Ectopics

[SpritzerAce]

Hi! Would like to know anybody’s experience in frequent ectopics or premature atrial beats. Are they dangerous? Have any of you had it for days with a sense of palpitations? Do share your experience and what you do when you have it. Will that lead to AF for you? Are you taking anything specific for it? Any tips to reduce it? Thanks all.

[SteM]

Hi I have had periods of constant ectopic beats usually when resting. I take Flecainide with Bisoprolol to prevent the AF and have been clear of it for a number of years. The last few years though I have suffered from ectopic beats and started to take Magnesium capsules to try and help cut them down which at the moment appears to be working. Take a look at some of the post by Dr Sanjay Gupta on YouTube about ectopic beats it will help you to understand that they alone are not something to be too concerned about.

[BobD Volunteer]

Ectopic or out of place beats are a natural function of a healthy heart and are considered benign . There is a very good slow deep breathing excerice you can search (Dr Gupta again ) which can stop them if you do it right.

[Ppiman]

I’ve had ectopic beats for much life. They’ve never overly worried me, fortunately, but I have often read of how much they affect some people, causing anxiety.

I recently read of a large ECG study of young people in which over 40% showed some atrial arrhythmias. It seemed to me, from that study, that they are, essentially, a normal thing.

Steve

[CDreamer]

They can make you feel horrible but doctors consider them benign. They can be brought on by lots of triggers - alcohol, drugs, exercise, certain foods, stress, hormone imbalance, electrolyte imbalance and absolutely no reason.

Everyone has some ectopics but not everyone feels them and it is usually only when they occur often that you feel them as palpitations.

If you suffer breathlessness, dizziness or faint then at the same time as feeling ectopics then go see your doctor.

I had them post ablation for AF quite a lot, especially if I tried to exercise or did too much and they stopped after I was sufficiently when I rested and hydrated. Ensure you are always well hydrated - drink plenty of water - and eat a good diet, avoid caffeine and alcohol and address worry and stress all of which will only make things a lot worse.

[Aus19]

Hi SpritzerAce, I have ectopic and irregular beats a lot of the time. I have sinus node dysfunction, not just AF, so I have what the electrophysiologist calls "highly aberrant conduction". If your doctor arranges for you to wear a holter monitor (for 24 hours or longer), that will give some idea of how frequently your ectopic activity occurs. If it's not accompanied by long pauses or heart block, then it's probably not dangerous. It can be really quite unpleasant but my cardiologist doesn't seem to worry about it. Then again, he's not the one who has to suffer it!

[Finvola]

After ablation, I think ectopics is the most asked-about topic on the forum - because so many of us are pestered, plagued or tortured by them. They are very unpleasant but all the medical advice is that they are harmless.

Since I started taking Nebivolol instead of Bisoprolol, my ectopics are less bothersome but the slow breathing exercise was always beneficial for me. Too much sugar could trigger them or they just started out of the blue. No rhyme or reason to them. I cannot remember if they triggered AF but, because they cause such anxiety, it is possible that the anxiety itself can be a trigger.

There is a search box at the top right of the screen and if you enter the word ectopics and on the next screen choose the AF Association button, you will get lots of posts on them.

Here is a link to Dr Gupta's video on breathing exercise:

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

[SpritzerAce in reply to Finvola]

Tq so much. Will check them out.

[SpritzerAce]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience. Really appreciate it.

[Bob56]

Hi for me the first thing to do when I started having palpitations was to confirm exactly what was happening so I had a 48 hour holter test which found I had 10,000 pacs over that period. My cardiologist prescribed a small dose of beta blocker to, as he put it, “take the edge off” the ectopics and hopefully make me feel more comfortable. This did help, and I’m on a small dose to this day ( 10 years later). For me the ectopics never led to an AF episode, but I still find them very unsettling, and I set out to find ways to alleviate them. The breathing exercises others refer to certainly help, and watch out for the usual triggers like caffeine, alcohol etc. Learning how to relax which in my case meant investing in a mindfulness programme ( plenty of different approaches here like phone apps, downloads, tapes etc.) was another step. Ectopics are rarely constant and for most people come and go, sometimes for no obvious reason. However, over time, I did always feel more vulnerable if I also had indigestion, or an upset stomach. The best approach for me was to try and eat sensibly, at regular intervals and never too late at night. I also avoid any long stretches without eating, as that can often be a trigger. Above all, stay well hydrated. I was never a big water drinker, and I’ve tried hard to drink at least 2 litres a day, including the odd cup of tea. Having sometimes felt total despair with my ectopics, I have gradually learnt to live with them and reduce their impact on my life. Good

luck, and feel free to ask more questions. You’re not alone!

[SpritzerAce in reply to Bob56]

Thanks Bob. So comforting to know that I aman it alone and others are also trying to adjust to this situation and are sharing tips on how to cope.

[cbsrbpm]

I am suffering these at the moment came on the morning after celebrating our Anniversary at the local Indian restaurant and three alcoholic drinks. Am suffering them all day every day for the last 4 weeks. Having a 24 hour holter fitted next Tuesday. I have worked out that I am getting at least 17,000 a day and very anxious which doesn’t help. You need to get a 24 hour holter so that they can have evidence of the burden of your ectopics. When I had them before my EP said they were not dangerous and upped my calcium channel blocker a little (Diltiazem) which worked at that time but now on max dose. Hope you get sorted soon, keep us up to date.

[Padayn01 in reply to cbsrbpm]

Sorry its been 9 months since this post, but can i ask how are the ectopics now?

[SpritzerAce in reply to Padayn01]

Hi there. Hope you are keeping well. Fortunately the ectopics have become few and far between. How about yours?

[Padayn01 in reply to SpritzerAce]

Yeah some days they can be quite good others really bad

[Padayn01 in reply to SpritzerAce]

How did the calm down for you any intervention?

[SpritzerAce in reply to Padayn01]

I noticed my obvious triggers are dairy especially milk and spicy/acidic food. Sometimes too much sugar will lend me into an episode too. Since stopping dairy and avoiding/reducing my intake of spicy and acidic food I seldom have ectopics. Hope this helps. Though I understand each person reacts differently to different food or situation. Ensuring that you have enough sleep is also a great help. They all sound like text book advice but they worked.

[cbsrbpm in reply to Padayn01]

I am touching wood while I type this but they just suddenly stopped after 5 months. This was after an appointment with a Dr Chen at Harefield who noticed that my HR was going really low at some points, so he reduced my Diltiazem by half, now take 180mg. They stopped after doing this for two weeks. I am now suffering from major depression which started shortly after ectopics stopped. Not sure if it was the stress from them.

[Padayn01 in reply to cbsrbpm]

They are dreadful, you just wake up in the morning and say to yourself what day i'm i going to have today, i'm glad you got relief from them now