Anxiety about Ectopic Beats?

[Rhodog2612]

Hi everyone, I am a 29 year old male from the UK who has been having ectopic beats now for the last 2 years.

I was on Bisoprolol 1.25mg per day since September 2022, but have recently started cutting the tablets in half and only having half a dose daily due to getting bradycardia at night and at points in the day too causing fatigue and tiredness etc…

An ultrasound scan of my heart shows no physical abnormalities with my heart itself, and a 24 hour ECG discovered that out of 77,541 normal beats in a day, I had 1,429 ectopics consisting of both ventricular and atrial ectopics. The lowest my heart rate went to over night was around 42bpm, and the ECG results say “sinus rhythm with a short PR interval of around 105ms at times.”

Since starting to reduce my dose around 5 or 6 days ago I’ve noticed a massive increase in anxiety levels and episodes of dizziness, light-headedness and bradycardia which still seems to happen even on a reduced dose of the beta blocker.

My number one worry is that my heart will just stop, as it is still going down to around 45 - 55bpm when I’m resting which worries me, and I get a lot of episodes where my heart seems like it stops (misses a beat) and then carries on as normal.

I’ve been referred back to cardiology and I’m waiting for an appointment, but I suppose I’m looking mainly for reassurance that nothing else sinister could be going on, or if anyone has had any similar experiences? I think it is having a major impact on my mental health as every day is a constant worry and the fear of my heart just randomly stopping in the day or during my sleep is unbearable.

Any advice and opinions on this would be great!

[Hidden]

Hello

You have had a lot of tests done which seem to have come back ok so that should be reassuring

You say you have cut Bisoprolol on half did you ask your Doctor if they were happy for you to do that as you should never reduce or mess with your meds without them saying it is ok

Cutting down the dose might make you feel a little anxious as they slow you down a bit but you need to talk with your Doctor about this

I hope they cab reassure you and you will let us know how you get on x

[devonian186]

You don't say anything about your lifestyle, weight, exercise etc. These will have a substantial impact on your health and may impact on your current problems. Have you discussed your medication with your GP as you were given this prescription for a reason.

[DanniC88]

Hi there. Im exactly the same. You are not alone. I have ectopics all the time along with fast heart rate sinus tachycardia. Im on 2.5mg bisoprolol and like you sometimes i feel like im gonna have a HA or my heartvia gonna stop. After many tests i was told that ectopics can be harmless and its not likely a heart will stop. I understand it feels like that when theres long pauses in between beats. Sometimes I find avoiding chocolate helps. If I eat to much fatty and spicy food I get them. There's a link between the heart and gut so i read so i try to keep my gut happy. Also other illnesses can make them worse. Fear of them will make them worse. Waiting for them to happen will make them worse. When the anxiety hits breathe in deeply for a few mins, ground yourself and tryband concentrate on your breathing. You've probably heard that before but it does work. Also one cardiologist told me to exercise more because it helps. I hope you get to the bottom of it. I haven't in 4 years.

[Evaluna in reply to DanniC88]

Hi, I have had ectopics for 35 years and still hate them. I can't offer any magic solution but have a look at Dr Sanjay Gupta's videos (York Cardiology), he is very reassuring and you will learn that your heart won't just stop because of ectopics. Good luck.

[Valentina98]

Hey

Nothing more to add really that hasn't been said.

Hope you get the answers your looking for.

V x

[MummaSoap]

Hi Rhodog

Firstly, and I appreciate that it’s far easier said than done, you need to try and find a way to help your mental health. Reaching out on here is a good step because talking is so important - also just acknowledging that this is causing you anxiety is a big step so that’s positive. Personally, I find meditation really helpful especially before bed.

I just want to say I’m no doctor or medical professional but it’s also difficult to give any advice regarding the bradycardia without knowing whether you experience other symptoms with it. Do you experience breathlessness or do the episodes wake you from your sleep?

Have you spoken to your gp or cardiologist about how your feeling?

My understanding is that ectopics are usually harmless although not always pleasant to experience and some people experience 10s of thousands of ectopics per day.

I hope that you can find techniques that help you to manage your anxiety effectively.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

Soap

[Rhodog2612]

Hi again everyone and thank you all for your kind words and advice! I reduced my dose after speaking with my GP and an A&E doctor due to having some episodes at work where I was extremely tired and my heart rate was in the low 50s whilst sat at my desk. The only way to get this to come back up was to keep going for short walks etc…

In terms of my daily routine I must admit that I don’t do very much activity aside from having 10 minute walks at work every hour and drinking around 3 litres of water a day. I don’t drink tea or coffee or have any energy drinks, don’t smoke or do drugs, and only drink alcohol on a weekend which is not much any more compared to how much I used to drink when I was younger.

Currently I am 5 feet 3 inches tall and around 13.5 stones in weight.

I’ve always had an idea that the issues could be down to anxiety, or at least worsened by anxiety because when I do drink alcohol this seems to reduce the anxiety and also reduce the ectopics, although some hours after drinking they do soon return again - often worse than before.

The ectopics are mainly worse at night and if I sit or lay in certain possitions, and I do also notice them more after eating a large meal so I always wondered if they could be linked to digestion issues or something pressing on the vegus nerve etc…? Sometimes, the ectopics do give me quite a jolt in the chest and have been known to wake me up or stop me from being able to relax. They are often single ectopics but I’ve had episodes lasting up to 5 minutes where there have been several in a row, or one after each normal beat continuously.

It’s definitely reassured me reading all your comments and I will try to overcome the anxiety and focus less on my heartbeat, so thank you to everyone for all of your help this far! 😊

[wischo in reply to Rhodog2612]

You are currently in the obese range. I suggest in order- see a GP and get your anxiety sorted as best you can- reduce your food intake- adopt a proper exercise range for your young age. Your ectopics are not high by any standard and probably harmless, your heart rate while in bed is normal and the normal resting heartrate has been revised to 50-90bpm, so that makes it normal for you. I would think your GP started you on beta blockers mainly for anxiety which is probably responsible for the felt ectopics. See your GP again and get him to recommend a means to reduce your anxiety, reduce your BMI to a healthier weight, and hopefully alleviate your fear of having something seriousely wrong with you. Best of luck for the future.

[devonian186 in reply to wischo]

Yes, little exercise and being rather overweight certainly appear to be key issues that need tackling and might in themselves resolve a lot of the problems. That also seems an awful lot of water.

[Rosj69 in reply to Rhodog2612]

Your digestion can be higly related to your atopic beats, specially with feeling of fullness. To get more info fint some you tube clips about it, the nerves in that area are close linked together, if the palpulations is causing you problem, like sortness of breath or feeling of fainting, see a doctor. Maybe a smal dose of beta blockers or even just a potassium supplement can help! If you are low in potassium you can feel skiped beats. If you take beta blockers (metroprolol) This could raise your potassium levels slightly. Just remember that.

[Knitter08]

camomile and peppermint tea are my best friends when I get like that. I’ve had ectopic beats for years and all apparently normal. I’ve been starting to think it’s stomach related as drinking herbal tea does calm things down a little.

[jayjay10000]

Hi there iam so sorry to hear that you are having heart issues at the moment, I have been experiencing the same problems, my propranolol was reduced by half and so was ramipril. Since the weekend my Anxiety is much worse and my blood pressure is spiking high for Upto 2hours. Don't worry to much about your resting HR because mine is the same as yours between 45-55. I also started to feel lightheaded and not very good on my feet, it always happens when iam out somewhere alone or with family.

[bluemoon572]

Following an ectopic beat there is normally a compensatory pause and then after the pause your sinus node will fire causing a stronger heart muscle contraction and that's what we feel. Your heart monitoring showed no evidence that your sinus node is sick and won't discharge. In cases where it fails,the AV node takes over at a rate in the mid 40's and if the AV node fails, cells in the heart muscle take over with rates in the low 40's. Don't obsess about your heart stopping.