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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

fast and irregular heartbeat

29 replies

buzzzybee · 23/01/2008 14:56

hi does any1 suffer the same? im having some right now and its so scary! i'm 6months pregnant with my second child. it isnt panic attack it just come out of the blue. its a big thud and then a long pause b4 i have more beats, the big thud makes me more aware of it. Ive had a 24hr ecg for this not long ago but in that 24hours i didnt feel it happen. some1 help me pleeease!

OP posts:
LeonieD · 23/01/2008 16:12

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luvaduck · 23/01/2008 16:15

yep prob is harmless ectopic beats but go and talk over with gp/have ecg etc. you can hav an event monitor so you can press a button when it happens. they need to do an ecg/tape when you have the symptoms.
do you take your pulse when it happens?

newbishad · 23/01/2008 17:00

Hi all,

Yes I have them as well, ectopic heart beats, really unpleasent. I always have them but they got considerably worse at 15 weeks and I am now 22 weeks. I've found they've been particulalry bad at night. Relaxation, deep breaths and changing position helps. If I get a bad string at night I sit up and it usually stops. I have heard that they don't harm either you or the baby, my G.P and Consultant aren't worried.
Good luck

luvaduck · 23/01/2008 18:08

all true but you need to confirm they are ectopic beats first - can't do this without ecg catching them

Original poster
buzzzybee · 23/01/2008 19:33

Hi just read all ur msgs thanks. I just come bk from the hospital as i was to worried,they said it was just skipped beats and that i should'nt worry to much unless i get chest pains with it. I still have it right now and its so scary! is ther any medication u can take whilst pregnant for this?

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luvaduck · 23/01/2008 19:36

glad all ok
no meds unfortunately help
stay calm and big breaths
paicking can make it worse

Original poster
buzzzybee · 23/01/2008 19:43

thanks luvaduck i will try hard,keep thinkin they must be wrong but the ecg wouldnt lie. My mother told me she had the same,she passed away in nov aged 48 so thats been making me 10times worse! I do feel abit better knowing they wont harm me

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luvaduck · 23/01/2008 19:53

did they see the skipped beats on the ecg?
off to feed back in a bit

LadyThingFishAlot · 23/01/2008 19:55

i had this and they said it was that when you are tired your body produces some adrenaline to keep everything ticking over iykwim. the adrenaline helps your body to cope when tired but also produces an irregular heartbeat. do you find that it happens most when you're tired or in the evening?

whomovedmychocolate · 23/01/2008 19:56

buzzzybee - I'm afraid when you are pregnant all sorts of bizarre things happen with your ticker. You can't take anything. You may find resting more helps though.

luvaduck · 23/01/2008 20:21

if tey did see ectopics on the ecg and you were having symptoms at the time - then yes you can rest assured they are just that and are completly harmless. they don't kill you. really sorry about your mum - presumably she died from something unrelated.

Original poster
buzzzybee · 23/01/2008 21:01

thanks im feeling alot better now. My mum had an infection but she was also overweight so we will never know the exact cause as she also had a bad fall weeks b4 she died. they showed a skipped beat on the ecg and asked if i felt the symptom around that time,i did feel a little flutter,the thing that made me panic was as i went into AnE on my assesment after checkin my blood pressure and that like peg thingy they put on ur finger instead of asking me to wait in the waiting area they rushed me straight to a bed 4an ecg i thought i was going to die. Im so so happy im home

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luvaduck · 23/01/2008 21:49

she didn't die from missed beats honestly. everone has them but only some notice them. they are normal.
sorry about your experience in A+E. they often act very quickly if anyone is complaining of heart problems were probably extra worried becasue you're preggers. they wouldn't have let you out if they were at all concerned so try and chill. stay well.

newbishad · 24/01/2008 09:59

Dear all,
These messages have been reassuring for me as well. I have had ectopic heart beats since I was 13. I have been investigated in numerous hospitals (before I became pregnant) and nobody could find anything. Over the years the best way I have found to cope with them is to relax as much as possible, change position, deep breaths and even keep as fit as possible (harder when pregnant). I did get very anxious a couple of weeks ago (with severe insomnia) and have taken some time off work. That has helped enormously and touch wood I haven't had a bad string of ectopics for a week.
They can't hurt you or the baby.
Best of luck!

Original poster
buzzzybee · 24/01/2008 13:13

hi newbishad glad ur o.k Does urs just happen or do u find something triggers them? I'm sometimes scared to do any exercise incase it starts but 9 times out of 10 its when im relaxing. I'm really glad to hear that their not serious.

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newbishad · 24/01/2008 14:27

Dear Buzeebee

Hi I'm glad you got back to me because I've felt in the past I'm the only one dealing with this. It feels like a thump in my chest, missed beat and slight tigntness. Fortunately, I am rarely breathless with them.
They tend to be worse when I'm relaxing, particulalry if I lie on my left side which of course I do as the bump expands. Eating a heavy meal can do it as well and lying down after a heavy meal is probably the worst. Having said that a glass of milk or eating a banana at night can stop it too. These are things that I have learnt over the 23 years I have lived with them. I can offer no explanation.
Vigorous exercise can bring them on but in general I find the more gentle exercise I do the less I get them. At the moment I am swimming several times a week. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's to do with being relaxed.
I hope yours start to get better. I nearly had a week without them, until today, but I am glad you posted your experiences. I have been told they are common in pregnancy, in fact in Feb's edition of Pregnancy and Birth (England)there's a whole page devoted to palpatations in pregnancy.
Best of luck

McDreamy · 24/01/2008 14:31

I had this during my last pregnancy. I had to have a lead for a week. I was diagnosed with super ventricular tachycardia which they put down to hormonal changes in the placenta.

Original poster
buzzzybee · 24/01/2008 18:52

I honestly thought i was goin crazy! Everytime i went to the doctors it would stop,they come on really random but i do find lying on my left side sometimes can trigger it come to think of it,i walked alot yesterday aswell so it could be that. Ive had them befor my pregnancy aswell,the doctor put me on beater blockers back then to help calm down racing heartbeat,learning to deal with it now,at one point i was getting my partner to check my pulse! Although i thought i was dealing with it untill yesterday rushing up to the hospital like a loon! Its best to be safe though i say. This site helped me alot yesterday so i wanna say thankyou to eveyone i felt alot better and got a gud nite sleep! its really nice knowing that ur not alone and u know exactly wat i'm talking about!

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newbishad · 25/01/2008 10:23

Dear Buzzybee,

I am glad you are feeling better and hope the ectopics lessen. They are awful but you can get used to living with them, even in pregnancy! When is your baby due? Mine's 29th May (heavily circled out on the calender).
I have always wondered (and would like to know) if anyone has any experience or knows how ectopic heart beats might be treated during giving birth. I am sure they are not dangerous, but it may be a bit harder to aply the relaxation techniques at that time.

Original poster
buzzzybee · 25/01/2008 15:43

hiya! my babys due 1st of may i feel huge already! i was wondering the same thing,hopefully its not dangerous,gonna ask mw on my next visit early feb. Havnt seen the midwife much this time round! when i had my daughter i had loads of appointments but they say u only need to be seen twice because they do more on the scan visit. Do u know what ur having? the babys legs was to close together on my 20k scan so its gonna b a suprise! the women doin the scan was horrid i asked her if i cud walk around 4 1 min to see if that would help but she snapped and said ur not here for that mainly,the baby was healthy so i was over the moon but i wanna buy pink or blue!

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newbishad · 25/01/2008 16:42

Dear Buzzybee,

Staff can be frustrating, can't they, I've had my fair share of that kind of treatment.
I don't know what I am having. The whole pregnancy has been a bit fraught because it was an IVF conception after 4 years of infertility and 2 ectopics (pregnancies this time not heart beats!), so I have had some early scans but it was a bit soon to tell. I live in Ireland but my family are from the UK so I am being seen in both places at the moment. I am scheduled for a scan in both England and Ireland and both my partner and I want to find out. Still all the little taps and knocks in my abdomen are reasuring especially after ectopic heart beats. I must also ask about ectopic beats during birth at my next appointment. I had always thought that I would have a section because of it, but I'm not sure.
I take it this is your first baby.
Take care.

Broodymumof2 · 25/01/2008 16:49

Hi just wanted to add i suffer from irregular HB always have but when i was pg it was worse.................................when i went into labour it did get worse and i was passing out a lot ....then they gave me an epidural and i felt completly fine but my heart was still thudding and had this horrible fluttering sensation i felt calm but the dr kept asking if i could feel it because the rates were off the scale ( but i couldn't)and they were calling all sorts of dr's.... ..........i ended up with a heart monitor throughout and when baby was delivered it came back to normal...........but with my dd2 it never affected me at all during delivery and i have spoke to other wommen with the same condition and they were fine during delivery also.....sorry i dont want to scare you just to say that everyone has extremely different experiences during labour and maybe you can ask your midwife if there is anything that can help beforehand.......i'm not sure if the epidural helped the condition but it certainly helped me feel very calm ...Good luck.

Original poster
buzzzybee · 25/01/2008 17:05

Sorry to hear that newsbishad. bless u. must be hard. I really hope everything goes well 4 u all x This my 2nd baby,my daughters 3 on 8th of may,may be my new baby and Ebony will share the same bday! My irregular heartbeats happened during my 1st pregnancy and after so not sure if that started because i was pregnant or i may have been not aware of it befor,it was annoying when i phoned for help and advice as they said it was panic attack and worry but i knew it wasnt,obviously when it happens u worry and that maybe make it worse but it was hard trying to explain it all. Broodymumof2 wow that must have been so scary! its stressful enough without all that i so hope that dosnt happen 2me. Ive heard from ppl epidural can only be given out to so many ppl and if ur not lucky enough to get 1 1st u have to go with out. Do u know if thats true?

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Broodymumof2 · 25/01/2008 17:32

Yes i was told that also...and with my second dd i was told i couldn't get one because the anaesthetist was busy...but i delivered dd2 really quickly (was only 8cm) and i managed without anything so i didn't mind but i was only in labour for 4 hrs...

newbishad · 25/01/2008 17:40

Buzzybee: I know that frustration of not getting help or taken seriously for ectopic heart beats. (I have also not been taken seriously about infertility until I had the first ectopic pregnancy.) Many years ago I was forever in casulaty with it. Once when I was about 23 I was taken in by ambulance and I still blush when I think about it. It has always been put down to anxiety which I admit (hands up) I suffer from, but I still think it is more. I had a really bad attack shortly before I started my IVF when I went into the Irish sea on a cold day and came out fster than I went in.
Broodymumof2 thank you for sharing your experiences. I had always planned to have children and have always wondered what the birth would be like with ectopics. I am sure you are right. Different for all.
Take care.