Extra heart beats

[emmamyrna24]

Please can someone help me. I have been getting feeling as if my heart is skipping a beat. I have been to a cardiologist for about 25 years now and he told me I have mitral valve prolapse and I get extra beats but is it possible to get them for a couple of days in a row. Is there anyone else here that gets these extra beats and what can I do . Please can someone give me some reassurance. Can anxiety cause these skipping or extra heart beats.

[Agora1]

Hi emmamyrna24, I can reassure you the Mitral Valve Prolapse is about a little glitch in the mitral valve that we were born with. You can go a whole lifetime with no problems but stress and anxiety will prompt skips or extra beats. When we get anxious, we tend to feel the force of the blood that backs up a little because of the valve. Exercise and reduction of stress are the best ways to reduce the number of irregular beats. I've done extensive study on MVP having 3 major teaching hospitals in Chicago put on community education meetings. I did a study on 200 patients and found that everyone experienced the same type symptoms and fears at the beginning. Once they were educated in this being a benign condition, the anxiety level went down as well as their irregular beats.

I found that major life events tended to bring out the MVP in all cases. I hope this will reassure you some that this is normal not just for MVP but for anxiety in general.

You are okay...seeing your cardiologist regularly will help answer any other questions that may come up. Take care, xx

[Speechpat in reply to Agora1]

I’ve had MVP forever. Some one told me that people with mvp are more prone to having palpitations, anxiety and panic attacks. Is this true?

[Agora1 in reply to Speechpat]

Yes speechpat, very true because of the way the valve kind of buckles with each beat. Hydration is very important with MVP. The more blood volume in your body the less palps that will sneak in and be felt. Along with MVP comes anxiety as well as Fibromyalgia. There seems to be a connection of similarities in many patients. I have all 3.

[Speechpat in reply to Agora1]

So do I. No one ever told me about staying well hydrated. Thanks. When I first was told about my mvp the dr said no big deal and sent me on my way scared to death. The anxiety kicks in every time my heart skips.

[Agora1 in reply to Speechpat]

That's interesting Speechpat that you have all 3 issues as well.

Hydration is so important with MVP, funny thing is I am never thirsty. It's true that MVP is no big deal. There is nothing we can't do because of MVP. Actually exercising is good for it. I use to do water aerobics 5-6 times a week to build up my stamina. Believe it or not, I never had a skipped beat while doing jumping jacks in the water and working out hard. One of the reasons is that we are deep breathing as we exercise. After class the instructor would always give a reminder to drink some water. We learn from each other on the forum, that is also another thing that is so great.

I wish you a good night. Sleep well. I enjoy talking with you tonight xx

[Speechpat in reply to Agora1]

It is so nice to have people who understand what you go through on a daily basis. I’m sure I don’t drink enough water so that’s going to be one of my new goals. Thank you for your interesting replies. How did you get so knowledgeable?

[Agora1 in reply to Speechpat]

I do a lot of research on my own. If you ever pass a water fountain you will notice that there are more men than women standing in line to hydrate. Woman tend to get more easily depleted of hydration because of not be thirsty. I like your new goal, I think you will notice a difference. x

[Speechpat]

The ectopic beats are my biggest anxiety trigger. Some times I feel like it gets out of sync. It’s like having your car in neutral and racing the foot feed. If I give a hardy cough it usually goes by. They have done numerous tests and all is fine yet it still scares me.

[emmamyrna24 in reply to Speechpat]

Hello Speechpat are still getting the ectopic or skipped beats. It is so fearing and nerve racking. Have you found a cure for it yet.

[errivbr4678778]

yeah and its ruined my life.