Pvcs and pacs following acute afib episode and Apple watch ecg/ekg

[Iamfuzzyduck]

Following my first (confirmed) afib attack a month ago(with rvr) I seem to have an occasional flip flop or thud and flutter from my heart. Cardiologist and EP discontinued my beta blocker after 10 days because my HR is already low and the flip flopping came a few days later. Yesterday I discovered a wonderful third party app that has 'real' people analyzing my apple ecg in minutes of me sending it off. Although I am not having afib my EKGs are showing pvcs and pacs. These seem to appear more when I am resting or sleeping, I rarely feel them when I am moving around. I am wearing a holter monitor so I will have a more accurate report in 3 or more weeks. I am wondering if this is something I should be worried about, has my electrical pathway forever changed (the first afib episode was a 40 hour rvr stint)? Thanks!

[Peony4575]

my experience of beta blockers even when taken only for one day was they left me with various arrythmias, tachycardias and ectopics which took months to settle down . Am not saying that is what has happened to you, I am not a doctor , I am just saying that was my experience after even the shortest encounter with beta blockers

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to Peony4575]

I wonder if that’s unusual or something that happens to a few people? I will keep that in mind!

[Peony4575 in reply to Iamfuzzyduck]

Check out My bisoprolol nightmare , on the internet . There are many other sites helping people who have beta blocker withdrawal . I am not saying that is you, just that many people are affected

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to Peony4575]

Thank you for the info. How long were you on beta blockers for?

[Peony4575 in reply to Iamfuzzyduck]

First time about 30 days lowest dose before I started to wean very slowly off . Second time they gave me them when I had my second AF episode and was admitted to hospital . I refused to take any more after I was back in nsr within 24 hours Second time I still had problems but nowhere near as bad or lasting as long . It’s in my notes that I am not to be given beta blockers

[Ppiman]

Lots of us are like you. I can understand the anxiety, but I would save your money on paying for extra ECG analyses. After my ablation, ectopic beats were quite common and continue to be so three or more years later, often coming, like yours, just after laying down and sometimes occurring in long runs. I never feel a "flip flop" feeling as you and some others describe, more a "thump".

They are called "benign" meaning they don't develop into anything or affect the heart unduly. You maybe had them before but didn't notice. Large studies have shown everyone has at least a few each day. There's a theory that they can spark off AF when the occur in the atria as PACs.

Steve

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to Ppiman]

Thanks for the information. They do feel alarming, it feels like my afib is about to come back!

[Ppiman in reply to Iamfuzzyduck]

Mine feel much like AF without the fast rate; in fact, a few times, they have been "slow" AF.

Steve

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to Ppiman]

Yes, it feels like mini afib attack!

[PleasantPink2]

Your experience sounds very similar to mine on a few levels. When I have multiple PVC's and PAC's I am very sensitive to the sensation. The more noticeable was the PVC and my cardio called it the "donkey kick". The reassuring part is they are generally benign, harmless but annoying . And yes, the flip flop I have always described as a fish flopping around in my chest. I'm always amazed to read there are many folks who feel nothing when these events happen. My experience with beta blockers was that they did calm down these events but also made me exceptionally tired & gave me brain fog. With my doctors approval I weaned off but even slowly I had rebound elevation on BP & anxiety. It took a few months for it to settle down with the help of Lisinopril to gradually bring my BP back to my normal. So at this point I only have beta blockers on what they call PIP ( pill in the pocket ) only on an as needed basis. Thank God I haven't needed it. That's great that you are on a monitor now so they will have a clear picture of what your rhythm is really doing during these sensations.

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to PleasantPink2]

Yes it does sound similar, I also have the occasional fluttering too, I think I am just on high alert after my initial episode which felt like a baby bird flapping and scrabbling inside my chest!

[Autumn_Leaves]

No. The ectopics in and of themselves are not putting you at risk. I have a lot of ectopics and at times a moderately high ectopic burden, and times when they’ve been all day every day. As in every 4-5 beats. No cardiologist has ever found that concerning. For some of us, AF and ectopics go together. AF is dangerous in that the chaotically beating atria put us at increased risk of clots and strokes. That isn’t happening with ectopics, but they can feel horrible and intrusive.

[Ppiman in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

That was very well explained and mirrors my own situation but without the same "burden".

Steve

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thank you, it just feels a little scary like I am about to go into afib again!

[ruffity]

About 3 months after I had my first cardioversion for AF about 8 years ago, I started getting bigeminy, i.e every normal beat was followed by an ectopic one. Sometimes there would be more than one ectopic before a normal beat arrived, which was a bit unsettling. It happened non-stop for hours or for days before stopping, then restarting a few days or so later.

I felt incredibly tired when it was happening, far worse than AF, and a thumping heart made sleeping difficult anyway. I had an MRI and other tests, and my bisoprolol was increased. It went for months, then, with me hardly noticing, it gradually happened less often then stopped.

But perhaps surprisingly, it never led to AF. In fact, I didn't have AF again for another 7 years, and had a second CV 14 months ago.

I still get the odd palpitation now and then, but it seems that, although frequent ectopics can lead to AF, it isn't inevitable.

[Iamfuzzyduck in reply to ruffity]

Thank you for that. Oddly enough I hardly had any ectopic beats yesterday but lots the day before. I need to figure out what’s causing them but I did take a small dose of herbal sleeping supplement and after my heart calmed down I wondered if it was something in there that may have calmed it. I discovered it had lemon balm which can be used for arrhythmias! I may investigate further…