confusion

[bugswhiskers]

I have had heart palpitations on and off for the past week; they keep me awake and are really uncomfortable. My heart beats one, two, and then a quick beat; sometimes it beats once and then pauses, over and over again. It seems to be locked into this pattern, sometimes with more beats between the pauses. Is this what people call slow atrial fibrillation? I know the chaotic beating of AF and the constant peeing that goes with it, but this feels different and I don't feel the need to go to the loo all the time. My GP has suggested taking an extra Flecainide in the evenings and is organising a 24 hour ECG. My AF episodes used to start and stop over several hours, but this pausing heart beat seems to be an every day and night thing now. Is this persistent AF? I would be grateful for any helpful comments.

[rosyG]

you need an ECG to be sure about it- can your GP organise a 24 hour one

[BobD Volunteer]

I am no expert but this sounds very much like ectopic beats which although harmless are very annoying when coming in clusters like this. Your ECG will hopefully find out. In the meantime try the slow deep breathing exercise which so many of us find useful .

Relax and breath deeply from your diaphragm not your shoulders. Slow your breathing right down to less than six breaths a minute and do this for at least five if not ten minutes.

[bugswhiskers in reply to BobD]

Thank you BobD, I have found that deep breathing helps, but am feeling too panicky sometimes to do it properly, and will follow your advice about breathing from the diaphragm.

[UScore in reply to bugswhiskers]

I have bouts of ectopics that last a few hours. I find that deep breathing sometimes helps, for the 5 or 10 minutes I'm doing it. If I stop then the ectopics usually come back.

For me the trigger will have been caffeine, or indigestion, and the ectopics go when the triggering thing has passed. Breathing, or controlling anxiety, doesn't seem to affect the overall length of the bout.

[UScore]

I've been having something similar in the past couple of weeks. Has taking an extra flec in the evenings helped?

[bugswhiskers in reply to UScore]

Hallo UScore. Yes the extra Flecainide has helped a lot. I was woken up by my alarm clock instead of my heart for the first time in weeks.

[Mejulie69]

Sounds like ectopic beats (PAC's and / or PVC's). Personally, I feel ectopics way more than AF which feels smooth by comparison. The PACs especially thump through my chest. They can appear in singles, doubles, triples etc. For me, lots of ectopics tend to occur before I go into AF. I would recommend buying a personal ECG machine so you can "see" what you heart is doing. It's quite reassuring.

[bugswhiskers in reply to Mejulie69]

Hallo Mejulie69. I feel the same, in that I know what AF feels like and it's familiar, but I can't believe the force of ectopic beats sometimes, and I hate it when my heart seems to be locked into pausing mode. Thank you for your suggestions, it's so helpful to communicate with people who have similar concerns.