Ectopic heart

[Worzelgumage]

I have been on long term medication Bisoprolol Fumarate to help control an ectopic heart beat but I have more skipped “extra beats” which is causing a lot of anxiety. Spoke to the Doc who advised me to up my medicated dose which is only 2.5 mg. I an anxious as I keep experiencing them throughout the day.

[PadThaiNoodles]

Even 5mg is not a particularly high dose; seems like it’s worth giving your doctor’s suggestion a try.

If that helps the ectopics but you still have a lot of general anxiety, you might ask your doctor whether adding an SSRI would make sense. (Or perhaps doing a CBT course.) There are lots of options out there that can help.

[Ennasti]

I’ve read your bio and your post above and it’s left me confused. What is an ectopic heart? Do you mean you’re having ectopic beats? I’m also confused about your previous palpitations you’ve mentioned, because you speak about palpitations as if they’re something different?

Ectopic beats cause the feeling of palpitations. Although you can have multiple types of arrhythmias which are felt, they’re not described as palpitations. The word ‘ectopic’ basically means ‘outside of normal’ so an ectopic heartbeat is outside of the normal beat. An ectopic pregnancy is a developing fetus outside of the normal place where a fetus should be.

Ectopic beats are harmless for the most part. They’re really not something to be unduly stressed about. Have you had a holter monitor recently? Have you spoken to someone about your anxiety?

[DLS25]

I get loads and loads of pvs. Hate them

[Nugen]

I was prescribed bisprolol on leaving hosp for a replacement valve. It's fairly std practise and works to cap heart rate I was told. It's also used to try to dampen erratic activity. I had and still have quite weird erratic beats ...quick , slow, half etc but this is not considered to be a problem unless it induces dizziness they ve told me.

I've recently stopped bisprolol and wow it's made a huge difference to my sleep , mood and my worries have markedly reduced ...I think the drug was the cause of those.

Id suggest you be wary of upping doses of bisprolol unless their very clear medical reasons....cardiologist should advise.

As for the extra beats, I would live with them as long as they re not causing dizziness or light headedness.

Have you had an ECG etc?

[Nannytroop70 in reply to Nugen]

I also have frequent ectopic beats that doctors after an ecg said not to worry about and prescribed 2.5 bisoprolol. Then upped by 1.25. Heart rate dropped, calf muscles night cramp and horrible nightmares ensued adding to the fatigue

In my bed 12 hours, peeing every 2 hours, disturbed sleep with bad nightmares.

Weaned myself of Bisoprolol and taking magnesium and zinc supplement. Now I am much improved, can go 4 hours uninterrupted sleep, no night cramps, no nightmares finally a bit more energy.

Just met with a Consultant after waiting 5 months and trying a new hospital, he offered more stronger tablets and played the age card, I am 70, and maybe an ablation as ectopic are so frequent but wants me to try more tablets for 3 months ..why???? This is at a specialist heart hospital. Not offered an echocardiogram or any other test just another ecg. Which was same as the 2 I'd already had.

Decided I am not taking more tablets, cause more problems than not taking. I am currently learning to deal with ectopics in my life and trying to get a phone consultation with the Consultant to request ablation.

Just my experience that says don't be afraid to challenge consultants for your own gut feeling and ultimate quality of life.

[Worzelgumage in reply to Nugen]

hello Nguyen,

I have had this ectopic issue for some time and many ECG’s in vain to actually capture the thing happening. It was eventually caught on ECG At my place of work clasping in front of 120 colleagues, Paramedic caught on his device rapid and prolonged extra heart beats, hospital then misplaced the paper evidence. Have been up and down with Bisoprolol doses for past 8 years. I really do believe that the meds have reduced my heart rate that much 48 at rest that my heart is forcing extra beats to occur, all very stressful and making me constantly anxious.

[Mlinde]

I too have ectopic arythmia but my gp and the consultant didn't seem bothered by it and yes, anxiety increases it, so don't get anxious. Apparently, the cause isn't the heart but a problem with body's electrical system, they don't know the cause. So I'd advise not to worry about it.

[Blueflags]

Hi Worzelgumage, I think the majority of AF suffers experience ectopic heart beats, and (also people who don’t have AF) I have anxiety and every time I had a ectopic beat or flutter it would send me into a panic. So I asked my GP for anxiety medication, he referred me to a mental health nurse, and after speaking to her she put me on Sertraline, and to be honest it’s been very effective and I feel far more relaxed. It’s not 100% but has certainly helped my anxiety and makes it easier to cope. Good luck 😊

[Qualipop]

I had ectopic beats for a long time. I had evry test under the sun to try to find out where they were coming from but they never showed up until I had a stress test ( Exercise machine). Even during that I didn't have any ectopics but luckily they left the electrodes attached while I sat down to rest. Lo and behold I had a long run of ectopics. Finally they could see which part of the heart they were coming from and told me they were harmless. Once I stopped worrying about them, they gradually decreased and finally stopped but that took quite a few months. Anxiety absolutely does make ectopics worse.

[Faub]

Totally understand how you feel. They are quite uncomfortable as a feeling, although often we feel them as something very strong, but in reality they are not. I have a pacemaker and, despite having ectopic beats and palpitations on a daily basis, in a year it has picked up only 2 that were actual arrhytmias.

The causes might be many and not all palpitations can actually be ectopic beats. Try to always stay well hydrated, avoid alcohol and caffeine in the periods of time when you experience more of them, as they can make them worse.

They are closely related to stress levels too, although you might say that they are indeed the source of stress. A bit of vicious circle. I agree with those that said to try 5mg of bisoprolol. If you haven't got issues with bradichardia (slow heart rate), you shouldn't have any problems ☺️.

[Worzelgumage in reply to Faub]

Faub, thank you for your advice and comments very much appreciated and receiving some really good feedback and comments.

[SudsSuds]

I found avoiding caffeine reduced my ectopic beats considerably. A simple step you could try.

[Worzelgumage]

yes I will have to stop all caffeine products thanks for the tip