IWhat do ectopics feel like

[Rachelanx50]

Hi everyone. I was discharged from hospital yesterday having gone in the previous night with fast AF (186 bmp) came home at around 80 to 90, usually i feel a slight palpatation feeling other times a more pronounced palpatation feeling but I'm no having regular feelings of what i can only describe as a vibrating feeling like a fast shaking is this ectopics? I'm currently taking 240mg diltiazem and 2.5mg bisoprolol not got an appointment with cardiology until one comes through any advice would be appreciated. Happy New year to you all

[BobD Volunteer]

Ectopic or missed beats are a normal function of a healthy heart. They happen when for example the atrium beats twice in quick succession so that when the ventricle contracts there is no blood there to pump round the body. It therefore feels like a missed beat. It can also happen the other way round when the ventricle contracts before the atrium has sent any blood down to it. One is called a premature atrial contaction (PAC) the other premature ventricular contraction PVC but all feel like a gap in heart beat.

They are benign and seldom if ever treated by doctors.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob, I don't think it's that then it's more like a sudden onset of vibrating feeling in the chest mainly when I've eaten

[AussieHeart]

You may not believe my answer to this however I suffered same vibration for a year! It originally started after standing, then eating … then all the time! They thought it was anxiety prior to my aFIB/ectopics dx but mine also developed after 5 hours of fast heart rate. The EP said this is not a cardiac condition. I’m now seeing a gastroenterologist who has given dx of faecal loading. If you’re suffering any constipation or diarrhea symptoms it could be that. It seems the heart-gut link is behind it. Magnesium helped calm my gut.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to AussieHeart]

Thanks so much this makes alot of sense actually

[AussieHeart in reply to Rachelanx50]

If this is the cause as GP not 100% convinced due to me having many weird symptoms (atypical amaurosis fugax event/fainting etc) prior BUT please get onto it now. BioMagnesium became my go to. I need a mixture of salts. Do bowel exercises and drink 12 glasses of water. When I originally took that vibration complaint to the GP she dismissed it as health anxiety so it just got worse and worse and worse to the point it caused leg shakes and I couldn’t walk, confusion and migraines! I was left to rot with this condition for a year until I begged to be referred to a gastroenterologist after cardiac electrophysiologist and neurologist said they’d never heard of these symptoms!! The gastro guy listened and I’m hardly getting shakes unless I eat too many huge meals like this Christmas and my bowels protest! I’ll have to be on some kind of stool softener for life as they think the constipation being left untreated for so long caused adhesions.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to AussieHeart]

Thanks so much for your support i have had gut problems since having a gastric bypass seven years ago i previously told my cardiologist that my heart beats too fast and I also get the shakes this was dismissed i started to take magnesium yesterday so time will tell i will show your post to my cardiologist when my appointment comes through again thank you

[Ppiman]

Although it's so that everyone has these occasionally, they can be troublesome when they occur repeatedly or come in pairs, threes or even long runs. For all the world, these feel the same as AF to me, especially when the pulse is higher, too.

You shouldn't feel a fast shaking as an ectopic is a beat that comes in too soon ("premature") and is then followed by a longer gap before the next normal beat, which can feel like it arrives with a bit of a thump. That said, runs of these can feel mightily strange and worrying.

It might be worthwhile your getting a Kardia device or an Apple Watch (any from Series 4, but you need an iPhone, too). These will show you the trace of your heart beat rather neatly and can actually be saved to show your doctor. Avoid such things if you have a tendency towards neurosis, though!

Steve

[Rachelanx50 in reply to Ppiman]

Thanks Steve I've ordered a Kardia device from Amazon should be arriving tommorw

[Ppiman in reply to Rachelanx50]

Oh you're in for fun! If you find the standard 30 second trace isn't sufficient to catch the arrhythmia, you can change this to various other lengths of time (depending on model, perhaps - not sure). If you are like me and others here who have them, you will get a little hooked on it initially before it finds its useful place in your arrhythmic life!

Steve

[Rachelanx50 in reply to Ppiman]

Thanks Steve I'll let you know how I get on

[RichMert]

Sounds like atrial flutter. I get that occasionally. Like a weird wobble in the chest.

[Rachelanx50 in reply to RichMert]

Thanks rich hope my cardiology appointment is sooner rather than later

[Jamse]

i was on 15mg of bisoprolol but now down to 10 but I'm a bulky chap had a cardioversion a year ago and Its amazing to suddenly have sinus rhythm