Can i overcome my ectopic beats

[Tonibeats]

Hi,

I’m very new here and this is my first post so will start from the beginning.

I’m 32 and have two young children (4 & 7). As from January i started to notice these horrid sensations in my chest and when checking my pulse i realised that my heart would sometimes skip a beat. As it does with many people it caused me a huge amount of anxiety which in turn makes it worse. I’m not going to lie, i have had a few panic attacks when is was 18 and can also suffer from health anxiety however i am usually very good as i have taught myself to move my thoughts to something more positive.

This however is very different. When i first started to get them they were very frequent but mainly frequent because i was working myself up.

Now i have started to notice that they come and go in sync with my menstrual cycle. I can be absolutely fine for a few weeks with maybe only noticing 1 or 2 ectopics to having several a day the week leading to my period. I am still quite young so i very much doubt it could be premenopause.

I have had an ecg which came back normal but i think i will have to have the halter monitor next.

Has anyone else dealt with this or noticed a pattern to your ectopics? How do you deal with them?

Thanks 😊

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum! A friend had problems with ectopic beats and was put on medication. He is off medication and rarely has an episode. What he did was remove the following triggers from his diet; caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and spicy foods. There is one other trigger that is harder to deal with - stress made worse these days by Coronavirus.

[Charlpalp]

Hello there

Just read this and this is literally me!

Just before I’m due on they get worse I don’t understand it and I’m a mum of 3 toddlers not sure if it’s stress or hormones I haven’t a clue

I have had 2 tests at cardiologist and they can’t seem to find anything other than extra beats or missed beats

Xx drop us a message if you want to chat

[Tonibeats in reply to Charlpalp]

Hi,

I’m so pleased i’m not the only one. It is such a horrible feeling.

When i am having them it makes me not want to do anything. I also dread the lead up to my period now...i wonder if going on the pill might help as it is supposed to regulate the hormones.

What have they said about your ectopics? Have they given you any solution?

X

[Charlpalp in reply to Tonibeats]

I’ve had them for about a year now I’m only 25 so they was very worrying for me and I have noticed since having my children I have health aniexty... I also dread about a week before I’m due on as they really thud and flutter my chest

I had my implant out as I thought that might have been the reason this was about a year ago and they went for about 2 weeks and they came back

So I’m thinking of going on the pill to see if it is hormone related

I have been given some beta blockers by the cardiologist which he said was optional if I take them but tbh it seems like people have more symptoms on them and from reading on here they don’t stop the palpitations for everyone and also causes tiredness and with 3 kiddys that’s the last thing I want ☹️so I decided not to take them.

I had a 48 hour monitor fitted and also a 7 day monitor fitted and they said all they picked up on was extra or missed beats and the occasional faster heart rate..

I have also been told they are harmless which when I have them they don’t feel harmless, but reading on here people have had them years and year and it’s just normal to there life now.

[Tonibeats in reply to Charlpalp]

It’s definitely not ideal with little ones. I have two who argue like anything so is naturally very stressful which probably doesn’t help either of us.

I’m speaking with the gp tomorrow who will

Hopefully order a 24hr monitor.

Are you based in the uk?

At what point were you referred to cardiology?

I’m guessing the increased heart rate for you could be down to anxiety. When i had my original appointment with the GP i was having a bit of a panic attack and my heart rate was sky high and ectopics were going crazy! He didn’t take me seriously and sent me on my way then I obviously had to make another appointment with another doctor when i was in a better head space.

He ordered the ecg and blood tests. Found out my ferritin levels were low which could have been a contributing factor but have been on iron tablets and levels have gone back to normal and yet the ectopics are still there.

[Charlpalp in reply to Tonibeats]

Yes my children agree too so daily it’s very stressful...

I got referred and then they refused my referral as they put it down to aniexty and then I booked a Gp appointment and said look I need this looking in to so they refered me again

But took a while to get an appointment

I am based in UK

I also got tolded my iron was low was put on iron tablets but still had the palpitations

So I have no idea still no wiser

Xx

[Tonibeats in reply to Charlpalp]

Have you had a follow up blood test to see if your iron has come back up?

Another time i get them is if i’m in the kitchen cooking. Obviously i can get a bit hot and bothered when in front of the stove so that probably doesn’t help but now i absolutely dread cooking now. It is so random!! X

[GracieOS]

Yes I have regular ectopic beats and have for years. I was told they were harmless for ages. I'm now on bisoprolol to try and reduce them. I also gave up caffeine, reduced alcohol to just a couple of glasses at the weekend and don't eat high cocoa content chocolate. They are improving but still there. Stress is a major trigger as well.

[Tonibeats in reply to GracieOS]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

Have they ever managed to find put what was causing your ectopics?

Do you still believe they are harmless? They really don’t feel it do they.

Glad to hear they are starting to improve for you and i hope they keep doing so.

[GracieOS in reply to Tonibeats]

I genuinely don't know if they are harmless. I can only go on what I'm told by people who should know.

I have heart failure now with no clear identifiable cause. The ectopics preceded heart failure but I've had them for many years and heart failure for about 2 years. No cause for the ectopics identified either. Ive always been pretty fit and had no noticable impact from the ectopics. My gut feeling now is the ectopics should of been treated earlier rather than simply left and marked as harmless but whats done is done and I have to move on from where I now am.

Your heart monitor results look ok. However in my experience I'd say getting treatment early is a good thing. Might be worth giving the beta blockers a go and see how you get on?

[Tonibeats in reply to GracieOS]

Hmmm, that is interesting.

I will wait and see what is picked up on the halter monitor And go from there.

I am not overly worried about taking Beta blockers so long as they help. My husband takes them for high blood pressure and is absolutely fine on them.

The crazy thing is, is that we are both very fit and active. It has no prejudice i guess.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply

[Smileyian]

I had ectopic beats and Atrial tachycardia for over 40 years. Thankfully Im still here at 76. They are generally harmless and benign but in a few cases can be related to heart disease. I doubt you have anything to worry about, especially if they are pre period related. I am a guy of 76.

[Tonibeats in reply to Smileyian]

Thank you and it’s certainly reassuring knowing that you have coped well

[Contra21 in reply to Smileyian]

Hi there, so all yours feel different. Mine do. 6 years. Today was feel thumps and irregular best I could feel it. After a couple min stopped but waiting if will happen again. I hate them

[Smileyian in reply to Contra21]

Well after 30 years and being told although frightening, would not kill me, I surrendered and found exercise seemed to eliminate them. I was a very sporty person in my younger days and naturally worried something dreadful would happen anytime. Now at 77 I still get breakthrough episodes even after 2 ablations. These are usually zat rest or if I bend down suddenly or eat strawberries, mature cheddar, strong coffee, some foods with E additives and curry (which I like). It has been a long journey for me with some terrifying moments but now have CAS to contend with. I can almost assure you that in the absence of any serious co morbidities, you will be fine.

[Contra21 in reply to Smileyian]

I only walk should I exceersise more..?

[Smileyian in reply to Contra21]

Yes if you are able. Why not spend part of your walk walking faster until you are confident you can exercise more intensely.

[Contra21 in reply to Smileyian]

What if they feel worse after excessive, oh man they are all i think about when I get then

[sandypaw]

I am 52 and have suffered from episodes of this over a few years. It is extremely unpleasant. For the 12 months I have been running every morning for about 20 minutes and this has pretty much stopped the episodes. For me better than ditching my two bad habits, nicotine and caffeine. Yes very bad, I know.

[Tonibeats in reply to sandypaw]

My bad habit is Red wine, so trying to cut that out as much as i can. I’ve always been very sensitive to caffein so I don’t tend to have much. Maybe i need to get a little bit more active. I am a wedding photographer and as you can imagine i am usually very active however i haven’t had wedding in quite a while and can’t see me doing one any time soon due to covid. Maybe running is the forward...watch this space

[Ianc2 in reply to Tonibeats]

Regular Aerobic exercise will improve your heart muscle tone a, It will also get you away from your lovely toddlers for a little bit of 'me' time. Get yourself a fitness tracker so you can see how you are getting on. A gentle half hour run would get your heart rate up and keep it there. It will also get synovial fluid into your joints and keep your blood pressure down, enhance your figure and strengthen your bones.

[marypw]

I take bisoprolol 2.5 mg for mine and it has almost completely stopped them.

You do need a 24 hour ECG to pick them up properly.

Please don't believe all the scare stories you read about medication - the vast majority of people have no problems.

[Tonibeats in reply to marypw]

Thank you.

I think that may be an idea. My husband is on bisoprolol 5mg for high blood pressure and hasn’t had any side effects.

Will wait to see what the doctor says.

Out of curiosity do you take the Bisoprolol every day and was it specifically to help with your ectopics?

[marypw in reply to Tonibeats]

Yes, I take it every day, having started on 1.25 mg and then up to 2.5 mg because my BP was still a bit high. Id been on felodipine for hypertension before that. I certainly noticed the chest thumps come back when I missed a dose.

[Qualipop]

I started having ectopics must be 40 years ago. I was sent for a stress test. During he test of course I didn't have a single ectopic but fortunately they didn't remove all the leads when I sat down to rest and lo and behold after the test I had 3. They told me they were coming from a part of the heart that proved they were harmless- they didn't elaborate but just told me to ignore them which is not easy when the gap becomes quite long and things start to go black before the double beat kicks in. I just thump my chest or cough and it goes back to normal. They started pre menopause but I never noticed a pattern to them.

[Hidden]

Ectopic beats in and of themselves are not a problem. Many people have them without even being aware that they’re having them, and they only really become ‘problematic’ if you have another condition. For example, both episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) and Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), two types of arrhythmia, can be triggered by ectopic beats in patients with those conditions, so part of the aim of treatment is to minimise the number of ectopics experienced and thus the number of episodes of arrhythmia. Personally, I was never aware of my ectopics until my first episode of SVT at 26: ten years on I tend to be physically aware of some of them, but then I experience a lot more palpitations generally. It’s also worth bearing in mind that palpitations are also not necessarily a cause for concern, and the term literally just means physical awareness of one’s heartbeat.

There are several dietary/lifestyle factors that are medically recognised to increase the number of ectopics a person experiences - not everyone will find cutting some (or all) of these out helps, but many do:

Caffeine

Dark chocolate

White chocolate

Ginger

Alcohol

Nicotine

Certain medications including cough and cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine, some asthma inhalers, and lidocaine for local anaesthetic

In addition to these, it’s recognised that stress and insufficient sleep also increase the number of ectopic beats people experience. It was trial and error, but I’ve personally found that getting more sleep, completing cutting out ginger, caffeine, dark/white chocolate and avoiding certain cough mixtures has dramatically improved the situation for me: I went from having very regular episodes of SVT to none at all in the last 5 years. . I wish I could say I don’t miss caffeine, but I very much do!! I’ve had to stop drinking since the New Year due to another condition I have (yes, I am crying), but I definitely don’t miss the palpitations/ectopics I was choosing to experience my having a couple of pints every now and then, so alcohol was clearly a trigger for me, too.

With regards to the relationship with your menstrual cycle, I had no clue being a bloke, but a quick google reveals that this is actually a recognised and fairly common phenomenon. You’re very definitely not alone by the looks of it - it may not be pleasant, but hopefully that’s a bit of reassurance?!

[Suhaanintl]

Hi Everyone, I am 37 yrs guy n I had these ecoptic beats some 5 years back and started suddenly out of nowhere. It drove me crazy initially, went to the GP and ER got the ECG, Holter, Echo Stress Echo n all came out to be fine. Didn't had to be put on any med den and they completely got over in 15-20 days time den 5 years back. Now last October suddenly them came back and came back with a Bang. Much more stronger, regular and longer. Rushed again to the Hospital, got all the checks done, the Ecoptics were very visible on the ECG, Holter n when the cardiologist Checked it he said they are not at all harmful and did put me on a mild Beta Blocker for 5- 6 months. After having for frst 1 month only I started feeling much better with hardly or no episode of Ecoptics. So I left the med den only after a month. Now again last 3 - 4 days m having Occasional episodes of the same. One thing I have realised no mater how much used to u get of these ecoptic, you just cant get ur mind off dem when its happening. M being regular to my workout, strength training and othereise fit n healthy guy, but these episodes really puts the life on hold. Still figuring out to find a solution for them to keep them off the Bay. Lets hope one of us finds the solution to eleminate or reduce them drastically.

[EctopicAnnie]

Hi there,sorry to hear that you are suffering.l have had this problem for 20 years and yes it was linked to my menstruated cycle.Since l entered menopause it’s been a lot better so that confirmed the hormonal connection for me.