Heart Skips Beats

[cgregg718]

Hello, my mom was wondering if anyone with Afib has their heart skip beats sometimes?

[BobD Volunteer]

These "missed beats" are called ectopic (out of place ) beats and happen when the top and bottom chambers get out of phase. They are benign though irritating. They are also a normal function of a healthy heart and everbody has them. Its just we AF people are too darned aware of our hearts.

[Aloha1 in reply to BobD]

Absolutely agree with BobD, I get them all the time and they are VERY irritating. It used to be (when I was younger), I could eat anything and everything without it bothering me, but now that I am a senior citizen, all my favorite foods makes my heart miss beats. I have my AFIB pretty stable with meds, but those ectopics are the pits.

On a different subject, anyone out there was put on water pills for their AFIB by their cardiologists? My cardio wants me take take them, put I really don't want to. Anyone know the benefits to taking them?

Aloha from Hawaii

[LindaDaisy in reply to Aloha1]

I take furosemide and I appreciate the benefits. Without them I get very out of breath. Only downside is you pee a lot after taking them. For me personally after about half an hour I have to go three or four times over the following hour, then its over for the day.

[jwsonoma]

I get them and even had one when my Doctor was listening to my heart. He said "oops there's one" and went on to say that they were perfectly normal and not to worry. I probably always had them but didn't notice until I had AFib.

[Finvola]

Reassure your mum that they are probably ectopic beats and are considered benign and many people - with and without AF - have them. They can be felt as a slight pause followed by a thump. If she finds them annoying, deep slow breathing for at least 5 minutes, using the belly muscles generally shifts them.

[Golfer60UK]

Hello, Yes I have them too. After ablations in 2020 I have been in normal sinus till about Dec/Jan (2021) when I noticed my heart was missing a beat or skipping a beat in a random way. Instead of having it checked by my Cardiologist I left it assuming it would settle. Now i have permanent etopiocs which I am waiting for a decision on 'what next'.My advice to your mom, go get it checked, it could be nothing or it could be the start of something else. If not satisfied with your GP ask for a referral to a Cardiologist

Dave

[Snowgirl65]

They're like second nature to me! -- they don't bother me a bit, and I've had them since puberty.

[cgregg718]

Thanks so much! It makes my mom feel better knowing she is not alone. I need to get her out here with an account so she can see these.

[The_Lord_is_with_Us]

Everyone has ectopic beats. It's just when they get outside of the realm of 'normal' when a doctor or EP is advised.

Waaaay (years) before I had AFIB, I told a doctor I felt little minor heart hiccups every now and then. Almost imperceptible.

I was sent to a Cardiologist who put me on a heart monitor for a week or so. Came back and told me I was experiencing a common ectopic called pre-ventricular contractions (PVC's) and not to worry ........ most everyone has them to one degree or another.

However, 8 years later or so ... I developed ATRIAL Flutter and after that AFIB.

[Karendeena]

Hi there, yes I do quite often