3 Months of 1000+ PACs / Missed Beats per day - How to deal with it?
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi all,
A little bit of background: I am a 41 year old male. We have heart related issues in the family starting as young as 46. I have suffered from anxiety / stress for years. I have asthma and also costochondritis. Therefore, I have dealt with pains in the chest and shortness of breath for years. However, out of nowhere, 3 months ago I started getting what initially felt like subtle palpitations. Within days the feeling became worse, with fluttering, shortness of breath and dizziness. This has not stopped and is a daily constant for me. My pulse will be a healthy 60 bpm but then without any movement increase to 90+, however never dangerously high and never constantly high. It definitely feel;s like my pulse slows and increases without doing anything, this has been noted by a nurse friend.
Since it started I have had numerous short ECGs (which caught the missed beats), including a 24 hour one and also a chest x-ray. I am waiting for a specialist appointment (Cardiologist) mid November where I will also be getting an ultrasound.
Every single day, every single minute (or so), I will get missed beats. When at its worst I can have 5-8 in a minute. I can take my pulse and physically feel the miss / pause and then the strong beat after.
I have read a number of research papers into the issue (not being a Google Dr though!) and it seems it's not missed beats per se, but a Premature Atrial Contraction or that's what it seems like anyway.
I have been told by my GP that PACs are nothing to worry about. However, the research papers I have read show that it's only classed as normal for the over 50's and only 1-2 per day. As stated above, I have hundreds.
So, why am I here. Well, I feel that because I have suffered from anxiety and stress my GP is simply putting it down to that. Even after the 24 hour ECG I have not had any results given to me 3 weeks later.
My day to day life is pretty horrifying at times due to the sudden feeling of a missed beat and / or dizziness.
I really want to hear from anyone with experience with any of the above, combined. It seems there is very little research into what I am experiencing and is put down to something benign. What am I missing? Could this be something else? Why is it that all research papers I have read mention 1-100 PACs per day and nothing like what I am experiencing?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
0 likes, 3 replies
Rod051 Times2Short
Posted
Hello,
My 24 hour monitor showed about 2000 PACs and the Cardiologist didnt think it was a problem at all. It felt like a problem to me though . I dont always experience that many that I know of. In fact the day of wearing the monitor I thought I hardly had any at all based on not feeling them. I have been dealing with them for a few years now and some days I notice more than others, with some days or weeks of not feeling any.
Times2Short Rod051
Posted
Thanks for the reply.
Is there anything specific that sets them off for you?
Rod051 Times2Short
Posted
Not that I can pin point. But I do notice when I get these feelings I also feel bloated with the need to burp. Also I notice more when sitting than standing but the Cardiologist said this was normal due to the pressure when you sit making them stand out more.