Ectopics and mild chest pain.

I’ve had more ectopics than usual over the last few days, something I attributed to eating more than usual and to having a mixture of foods (things like crisps, biscuits, cheese etc. as well as lots of fruit). I have also been belching more than usual. Last night, after spending the evening free of ectopics, as soon as I went to bed the ectopics started again; after a couple of hours- I decided not to go to sleep until they improved- I noticed an area of moderate pain in the chest, on the left side. The pain was worse when I pressed on a bone in that area. Heart rate was normal for me and there was no “radiating” pain. Eventually I fell asleep. Today, I had no ectopics in the morning, but after lunch felt some ectopics occurring and there was more trapped wind. There was also very slight pressure in the same area that I had the pain last night. I rang 111 and, of course, they said that I should go to A and E. I am not sure what to do however. Does this sound like indigestion or something more serious? In the past things like this turned out to be false alarms. I wondered what others thought...would it be reasonable to leave things until tomorrow morning to see the GP, or should I follow the 111 advice?

[Boyatthood]

I get ectopics when I am tired, bedtime and sometimes with food. Belching alleviates my ectopics. In the past a sustained episode of ectopics have left me with a mild sore sensation in the left side of my chest. After my ablation 18 months ago I would get this a lot. Things settled hugely when I started using a proton pump tablet to reduce heartburn. The doc has now prescribed this to me and generally my heart feels settled and only an odd ectopic happens maybe once or twice a day or not at all.

[Hidden in reply to Boyatthood]

I think ectopics and indigestion go together. And, as with you, belching tends to alleviate symptoms. I’m going to make sure I have nothing to eat 3 hours before bedtime and try to relax. If the ectopics haven’t gone by tomorrow I will ring the cardiac nurses at Barts to see what they think. Thanks for the reply.

[Fmak]

I am soo happy I found this post , I have been experiencing the same thing and it has got me so worked up that I have visited my 3rd cardiologist in the past month looking for answers .. I got a Holter report for 48 hrs and a stress test , and the doctors could not find anything that could explain this pain I felt .. but they have all assured me that it is not heart related ... it’s baffling to me that I have the exact same feelings as you described .. especially the chest tenderness ! But it the correlation between the ectopics and the chest pain that really is a worrier ... any luck with a solution to this issue ? Wish you guys health

[Hidden in reply to Fmak]

The ectopics have subsided since I wrote the earlier post, but I still get them from time to time. Things which seem to cause them are stress, eating a lot of sugary food (e.g. biscuits), large meals and not getting enough sleep. Going for a walk for about an hour seems to improve them. However annoying they are try not to get rattled by them. And keep a diary of when they occur, what you ate, drank etc. to see if you can spot any patterns to their occurrence.

The chest pain could be something called costochondritis according to my doctor. Try changing position if you get the chest pain or taking an ordinary antacid for indigestion. If either of these improves the chest pain it’s unlikely to be cardiac related. Another clue is whether the pain is accompanied by breathlessness or is on exertion- this would point to angina. Again, keeping a diary can be useful. Does it occur after a large meal? When lieing down?

[Fmak in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the tips and glad your feeling better

It’s an on and off thing for me and it’s new , some days it will act up and others it doesn’t , but when it does it does so for days .. and always with the chest discomfort on the left side , either a dull ache or sharp pangs and stabs , never too much , but always there as long as the ectopics are there ... really a worrying thing ... doctor also suggested Costcondritis , but I do doubt that .. and if it’s indigestion then why the ectopics at the same time ? Just wish I could know this for sure to get some peace of mind

[Hidden in reply to Fmak]

This video explains how ectopics can sometimes cause pain:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=_IDs2...(Not working as expected?)