irregular heartbeat

[charley53]

I have a irregualar heartbeat.  Sometimes it comes an goes but lately it has been there on a daily basis.  I've seen cardiologists and they say everything is fine.  However if my heart is beating at a normal rate it seems to beat off more.  If it's elevated just by walking it seems to beat right.  Then as I calm down and get it back to normal it will start beating off again.  Does anyone else have this problem and can give me some info on this subject.  I'm 47 don't smoke or do drugs nor do I drink.  Worried sick about it

[ashman72]

I have the same symptoms and have been to the doctors and had all the tests.I have been put on a beta blocker medication which has for the best part stopped the niggling beats. I do find that the more elevated my heart rate is the better it is after exercise. I have been weight lifting for about a decade pretty religiously so as you can imagine it was quite concerning when I started to develop this. I have been assured that my nuisance heart beat is just that and nothing to really worry about. So I will continue with my blockers and my gym, as well as my healthy diet. Hope this helps.

[achillea]

You can read a little about skipped or 'ectopic' beats here:

http://mykentuckyheart.com/information/PrematureVentricularContraction.htm

What goes on, in a nutshell, is that every heart cell has the capacity to contract all by itself, causing an early heartbeat.   Sort of by common agreement, they let one particular cell, called the 'Pacemaker,' set the timing, but in every healthy person, there's always a clown in the crowd, and from time to time, this upstart will see an opportunity (often when the heart slows down) to trigger a heartbeat on its own.

Since this beat comes earlier than usual, the heart hasn't had a chance to fill with the usual amount of blood.  For this reason, the early beat is tiny, so tiny that you really can't feel it.  Then there's a little delay until the next regularly scheduled beat.  Because of this delay, the heart has a chance to get a bit more filled up, so it gives an extra-hard contraction to kick all that blood out--and that's probably the big 'Boom' you feel.

There's nothing bad or dangerous about 'premature ventricular contractions' in healthy people.  Everyone--everyone--has them, and most people don't even notice them.  However, some people (like many of us on this board) are very sensitive to these things, and they make us unnecessarily nervous.  In fact, we can get obsessed with these things and let them ruin our lives.

If that happens, I have found that the best thing to do is to see the right doctor for the right problem.  In this case, the problem is fear, and the right doctor is a therapist or psychiatrist.  These people can really whittle this problem down to size very quickly.

[charley53]

     Thank you for your comment.  I guess it may be a skipped beat.  Feels like it's going to come out through my chest.  The thing that worries me most is that it's been going on for 4 straight days without a break.  Only when I walk or elevate it somehow it seems not to skip but then skips as it returns to normal.  I worry because the research I have read is that I am exceptable to a stroke due to the blood pooling in the upper part of the heart, that's a lil scary to me having children at a young age.  I appreciate the post very much and wish you luck as well.  I will try and relax but since this is still kinda new to me it's hard not too.  Thanks again...

[seaweib]

'Irregular heartbeat' is quite a vague term but presumably you mean skipped beats.  Assuming you mean skipped beats (PACs and PVCs), it is very common to feel them less when the heart rate is elevated.  In fact, many people are provided relief from their PACs and PVCs through exercise.  Oftentimes, exercising and getting your heart rate up not only reduces the irregular beats while your exercising, but also has the added benefit of reducing them after your're finished exercising when your heart rate comes back to normal.

Sounds to me like you're in the same situation as most of us on this site.  You're heart acts up but it's more of a nuisance and not a true threat to your well-being.  That is of course contingent on agreement by a medical professional which is sounds like you've received.  With that said, the best thing to do is not worry about the 'irregular beats' relax.