Sanjay Gupta talks about a simple exercise to help ectopics

[Steve112]

youtu.be/wo0l2RMdvCY(Not working as expected?)

[CTG99]

Thanks Steve - really interesting and definitely one to try!

Caroline

[CDreamer]

It would be interesting to do our own poll/experiment to see if this does work! I rarely have multiple eptopics but I know that slow, deep breathing banishes anxiety!

This type of breathing exercise is used and has been used in anxiety management for a long time - if you add on abdominal breathing it works even better - called 7/11 breathing.

Breath in for count of 7 slowly, use you diaphragm to push breath down into your belly, hold for 1, breath out for 11, hold for 1 breath out for 7. If you cannot manage 7/11, start with 5/7 or even 3/5 - increase as you improve your ability to breath properly again,

It is thought that in shallow, rapid breathing you don't clear the CO2 etc from your blood and get too much oxygen so your body goes on high alert because it is a trigger for our body's sympathetic/parasympathetic autonomic nervous system and that then kicks into overdrive and speeds everything up. 7/11 breathing allow the gasses to equalise, calming the autonomic nervous system.

I cannot emphasise enough - Daily practice is essential and eventually it becomes second nature.

(7/11 breathing was developed by GPs in Southampton (???) whose work was the theoretical basis for a lot of Human Givens - if you have anxiety and or depression it is a great place to look for help - they used to have loads of stuff to download but unfortunately no more as it is all mainly based on selling and training so big business,

They used to have 2 books - How to lift Anxiety - Fast and How to Lift Depression - fast. 7/11 breathing is explained in detail in both. As self-help books I think they are 2 of the best as all their work is based on good science and not just psychological speak.

Simples....

Thanks for posting, good video.

[smwdorset in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for this post - am getting the book on depression but can't find the one on anxiety - does it still exist do to know ?

[CDreamer in reply to smwdorset]

I'm sorry I don't, I have a very old copy - it looks as though it was replaced in 2006 with - How to Master Anxiety.

[jeanjeannie50]

This consultant is amazing. I feel he genuinely wants to help people with abnormal heart rhythms and the information he gives is presented in a way which we can easily understand. Thank you for posting.

[Finvola]

Thank you for posting this - very helpful cardiologist.

[blackcat123]

Thank you for posting this. I learnt the 7/11 breathing when I suffered crippling anxiety a few years ago so was aware that it's very helpful in calming you down as CDreamer explains. However, I don't think I tried it for a full 5 minutes as suggested in this video. To get to the point of my post, (yes, there is one!) Ectopics began about half an hour ago and for me they are nearly always a precursor to an AF episode so I did what Sanjay Gupta suggested for the whole 5 minutes and they had stopped before I even finished! Hopefully not just a fluke. I will be trying this again. 👍😀

[Steve112 in reply to blackcat123]

If it helps just one person that's brilliant 😀😀

[Finvola in reply to Steve112]

Steve - it's now four days since you posted that link and there are numerous posts from people who have tried it and found it worked - I'm one of them. Well done you.

[Steve112 in reply to Finvola]

I'm just so pleased that people have found it useful..and thank you for taking the time to reply...

[CDreamer in reply to blackcat123]

Well done!

[Hidden]

I have just started controlled deep breathing and mindfullness meditation about 2 wks ago. Only had 2 a fib events in last 5 mo so dont know if it helps that yet but can say it certainly does help my anxiety. I never had anxiety pre a fib and now things like bad storms etc set it off, almost panicked the other day and I just laid down, did my breathing then listened to some music and was totally fine afterwards. This has prevented me from calling my doc and asking for antianxiety meds, for which Im happy about.

[mariacallas]

My very first post. I tried the 7 11 breathing technique just now for about two minutes and the thump in my chest is gone. will do this everyday many thanks so grateful