Ectopic Beats and Anxiety

[VictorRong]

Hello,

I should start this post by saying that I've had my heart checked out twice now (once back in 2010 and again earlier this year 2022) by cardiologists (echocardiogram and 24 hour heart monitor) and they found nothing wrong other than the presence of ectopic beats (around 0.3% according to my last 24 hour monitor) - which is why the Dr referred me to the cardiologist in the first place.

I do feel guilty posting here as I've read through quite a few posts about people's experience with their heart (not just ectopic beats) and I think my issue is down to anxiety.

The first time I was referred to the cardiologist was when I first experienced ectopic beats in 2010, I'd never had them (or noticed them) before but after having several in quick succession out of the blue it caused a panic attack (which I'd also never had before). After being checked out and told nothing was wrong, it seemed to settle down after a few months (maybe 4 or 5 months of noticeable ectopic beats and panic attacks) and for over 10 years I had nothing until last summer when out of the blue (again) I had several very strong/jolty ectopic beats that immediately triggered a panic attack, it was seconds between getting the ectopic beats and the panic attack triggering. Again I've been checked out, tests etc and told nothing is wrong with my heart.

It's now been 10 months since it all kicked off again last summer and 3 months since given the "all clear" by the cardiologists and my day-to-day life is dominated by ectopic beats and a constant anxious feeling verging on panic attacks. I've not had any caffeine for 8 months, I stopped drinking alcohol last December for 4 months (I did start having a drink again last month, which I think has increased the ectopic beats rate a little, so I'm stopping again).

I'm sure that the ectopic beats are driven by anxiety (yes I'm terrified of anything being wrong with my heart/it stops beating/i have a heart attack) and it just makes it worse, a vicious cycle of ectopic beats -> panic attack -> worse ectopic beats.

I'm terrified of increasing my heart rate so I've not been exercising, the last time I exercised a few weeks ago and got my heart rate up into the 130-140 I ended up having about 2 hours of crazy hard ectopic beats and ultimately a panic attack. I'm thinking of ramping up exercise a little bit, maybe start with getting my heart rate up to 100 when exercising mildly, then adding 5 bpm per week, perhaps my heart needs to "warm" back up to exercising.

Ultimately I'm tired of the cycle of ectopic beats and panic attacks, it's not nice for those around me (and very embarrassing in front of friend) and I've tried to break the pattern/cycle but no luck so far.

[Hidden]

Dear VictorRong

Welcome to you and your first quite worrying post onto the forum. I hope that this informative and supportive place will help you understand that you are not alone in worrying over your heart matters.

You have to remember that I am not medically trained and although I have suffered with ectopic beats, my heart journey went down a crazy path that yours will not go down, I hope.

You seem to be looked after medically and it seems they have ruled out anything other than your ectopic episodes.

Now lets start on you a bit {sorry} just having ectopic episodes is crippling you so that makes it as important as anyones diagnoses/illness on here or anywhere else.

I really think that there is something wrong with anyone who plays the one up-manship game when it comes to health {and who hasn’t sat next to someone who does just that?

So now to you and this is really all about you and the way you are handling your illness, you are so tuned into your heart at the moment that you are forgetting its just one of the miraculous things that is keeping the whole of you going.

When I asked my Cardiologist why after being diagnosed as needing a by-pass i could not stop thinking of my heart just stopping, he said didn’t I realise that when i was asleep that my heart was still doing its job?

That line helped me put back into perspective my illness, but I have a feeling that you may need more help, and that help is available, you just have to ask for it.

Start at your GP, re-contact your heart team {they have heard this question so often} and point it out as clearly as you can that you need help in not only understanding your condition but also how to live with it.

No one will judge you and you will soon be on your way to feeling better, I promise you once that first step is taken {well second because your first was to tell us all about it}

Take care and please keep us informed.

[Identiy]

Facts re ectopic beats1 life insurance companies don't load a policy if occasional ectopics are seen on an ECG.

They are not out to make friends - only money - so if they don't load a policy it is because the ectopics are not associated with premature death.At a 0.3% burden you have no worries at all of being loaded

2 The cure for me was to go as hard as I could under medical supervision with an ECG and a doctor there and, as he had said would happen, the ectopics, which were frequent at rest, disappeared completely at a heart rate of around 150/min. I continued to exercise and eventually got my heart rate to around 180 beats/min and still no ectopics. I was able to see my heart rhythm on the monitor in front of the stationary bike I was on.

I was 35 at the time.

Since that experience, my fear of them has disappeared as if they don't occur at that rate, with the heart working very very very hard, then they were not dangerous, as it is normal for a fault to become apparent when it is under maximum load.

I still have them occasionally when stressed, too much alcohol or caffeine.

I am now 72.

[Qualipop]

Been there, got the T shirt and had a heart attack (Waving- still here). Palpitations and anxiety are horrible. You are lucky they managed to see the ectopic b eats and know where they are coming from ie they know they are benign. It took nearly 2 years for them to catch mine; holter monitor for a week- nothing happened, umpteen ECGs - nothing happened. Stress test- nothing happened until I had finished and sat down to recover. By pure chance they left me attached to the machine and bingo; a long run of ectopics. MIne were also causing panic attacks but hey explained to me just what was happening and why they were harmless. IT took me a few months to start to believe them but eventually I did. I still get occasional ectopics but no longer panic. Perhaps you could get your GP or someone qualified to explain to you in detail what's causing them and why they aren't worried to set your mind at rest. It wasn't the ectopics that later caused my heart attack but years of smoking and blocked arteries . Very oddly when it happened, I was calmer than I've ever been. Everyone's different but I find that if things are explained to me in detail I don't panic. Some people prefer not to know but it's the unknown that worries me. My GP has even put a note on my records saying "EXPLAIN THINGS".

[Jetcat]

Hi victorRong, anxiety feeds ectopics. They are horrible. Iv had them for decades and still get them now sometimes. It’s easy for me tell you not to panic about them but as time goes on you will realise that they not going to kill you and it will lessen the anxiety hopefully like it did with me.👍They may just disappear.? Try finding any triggers. I drove myself mad trying to find my trigger so I gave up.😡

Just remember as uncomfortable as they are they are not going to kill you.

Best wishes. Ron.

[Alison_L]

Most people have harmless ectopics but never know about it. I had an MRI (not heart related) in February, and because they had to turn off my ICD, I was hooked up to a loud heart monitor that repeated all my heart beats back to me. It was fascinating listening to all the extra beats and missed beats. I think I might have been beating out "We will Rock You" at one point

[Hypat1a]

Thanks so much for such an honest post. I have battled with all the same issues for years and swing between putting symptoms down to anxiety and convinced something has to be physically wrong . My panic attacks happen at night, racing heart, sweating, crazy ectopics, basically feel like I am dying. It is horrific and no one can understand unless they have been through it. So I hear you. Firstly, considering the panics that used to have my bpm at 170 whilst lying down doing nothing have been massively helped by a low dose of bisoprolol which keeps my heart from getting over 100. The panic is still there but doesn't escalate due to the tachycardia. Secondly my ectopics and level of panic are triggered by alcohol, having a virus, menopausal hot flushes, dehydration, and stimulant, walking up steep hills, even needing a poo! I also suspect a relationship between my ectopics and my low blood pressure which can on occasion leave me light headed. Ectopic for me can be helped with coughing, iced water and holding breath bearing down.Enjoy life, be careful of triggers and constantly tell yourself you are healthy and just have nerves in the wrong place ( some people don't feel their ectopics at all) and a higher resting adrenaline than most. It's just an individual difference, relax into it and accept it. Sending best wishes.

[RailRover]

It really does sound like anxiety. My wife had some ectopic beats a few months ago and it was a big deal for her having never had any such thing in the past. On the other hand, I've been having them sporadically for over 40 years since my early 20s, so they are no big deal to me at all. I do have more of them now after a heart attack, a stent and triple bypass, but they still don't strike me as alarming in themselves because they are the norm for me. I know it's hard to relax when your heart is doing crazy things, but the anxiety can make potential problems a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Kelso7 in reply to RailRover]

I also had this ectopic heartbeat after 5 stent placement 3 months ago. It comes and go . It doesn't hurt but it worried me sometimes due the trauma I had when I had ha. Does it happened to u like that railrover?