Can anyone shed any light on this, please. I'm getting spells where my heart goes really slow, then sort of 'stalls' as if it going to stop and then goes back to a normal rhythm. It makes me feel sort of jittery and a bit breathless which is how I spotted it. I had it a month or so ago and the arrythmia nurses said it was nothing to worry about so I'm trying to ignore it, but it makes me feel quite listless and tired when it is happening.
I'm only taking magnesium and apaxiban at the mo, and I had an ablation eight months ago. I can do normal things, like running and chores, but as I say it makes me feel pretty odd.
Thanks everyone
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Jajarunner
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I have this on a daily basis to a greater or lesser extent. It feels as though my heart pauses for a few seconds then I get a growling in my stomach and the heart speeds up to a fast rate then settles back to normal nsr and rate.
My cardiologist seems unconcerned about it safety wise but agrees if must feel very disconcerting. If course every time we have tried to capture it on a holter monitor it has miraculous failed to oblige.
That's very reassuring though. Thank you for sharing. Do you do anything to deal with it? I wonder if it is because I am very bunged up so mouth breathing at the moment?!?!
There appears to be nothing i can do, at least i havent found anything or had any recommendations from my cardiologist. I often find it linked to gastric issues so if my gastric problems are rife then i can almost guarantee the pauses will increase. Having said that they can come at any time in any situation, all very random and unnerving. Hope they settle for you.p, they are extremely scary.
I agree with Buffafly. May I ask you what you mean by Kardia not being compatible with you? Kardia records electrical impulses from the heart, as does an ECG.Used properly, it can provide information of diagnostic quality acceptable to your cardiologist.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t working, it means you have a weird rhythm the Kardia algorithm can’t classify! I usually get ‘unclassified’ when coming out of an episode or if I have ‘regular’ ectopics.
I see. Well, Kardia told me it wasn't compatible and gave me a full refund. Seems its was working all along! I suppose ectopics make it come up as unclassified then?,
If there are a lot, yes. I looked at my ‘unclassifieds’ and two show frequent ectopics. A couple of others were weak and wobbly looking recordings where you couldn’t see a ‘p’ wave so maybe you couldn’t get a good electrical contact, hence ‘incompatible’. Pity 😕
I have had AF and flutter since 2017. I had an ablation in 2018 which was not successful for me. I can have AF episodes once a week or six to eight weeks with nothing but last summer I started to get slow heart rate episodes, it feels like your heart is a lift dropping and I nearly passed out the other day. I have an oximeter and it can go as low as 23 beats a minute then the screen goes blank and it bumps up. These episodes can last half an hour or 24 hours. They can happen in conjunction with fast AF or one their own. I am on the waiting list for a pacemaker to rectify this. I have no idea when I will get one because of covid but the hospital did not seem very concerned and said it is just part of AF.
That's sounds most unsettling to say the least. As I said to Steve I find moving (getting up if sitting or a bit of exercise ) seems to help, or at least distract. Its the last thing you feel like doing when you feel faint, I know, and be careful. Perhaps you could try some seated exercise which would raise the heart rate a bit? Marching on the spot, waggling your arms about, that sort of thing.Hope I'm not just stating the blooming obvious and apologies if I am xx
No, like you I have tried that, moving does seem to help. It mainly drops low when I am resting. I have tried staying awake until it is higher but now I just give up and go to sleep.
Have you had acupuncture or done feedback with it? I found magnesium stopped mine if I take enough but when they're happening deep breathing really helps. I do strong breathing until my lips buzz and then it seems to become more normal. Like a proper thump instead of a blurp blurp blibble .... I get that lift feeling as well its horrid.
I'd say trust the arrythmia nurse, myself. She knows you and has given good advice.
I get a slow heartbeat often and I also have ectopic beats ("missed beats"). These are certainly much more noticeable when my heartbeat is slow. Like you, I am told they are harmless and, essentially normal (i.e. something everyone has). I've read that worrying about a harmless heart issue is called "cardiac anxiety" and I can relate to that!
Hi Steve, thank for taking the time to reassure me. I call that anxiety cardianoia (geddit!)!! I'm finding getting the heart rate up seems to help, whether through exercise or just moving about if I'm sitting. Maybe its just a distraction technique but if it helps who cares xx
I did read that everyone gets these "missed beats" and I know that I've had them since I was in my twenties, forty years ago. Noticing mine is not good for me so I try to ignore them by telling myself just how long I've had them and that they came to nothing! A cardiologist once told me that he has way more than I do every day and fully expects to live a long and healthy life!
I agree we afib people are far too ware of our own hearts! I've noticed that my husband is more aware of HIS palpitations since my experiences and so are some friends. Cardianoia is contagious . Thanks again 😀
They're definitely not normal. A normal beat is a boom boom boom steadily and not very slow or very fast...if you have afib or slow heart beats your brain and body dont get enough oxygen... That's why people get dizzy and tingling ...over time it damahlges the nerves and brain and every organ of the body because every organ needs oxygen to be pumped on a consistent basis to it. Maybe an occasional flutter or thud won't do you much harm but if you're getting a lack of healthy blood flowing through the body...I mean its above water and food on the scale of things the body needs to remain alive! Its fundamental to health that you're heart and lungs provide oxygen. Three minutes without it you'd be brain dead. And constantly loving without sufficient blood flow for years of course its harmful!? I mean just putting an elastic band on your arm for ten minutes and you can viscerally feel the effect of a lack old decent blood flow. And that's what happens when your heart doesn't beat properly. That's why people get tired ...irritable cranky sore muscles weakness loss of coordination loss of memory when they have heart issues. Think of it like smoking. It won't kill you stone dead in a minute but over time it will deprive your body of essential process and degrade all your organs! How can you or any nurse or doctor say its not harmful? If your lungs were not taking regular strong breaths Or you weren't taking regular poops or you weren't eating regular meals they'd say that's harmful but not having a regular supply of blood is fine???? That seems so misguided. People who have afib are prone to strokes and heart attack a same as smokers are... Because we need constant oxygenation of our tissue. If you hold your nose and don't make regular strong breaths for a time that's going to have a similar affect on your systems. Except at least with that you'll have co2 build up and really feel the urgent need to breath freely after a short time whereas with your heart freaking out you don't get that you just get a piddling spasm of blood going to your organs instead of a steady pulse of fresh blood. My mind boggles that its not taken seriously.
This sounds very much like what I used to get when taking Flec’ and bisop’. I did manage to record it on my Kardia and show it to my EP.With me it caused dizziness and was a pause in heart beat of between 2 and 3 seconds when I was transitioning from AF to NSR. My EP said it was quite common and of no concern unless the pause lasted long enough to put me into syncope i.e blackout😳
As others have said, your Kardia giving ‘unclassified’ means that it is working just that your rhythm is unrecognised by it’s AF algorithm.
You should still be able to see and read your trace. Dr Sanjay Gupta (York Cardiologist) has done an interesting youtube video on reading ECG traces which might help.
I think I had pauses of a few seconds when I had ectopic beats - My late wife used to ly awake at night wondering when my heart was going to beat next.I also had bradycardia (slow pulse rate) to the extent that my SPO2 (blood oxygen saturation) was getting down to 75% at night. (Medics get concerned if it gets below 90%.)
Yes - I was waking up paralysed from the eyelids down - and the doc said that the bradycardia was more likely to kill me that the AF - and I have now had two pacemakers, three cardioversions and two Catheter Ablations.
I had the same problem once it lasted around 12 months on and off. It can be very frightening, the cardiologist told me it’s very common and I’d always get it.!!!! But I haven’t had it for around 2 years now so whether it’s something that comes and goes I don’t know.??
Fatigue and tiredness is my worst enemy for missed/ skipped beats and afib.!! I always do my best to try and keep fatigue/ tiredness to a minimum. Not easy sometimes I know.??
Yes, I'm desperately trying to get my fitness back to its old level, but my body is not as keen as my mind! Its forcing me to take it far more slow,y than I would like! To think I thought I'd be back to full fitness in 3-6 months post ablation and now its been 8 already and I'm only 2/3s of the way there! From what other sporty types tell me this is typical, but I'm darned impatient!!!!
Ablation is not easy on the heart.? Our hearts are not intended to have things inserted into it and parts burned or frozen. You’ll get there in the end believe me.
I have read your posts and feel for you. We had our ablations at the same time. Back to fitness in three months!! I don’t think so. It has taken me much longer.
I was fine until the last few days when I have started getting palpitations. Really disappointed and concerned. I have started taking the Apixiban again. Palpitations normal??
Hi Rod, I had palpations and spoke to the arrythmia nurses. I did wear a Holter monitor and it was just tachycardia and nothing to worry about but do talk to them and get checked.
My recovery came to a grinding halt six weeks ago when I developed fatigue which won't go. Then I had my covid jab five days ago and 12 hours later I was in Afib. Got cardioverted next day but obviously ablation has failed, not sure if they will do another. Or if I want another nine months of recovering.
Tbh I'm pretty depressed and self pitying at the mo so not much encouragement to you!
Chat to your nurses and let me know how you got on xx
Tired dehydrated high potassium low potassium low or high magnesium. Sodium iron etc...low oxygen... My doctor didn't mention any of these things to me just said I'm fine. I had dehydration indicated in my blood work which she never mentioned...drinking lots of water and magnesium have helped so much. Noticed I have also got high potassium which can slow your heart rate and comes from meat or from kidneys not processing proprly...mine is borderline high but if it get really high it can cause paralysis from the neck down and your heart to stop. And yet they don't mention the nessisity to keep a good electrolyte ratio...and some of the drugs even interfere with electrolyte balance. Why do they tell people they're fine and then do heart surgery when it gets worse. If it leads to surgery then its not fine and they should be helping people figure it out before they need surgery not telling them their fine until one day they need drugs and surgery. Christ.
When I was in the hospital recently with AFib I had a spell while on telemetry. I was light headed and could feel my heart "stall" . I ended up with a pacemaker which is great. I know I will not have these episodes again which can be very dangerous..You need to be diagnosed whether they are just innocent skipped beats or longer pauses. Best of luck to you.
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