done and it showed pvc's as well.  The feeling your all decribing is what happens to me as well, I find it worrisome but I intend to learn as much as i can and not accept this as "normal". I pray all who come to this sight get the support they need.   In His Love Teresa[37years old]

[Jodie]

Good to know someone else gets those pauses.  Because they happen so infrequently they have never been caught on a holter.  Everything else has.  My docter doesn't feel it is necessary to go through extensive studies at this time that pose a risk in themselves.  I know what you mean about your hand flying up to your throat.  I usually jump up and start walking too.  I almost feel like I might black out, but then boom, it beats again really fast.  Almost like it is making up for not beating for a few seconds.  I know it is longer than a 3 second pause.  I hate it.

[Ditto]

I get exactly the same feeling...it only happens a handful of times a year (thankfully), the pauses are really long and my hand always flies up to my throat waiting to feel the next heartbeat.  A truly scarey feeling, but echos,ecgs,eps study all say the same thing: NORMAL heart.  go figure.

[Jodie]

I also every once in a while get the longer than normal pauses.  maybe 3 or 4 times a year.  I get the usual pauses after the pvc.  These other pauses I get come out of nowhere and are much longer.  I hate those.  My body feels like it shuts down for an instant.  I have never fainted when these pauses happen but I really worry that my heart will start again.  When it does, it usually beats really fast for 3-4 minutes then goes back to normal.  I too have had everything checked and get yearly treadmills and echos.  They say nothing to worry about.  It sure feels like it!

[Rena]

I too get the long pauses.  I sometimes can go on for hours with this happening every 3 or 4 beats or so.  I am also 39 years old.  Do yours happen a lot???  I get this maybe once a week when I wake up at night or in the early morning and my heart skips constantly.  Very disturbing to say the least!!!!  They also say nothing in wrong with my heart but it sure feels like there is something wrong in there.

[Rena]

I too get the long pauses.  I sometimes can go on for hours with this happening every 3 or 4 beats or so.  I am also 39 years old.  Do yours happen a lot???  I get this maybe once a week when I wake up at night or in the early morning and my heart skips constantly.  Very disturbing to say the least!!!!  They also say nothing in wrong with my heart but it sure feels like there is something wrong in there.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

It sounds like PVCs. Normally, a pause occurs after the PVC and this is what you are feeling. It is unlikely that you have developed a problem with your heart, given that all test were normal 4 years ago. For peace of mind, though, I would recommend going to your doctor for a check-up.