Taking citalopram with an ectopic heartbeat

[Camelian]

Does anyone with an ectopic heart beat take citalopram? If so have you had any problems. I also take Bisopralol to help with the ectopic heartbeat and aspirin which I take for another condition.

[Hidden]

Yes,I was taking them for at least 7 years with ectopic beats. I still have ectopic beats but will be 73 soon. I was a lot more positive and didn,t have many ectopics whilst on them, I came off them in 2013 and regret it because I get a lot of anxiety now,

[Camelian in reply to Hidden]

If you don't mind me asking why did you come off citalopram in 2013 if they were working?

I'm waiting for an echocardiogram to investigate the cause of the eptopic heart beats?

Do you know what the cause of your ectopic heartbeats?

Do you take a beta blocker?

Many thanks

[Hidden in reply to Camelian]

I came out of a verbal mentally abusive marriage in 2012 which made me very unhappy. I was always prone to depression and anxiety due to a bad childhood and choosing wrong men. I would like to go back on them but I have a few health problems now,nothing major! I take Bisoprolol 1.25. I have had many tests for my ectopics but have been told they are harmless, I don,t like them but many are worse off than me with multiple health problems so I consider myself lucky, I,m quite active. I do have a mitral valve prolapse though within normal limits so they say. I have Svt when my heart races at 197 beats sometimes but that started a couple of years ago so I was 70. A lifetime of ectopics but I worked brought up my successful 3 children more or less on my own.

[Camelian in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your replies.

I was taking citalopram for many years they helped with menopausal symptoms including feeling anxious. I was diagnosed with a blood disorder a couple of years ago for which at present there is no cure but it's treatable and people can live a relatively normal life with the aid of medication- my heamotologist informed me meds will be prescribed if platelets go up to high or when i reach 60 whichever comes first I'm 59 now.

I have been having symptoms associated with ectopic heartbeat for sometime but just thought it was stress realted as I've been under quite a lot of stress for quite sometime but I thought I'd get it checked when it started to become more frequent and was diagnosed with ectopic heart beat - at the moment the cause is unknown.

I stopped citalopram to rule out them as a cause of the ectopic heartbeats but from what you've said they improved the ectopic heartbeat for you ? As I said I'm thinking of restarting citalopram because I now know they were helping me but I was going to wait till after the echocardiogram and seeing the cardiologist so I could talk it through with them. I also wanted to see if other people with ectopic heartbeat or any other type of heart condition had had any problems with taking citalopram to help inform my decision so thank you for your reply it's been helpful and you sound a very positive person.

With regards the post advising avoiding alcohol spicy foods etc i don't drink or smoke( now) I do eat spicy food so maybe I'll try to reduce the amount and see if there's any improvement.

Many thanks

[Hidden in reply to Camelian]

I’ve had ectopic heart beats for 27 years now and wasn’t causing any problems until just before Christmas. I woke up to my heart racing at 225 bpm and wouldn’t slow down.

Hospital gave me drugs on drip which did the trick.

Now on beta blockers (Bisoprolol) & blood thinner. The beta blockers have significantly reduced the ectopic episodes & I now carry bisoprolol fumerate at all times in case of a repeat incident.

As for the cause...apparently lots of people have ectopic heart beats but don’t feel it. In my case stress definitely aggravates things.

Being a woman of a certain age also is a factor!

Still having tests & seeing cardiologist next month.

Try not to worry & trust the experts.

All the best

[Camelian in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply I am of the opinion stress is the cause of my ectopic heartbeat s however when my GP took my BP my systolic was high 170 and remained high for second reading a week later although when I did my BP it was mostly averaging about 130 with slight variations up and down throughout the day? Maybe I have white coat syndrome???

Having said that the optician said had slight tortuous blood vessels behind the eyes which can indicate hypertension but she didn't seem overly concerned and didn't refer me on she just said mention it to your GP??

Hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it and yes thank you I will put my faith in the professional s.

[Hidden in reply to Camelian]

I stupidly ignored high blood pressure for years & luckily a good doctor finally did something about it. I was sent for tests/scans on all my major organs but all looked ok thankfully.

Forgot to mention I also take blood pressure pills every day now.

[Hidden in reply to Camelian]

My blood pressure goes high when I have to see a doctor,yes it’s white coat syndrome,normally it’s about 130 over 64, a lot lower now I,m on Bisoprolol. Anxiety is in the subconscious mind and no matter what I do I can,t stop it happening.

[Prada47 in reply to Camelian]

Hello

I have had severe ectopic beats, hospitalised when they became every other beat making me very Breathless. They settled down to every 3 beats which is called Trigeminy then every 5 beats which is manageable.

I take 7.5mg Bisoprolol but since being on the mid dose of Entresto they have almost disappeared. As to the cause I can't say I have had various Heart Problems from a Heart Attack and By Pass surgery then Stents and Heart Failure.

I am not sure if the QRS gap has some bearing on Ectopic Beats just I have been told should my QRS gap widen anymore I may need a pacemaker. QRS is a timing issue with your heart beats so I have been told !!

regards

[Camelian in reply to Prada47]

You poor thing. God bless ya

You're very brave.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

I have posted these before and think it worth repeating for those new to the forum. Two friends have AF, one with ectopics. Both have had significant improvements by removing alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and spicy foods from their diets. Definitely worth trying if you haven't done so.

[T_Rogan]

Had ectopics since I was 18 (now 36). Hardly notiable for many years, occasional bouts of 6 in a row, but nothing like a-fib or anything like that. Started taking Citalopram 2 months ago, had to stop after 4 doses due to ectopic attacks, the likes of which i've never had before. 2 months later I'm still having the same.

Worse drug I've any had the misfortune of being prescribed

Ectopics start as soon as I wake up and seem to be linked to be linked to whenever I've active, and everytime I go out for walk. They are every 3rd beat for minutes on end and stop as soon as I stand still, only for them to start again as soon as I keep waling. Never had anything like this before, clearly caused by starting this drug (otherwise, a huge coinsidence).

[EctopicAnnie]

Other antidepressants are available.Why don’t you speak to your doctor and try a different one.You may find that you don’t get the same side effects on a different one.