Missing heartbeats

[Norfolk_spaniel]

After calling out the paramedics on Saturday, I am now seeing a pattern to my symptoms. I had a successful ablation in October for persistent AF. I then had very bad covid in February. I am now finding that any exertion puts me in a pattern where i miss heartbeats. Might be one in 3 or one in 5. It lasts about half an hour and makes me feel very rough. I then go back into NSR. I sspoke to my GP who suggested that I chase my cardiologist for the 7 day holter test that was promised in January and say that it was urgent. I did this and was told that only my GP could inform them that it was urgent. So I'm now waiting for GP to try to progress it. I'm really in fear of the next bout starting, I get 2 to 3 bouts a day, and it is totally impacting my life. Any experiences like this?

[jeanjeannie50]

You poor thing, what you are experiencing sounds horrible and I can't think of a solution other than what you're doing already - getting your GP to chase your heart monitor.

Are you on any medication, that could be promoting your attacks and what is your heart rate when you are feeling well?

Jean

[Norfolk_spaniel in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks Jean. The only medication that I take is 8mg candersartan. Heart rate is usually around high 60s.

[BobD Volunteer]

Though ectopics like this are benign I do know how disruptive they feel. Do the slow deep breathing exercise that normally stops them. Use you stomach (diaphragm) not you shoulders and breath deeply in and out slowing to less than 6 breaths a minute for at least five minutes. Like magic but you must do it right. Pull you stomach down to breath in and sqeeze it up against your spine to breath out.

[Ppiman]

I get similar and it has worsened over the past three years since my ablation. It comes and goes and has been bad now for a while, with a few AF attacks thrown in. I bought a Wellue AI ECG device which runs for 24 hours and produces a superbly detailed and easy to understand readout along with graphs. With discounts, I paid £180 and believe, compared with the Kardia device, it is far better value. You do need a PC or laptop to use it, though (Apple Mac or Windows).

I take 1,25mg bisoprolol when things are worse, and that seems to help but not much!

Steve

[Jajarunner]

Can you speak to the arrhythmia nurses at the hospital that did the ablation. I found mine to be excellent 👍

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

Hope that you are NOT ON METROPROLOL/BETALOK as that med gave me missed beats.

You should not have an ablation for several reasons. 1 is an enlarged chamber.

You had a ECHO I presume before ablation?

Take care, of course your lazy GP should urgent your MONITOR. Noy you.

I would ring energency when it misses like that again and they can do the monitoring

asap.

chers JOY 74. (NZ)

[Mugsy15]

One in three or five missed beats is pretty standard behaviour for my heart when it's in that mood.

You say you called an emergency ambulance but don't say why?

[DKBX]

Been through five ablations and each time, the skipping presages a full on reversion back to flutter or Afib. Hope that’s not the case for you.

[Autumn_Leaves]

All you can do is put pressure on your GP until you get your appointment to have the monitor fitted. From your description of one in three/one in five, sounds a lot like ectopics. I have had a fairly high ectopic burden at times as caught on 24h Holter monitors, but just to warn you in advance — cardiologists don’t consider them at all serious and won’t treat them unless you have an extremely high ectopic burden, in which case it’s an ablation. But usually you’ll be told by someone who puts on a jolly face and tells you things like “they are completely harmless” and that’s it. Ectopics are no fun and can be very intrusive if you’re someone who feels every one of them, so you have my sympathy.

As for self help measures, I’ve not found anything that helps. The breathing exercises do nothing for me. Magnesium does nothing and TBH sometimes I’ve felt like I have more ectopics on magnesium, but all things considered it’s probably more accurate to say it doesn’t do anything for me. I’ve been the consummate clean-living goody-goody all my life so I don’t have bad habits to “give up”, no weight to lose, low BMI, low BP, low cholesterol, low hbA1c, blah blah *%#?ing blah, so I can’t offer any advice on what to do for the best. Try everything, and if it helps that’s brilliant. If not, c’est la vie.

I hope you get your holter monitor asap.