So, I'm currently more than a year post ablation for my afib and as far as I know I didn't have afib since. But here is the deal, I'm highly symptomatic when it happens and also super aware of my heart with anxiety problems ever since the diagnose.
For the last few weeks I've been having all sorts of really short moments when I get fast heartbeat (I presume svt's), some skipping beats and even some moments when I suddenly notice my pulse is kinda wrong but it last only a few seconds. And what bothers me the most are these super short moments of chest/throat feelings that come on sudden and are like mix of anxiety, shallow feeling or sudden scare that lasts only for 1-2 seconds. Since I deal with anxiety this is really bothersome especially since I don't know what it is. I presume these are ectopics but I'm not sure.
I try to find how people experience them and it seems that it's different for everyone.
To be frank, I would be somewhat relieved to know that it's ectopics because at least I would know what it is.
For those of you who experience these kind of short zaps in chest/throat, do you think they are ectopics or just my anxiety giving me jolts?
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Ectopic or out of place beats can be a real nuisance even though they are benign. There is a very good breathing exercise, slow you breathing down to six or lessbreaths a minute for at least five minutes using your diapragm. I had almost constant ectopic activity about nine months after my (successful) ablation in 2008 and this trick stopped them in about three months. Never been back.
Doesn't really have a name but do as described.. Simple enough and works well. I also find it helps send you back to sleep in the middle of the night if you wake suddenly. I believe a version is also used by personnel on aircraft carriers during operations to aid going to sleep. You can imagine how noisy that would be.
I can send what I use by DM if you like. It's along the lines described by Bob and it usually sees off any ectopics or short bouts or tachycardia. Like you I get anxious and the slowing down of the breathing pattern definitely helps.
Since I deal with anxiety this is really bothersome especially since I don't know what it is.
Yes, not knowing can be very stressful. Ask your doctor for a.1-2 week continuous EKG monitoring device. Another option is to get a home device like Kardia 6L or Apple Watch and record these events for review by an electrophysiologist (ep). Good luck.
Yes, I'm thinking about getting a 24hour small wellue patch ekg. Its cheap and it would be enough just to see when these events happend if they are just ectopics. I get this short chest moments maybe once or two times a day so ordinary small ekg would be hard to catch it because I dont know when it would happen.
If you're somewhat tech oriented, Wellue should work. Just know that it's AI alogarithm are not always accurate, so only go by the EKGs themselves, which you can save and show to an electrophysiologist (ep). Personally, I think it may be overkill and if you just want to identify frequent events it might be easier with something like the Kardia 6L or Apple Watch , but just an opinion.
If they are so infrequent and do not last you should try not to worry about them. Your anxiety is probably making them worse. Do you take magnesium? This can help with anxiety.
If you are going to the expense of buying the Wellue 24 hour device, why not spend a few more euros and buy the 72 hour version. That's what I would do. And remember, you need a laptop or desktop computer to utilise the device fully.
To know for sure what they are you would need to capture them on an ECG. Do you have a mobile device such as a Kardia? When you have captured them take them to your specialist for interpretation. The sensations in the throat have been mentioned numerous times on this forum, unpleasant but not dangerous and sounds like the sensations from an adrenaline rush.
It is different for everyone and anxiety will exacerbate the feelings which is why breathing exercises to calm really do help - Long, Slow and Deep Relaxed breathing slowiy through your nose so that you slow your breathing rate right down - it really does help but it requires daily practice so it becomes automatic when you feel the sensations.
Well as I said, I do have small wellue ekg but since these moments happen so rarely I can't know when should ai start the measure. So Im thinking about wellue holter patch 24hours. Its cheap and it would certainly catch them. And your adrenalin remark is on spot. Those short one aecond moments do feel like sudden adrenaline spike in my chest and throat and it lasts like 2seconds max.
Thank you for your post. It is completely understandable to be feeling anxious. Managing new and various symptoms can cause many emotions to arise so it is important to be kind to yourself.
It may be helpful to start keeping a diary of each time this occurs just so you are able to keep track and identify potential triggers or causes.
To discuss your symptoms and any concerns, please do reach out to your doctor/cardiology team as they have full access to your medical records and will be able to advise you on an individual basis.
If you would like any support, please do contact our dedicated Patient Services Team via Patient Helpline or via email, please visit: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
My premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are often felt in my neck and on the odd occasion up the side of my face. I also feel the large thud often associated with PVCs. Sometimes I feel like they momentarily take my breath away.
They won’t harm you so don’t be afraid. If you have a high burden (in excess of 30-40% of all beats) they’ll sometimes consider ablation. But it sounds like you’re only have a few each day.
You should speak to your doctor about them but in the interim, don’t panic. Anxiety can make them worse. I’ve had over 10,000 a day on occasion, and they come in runs and I’m still alive and well. I don’t have any triggers but for many people, things like coffee, hormones and alcohol can set them off.
Thanks for sharing. I don't experience thuds but the feel of 'taking my breath away' is quite spot on, even if it last for a second. To be honest I would be relieved to know if this sensation is ectopics because at least I would know what they are. My anxiety is probably making this moments much more symptomatic, especially when I don't know if it's ectopics or anxiety burst. Every time this happens I almost feel like I had a 2 second afib episode.
Hi, I'm the same. Experiencing extra ectopic beats. I can feel them in my chest like it's jumping around. I try to take a deep breath from my stomach and breath out slowly. They last for a short while. Sometimes trigger off my A/F. I have told my cardiologist as I had an ablation last November. The beats also showed up on my check up ECG. But they didn't seem concerned. I would check in with your cardiologist.🙂
It sounds like mine. Are you taking co enzyme q10? Are you taking magnesium taurate? Co enzyme q10 reduces inflammation, loads of info on Google scholar about the link between inflammation and AFib. Prof Sanjay Gupta London cardiologist recommends magnesium taurate. Also , what's the diet like. I find sugar drives my ectopics. No sugar, no ectopics.
it’s not a case of ‘or’ it is a case of your anxiety is causing / exacerbating the ectopics.
I totally agree that the ectopics are horrible - the feeling of a jittery heart and skipped beats is what leads to more anxiety and feelings of ‘what is wrong, is this a stroke, is this what a heart attack is? I will spend the rest of the night awake googling if I am dying’……and the pattern repeats and becomes worse.
My suggestion is to buy a device that can record ECGs such as Kardia or Apple Watch and then subscribe to an app that analyses those ECGs. I use Qaly on my iPhone. You can then take those readings and analysis to your gp and from there be prescribed medication to lessen them.
I have SVT which is extremely well controlled by dronedarone Multaq but I was also getting a lot of ectopics. Those are now well controlled with bisoprolol 2.5mg.
But the biggest beneficial changes you can make are lifestyle. Not everyone has the same triggers but everyone on here will agree to at making at least a couple of these changes. I have rigorously implemented these and I’m healthier now than I’ve ever been.
If overweight - lose the weight. I’m down 3 stone (18%) in 2 years and now at a bmi below 25
Exercise regularly but stick to lower stress steady state such as power walking. Aim for 150 mins per week where you raise the heart rate but can still conduct a conversation. I’m now walking 10-12K each session at a pace of 8:30 per km
Cut out all forms of caffeine including fizzy drinks
Cut out alcohol - I now drink 0-0 versions
Cut out ultra processed foods except the occasional treat such as a takeaway
Get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked and take action if out of range
Drink 2 to 2.5 litres of water every day. This can also be decaf coffee, berry tea, skimmed milk
Get 8 hours of solid high quality sleep every night. Use a wearable such as Apple Watch to track it.
Meditation and Wellness - I have embraced it and it has been life changing. You don’t need to be a hermit on a hill but 30 mins per day is incredibly beneficial. Start with apps such as Calm and also free resources on YouTube.
Could be a number of things causing them, one being that your heart is in a little "stress" and needs some love and attention. Try walking 2 or 3 miles a day for a few days and also eat little fat, no processed meals, little suger and drinking plenty of water. if not already doing so take good magnesium supplements (the cheaper versions do not get absorbed well). After 3 or 4 days the symptoms may stop or at least improve significantly. Do no/little bending or lifting.
I may be in the minority when I say that I believe your heart continues to improve for years following an ablation but you must give the TLC it needs to enable your very strong self healing process to work.
Hi I had very bad eptopics after my successful ablation, 7 years now, I take daily magnesium turate which for me works, my eptopics after all this time I hardly notice, it might be partly a placebo effect but it certainly works for me All the best Brian
Hi, I know everyone describes their symptoms differently but I get a feeling that is the same or at least similar to what you describe. It feels like a juddering sensation in my chest and throat when I breathe, it’s the same feeling you would get if someone put a cold hand on your stomach. I have described how I feel as vibrations.
For myself I think it is a combination of anxiety and beta blocker withdrawal (I am currently in the process of tapering off the BB) that I know exacerbates the anxiety considerably. Although I have to say that my anxiety levels have been chronic since my AFib diagnosis.
I hope it helps knowing someone else is experiencing the same symptoms as you.
Get an Apple Watch, or a Wellue 24-hr monitor and send your doctor an ECG.
But these will be atrial conduction issues that are “benign”, even though disturbing and anxiety inducing.
Worry is the real issue and, in my experience, only time will allow you to get this into perspective. You can speed that up with a cardiologist’s report and scan.
I will be honest with you. I think it’s your anxiety, especially the throat feeling you mentioned I think that because I have it and when it hits it is as though I am being strangled and I want to cry not because of any particular reason that is just how anxiety has always hit me. it also sounds like much too on your a fib since the diagnosis. Stressing yourself is not gonna make it go away. There is no cure. It is what it is and it’s not deadly. Your heart is just not beating the way it should at least it’s still beating. Remember that. One of the smartest my EP told me was to stay out of my head. I see a lot of people throwing around terms in reality you don’t really know what they totally are. You’re not a doctor neither am I. I know what the words are. It doesn’t matter. I have a fib and flutter. No let me correct that seems to have stopped not cured, but it doesn’t act up for the past couple of years since I got a pacemaker and AV node ablation. I have atypical flutter. I also have heart failure. My heart failure has reversed since the pacemaker and node ablation. My new EP told me it is excellent even for people without heart problems. My ejection rate had been 40 now it’s 70. That is because of the AV node ablation. The pacemaker is running the show now and doing what it needs to do.
anything that comes with a fib I just generalize it calling a fib to me flutter and everything just goes with it. None of it is fun. None of it feels good and if you didn’t know, even people with a pacemaker, feel flutter and a fib. again, it doesn’t matter what name you put on it or how often it shows up we have it. It’s annoying and as I said, it doesn’t feel good but at least with my pacemaker it can do no harm anymore. I had tachycardia 200 beats a minute for six months straight. That’s how I ended up with heart failure.
my other EP was the that straightened me out about my anxiety. I don’t know if you dealt with anxiety, depression, or anything previously. I had meds if I needed them. There was absolutely nothing wrong with anything to do with my heart. he told me I need my meds more than I realize I need them not just once in a while. By the time I take it it’s too late. Anxiety is already acting ugly. You know your body can have anxiety without you. Totally being aware. It’s not like you go crazy jumping around like a crazy person. The worst anxiety puts me in a black hole. I also have PTSD evidently most of my anxiety raises my heart rate, and that’s why I feel bad my EP went a step further and spoke with my GP who had me on the meds and straightened it out so I was on them steadily and yes, it made a big difference. I take mine at night so I am not a zombie or tired during the day from it
you start off talking about since the diagnosis that’s why I really believe without being a doctor that this could be what’s going on with you unless your doctor tells you you have physical heart problems, causing what you are feeling. Please remember for the most part a fib as miserable as it can be won’t kill you. We are pretty lucky when it comes to that. There’s a lot of things where we just would not be here if you have a good doctor talk to him. He should also tell you to chill out. I am known for shooting from the hip. I might sound a little rough here, but these are the things that straightened me out. Someone didn’t tell me that I would be feeling my flutter, etc. once I had the pacemaker it just doesn’t hurt anything anymore. When I started getting them and in the beginning, I had quite a few it took almost a year to truly heal from everything. Anyway, when I was getting them, I thought oh great my pacemaker is not working and that is not true at all in fact, my new EP told me my other did all the hard work for him. I have been very sick the last few months it appears it’s actually thyroid. I will know more Monday when I go back to the GP to get results
my EP told me everyone blames the for everything especially once you know you have a problem. That is not necessarily true. I know that for a fact now. It can be Gerd. It can be thyroid so many things but the poor little gets even when it’s behaving
my new EP was talking about how horrible thyroid is how many different things it can cause because it really runs your entire metabolism. I never thought about metabolism. I thought it was something that made me fat. Well right now my hair is coming out enough to make a small farm because of part of the thyroid. I’m not even gonna list all the rest of it. Mayo Clinic has a list and when I looked at it, I realized I could check off almost every box and it’s all thyroid. I honestly thought this was gonna be the end either my pacemaker was damaged or my leads or something worse. They just did three device checks remotely in the past two weeks I had an ECG the other day with my new doctor. I’ve had all my blood work. Everything is good. He was very pleased. Now that means find out what’s really causing trouble
for you it might just be getting used to having a fib it for what it is do not fail other parts pop up and act up so many people think it fails a fib does what it wants when it wants to whether we like it or not. I actually have atypical flutter and I did have atypical a fib. My ventricles are involved. I was pretty much a mess in there. I have three leads right is not connected. They created a pacemaker just for FYI, I’m still here. See it’s not so bad if I keep myself busy, I barely notice my flutter when it decides to show up. Sometimes it’s my fault triggers it pretty much anything icy cold and I am addicted to icy cold when it comes I want my water cold. It’s like the minute. I drink it. I can feel it hitting and I know I’m probably gonna get flutter knowing why I have it makes me feel better and knowing it’s not hurting anything.
sorry for the novel but you sound scared to death. I don’t want you to be. I want you to get like me. My want me using a watch oximeter etc. they like to keep tabs on blood pressure that’s it if you slow yourself down and think about it. Your heart rate changes constantly if you were a gold medal athlete, it would do that. If you run it changes when you lay down for a while, it changes it is what it is. It’s supposed to do that. It keeps up with your body. When I get up in the morning, it’s usually around 62 usually one of the first things I do is take the dog out and by the time I come in and feed him I am in my 70s or low 80 sometimes if I settle down to watch TV, it goes back down. Can you see the here? Being scared is probably your biggest health threat right now not that it’s really gonna damage you but it’s in your head. I don’t want you to be upset.
fyi oh yes, it’s me again one last thing if EP gets really concerned, they could always give you a loop what I had until they were able to truly diagnose, but you loop recorder takes less than an hour for them to put it goes into a little pocket, almost like my pacemaker. I have a spot that looks like a pencil eraser that’s where it is or was it’s gone now since the pacemaker. They were pretty sure I had a fib, but in case you didn’t know, unless it is acting up at the time it’s almost impossible to diagnose if it’s not acting up during an EKG they can’t see it. within two weeks they had all their answers with the loop recorder. Once a month I would go would have a tech put what looks like earphones around my neck and within minutes just like a cash register it out paper and it would tell everything that had happened since the last reading. They could see how long it had been happening, etc. I was up to 300 beats a minute during a procedure they could see that.
now the incredible pacemaker I have does even better. I don’t even have to go there. They can a no matter where I am or what I’m doing unless they tell me I unaware. When I have a device check at they will pull out the and they can show everything about it. It even breaks down to percentages if I have anything the last time I had this done was October because my doctor left. At that time there were no percentages. Everything was perfect. They don’t just tell you they show you. they have what looks like a TV remote and with it they can change settings, etc. if necessary. When they first put in the pacemaker, I felt like I had an echo inside of me and I told them sure enough, whether it was moved by or whatever my back up switch was on and I was getting echoes. It was harmless but annoying just like flutter and a fib I thought of that cough drop commercial Ricola. I try to find fun and make myself laugh. I’m a little crazy that way instead of getting upset I have characters. My AV node is the Mucinex nasty little man. No one can hear him now he doesn’t bother me anymore lol
anyway if they mention a loop recorder, it just don’t do a thing you don’t need. I actually have an app and more now for my pacemaker every day. They are improving on things for us they may not be able to fix it, but they want to give us quality of life and they are really getting there with that. I’m lucky because I am in the states although you probably have doctors there it as just I know it takes time for you there. If it were bad enough, I could call my EP right now and he would bring me in today if he’s not in surgery, I have been brought in less than two hours from calling. My former EP an incredible promotion position sadly it’s in Florida where I used to live lol I am in now. I just saw a picture of one of the pacemakers. It’s about the size of a triple AAA battery without leads anyone that is on LinkedIn can look him. aditya saini. University of Florida heart Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. I think he is barely over 40 think outside the box has more letters after his name than the alphabet has and really cares about us. He wasn’t always the favorite at the hospital. He was at because they like to do ablations and cardioversions over and over again because they make money and are considered relatively safe. They are all scared of lawsuits. If he did what they said, I wouldn’t be here now.
if you join LinkedIn and look him up, what’s good as you can see what they are doing at that hospital and what they are creating for all of us
I don’t think I’ve met anyone that didn’t love him even though he’s very soft spoken. Yesterday I had to call to change things for my device clinic. The man I spoke with when he heard who my doctor had been said he is missed by everyone. I told him a little bit about what had been done for offered to send him a message. I told him he but also we have written a couple of times on LinkedIn. I try not to bother him. He has a new life. I let him know what was going on and new doctor was I think they are actually friends. I got a big thumbs up from him in his way. Doctors don’t usually say much about but the new one the other day the minute said the name I got a big smile and again beautiful words about my doctor.
chin up stop scaring yourself if you get curious about medical stuff go on LinkedIn and check out the new stuff going on what I love about him One of the best things is that he speaks to you not at you and he teaches if you have a brain and listen so that you can understand what’s going on. Dr. Google, etc. unless they are speaking for somewhere like some of the great hospitals is no one to pay attention to. Ask questions of your doctor. If it’s that important make sure you ask them before you talk to us out here. We are not doctors. We are just sharing our own stories.
I'm with you on this. Highly symptomatic. I have had PAC's and PVC's for 30 years now. Most are little blips but some feel like an alien is wrestling around in my neck. Extremely un-nerving. I was on Chronic beta-blocker therapy, finally manifested afib at 50 years old, got an ablation at 53 and all good now 3 years further down the line and off all meds. The palps were much increased and challenging for the 6 months post ablation and continued to morph and change up to 2 years afterwards.
I suffer(ed) greatly with this. It's completely changed my life and who I am now as a person. It's made me somewhat OCD and has limited the freedom of my life choices. However, with the window afforded by the ablation I have come to a new relationship with the lingering palpitations that come and go.
I still have the Apple Watch ECG, the Kardia mobile device and I feel each and every ectopic. But I challenge myself to NOT wear the watch, to not carry the Kardia and to leave the Pill in Pocket meds at home. I'm convinced they are benign and I am carrying on accordingly. It's the only way I've found to defuse the power they hold over me and the resulting anxiety.
Exposure therapy. It comes down to a simple question that is very hard to manifest...."How unconcerned can I be when they occur?".....Like is it possible to divert my attention to what's around me instead of what's happening inside of me....? Can I carry on cutting the grass? Can I step right onto that plane, excited for the destination? What about jumping on that chair lift to the top of the ski mountain with the wind howling and a flurry of palps get my attention?
You only get there with practice! Practice ignoring them and moving on with your life. After you've confirmed there is no low hanging fruit for resolving them and that they truly are benign. One thought that stuck with me was that if I trusted the doc to insert catheters and puncture my septum and burn my Pulmonary Veins,..."then could I trust his recommendation to ignore them as they meant absolutely nothing to my health"....?! In the end, for me, it was less about physical treatment and more about the mental challenge of moving on from the PTSD. Best of luck in your journey.
I had an ablation last August which apparently has stopped the Afib but certainly increased the atrial ectopics a lot. My kardia shows this as afib and I have had them checked by 3 cardiologists and they all told me they were premature atrial ectopics with a few PVCs thrown in. I have avoided any antiarrythmic drugs as they do not really bother me much at all and i hardly notice them though i am on Bisoprolol 1.25mg twice daily. I also get occasional short runs of SVTs all of which i had prior to the ablation. I too feel that the ablation will take a lot longer than the 6months to fully settle down and my cardiologist has me down for another Holtor monitor mid May so going by that will see what his decision is. He did mention some time ago that we may be talking about a pacemaker as i appear to have Tachy/Brady syndrome though I hope he holds off for awhile. I would be very reluctant to undergo another ablation as they really take a lot out of you and in my mid 70s if I do not have many symptoms would rather stay as I am. I had an Echo in January this year which showed all good with a slightly increased PR time of 230M/S (old diagnosis) and normal heart signs and size with EF of 51% and first degree heart block (old diagnosis). Also as I had two stents in the last 6 years I really do not wish to go on an antiarrythmic! though my last angiogram showed all arteries clear last October. Sorry for the long winded reply.
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Breathlessness, PAF and Bisoprolol
Are these symptoms an AFib episode or very frequent ectopics? 
can we talk ectopics ! 
Ectopics keeping me up, cause sweating and headaches, do other experience this?
