Ectopic heartbeats

[barbieVSdinosaur]

Does anyone have any experience of ectopic heartbeats?

I have been listening to my heart beat a lot and it seemed irregular. So I downloaded an app that allows you to monitor it.

It often shows me that I'm having ectopic beats. Sometimes trigeminy.

I'm wondering how often it would have to happen for it to be considered a health issue.

@TheVanguardSix

I am tall! 5 10, thin. 32. And have given birth twice 😩 doomed ! 🤣

Oh how interesting about your height! You’re eligible at your young age for this wonderful service:
www.c-r-y.org.uk/screening/

I too am 5’10” OP! Birds of a feather!
Try not to fear! I’ve delivered 4 babies (one was a stillborn daughter but I always include her ❤️) and my heart was absolutely fine throughout! I didn’t mean to scare you about dissections. They are so so so rare. But definitely get a 24 hour holter monitor and have the results read by a cardiologist rather than a GP. You may want to pay/go private for this… unless your GP is quite good at referrals (mine are very slow).

You’ll probably need to do nothing at all! Just keep an eye on things and be kind to your heart. I do a lot of meditation. It really helps! I do a daily shavasana/yoga nidra (guided… on Spotify 🤪). Ironically, I don’t do lots of actual yoga itself or full-on swimming with strokes because it’s risky for me (since I’ve had a tear/dissection already). And I can never go on a roller coaster again. Not that I went on many in my lifetime but… I was kind of sad about that. 😆😆😆

That is so great to know. My area is fully booked so I have just registered my interest, thank you.

I have been looking into private ECG but the only one I found, reasonably priced, sends the report to the GP. And I don't want that. I want to be spoken to privately after.

I am really conscious of my heart health now.

You have been such a great help, thank you

@barbieVSdinosaur this tool is recommended by the NHS: store.alivecor.co.uk/products/kardiamobile

@CatHatSat thanks so much I think I am going to get one.

Just before I fell pregnant with DS1, I noticed something similar. Eventually diagnosed with SVT - think it's Supraventricular tachycardia. Heart sometimes misses one, then does a catch up few. Had a stress test when 5 months pregnant, all fine and now it's part of normal life. Worse when I lie on my right side, turns out several female family members have it too.
I'm also tall and slim, so was interested to read that!

I've had ectopic beats on and off for about 30 years. It's weird, because I can go for months (maybe even a year or more) without noticing any at all and then I seem to have "flare ups" where I get them all the time, to the point where they stop me sleeping and make me cough constantly.

I had a particularly intense bout of them for most of last year and in early December I contacted my GP, who got me in for an ECG. Despite my saying that they usually happened in the afternoon and evening, my appointment was in the morning and, of course, nothing showed up on the ECG.

By then it was approaching Christmas and I had lots of organising to do and it wasn't until about 2 weeks after Christmas that I realised that I hadn't been feeling so many ectopic beats recently. They faded away and I haven't had any further episodes this year.

I'm not sure if these are relevant but my usual resting heart rate (according to Fitbit) is 53; my severest episode at the end of last year came a day or two after my covid booster and I started taking HRT at the beginning of January.

I started to get noticeable ectopic heartbeats, both PACs and PVCs, after myocarditis which was acute after Moderna. According to the cardiologist they will reduce as the inflammation goes down. Have some scarring, so some will remain. They are horrible, horrible things - sometimes feel like I will pass out, but have not. Stopping caffeine, taking magnesium and getting a lot of sleep help. Also taking bets-blockers and ACE inhibitors.

Thank you. I am actually have an echocardiogram tomorrow. So will let you know what happens!

Good luck @barbieVSdinosaur You may have to push for proper investigation and treatment. It still feels like from someone doctors there is an assumption that heart problems only effect older men. Over the past year I have met a number of women who struggled to get treatment.

Definitely push for a monitor - they have Vio monitors now which last up to 14 days and show a clear picture of what is happening to your heart.

Fwiw - I've had them since 18years old and I'm now 40...they can be troublesome but I take bisoprolol daily to help lower my HR.

Keep an eye on your trigger too x

@FuzzyPuffling , may I ask what is your % burden? Mine is 5%. Do you take beta blocker?

echocardiogram is a good idea. I have some too, but not that many. What I have been told is that having a small percentage is totally fine, but having a lot for a long time can be an issue. 10 every minute is probably over 10 percent which is quite a lot.