one of my ventricles is slow causing extrasystole, is that common?

[rockmum]

ive been getting extrasystoles [missed beats] for a week now
i had an ecg and i just went dr to give my results,, he says one of my ventricles is slow at times causing the missed beats, he says theses no need to panic and i dont need any more tests, and once i stop stressing and thinking about it my heart will beat back to normal,, as stress makes that ventricle slower

does that sound right?
alot of people get skipped beats, is it cos of the reason i have?, or do i have a serious problem?

help????

[rockmum]

hey, gee u sure know what im talking about with the sleep deprivation thing, im doing just as u say, keeping guard incase i miss a beat, and as soon as i think i did my heart drops in shock and i feel sick and nervous, like an anxiety attack, making me feel even worse, and more wide awake
ive had insomnia ever since i rememeber, but not like this,,lol,, i stay up for hours and hours lately, wheras usually i stay  awake for 1 to 2 hours, i have an overactive mind, always thinking and thinking.... also i clench my teeth, so lately i cant wear my night mouth guard lately as i saliva too much making me not relax

are there any symptoms u get from lbbb? or just the skipped beats when your under stress?, what causes you to get skipped beats? for me i really dont know what gave me 8 full days straight with them [about 2 to 8 a minute],,, not sure if its cos on new years eve i drank alot of alcohol [i havent drank in 14 years], or just the usual stress from yelling and stuff cos the kids r home annoying eachother 24-7

im  drinking this mixture i got from the chemist called calm stress releif daily
i suck on lozenges that r meant to relax me throughout the day
take 2 sleeping tabs [natural ones] at bedtime
spray my tongue with this 'rescue remedy ''spray in bed to help relax me to sleep
wear earplugs in bed to help not hear anything [like my husbands snoring]

im quite hyper and on edge still, even with all that stuff!,, hahaha

do you take anything? like teas or medication? anything that helps?

take care, catchya soon!

[LBBBguy]

Thanks, doing pretty well. We had a long weekend here in the U.S. so I can't complain about that. I went through a sleepless phase like that as well. I tend to be kind of a night owl as it is anyway, and have a hard time getting enough sleep under normal circumstances, so that kind of sleep deprivation was pretty miserable for me. But that too, passes. Nighttime, when you're trying to go to sleep, is often the toughest because you can't sleep if you don't let your mind get quiet, but your mind just can't let go of listening to your heart. It's almost like since we don't have anything else to do, the mind defaults to checking in on the heart. And when I say checking in, I mean focusing intently! :-) As you say, waiting to hear a miss. Why we do this is a good question. What are we gonna do if we hear one? I sort of felt almost afraid to fall asleep, because then I couldn't stand guard against some oncoming catastrophe or something like that. As if being awake is going to be of any help should anything bad happen anyway! But the mind can be funny like that at times. But don't worry. As you go a few nights without anything going wrong, it'll start to get easier to fall asleep as you won't feel the need to stay quite so vigilant.

[rockmum]

hey how r u? im doin a bit better,, the palps settled finally wooooohooo, so now its just my night time sleeps where im restless and feel the heart pounding, waiting to hear a miss,, so i cant sleep, stay awake till up to 5am lately,, so today i brought some natural sleeping tabs from the pharmacy, hope they help! if i get sleep i may start being my big loud self again, as ive been quiet this week, its just not me!!!, lol
i hope your great, take care, xxxxxxx and by the way, thanks again!

[LBBBguy]

I don't think your take away from this should be depressing, although I totally do empathize. I suspect it's a common reaction for people to go through when they discover they've got some kind of issue with their heart, and when it acts up and won't let you take your mind off of it, all the more trouble. I went through it. Twice, actually. First, when I got a diagnosis of WPW last April, and then again when I went in for an ablation to "cure" the WPW, only to discover I've also got this LBBB thing. But I'm coming around. I'm still healing from my ablation, so my heart hasn't completely settled down from that yet, but the thoughts of having this thing just hanging over me for the rest of my life. Well, I'm coming around to accepting that and starting to get back to living life. I'm not quite back to "normal" yet, but I'm getting there. You will too.

For now, just take it a day at a time, take good care of yourself. Make sure you treat your heart well with a healthy diet, no smoking, and exercise, and live your life to the fullest. Take care of what you can, and don't dwell on what you can't. Worry, stress, and anxiety don't really offer much other than to such the joy out of life.

[rockmum]

hi,,, damn, that does sound depressing [only cos im a stresshead!!!!!]
i told my dr i would wait a week and if i feel no better i will go back to him and have that holter test done and see a cardiologist
my kids are on school holidays and go back in 2 weeks, mayb then ill feel better!, lol,, been a stressful few weeks over christmas,
ill keep you posted on my progress
thanks heaps for answering my questions, even tho it got me down a bit, im scared for my future, catchya soon

[LBBBguy]

OK, that clears things up. And welcome to the club! I don't think it's very common on this forum, so glad to meet you! It's a relatively new (November) diagnosis for me, but here's what I can tell you.

First, I would disagree with some of what your doctor has told you. You definitely should go see a cardiologist, and get some more tests done. My understanding is that as long as your heart is otherwise OK, then LBBB shouldn't be a problem by itself. So that's, I think, step one as to how to help yourself. It's quite possible that it's something you've always had. I think in many cases it's just difficult to know what the cause is when it turns up like this at some point in our adult lives. The concern here is that there's some underlying problem that's causing it, but given that you're pretty young, that's probably not going to be the case with you.

So... can it get worse? Sorry, but yes. That doesn't mean it will, and it may take a long time. It can develop into full heart block, which would require a pacemaker. But that's really not that big of a deal. You can live a very normal life with one.

Yes, I do exercise. I had an ablation in November for WPW, which was when they discovered my LBBB, so I've been gradually recovering from that, but I'm working my way back up to my old activity level, which was very active. Yoga 4 times a week, ice hockey 1-2 times a week, some cycling when the weather is nice. I expect I'll be back to that level in the not too distant future. My advice here is a strong yes as exercise also helps with stress and anxiety. See that cardiologist first, just to make sure everything is cool, and you'll probably want to start gradually and work your way up as you gain confidence that your heart isn't going to explode on you (it won't).

I think your palps will definitely calm down if you learn to relax and de-stress. Part of it, is learning to trust your heart and for the most part just letting go with your mind when the palps do come. It's definitely helped me to tell myself, "Oh, it's palpitation time." when they come, and just let them go rather than focusing on them, wondering what's going on, and worrying. When I have my high anxiety days like, my pulse won't be ignored and they won't go away. Sleep can be difficult. Then the lack of sleep puts a new stress on you, and so on. Exercise, and mindful breathing (a sort of meditation) helps me. If you must stress, find something else to get worked up over.

I haven't heard or read anything about there being a hereditary cause, but I suppose it's possible. But the LBBB would show up on your mum's EKG if she had it too.

I hope this helps, and please do keep in touch! I'll be more than happy to share my experience and knowledge, and hope you'll do the same. I'm actually quite happy to discover another member of the LBBB tribe. :-)

[rockmum]

yes yes yes,,, that is what i have LBBB, i was so confused when i posted up my question that i forgot what i had cos he kept the hospital report,,, and its definately the left branch bundle blockage 100%,,,
so now u know what i have, any ideas on how i can help myself?
was i born with it? he said i probably had it for ages
can it get worse? [please say no,,lol]
do u exercise? is it safe?
is yours 24-7 or only at stressy times? will mine calm down if i destress?
is this the most majority cause of people with skipped beats?
is it hereditary? cos my mums heart skips too, tho she had tests which are fine but has no idea of the cause

im so sorry to ask a million questions, if u can help me a bit id love it, thankyou xxxxxxx

i am a stresser 24-7 as u can see from my profile, so this kinda sux to have

[LBBBguy]

Hi there,
There is one thing that you mention that I'm wondering about, this "slow ventricle" as you describe it. I have a "slow ventricle" because of a condition called left bundle branch block (LBBB, hence my name), which is basically a blockage of the electrical path down there on the left side. Since you didn't mention anything about bundle branch block, I'm assuming that's not the cause of your slow ventricle, but I am curious if the doctor did give you some diagnosis as to why your ventricle is slow. I think stress and anxiety certainly could be behind your palpitations, but a slow ventricle... I suspect he was trying to explain something in plain English rather than medical jargon, but I'm just not sure what he means by slow ventricle in your case. And I'm also a bit confused by the descriptions of "slow at times" and that he thinks you "must have always had" the slow ventricle. These descriptions are a bit vague to me, and I could see how if that's what he's telling you why it might cause some anxiety. What does it mean, exactly? One of the biggest sources of fear and anxiety with these heart issues, IMO, is the unknown. So you may want to circle back with your doctor and just get some clarification so that you're not left with all of these questions. Oh, and just FYI, LBBB, while I'd rather not have it, it's really not too big of a deal as long as I stay healthy otherwise.

Now, with all of that said, I notice on your profile that you're a self-described "stresshead." This is advice I give often because I've been there myself. Don't let your mind run wild on you over this stuff. It's pretty easy to start thinking whatever it is that's going on with you is something awful. Heart issues, I think in particular, are scary. We can feel something acting up, and we start to not trust our hearts and start to obsess and worry about what's going on in there, causing our anxiety level to rise, which can aggravate any type of arrhythmia, and a vicious downward spiral can begin. For some people, and really it's not most of us, this stuff is dangerous. For the most part, this stuff is more of an annoyance than truly dangerous. I'm not a doctor, and I'm just basing this on what you've said here, but your case doesn't sound like it falls into the dangerous category. Your doctor isn't likely to miss the dangerous stuff. That said, and based on what you've said so far, I'd just repeat that you should definitely follow up with him regarding any questions and concerns you do have so that you can put your mind at rest and don't have these lingering doubts. If you don't think your doctor is doing that to your satisfaction, you could look into getting a second opinion, and you may want to do that anyway, just to help put your mind at rest.

Hope this helps!

[rockmum]

hi kane, thanks for answering,, yeah my regular dr gave me the info, he says im fine and dont need a cardioligist cos im in no danger, im still stressed tho,, but i will need to relax or he said the missed heartbeats will keep happening,
he says i must have always had the slow ventricle, but i only notice palpitations when stressed, , and its true, the more i think about them i get them,,lol,, like 10 minutes ago i was eating dinner and couldnt feel them,, then as soon as i sit here and start reading about them and feeling my pulse i get them alot, so i better go now,,lol, thanks for your reassurance, i need that lately xo

[kane3]

I believe you should be just fine, like the dr said. Try to cut out the stress as best as you can and maybe take a week for yourself to relax. Its a vicious cycle once you start worrying about your heart. Anxiety kicks in, you start to worry, and it just repeats itself untill you end up back at the docs or er. Have you talked about any medications to help with the stress/anxiety? Was this a cardiologist you were seeing or a regular doctor??....anyways take care
Kane