Heart Arrhythmia driving me insane with worry

[Reassurancepls]

Just looking for a hand hold and some reassurance from others. Please please no horror stories because I can't take them right now.

I've been having palpitations for months and used 10mg a day of propanolol to keep them under wraps. Last Friday I had a whole day of feeling like my heart was skipping a beat and it turned out to be PVCs. I went to A & E who were very reassuring and have since spoken to GP who thinks it could be due to stress/anxiety (have been very stressed for a long time now) but seemed surprised that they were still continuing almost a week later. He's put me on to two lots of 40mg propanolol and some diazepam for the next two weeks.

I'm sat here now worrying because it's just not calming down. Everyone's reassuring me and saying so long as it's not happening loads it's fine. But it does feel like loads. I'm getting one every three beats for a bit, then I get between 10 and 20 normal beats sometimes. It's just driving me insane. I can't relax, and I'm constantly frightened that I'm going to just drop dead.

Has anyone been through this? If so how long did it take to calm? Is this my life now? Am I at risk of dropping dead? I just want it to stop so badly!

I assume you've had a blood test? I had these ages ago and it turned out to be low iron. Even now I get them occasionally and I know I'm getting a bit anaemic.
Dreadful feeling and the more you think about them the more they happen, so yes anxiety does not help!

Oh and just to add my doctor said palpitations/skipped beats are very rarely dangerous, so no you're not going to drop dead. I'm sure A&E would have referred you to a cardiologist if they thought anything was amiss.

I haven't. I had one in December which showed I had low B9 so was on supplements for that for two months and actually thinking about it that may have been around the time the palpitations started. I bought some OTC folic acid to see if it was that but have also been anaemic in the past. I will go get some iron tablets tomorrow and hope to god it's that. Thank you so much for replying. They're horrific aren't they? Never know panic like it, which obviously doesn't help!

You could ask for a referral to cardiology especially if you have any kind of health insurance and can go privately. It may reassure you. Or you could ask for a second opinion. I'm assuming you had full blood tests to rule out iron deficiency, thyroid issues, etc, as they can all cause similar problems but are treated differently.

Fwiw we have a family history of arrhythmia and no-one dropped dead from it. It is frightening but as a PP said stress makes it worse. I find yoga, mindfulness and visualisation techniques can help. There are also support groups - although I don't know anyone who has used them so can't testify to how helpful they are or not - Arrhythmia Alliance

I had this when I was going through my divorce. I have had very high bp since my 20s and was scared that my heart was really struggling. I had an ecg and various tests and was referred to a cardiologist who said it was stress related and my heart was fine. He said it feels dangerous but it wasn’t causing any damage or putting me at risk. I was on diazepam and zopiclone as had dreadful insomnia too. It did settle but I feels so awful and it’s hard to believe everything is ok. I’m getting it a bit again as I’m stressed and am moving house too but I know it’s not dangerous so just try and listen to relaxing podcasts and videos to distract myself. What did A&E do and say? Have they suggested any further tests? You could ask for a cardiologist referral. I found knowing it really was a stress related thing really helped me cope. If the medication isn’t helping I’d ask for a referral. I can empathise because it’s a horrible sensation and very tiring.

I have a physical condition where I get this and it is thankfully well controlled by drugs now. Also had a stressful job and was generally my own worst enemy, working myself into a state.

It is very difficult not to sit there on edge, waiting for the next ectopic beat, or set of palpitations, but it is really the best thing if you can concentrate on something else and not be so conscious of you heartbeat, like a gentle activity or a really engrossing film or book. Even a gentle stroll, anything to get you out of panic mode.
I have just discovered Zentangle, thanks to another poster here, and it's just the sort of thing to calm that chattering monkey brain of ours.

Remember, if A and E had been worried about your heart, they would have wired you up and monitored you closely for ages.
Having your meds increased will help and then a review at your GP's to see if you need to continue with this, be assessed or be signposted to some stress reducing treatments.

I did have to change some things, which might not be the same for you.
Giving up coffee altogether, reducing tea drinking and alcohol consumption helped a lot, as did controlled slow breathing when stressed.
(There are other techniques physically to calm a racing heart, but you should discuss with your GP first.)
I hope it all settles soon.💐

could you put on radio/music in the background, so you are less aware of this irregularity.
i can imagine that it would be quite worrying, which will only make it worse, being stress related.
so some distraction therapy might help you to relax enough to get to sleep.
hope you feel better soon.

Hi @Reassurancepls

I could've written your post pretty much word for word a while ago. I started having ectopic beats Oct 2020 and they were exactly like you have described yours and I was just as terrified. Went to my GP who did a full round of bloods (I needed a little folic acid boost) and referred me for a 48 ecg which came back completely normal.

Between seeing my gp and the ecg being done (3 month-ish gap) they calmed down so I assumed the low folate was the cause. However, they reared their ugly head agin around April 21 and, again,
they terrified me. GP said I was fine but unconvinced I went to see a private cardiologist. After more ecgs, more bloods, a stress echo and a chest x-ray, she said she could not be more convinced that my heart is completely healthy and that the palps are likely caused by stress, anxiety and hormones which then becomes a chucked and egg situation.

Since then the pattern of nothing for ages then having a couple of weeks when I seem to have loads and loads has continued. I take propranolol too and just try not to let them make me anxious these days. That's all I can do.

I hope you find my story somewhat reassuring. I would suggest working on your anxiety if you can. Breathing techniques, yoga etc. whatever works for you. Take care

Apologies for the errors, I tried to go back and correct before I pressed post but every time I did that the website went all funny! Honestly, this latest update is still being a pita for me MNHQ!

I have probably had a couple of hundred thousand PACs and PVCs in my life, and Im still alive and kicking (premature atrial contraction and premature ventricular contraction) In almost all cases they are annoying but benign. The gold standard tests to rule out any problems are a holter monitor (a mini ECG machine that is stuck on you and you wear around for 2 days to 2 weeks) and a cardiac ultrasound of your heart. If you want to push your GP, you could ask for referrals for both of these, but you will probably have to see a cardiologist first.

If you dont want to wait, you can self refer privately and it will cost about 160 for the consultation and more for the tests.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies and thyroid problems can also cause an increase in irregular beats. You could ask your GP for some trsts, or go to Medichecks and buy them yourselves. Make sure to include, iron, ferritin, B6 and 12, calcium, potassium and magnesium as well as the thyroid panel

in the meantime google vasovagal manoevers, they are little tricks to startle your body which often resets your heart rate back into a regular pattern.

Thank you so much for your replies! Crazy morning here but will reply as soon as I can. I already feel so reassured! It can be so consuming and I feel so much better for your replies. I'm sorry you've all had to go through this worry yourselves.

Have you tried antidepressants for your anxiety ?

Oh they are bloody horrible aren't they. I've had them for years to varying degrees, can go ages without them, then have a spell of them being all the time again. I've been where you are now with the overwhelming anxiety about them when having a particularly bad spell, where they seemed to be constant for weeks, was convinced my heart was going to stop at any moment. I had a 24 hour monitor on and ecg etc. Had quite a lot of them while the monitor was on and the cardiologist assured me that nothing else was going on, and they were absolutely harmless. Pretty much everyone has them, but a lot of people don't even notice as they are busy going about their day.
So many things can set them off, hormones seem to be a big cause, and especially the stress hormones, which you are obviously going to be flooded with at the mo as you have been in a heightened anxiety state for a while. So it's a bit of a vicious circle. Hopefully your meds will settle your anxiety and they will start to ease off. Try a daily meditation (headspace app is great) if you don't do that already.
But please be assured, while they feel very strange and unsettling, they are VERY common, and are completely harmless in the overwhelming majority of cases.

Peri menopause can cause similar symptoms. Get checked thoroughly obviously but also might be worth looking into.

I had them when my ferritin was low. I had put it down to getting older and peri menopause .

Thank you all so much for your reassurance. We had a big do yesterday that I've been anxious about but didn't realise how much so, as my heart seems to be playing ball again! Not completely, I'm still having the PVCs but I can't 'feel' them now! What a difference in a day! Plus the reassurance from yourselves. Thank you so much! I've started taking B9 and B12 supplements too, but only in the last few days so hopefully that will help if they are low 😃

Glad to hear it OP.
Keep up with the vitamins and try to chill a bit more.

don’t know if this will be helpful or not but i believe the apple iwatch has a facility on it that monitors your heartbeat/rate and the newer watch has the facility if you press to take like a ecg so you can show your doctor the results.

Same here. I have had irregular heartbeat for years. I mentioned it to two Doctors years ago and neither of them bothered to even listen to my heart, and put it down to anxiety! In 2016 I had a different GP who sent me for an echo, and EDG and also an MRI! I actually do have a minor problem in that un diuagnoses high blood pressure has stretched the left ventricle. Im on Propanalol which actually doesnt help and as Im typing this my heart is bouncing about all over the place! If your GP wont do tests could you afford to have them privately. I still havent keeled over from a heart attack or actually felt another side effects .

sorry for all the typos,

I've had this for years, since I became peri menopause.

I've been hooked up to ecg machine for 24 hours and they weren't unduly concerned.

My Apple Watch often tells me my heart reading is 'inconclusive' but I'm still here to tell the tale 😊

It used to really worry me but I don't give it a second thought any more.

How old are you OP?

the truth is that everyone has ectopic beats it’s just that most people don’t realise it as they’re usually not strong enough to feel.

i do have atrial fibrillation among other things which is medically controlled, but I agree that arrhythmia is horrible. But there are lots of non heart related things which can cause palpitations.

re the Apple Watch, I’ve spoken to several cardiologists about this, and they all agree that the ecg does more harm than good as it’s not accurate, and makes things more difficult for them as they have people insisting they know they have a condition because their Apple Watch says so.

i did one on my DP’s watch and it said no atrial fibrillation was detected even though I was in full AF at the time with a resting heart rate of approx 100 bpm.

do you take pain medication like diclofenac or naproxen?

those can cause this.