Ectopics???

[peachtreepiggy]

This is going to be a dumb question, but I am going to ask it anyway....What exactly are "ectopics"??? I had an ablation two months ago and have had no AF, but sometimes I feel these "hard" pounding beats, and also my heart rate has gone up generally. Used to be in the seventies, but now is consistently in 80's or 90's....Is this normal?

[pottypete1]

Ectopics are either missed or extra heat beats.

They happen to everyone and are normally benign.

Unfortunately because of the enhanced awareness of AF sufferers we tend to notice them more than normal folk.

Pete

[Franks-Nan in reply to pottypete1]

I think that goes for any health condition, if anything negatively impacts your life you tend to wake up in the morning and "body scan" has my AF returned, whats that heart thud, is it a heart attack, its never ending, always on guard and hypersensitive to any bodily changes, gone are the days when i used to have a chest or back ache and think"must be wind" and forget all about it, now iv got 999 on my speed dial lol.

[BobD Volunteer]

Raised heart rate post ablation is normal and common along the lines you describe. All explained in our fact sheet on recovery. Ectopic means out of place, either early or late but feel like a missed one followed by an extra hard one.

healthunlocked.com/redirect...

[Buzby62]

Ectopic Heartbeats information sheet link

api.heartrhythmalliance.org...

HR can be raised for many months after ablation, mine was up after ablation in December and up further after stopping the bisoprolol in March. I think the increased HR makes me feel better and the bradycardia (40s & 50s) I had previously could well have been contributing to my AF episodes. Some say their increased rate settles down up to a year later but I’d be happy if mine stays where it is with a resting average of 65ish

Another link to all the info sheets heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

Best wishes

[Cookie24 in reply to Buzby62]

Agree, 65 is good

[Czech_Mate]

Not a dumb question as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for asking. I'm sure we're not the only 2 on here who don't understand everything people write about.

[mavart]

I have the same, ablation 5 weeks ago, in sinus rhythm with recordings on Kardia of SVE’s. My heart rate is slightly higher than before but I feel comfortable in the 70- 75 bpm range.

[Ppiman]

Ectopic means "out of place". The normal heart beat begins life in the SA (sino-atrial) or "sinus" node, a cluster of specialised heart cells in the top right of the heart's atrium. It's called a "sinus" as the cells, I imagine, sit inside a small "hole" or cavity, i.e. a sinus.

These initial signals set off the other cells within the atrium to pulse regularly and to send a signal to the ventricular (AV) node for it to activate the bottom chamber (the two ventricles) which then pump blood around the body (left) and lungs (right). This is called normal sinus rhythm (NSR) - or just "sinus rhythm".

In ectopic rhythm, other cells are able to mimic the SA node and set off a pulse of their own. This will be in-between the normal beats from the SA node and so is a "premature beat", but what we tend to feel is a "missed beat" from the extra delay this early beat causes before the next normal beat (it's called a "compensatory pause"). This delay also means there is more blood to be pumped and thus a heavier feeling beat occurs (i.e also called "palpitations").

Why the cells do this is not fully known but the result is an arrhythmia of one kind or another (fibrillation, flutter, ectopic beats, palpitations, etc).

As well as ectopic beats (which can be occasional or frequent), there is another event that can happen which is where the heartbeat is normal in rhythm but feels heavier altogether. These are also called palpitations and the cause seems unknown. It might be physiological or psychological. In my case it seems to be when the "bundle block" I have (LBBB) starts up.

Everyone gets both ectopic beats and palpitations, - but not to excess as many here do.

After an ablation, it seems the heart cells can be extra sensitive to forming ectopic beats until the scar tissue settles down fully. This can be different for each person.

Steve

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Ppiman]

Very clearly explained, thank you🙂

[Julian1000]

Good question. From experience, my noticeable ectopic episodes are triggered by stress & anxiety: it causes me to alter my breathing with a knock on impact to my awareness of these beats & the cycle continues. I spend alot of time controlling my breathing & thus far it helps but not cures.

[Karendeena]

I can't say what ectopics feel like because I am unsure I have had them like you.I had my ablation in March and my heart rate has increased from around 64bpm to around 74bpm, I am told this is normal and in actual fact can be a good sign. Mine is now slowing down a bit after 5 months so expect I am still recovering

[Jetcat]

hi peach, 2 months is still within your settling period. After my last ablation it took a good few months for my heart rate to settle down. Give it a while longer and take it easy I’m sure things will settle.

[Ilovedogs12]

I'm all in favour of asking questions. There's no such thing as a stupid question if it's genuine - how else would we ever understand anything? As far as I understand it, ectopics are extra beats or beats that shouldn't be where they are. But I can't read ECGs so someone else might explain it better.

[Engineer46]

Although they feel like extra or skipped beats, ectopic beats are beats out of place, so they appear either earlier or later than they should. We all have them but mostly they go unnoticed unless they occur very frequently (a "high burden" in medical speak) in which case treatment may be offered. A 24 hour holter monitor is often the first step in diagnosis. Some find ectopic beats disturbing even at low burden.

Best wishes,

Paul

[Qualipop]

Ectopics are late beats. Your heart doesn't do a normal beat at the normal, regular time so it does it a bit later. What you feel is a gap then a double beat.

[Sixtychick]

I had an ablation a year ago and my heart rate has been in the 80’s instead of the 70’s as it was before my ablation. I also had ectopic beats for quite a long time, but they don’t seem as bad now. I took an ECG reading with my heart monitor and showed the readings to the Dr who did my ablation, when I went for my follow- up appointment and he said they were nothing to worry about and everyone gets them. You could talk to your Dr if you’re worried and that will put your mind at rest.