Short heart pause

[John3333333]

I've been pestered by various ectopics over the course of the last year, but over the last couple of days they have been replaced by a weird pause. It's a short pause (less than 2 seconds), which comes about once every 10 minutes or so, except when I'm sitting/lying down, during which it doesn't occur at all. My heart seems to stay in NSR before and after these odd pauses, and my ectopics have pretty much disappeared. I have no other new symptoms.

This certainly isn't an unwelcome change, as it's much easier to deal with than waves of ectopics, but I was just curious if anyone else has experienced similar rhythm issues? I'm meeting my cardiologist at the end of the month for a check up (12 month post-ablation), so hopefully he can shed some light on the issue.

[bantam12]

I had pauses which were causing me problems so I now have a pacemaker, I still get the pauses but much shorter as the pm kicks in to stop them.

[John3333333 in reply to bantam12]

How long were the pauses you experienced? Other than the pause/palpitation, I experience no issues.

[bantam12 in reply to John3333333]

I think they were about 4-5 seconds at worst but usually less, I do still have salvos of ectopics and the odd pause which is unpleasant but at least I know the pm will kick in.

[dmack4646 in reply to bantam12]

do you feel the pm kick in ?

[bantam12 in reply to dmack4646]

No there’s nothing to feel.

[Jmc43]

I had similar issues starting in September. The ectopics (including unevenness and some short pauses) kicked in at night, made sleeping difficult. I also had a low night time heart rate (40 +/-). In November after I saw my, he EP suggested a 30 day heart monitor to see what was happening. Three days later, I got a call from his office as the monitor had turned up some pauses between 6-8 seconds. Apparently once they are over 5 seconds, they worry. So he suggested a pacemaker. I got the pacemaker implanted that week in mid-Nov and it has a base rate of 60. This has addressed the low heart rate issues, and I sleep well at night again. I still have PAC’s, and uneven beats periodically…but they seem milder, perhaps because of the pacemaker. The EP is not worried about the PACs. Also, because I am less anxious about them now that the slow heart rate/pause issue has been addressed.

[John3333333 in reply to Jmc43]

I'm glad you're sleeping well again. Heart rhythm issues at night are very frustrating. Thankfully the pauses I experience are all less than 2 seconds long - hopefully it either stays that way or improves.

[HANDY1]

if your heart is structurally sound, in all likelihood the cardiologist will tell you that you’re totally fine.

[John3333333 in reply to HANDY1]

Yeah, I'm not too concerned. There were no issues found during my last echo. It's just a weird, new sensation that I'm experiencing as a result of ablation. I'm starting to think that, for some, AF ablation just creates a whole host of new heart wobbles. I guess it's the price you pay for a reduced AF burden.

[HANDY1]

I don’t think they do ablations in Canada like they do in the US and UK. Nor recommend PIP. My cardiologist who conducted all my testing had ectopic beats like me. He said my heart was structurally sound so I didn’t require any additional pills or procedures. It’s just something to get use to.