Ectopic beats

[Banana1979]

For the 2nd time in my life im suffering from daily near constant ectopic beats..ie exrra heart beats. Im finding them unbearable and am now worried i have some sort of heart defect
When i 1st experienced them i didn't kn oiw what they were and was worried i was having some sort of heart attack lol so went to A&E and doc told me they were harmless
However all the info i read online points to ectopic beats lasting minutes not days
My Gp didnt seem too worried last time either however now they are back. Has anyone experienced these before?

I have had these on and off and found they cause me a great deal of anxiety which makes them worse . I usually get them after eating and with wind/acid reflux - or with excess adrenaline eg if upset before vomiting, after sex , frightened , crying , etc or if I hyperventilate for any reason .

I’ve had a 24 hour tape done and a 72 hour one , dozens of ECGs , an echo and a stress test - all OK . I do have a relative (mums twin brother) who has a cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and has had an ICD though so was advised I get screened fully .

Any dizziness with them or pain? When they start breath slowly. I'd go and get checked and GP if they are going on for days and A&E if you get any pain or dizziness.

I have been plagued with these since I started the peri menopause 7 years ago.

Been to the doctors countless times had tests galore but told they are harmless. I have been given beta blockers to calm them but have found that the ones you take every day( slow release) bizarrely seemed to make them worse. I now only take them when I need them and they seem to work much better.

However I have found they are directly related to certain foods and GERD ( something to do with the close proximity of the stomach to the Venus nerve which controls the heart beat)

If I have foods with a lot of additives or high in carbs and sugar it seems to trigger them big time. The first time I noticed a huge improvement as when I went on a low carb diet. Suddenly realised that they had disappeared.

When they do start up I do a very effective breathing exercise where you breath in for 5 seconds, out for five seconds and continue with this for 5 minutes. The other thing that can help is the valsar manoeuvre where you hold your nose and blow/ bear down( bit like you are trying to pop your ears.)

There is a really good cardiologist (Dr Sanjay Gupta ) who has done a series of videos with advice on Ectopic heart beats. I found his videos really reassuring.

^Vagus nerve ( not Venus...)

I have had these in the past. Mine felt they were occurring pretty much all day and like a previous poster were much worse when I had indigestion, trapped wind etc and if I was in shock, very anxious etc.

After a 24 hr tape I was referred to a cardiologist due to the frequency of the ectopics shown on the ECG and put on betablockers, which made it worse, so came off then. I was told they were generally harmless but if they became very frequent I could consider an ablation. I was told they often burn themselves out after a while and after about a year mine improved dramatically. I only get them occasionally now but have been told they may occur again the the future.

If I were you I’d see the GP and ask for a 24 hour tape as a starting point but try not to worry too much as they are highly likely to be harmless (but flipping annoying!)

Forgot to add that I also had an echo to check the structure of the heart. I have a bit of mild mitral regurgitation (which lots of people have) but apart from that everything was fine.

I started getting these nearly 15 years ago and at the time had a full 24 hour ecg and ultrasound of my heart, which revealed no problems.

I subsequently found that improving my cardiovascular fitness has caused them to diminish to the point I rarely get an episode, although a recent virus did trigger a week or so of near constant episodes.

I also discovered that Loratadine that you take for hay fever brings it on, so do have a think if there is any new medication you are taking.

What do they feel like? I'm trying to figure out the cause of my recent palpitations and racing heart.

Pp they often feel like a thud...at least to me.

My xh had them a lot. He had an echo cardiogram after suffering a stroke age 29. They found a pfo (hole in his heart) which he had surgery to close.
The ectopic beats continued and the cardiologist was not concerned although they made my xh anxious.
He was told caffeine can trigger them.

I definitely have them sometimes. But I wouldn't really know if he hadn't gone through what he did iyswim.

Just to clarify. The ectopic beats were nothing to do with stroke or hole in heart according to cardiologist.

I get these occasionally. My Hr slows down to

I have had ectopic beats for over ten years now (36 now). I then had a run of palpitations and the GP thought it may be SVT - I was pregnant at the time.
I had 24 hour tape, ultrasound and ECG but no meds due to the pregnancy.

Over the years I've found my triggers to be indigestion (which I also have meds for!!), anxiety, stress, heat! They seem to improve when I regularly exercise and flare up sometimes daily for weeks it's very random but I do know they are harmless. My cardiologist said that they normally disappear once your 40's start...well I do hope so as they scare me at times!

@BridgetsBigKnickers its interesting you mention they come on with stomach issues because i have stomach issues big time. Im going to mention this to my GP
All of your replies have been helpful i felt like the onmy one but Will get it checked out because the tiniest thing starts them off and makes me feel shaky i can barely type this

Thistledew
Loratadine that you take for hay fever brings it on
Are other anti histamines ok?

Yes, I'm able to take Citirazine without problems. I do suffer from a range of (non-anaphylactic) allergies so maybe that's the cause.

That's interesting. I have SVT and had a suspicion about anti histamines.

cloudhopping same for me with mild regurgitation.
I've been worse since Peri menopause too, could it be that OP?