Ectopic beats - am I just crazy or should I be concerned?
Posted , 11 users are following.
Hi all,
I've been having heart flutters/skipped heart beats for the last 2 years since my fibromyalgia first came. They started happening only here and there but have now become more frequent. And when I say frequent, I mean multiple times a day for days. So far this week, it's been happening for 4 days.
Last week, I had an echocardiogram. The week before, I wore a 24 hour holter (which I had no palps as I was wearing it). I even had to go to the ER about a month ago because they were so strong, I thought I was dying. They did blood work, EKG, & chest x-ray which was normal. Over the last 2 years, I have probably had 15 EKGs, 2 echos, two 24 hour holters, 5 chest x-rays, and a nuclear stress test. All normal.
I also get this electrical shock feeling in my body due to neuropathy (so I was told) and when it happens, it makes my heart skip with it. It's like an electrical zap feeling that makes my body jolt. It's been happening since my Fibro first came as well and I am terrified it has messed up the electrical system of my heart. Also, I have adult asthma that came with my Fibro and I have been having trouble breathing which is one reason they did the recent echo & holter because they keep telling me my lungs sound clear.
I know this may sound irrational but I am terrified my heart is just going to skip and stop and I'm going to die from cardiac sudden death.
How do I know whether I should be concerned or if I'm just crazy??
Medical background: Ménière's disease (inner ear disease), Fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome, & GERD.
0 likes, 28 replies
Mabel27 Hayhue
Posted
Hi Hay, You are not crazy!! ( anymore than the rest of us that is!) I am sorry you are having so many issues at once. I have had skipped beats for 40 some years!Drs do not help with them unless you are having thousands a day. I had a Linq loop recorder put in my chest early last year. I had bradycardia bad at night. They discovered that my heart was pausing! ( not good) So, now I have a pacemaker. Now the Linq maybe a good solution for you, becuase it records all the time! Thats how they found my pauses. I still get skips but they say they will not kill me. ( hard to believe that sometimes, and I still hate them) But, my friend who is a nurse , says if you get vfib you will not know it, you will be passed out , and then ... well hopefully someone will use paddles on you if you are out. These things are not in our control. Everybody has about the same risk of this . happening, and we have maybe .......0000000.1 higher risk of it happening from what I read. Like I said not control remember!! Try to live life to the fullest! I am trying hard. Ask your Dr about the Linq recorder. It may find something the other tests didn't. Take care, hugs, Mabel
derek76 Mabel27
Posted
Mabel27 derek76
Posted
derek76 Mabel27
Posted
I had a pacemaker fitted soon after that event in 2015.
I was used to a heart rate in the low 40's now I don't like it in the 70/80 range! Of course I am still in permanent AF.
I don't really trust what they offer, First it was an ablation that I turned down as I was not taking warfarin. They said that didn't matter, I said, No way.
They later offered an AV node ablation that I reluctantly agreed to but as I was waiting for an MRI scan they cancelled it as they did not want to do it when I was pacemaker dependent. I then slipped under their radar again and when I asked for a cardioversion last month they wanted then to do a cryoablation at the same time.
I said that I wanted to discuss it with the cardiologist who fitted my Amplatzer Amulet last month. He said, Why do you want the ablation ? I said to get back into NSR and avoid the odd trip to A&E. That did not convince him. The consultant at the hypertension centre said to question them closely on the success rate of cryoablation. Seems that they are not too convinced either.
Hayhue Mabel27
Posted
I'm going to call my doctor next week and set up an appointment. I'm embarrassed I have to keep going back but these are scaring me too much. Also, it's not normal for me so something must be going on. Hopefully nothing that can't be fixed!
Thank you for the advice!
Mabel27 Hayhue
Posted
sharon83866 Hayhue
Posted
Amazing to find this forum to read and Post in. Thank you for describing your BradycardiaTac palps..
I've had this going on since my teens, but noone knew. Recently turned 60. First prescribed the dreaded Benzos back in1988 after an extremely traumatic event, it death of beloved Partner. from there, it all just spiralled. life throws curve balls, and I've had my share..two car rear ender in 99 finally brought to light the Fibro that had lurked. Oh I forgot, from early childhood to 18 yrs old The strap was administered to my legs, thighs arms torso, pretty much wherever it landed. severe abuse, and yes I've talked about it to psychologists till I don't want too anymore.
Recent Holter monitor, waiting for results but the Propanol and clonazepam combo I'm on now, for constant Tachycardia..then by a stroke of misfortune Bradycardia came to the forefront..
I always suffered anxiety( I wonder why) sweated Bullets age of first spoonful of food shoved so hard till I was sure I would choke..no fog there, crystal clear, even today.
Our brain records all, and just when you're cruising along, bam, here's a memory for yah.
No you're definitely not crazy as my shrink once told me, you just have anxiety issues that need sorting. partly heritary too, as this guy pointed out, he'd nursed my Paternal Grandmother back in the days of Shock therapy because she had figh and flight so badly..he assured me that's not used for GAD anymore..
They lived through Two World Wars, great depression..Grandfather took to the Drink, and beating up on her...no prizes for figuring why she upended, any more than my own Neanderthal upbringing in the 60s-70s no prizes, just nasty surprises when my HD spat the dummy and messed with vital information CRASH..
YOU can't mess with Humans in violent ways, you can't expect them to sail through life Crisis situations before something gives, as I said, Brain records all, from conception to Birth and beyond.
Then we're left with a plethora of maladies that send people to hospitals and leave most doctors scratching their heads if they bother to do that much.
The comfort is in researching for ourselves, and combining it with the knowledge one can benefit from within medicine, rather than agonising over the condition itself, best to understand why you have it. dig deep enough you'll find something tipped the scales, and hardly surprising for women being the most affected, I say wryly..we are after all the weaker sex, and our bodies go through enormous strain in our lives, especially if we've had children, and wretches for husbands! It's all there, we've just gotta figure out how to deal with it. That's what I was doing when I found this Forum, searching, looking for identifying answers, and hoping..now I hope it goes both ways..
What I've written, and what I've gleaned may be of interest and use.
let's give ourselves a big pat on the back, seems to me we've earned it.
tony52050 Hayhue
Posted
Great post and great reply.
As I was reading the post I homed in on this
"Over the last 2 years, I have probably had 15 EKGs, 2 echos, two 24 hour holters, 5 chest x-rays, and a nuclear stress test. All normal."
There are few constancies about this problem, one being that it is often related to indigestion problems, often too much caffeine, being overweight, pollution, change of personal circumstances but most of all anxiety.
That is a lot of checks-an average of 1 a month- you have had, which indicates-not surprisingly-anxiety which further triggers your problems. That the symptoms might disappear when having a test presumably means you feel reassured that you are getting good medical assistance so you feel reassured and your anxiety and symptoms go away.
Assuming none of the other things I listed are big factors perhaps you can see if you can reduce your anxiety and stress levels? Good luck.
JayMiranda Hayhue
Posted
Hello Hayhue, I also have suffer from ectopic beats all day everyday. I have never been diagnosed with meniere's disease but i do get very frequent vertigo and that uncomfortable jolt in my body. i only get those jolts when im sick. it starts as if it starts in the chest or neck and it's felt throughout the whole body for a fraction of a second. it could be due to nervous system stimulation. just know you are not alone, ectopic breasts have been dreadful.
joshuapryce1987 Hayhue
Posted
Its possible to die of cardiac arrest as it is to win the lottery it happens to varying degrees, and over different time frames.
dani17298 Hayhue
Posted
my EKGs aren't normal. not since 2019. but do doctors care? no. they ignore this.
i'm so sick of this. i don't fear death. i fear suffering beforehand, alone.
sometimes i just wish it would all end. i'm tired of suffering. i'm tired of how this has ruined my life. i'm tired of doctors not knowing what's going on and invalidating me or minimising it or mis-diagnosing me
i also suffer on and off chest tightness - sometimes unbearable - only relieved by aspirin, nothing else, which points to angina, which doctors dismiss