Missed heart beat. Or entropic beats!

[jillgloucester]

Can anyone tell me what these actually feel like to you and how long have you had this condition.. Does this condition get worse...

[jillgloucester]

Sorry,,, I meant Ectopic!,!

[souljacs4]

Hi Jill if you type in ectopics in the box right hand side where it says search AF association you will see posts on ectopics hope this helps

[fallingtopieces]

Jill, when I have an ectopic I can feel two beats together in quick succession but when seen on an ecg there is actually a pause, then the two beats close together.

Ectopic beats are just one beat occuring as I have described, then back to normal rhythm. Some people experience these frequently and others not so but they present in amongst normal rhythm.

I've knowingly had them for 15 years at least and I'm 56 now. I would say my ectopics are no worse. I have had little bouts of other disrupted rhythm in the meantime but I feel I am keeping mine under control with supplements including a hefty dose of magnesium. Plus I only ever have one glass of wine now : ((

Pat

[Alan_G in reply to fallingtopieces]

Ditto the above. When I get them I relax (not necessarily sit down) and do slow, deep breathing. I find this helps get ride of the uncomfortable feeling that ectopics leave. If I don't do this I feel fairly certain it could progress to an AF episode.

[jillgloucester in reply to Alan_G]

When you get them Alan,, do you get a little flutter in the chest!? Or something different? Thx

[Alan_G in reply to jillgloucester]

It's hard to explain. The closest I can get is it's like having a lump between the top of my chest and throat. I have had the flutter feeling before as well. My pulse does not speed up or go arrhythmic and so I'm often at a loss as to explain what is happening but it goes if I relax and do not panic.

[jillgloucester in reply to fallingtopieces]

I can only describe my feeling of missed beats like,, a sensation of a small quiver type feeling in my chest, then followed by 2 or 3 more within 2 minutes or so. I breathe slightly deeper too. Only when I put my fingers over my pulse is when I feel the skipped beat. To me it just feels like a skipped/missed beat. Like a pause until the next beat..... im a bit like Alan G wondering if it could go into AF... I think I will see doc and get a monitor for a week if I'm feeling unsure about stuff...

I only drank a little wine once every 2 weeks then I increased it to one glass a week, wow.. But I don't drink it at all now. So addictve though! Also I don't like to push myself with exercise, too scared!

I had a ht 5 years ago,, then 2 years later noticed the missed beats! I always wonder if I had them before the ht? Thank so much for you info fallingto pieces ,, Gawd! There's a name!! Hope your not!,,,, xxxxx

[Alan_G in reply to jillgloucester]

Red wine is my favourite alcoholic beverage and I so do miss it, but I feel I'm taking to much of a risk drinking it. I will occasionally have a glass with a meal though. I have now reverted back to real ale and prosecco which seem to be okay. I can get away with drinking a large glass of wine when out but just feel my risk factor of AF later goes up.

[seasider18 in reply to fallingtopieces]

I hope like me you changed to a larger glass

[CDreamer]

I posted recently asking if people had atrial (PAC) ectopic a or Ventricular ectopics. I have the latter and have the sensation of being aware of my heartbeat which I am not normally, and of having a palpitation. It is obvious on a ECG and as I use Alivecor I have been able to record them for my EP.

My understanding is that ventricular ectopics are benign but can be troublesome for the sufferer whereas PACs can trigger AF or AFl.

Hope this helps

[jillgloucester in reply to CDreamer]

Oh,, It all gets deeper and deeper... I need to get grip of all the ins and outs of these ectopics...! Thank you it does help...xxx

[Alan_G in reply to CDreamer]

I don't know which I get. I mentioned it to the GP last time I was there but he didn't give me an answer, but rather said most people get ectopics at one time or another. I'm guessing it must be a PAC because I feel very vulnerable to an AF episode when they happen because I get the same sensation in my chest.

[Elaine1951]

I agree wth all the posts above. Ectopics feel wearying at times especially if you've had af and fear going into it again. Magnesium def helps. Exesersizr sometimes brings Ectopics to the fore but better to be fit than overweight. Breathing slowly reduces them. Read de Sanjay Gupta see his iTunes

[Alan_G in reply to Elaine1951]

I've recently started taking magnesium supplements plus a few others. It's too early to say if they have helped, but I do seem better equipped now to get past the ectopics if I relax and do deep breathing.

[jillgloucester]

So interesting reading all the replys. Thx.... Must do some work now!,! Ha

[skirabbit]

I think you mean ectopic beats - I suffered from these for a long time - it started with skipping like every tenth or twelfth beat and got to the stage where I was in permanent bi or TRI gemini. The heart is not actually skipping beats but rather beating too soon (while it is still empty) so you do not feel the pulse. For me the feeling was at first terrifying and as I got used to it less so - but I always had this feeling of impending doom, I am one of the rare people that "hears" is own heart beat so every skipped beat I was aware of. I suffered a sort of depression and as I said this constant feeling of impending doom. Doctors had no idea why - finally a doctor said I needed a pace maker - which fortunately I never got. I did a lot of research and there are a lot of theories about why this happened - I tried the cures for them all and something worked - and now I am fine - but for many years I was not.

[jillgloucester in reply to skirabbit]

Oh, yes no blood in the chamber,, I've heard that too, makes sense,,but why isn't it there?... I wonder if it was something to do with a previous heRt attack? Thanks for the into,, ..and what helped in the end?

[skirabbit in reply to jillgloucester]

Hi Jill - it is not there because the chamber has not filled yet - the heart beats too early - it is like a misfire in a car, the heart beats but at the wrong time. First I would like to say that I am not a doctor and I have some strong opinions about doctors - they tend to be very focused and if your problem is not one of the 20% that cause 80% of heart problems, they generally cannot be bothered to try and explore all the options particularly if those causes reside outside the heart. I give you an example - many different cardiologists had no idea why I had ectopic beats - I was missing every second or third beat - I have a low pulse at the best of times so I was registering a heart beat in the 30's sometimes - this gives you this feeling of impending doom - basically your bodies way of telling you something is wrong. It is horrible. I spent one night in ICU after I was admitted with chest pains, BP through the roof and these skipping beats - in the end they did all kinds of tests and said we do not know we cannot guarantee you will not drop dead but at the same time we cannot find anything which suggests you will - so they sent me home. I did a lot of research and I was convinced that I had Roemholds syndrome. Problem is it is only recognised in some countries as a real thing (basically the thing is that the nerve that comes from your brain to your heart - the vagus nerve, also goes to your stomach and your lungs - it branches off very high on your spine - the reason quadriplegics don't die when they severe their spinal cord. Anyway Roemhold identified this syndrome where stomach problems can cause heart problems. Because it is not directly a heart issue most cardiologists I went to poo pooed the idea. Anyway i tried a shotgun approach which looked to deal with all of the unusual reasons one might have ectopic beats - these were focused on both my stomach and nervous systems. So here goes the list

1. I took magnesium and pottassium and upped my salt intake - mg is very important for your nerves and so is pottassium - little know fact that if your sodium intake is low your body steals magnesium to replace the sodium and you can get nervous problems

2. I went to a neurological chiropractor who specialised in the dealing with Roemholds syndrom - he basically worked on my nerves and on releasing my stomach (there are plenty of youtube video's on this.

3. I worked on my breathing - as apparently breathing too much (i know that sounds crazy) can actually make your blood CO2 levels drop too much and this also causes ectopic beats (you can google this too)

4. I started an LCHF diet - way better than statins - there is a huge body of evidence now that plaque build up (like you had) is NOT caused by cholesterol but by inflammation caused by sugar and carbs - read up on LCHF people like Volek, Phinney, Noakes et al

5. and finally, while I was in Malta the tour guide took us to a church which he guaranteed us was famous for health miracles and there I prayed...

and so I avoided a pace maker - I was scheduled for surgery on the Monday and I cancelled it the day before...and six weeks later my ectopics had gone..

[jillgloucester in reply to skirabbit]

Ooooow,,, there's a story. I have read it a few times and still need to read a few times more for all of it to sink in.

Sounds like you've had a rough time of it.

I'm going try and take all on board..

Sugar and inflammation I've heard about before but I seem to forget things and glad you have brought it to my attention...

Did you have stomach problems?

I've noticed when I have to talk for half an hour, I feel light headed, perhaps that's something to do with co2....?I need to google so much!

Magnesium etc, I must try. Everyone seems to be doing that.

You've explain it all so well and thank you for that...!

Well done to you for sorting yourself out..