3rd heartbeat?

[Jadezmommy123]

Hey everyone! I'm glad to say flecainide is doing its trick and I haven't had an episode in about a week. So I'm starting to feel better however the vibration as I mentioned in my last post are still there. Anyways last night before bed I was noticing my pulse and I have a Doppler at home where I can listen to my heart I notice my heart sounds like there's 3 beats something like beat- beat,beat-----beat- beat,beat... And so forth. I wanted to know if that's just me having irregular heartbeats or is this a side effect of flec. Well wishes for everyone :).

[BobD Volunteer]

Sounds like "missed" beats known as ectopics. What happens is that the ventricle contracts before the atrium has passed blood down to it so there is nothing to pump. Ectopics are quite normal but of course we AF people notice them far more.

[Bob56]

Its unlikely that the Flecainide is causing the problem and as the other Bob says it could well be ectopics. All I would add is that the ectopics do give you an unsettled feeling with can lead to anxiety, which is a vicious circle as the anxiety can contribute to the ectopics. Once you become conscious of these "missed" beats, its very difficult to forget about them, but the good news is that the ectopics don't carry the same risk as AF. Ectopics are also alleviated by all the things which are good for the heart generally like the right sort of exercise, cutting back on alcohol, caffeine etc and good vitamin supplements, especially magnesium.

[SRMGrandma Volunteer]

Have you ever been told you have a murmur? Typical heart sounds are describes as S1 and S2 (sound one is the lub and sound two is the dub) and if there is an extra sound between the lub and the dub it is an S1 murmur and if the extra sound is after the dub it is an S2 murmur. Or it may just be your perception of an ectopic, as others have mentioned . Mention it to your doc if you feel this is something new for you.

[Jadezmommy123 in reply to SRMGrandma]

Thank you, yea I was confirmed that I didn't have a murmur my heart sounds like an s3. I'm definitely bring it up today at my EPs appointment.

[sann]

Hi jade mommy what is a Doppler I'm curious ? Sann

[Jadezmommy123 in reply to sann]

I got it when I was pregnant as a gift. It's usually used to hear the babies heartbeat in the womb but I've been using it to hear my heart and it works great.