Quick question re pulse :-(

[Rosemary349]

Hi there everyone

Tonight I noticed sensations of ectopics and then at one point took my pulse and thought it was irregular.  I was so scared i pulled my hand away - so i can't say with 100% surety, but i think so.  In any case when i did take my pulse again about 5 mins later it was regular.

I am on beta blockers but the doctor and cardiologist maintain i have anxiety.  I've been assessed recently with an event monitor but I didn't manage to capture any 'event' on it.

I know the ectopics are not due to anxiety (more likely hormonal fluctuations) but agree that i'm generally very anxious following my father's death (as some of you know i witnessed it).

The question is can ectopics feel irregular in the pulse - or is this likely to be A-Fib.....?  :-(  I've sent an email to my doctor to tell him.  I've not done any more about it tonight other than take an extra beta blocker - which worked in calming it all down - because i've been told over and over not to worry any more.....but I do think these symptoms came before any anxiety as i've been so much calmer recently.

So i don't want to be dismissed right off before it's considered. Some of you may know me from previously - my dad died suddenly about 18 months ago with a massive heart attack, not a heart rhythm issue, but since then i've had a lot of anxiety fro witnessing it.  However i was feeling very calm recently on the beta blockers.  Thanks for your thoughts.

[Rosemary349]

sorry for typos above.

When the doctor measured my BP that time and it was high, she said it was panic....but I feel that i was only panicking because of the strange symptoms i was having....

I have episodes of all this...with bounding pulse, sometimes bounding heart, sometimes weird sensation in the neck as described....then they go away and usually not present when I am near any monitoring equipment....but that doesn't mean it's not real, it's cyclical and the appointments with the doctors have often been at the wrong times of the month.

sorry for rant - just stressed with it.  would like to feel normal - if, as the doctor says I am!!!

[Rosemary349]

Accompanying this episode....although not always whilst the ectopics happen, is a feeling of a pressure in both carotids.  I've told the doctor about this before and he says it is globus.  The hell it is, globus is a sensation of something in the throat, this is not, it's more like a sensation of pressure in both carotids, both sides, like someoine is taking both pulses and pressing a bit too much.  it's not painful.  It happens at certain times of the month and is usually associated with feeling more relaxed, etc......but of course i wonder what it is in the neck.

For some reason this month has been more of a challenge with the ectopics i mentioned earlier and now, a few days later, this feeling in the neck every so often throughout the day.

I've emailed my doctor but as yet no reply.

Due to various anxieties (and witnessing my father die suddenly of a heart attack) I don't feel able to go get my BP checked whilst this is ahppening - i don't know what i'd do if it were high.  Whenever the doctor checks it it is usually about 120/80 or just a few points over, eg. 122/83, soemthing like that.  Once when i had this sensation it was actually 140/something.....but I was in the middle of a panic attack and the doctor said it was that.....i'm worried that this 'poressure' feeling in the neck is the barrow receptors at work trying to keep high blood pressure down but of course i have no evidence for this.

The ectopics have quietened down and i suspect this neck sensation will over the next day or so as it's related to hormones......

I could go to a martial art class tonight but afraid of doing damage to myself if BP high.  Although the truth is that going there would likely lead to an end to the sensation - but why i don't know.  It's not globus, i know that!

thanks for listening

[Rosemary349]

Thanks at work on iPod, were better within 5 mins after walking out to car hoping pacs then. I didn't exactly monitor it well as I panicked but afib  not always immediately dangerous is it? Scared again just when I was doing so well on the beta blockers

[bigchiefa]

I'm 22 and have been having noticeable ectopic for over 2 years PACs and PVCs when they first presented especially nurses insisted I had anxiety or panic disorder but my heart caused me to be anxious I figured if I was not a little anxious about my heart what was their to be anxious about I did aknowledge I was anxious but not a disorder causing  all my symptoms after being recommended to a cardiologist and usual tests I was assured they were benign I managed them for a year with no medication I now take metoprolol 50 mg twice a day which coupled with staying active and doing research and having faith in my doctor have basically eliminated all anxiety about my condition although I experience discomfort palpitations and arrythmia EVERYDAY I have never been given any reason why I developed these problems nor do I think I ever will know, these things happen, my palpitations especially before I took the beta blocked didn't always go away with exercise quite the contrary especially during cool downs after workout I had to decrease intensity very slow I have experienced painful palpitations all beats explained in is_something_wrong's post not A-fib that I know of but I have had 1-2-345-6-7-  and 1-2-3-45-6-7 and they did not seem like usual ectopic beats and were very unsettling this was before I was taking beta blocker  - take it easy but take it

[is_something_wrong]

Another way to tell is with A-fib, the arrhythmia will worsen significantly with even slight exercise, like standing up and moving around. The heart rate will increase a lot.

PACs and PVCs often tend to go away with slight exercise, because the normal rhythm wipes out the premature beats.

I won't recommend to do this experiment, unless your doctor tells you to do it. Provoking A-fib can make you dizzy due to the elevated heart rate.

[is_something_wrong]

Hello

Did you have A-fib? Hard to say. Only way to say for sure is to monitor the event. But I guess that's not easy now.

I have some suggestions, though.

1) With A-fib, the heart rate is often elevated, unless you are on a major dose of beta blockers or calcium channel blockers.

2) With PVCs, there is a pattern in the madness. The next beat after a PVC follows exactly where it's supposed to, the underlying rhythm is regular. Like 1--2--(skip)--3--4--(skip)--5--6--(skip)--7 etc.

3) With PACs the heart rate is more irregular. Like 1--2--34--5--678--9. Still, you can most often sense an underlying rhythm, frequently broken by the extra beats, which you often can feel.

4) With A-fib, there's no way to predict when the next beat will occur. Like 1---2345-6--7-8----9----10-11-12-13---14------151617--18