AF and ectopic beats

[Deary63]

Could someone tell me does Ectopic beats come under AF , only I’ve suffered for years Ectopics , but I’ve read that lots of people are on blood thinners to prevent blood clots (stroke) , I never been offered them over 30 years of suffering with the extras beats, I have asked one consultant if I should have them and they have said no, but it’s does worry me, that I perhaps should have them 🤷‍♀️

[Finvola]

Ectopics are premature heart beats which everyone gets but are more intrusive for some people with AF. They are considered to be harmless and do not carry the stroke risk of AF and AFlutter, so do not cause anticoagulation to be considered.

For most of us they are a nuisance and for many they can cause anxiety because of the way they make us feel. Trust your consultant.

[Deary63 in reply to Finvola]

Thank you for explaining that , I will try to stop worrying now !

[David1958]

Ectopic heart beats are a much different animal than AF. Ectopic beats are either a skipped beat or an added beat. But the heart stays in a sinus rhythm. AF is when the Atria goes into quiver mode with no discernible rhythm. The Ventrical tries to keep up by speeding up. When I was still drinking coffee, I could feel the ectopic beats. When I cut out the caffeine they shrank in number and eventually disappeared. Ectopics are not dangerous in themselves. It is when people get anxious about them that trouble can begin. For you to start anticoagulants without the need for them would not be good. Why would you want to take a drug that is not necessary? If you also suffer AF then we would need to know more about your situation.

[PlanetaryKim]

Is there anyway without a machine you can tell if your arrhythmia epsiode is ectopics, or afib? In most cases, all I can confirm at home is that I am no longer NSR, that I have some kind of arrhythmia going on. When I have gone to ER and been hooked up to EKG, at has been afib. But I think sometimes at home I am just experiencing ectopics. I use my stethoscope and my pulse-oximeter , which displays the waveform that travels across the bottom depicting my pulse. It looks very different when I am arrhythmic than when I am NSR.

[KMRobbo in reply to PlanetaryKim]

I just feel my neck pulse below the rear corner of my left jaw. If the pulse between the "missed" beat is regular I take that to be NSR with ectopics. If it is completely irregular ie random , I would assume A fib. (Never happened since my ablation) . If you have multiple "missed " beats in a very short beat count period I would be confused! Luckily I don't seem to get them like that

Not medically trained.

[PlanetaryKim in reply to KMRobbo]

Thanks! That's my problem though, multiple missed beats (or doubled-up beats) in a short beat-count period.