4 years post ablation,not sure if AF is back

[andy1875]

Had ablation 4 years ago and until recently have felt great I'm not sure if AF is back as the sensation is differerent,i am constantly suffering with skipped beats every 2 or 3 beats or so my HR is not that high maybe in the 70's to 80's most of the time.Virtually every day this is happening,its worse when lying and sitting down.My stomach is all churned up cant stop burping,finding it very difficult to eat,really struggling to get through each day,I think i am now suffering with anxiety problems also which makes it worse,i'm terrified of going to hospital because of COVID,i am at my wits end

[BobD Volunteer]

This sounds like ectopic beats which are not AF but can be troublesome though seldom treated by doctors as they are benign. Try slow deep breathing using your diaphragm not your shoulders and slow to less than 6 breaths a minute for at least five minutes, longer if you can.

[andy1875 in reply to BobD]

thanks for the reply bob,i will give the deep breathing a go.I thought ectopic beats were just occasional things didnt realise they could be a virtually constant thing,i have felt worse during this than i did when i had AF.It feels like a vicious circle as the longer it goes on i really struggle to eat,my appettite completely disappears which then makes me worry about not eating and feel weak,even sleeping is a problem as this almost always triggers it and i wake with my heart heavily flip flopping almost every other beat,i would not wish this on any one its awful

[thumpthump]

Hi, have you considered you could have a digestion problem that is irritating your vagus nerve? For me, treatment to control acid reflux has helped which can sometimes be a trigger of ectopic beats.

[andy1875 in reply to thumpthump]

Thanks for the reply,i did wonder about this as sometimes after eating i have had it start up,also after my ablation i had some digestion issues and tests showed i had small amounts of bile in the stomach but as a general rule i dont really suffer with acid reflux although i do recall there being such a thing as bile reflux which is similar but lower down the system so to speak,was it PPI type medication that helped or anything over the counter? thanks

[thumpthump in reply to andy1875]

Hi, prescribed PPI medication has helped me (lansoprazole). Best of luck 👍

[KMRobbo]

I get lots of ectopics , but not consistently. I can go days/ weeks without noticing any, then can have a day or several days when i have many . Feel your pulse in you neck. Are the beats regular between the "missed" beats? If so probably not AFib. How frequent are the "missed" beats? I count my good beats and reset at every missed beat. I find if they are less than one in 20 ish on average I can ignore them qyite easily. Note mine are are not consistent, i may miss the third beat , then the 17th, then the 13th, then the 28th . All random . More frequent than 1 in 20 and they get more irritating. I get a fluttery feeling in my upper chest/ neck which is the irritation. If they are ectopics, the missed beats are not missed beats they are extra beats. When happens is that an extra beat is generated in the heart not by the sinus rhythm. This empties the heart so when the next sinus beat arrives there is little blood in your ventricle so no blood is pumped hence you dont feel it in your pulse, so the "missed" beat. I believe this also causes the fluttery feeling.I would also say that anxiety makes them worse, but also means that you are probably concentrating on them, so you notice them more if that makes sense. Also anxiety will raise your heart rate - a vicious circle. I just try to ignore mine , but I have had mine well over two and a half years with no (noticeable) ill effects, and I so I have long since stopped worrying and have had a lot of practice at ignoring them.

If yours have only just started and you cant stop worrying then maybe you need to see get an ECG done when you are suffering them and discuss with your medics so they can advise what they are.

I am not medically trained.

[andy1875 in reply to KMRobbo]

Thanks for the reply,i have also tried counting the good beats as you say,at its worst i only get 2 or 3 good beats maximum,it started a few months ago upon waking i had a peculiar feeling in the chest but when i got up it went away,gradually things have got worse,i had to book a day off work today as i felt dreadful,i went to the loo and things have calmed down abit.I have just forced down a sandwich,my stomach feels clenched and i have no appetite,feel sick etc,anxiety is definitely playing a part i think now,i know i need medical help but i feel a nervous wreck and think that i will break down in tears speaking about it,i feel so ill and so ashamed of myself for feeling this way

[KMRobbo in reply to andy1875]

Absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, illness is illness and every 3 beats a "missing " beat consistently is a massive issue. I would go and get an ECG next time you get to that level and the medics ought to then tell you what it is , which may remove some worry. They also may be able to suggest a course of action to relieve that load. are you breathless at all?

[andy1875 in reply to KMRobbo]

Not really breathless as such,just a horrible churning feeling in the stomach which becomes overwhelming,i have just tried to completley rest today and feeling slightly better will see how things go thanks for your reply

[Snookersteve]

Hi Andy, if nothing else helps in the next few days then I would seriously consider at least contacting your GP as these symptoms seem to be making your life a misery. If you are fully vaccinated against Covid then you have around a 90% protection from catching it and even if you did catch Covid your symptoms will be lessened due to vaccination. There are less than 6000 people in hospital with Covid in the UK out of a population of around 67 million (ie less than 1 in 10000 of the population) so you would be extremely unlucky to be seriously ill with Covid.

Seek medical help and if you need to go to hospital then you can be sure that they will have protocols in place to keep the spread of the virus to a minimum.

[Morzine]

Do you get skipped beats and thrn a quick one? Cos it sounds like ectopics as bob said. It’s is quite disconcerting I know. I get them. Touched wood nit fir a while but if I do get them I tend to get a run of them in and off for days even weeks, then none....how they start who knows. I do get tired with them if they go on and they do affect me in that way. Yes I get a tad anxious too.As it’s making your life a misery go get checked see your doc, we all feel much better when we get a medical person calm us about a health issue,

Best wishes, sue

[milehighlinnie]

You might consider a loop recorder. It is very small and placed under the skin over your heart. Your cardiologist gets a report every day that shows any events your heart may experience. It has given me such peace of mind. If I feel like something is going on, I just call and, so far, they just say its all normal (skipped beats or extra beats. No AF.) It takes the guessing (and the anxiety) out of it.

I got it as I want to go off Eliquis (post ablation). Hopefully I can in one month and after that the doctor will monitor the reports and if he sees AF, we will revisit the need for Eliquis. If not, I don’t need to worry.

It’s an easy, in-office placement and after that you forget it is there.

[Kiwi2]

Are you on beta blockers as they helped my ectopics and anxiety?

[andy1875 in reply to Kiwi2]

No,no medication at all

[listerines]

Hello andy1875, Definitely sounds like you are experiencing PACs or PVCs (ectopic beats), I have been advised by my EP and Cardiologist that these are generally benign (intensity of symptoms not frequency generally what doctors more concerned about) , but I can appreciate that they sure don't feel benign especially when you are experiencing alot of them and in frequent episodes. As the other responders note, would be good to get this checked by a medical team in some capacity - cardiologist / EP to reduce your anxiety and provide some calming words.From my experience I have had these types of "skipped beats" for the last year in conjunction with paroxysmal Afib. Mine have been determined to be PACs (premature atrial contractions and can lead to triggering afib, though certainly not in every case or situation) and I have had at my worst about 12-15% of my heart beats affected (so about 12000-15000 a day). This amount has fluctuated though as sometimes a few thousand a day and other times 100s a day or just a handful (not a lot of rhyme or reason). And they have seemed to decrease in intensity over time and become more manageable (had ablation in Oct 2020 for afib).

I am no medical professional, but I have found that relaxation breathing can help with ectopics (meditation also positive to deal with the anxiety), and also mild exercise (walking) to reduce the frequency of episodes. I have also had positive results with taking magnesium taurate supplements along with Coenz-Q10 supplements and keeping my potassium levels balanced through balanced dietary intake (others do well on other types of magnesium or supplements to reduce ectopic beat intensity).

As with any condition if it is greatly affecting your quality of life you need to discuss with health professionals, as medications can be prescribed to reduce ectopic burden (usually beta blockers as first line of treatment, then possibly anti-arrhythmics as second line of treatment and in severe/ prolonged cases possibly ablation). The ectopic burden would need to be high and prolonged before medical team would consider meds or ablation.

My hope is that these skipped beats pass for you soon or at least become more manageable - let us know how things go. Keep safe

[andy1875 in reply to listerines]

thanks to all for the advice hopefully will get things sorted soon