1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Cardiac Arrhythmias

ectopic beats are hard to live with

Posted , 16 users are following.

diana06006
diana06006

I am so pleased to have found this site and read patients' experiences with this very tiresome, debilitating and frightening heart problem.  I am a 70 year old female and my heart problem developed during pregnancy 48 years ago!  It started with missed beats, gradually developing over the years into sudden runs of very fast beats and other weird "feelings" that my heart was doing.  I have seen countless specialists, worn 24 hour tapes, been rushed to hospital on three occasions when the whole thing developed into a full-blown panic attack, told it is my nerves etc. etc.  I take Bisoprolol but I don't think they do anything at all to alleviate the situation.  It all feels so hopeless.  I don't feel I can keep going back to pester my doctor.  I think my heart has "hiccups".  I do think it is digestive-related.  I don't like anything tight around my tummy area as I think this exacerbates it.  I try to take deep breaths when it is happening - it calms me a little and makes me concentrate on something else instead of my flippin heart!  I just think they are absolutely horrible things and I don't think it is "normal" at all despite what the specialists say. Over the years I have just been reduced to a wretched bag of nerves - it is no life!

2 likes, 29 replies

29 Replies

Prev
  • ann35714
    ann35714 diana06006

    Posted

    I too have ectopic beats. I understand entirely where you are coming from. I have had them for years as well. I am 65 and itis prretty scary  isnt it. The consultant doesnt seem tobe worried but they dont live with it. Sometimes I get them one after the other then icould have a day ortwo free then it starts again. I agree with you i thinkits something to dowith the digestive system. Idont like tight clothinhg  round my stomach as well.  I am on bisopralol 5mg. Does this help you
    • diana06006
      diana06006 ann35714

      Posted

      Hello Ann.  I am not sure about taking Bisoprolol and need, I think, to speak to my doctor about it again.  At one time I was getting an awful lot of missed beats which I don't get so much now but my heart has started to beat in a peculiar rhythm which I am getting concerned about.  I cannot lie on my left side as this seems to aggrevate it all the more.  I do walk my dogs daily without problem so I tell myself if I can do that, there can't be much wrong with my heart.  I don't think I will ever stop worrying though. When you become aware of the only organ you are aware of that's keeping you alive and it starts mucking about, you can't help but get anxious.
    • jan21306
      jan21306 diana06006

      Posted

      Hi Diana.   I am on metoprolol for my ectopics which are sometimes followed by short runs of SVT's.   I find them very difficult to live with, although I have been told they are not life threatening.   I am reluctant to go out in case anything happens.  I do manage now to do a bit of shopping, but worry about going out for lunch with friends and would not dare go to the cinema or theatre.

      My doctor told me that they would not happen if I was out walking or active.  My digestion definitely affects my heart and I have gastritis at the moment which means I am currently experiencing a lot of ectopics/svt's.  I also find that when I get up after sitting for a while, or when first get up in the morning, they start.  

      I have only had one day in two months when I didnt have any, that I noticed. Some days they go on and off every few seconds for hours.   My cardiologist has now told me that I can take some extra metoprolol as and when necessary.

      Do you live in the Uk?

    • diana06006
      diana06006 jan21306

      Posted

      Hello Jan.  Yes, I live in the UK.  The medics, it seems, are all pretty blase about ectopics - learn to live with it, they say, forget all about what your heart is doing, no-one's heart is perfect, it's like having a twitch of your eyelid blah blah blah.  I know - the damned things are scary whatever they tell you.

      I have learnt that the best way to cope is to start deep breathing exercises and [u]really[/u] focus on that - don't let your hearbeat try and interfere with that.  It has a remarkable calming effect I find. 

      Like you I have good and bad days as well as months, but they never entirely go away.  Am now entering year 48 since I started suffering them.  I hate them for ruining my life.

    • jan21306
      jan21306 diana06006

      Posted

      I was told by one cardiologist that I should have an ablation.  But another one said I shouldnt !!  As I dont like the idea and have heard that it only works in 80% of cases, I decided I would only have it done if I was desperate.  I do know that if I am stressed it makes it a lot worse, but it is very difficult to not get stressed when it goes on and on all day.   None of my family or friends really have any idea of what it is like.   I have been to A and E several times too.  

      I have noticed that the runs of fast heartbeats (svt) after the ectopics are lasting a bit longer, which is a bit worrying.   How do you cope if you are on public transport or at the cinema ?

    • diana06006
      diana06006 jan21306

      Posted

      I carry around Dr Bach's Rescue Remedy Spray if I am out and about and feel unable to cope.  I think it does help somewhat - a distraction therapy of sorts.  It is what you need to make you do something else other than focus on what your heart is doing.  Like you, I have been to A&E a number of times.  Am usually told I am having a particularly nasty panic attack!  

      Agree with what your cardiologist says - ablation not entirely successful and I believe has to be repeated after so many years.  

      I am noting also the number of women suffering from this as opposed to men - are our hormones to blame to some extent?

    • jan21306
      jan21306 diana06006

      Posted

      Sorry for this very late reply !  Yes, there do seem to be more female than male sufferers.  Unless men dont use these forums so much.   

      I am having a particularly bad time at the moment, with a lot of ectopics which run into short runs of SVT's.  Sometimes they are very weird and make me feel very uncomfortable and a bit breathless.  Do you get these as well ?   They seem sometimes to be there when I wake up in the morning and also sometimes are frequent after I have taken my beta blocker !!   As my heart goes back into sinus rhythm after each one I was told not to worry about them!  Easier said than done !

  • donald61613
    donald61613 diana06006

    Posted

    Hi! I can surely sympathise/empathise with you, as I've suffered from ectopics and other sundry arrhythmias since 1973 -  i.e. 43 years. Sometimes I've had years of remission and they then reappear out of the blue for no apparent reason. At the time of writing, I'm having a hard time with PAC's and general irregular heartbeats, and I'm one of those unfortunate people who can feel every deviation from the norm -  just wish I didn't. The unpleasant sensations caused by these glitches vary considerably, ranging from sinking pit-in-stomach feelings to 'bumps' in the region of the heart. Worst when I'm sitting (as I am at present, typing this) and marginally better when I'm up and about, walking, etc. but I'm sure there are others who will report the very opposite. Catch-22 or what?!  I'm looking - like so many people out there - for anything that mitigates the symptoms, and am about to try magnesium gel, which reputedly helps keep a steady heart rhytrhm.  and at the same time I’m looking at audio-CD-based material under the assumption that the problem is (partly at least) anxiety-driven. As I’m sure you know, anyone suffering from these utterly horrible, elusive symptoms will be willing to go down whatever avenues are open in the hope of gaining some remission. Glad to have discovered this forum. 
    • maria65690
      maria65690 donald61613

      Posted

      Thank you for sharing you story. It made me feel better to know that after so many years with PACs you are still here😊👍🏻
  • Pam143
    Pam143 diana06006

    Posted

    Hello Diana!

    i have just come across your post, so sorry this is a bit late.  I, too, am 70 and suffer the same symptoms and the same lack of help from the medical profession and the beta blocker drugs.  I, too, feel a definite connection with the gastric system.  I have found something, though, that is helping a lot!  I now have very minor episodes which are pretty easy to ignore, though I still take a low dose of the only beta blocker I can tolerate - propranolol (10mg three times a day).

    My new helpful diet regime goes like this - go gluten free and stick to it, even if you are not coeliac you may be gluten intolerant.  Also, take magnesium every day (I found the Calm powder product effective), and probiotics (tablets with the highest content of bacteria you can find) and, also, a peppermint oil capsule daily.

    As well as this, I had three sessions of acupuncture. After telling them the whole story they concentrated mostly on my digestive system.

    Now I feel so much better and in control of my life, maybe worth a try?

    Keep smiling and good luck!

    Pam

  • barbie63090
    barbie63090 diana06006

    Posted

    HI Diana  You and me are the same in that they started during pregnancy.  I am 60 and like you, still here.  You have to accept that they happen.  I do not take the bis as they do nothing.  When I get them (every day) I just ignore them and if they are really bad sit down quietly.   The specialists are right, you are fine, if they had been wrong you would have had a major event since then.  They are common during and after menopause including panic attacks etc.  Mindfulness is quite good and you can do a free on-line course on minfulness through Monash University in Australia online for  6 weeks.  It is worth it.  Give it a go.  Good luck.
  • bassbob54
    bassbob54 diana06006

    Posted

    I went away on a camping trip to Devon over a long weekend recently,,and my ectopics disappeared ,, ok I am taking flec,, 100 mgs a day,, but I have only been taking these for a month,, and although they didn't get rid of them completely they helped.

    i hadn't been away in so long, and definately chilled right out I could feel it.

    So now I definately think my ectopics are caused by anxiety/ stress in some way

  • bassbob54
    bassbob54 diana06006

    Posted

    Hi Diana,

    i agree they have made my life miserable too.

    i was recently told to taper off an anti anxiety drug, Citalopram, which i had been on for 14 years due to these ectopics, because they might cause AF to appear, a notion that my cardiologist screwed his nose up at, i must say.

    The side effects were horrendous, and my heart when crazy, palps ectopics etc.

    Anyway i have reluctantly started to take 2x50 mgs of flecainide, and this seems to have calmed my heart somewhat although i stil get the odd breakthrough, after i exercise.

    im back on the anxiety meds as mt heart scan checked out fine, although on quite a low dose, these meds can be quie effective at lowering the stress anxiety levels which help me cope with the ectopics, im hoping to get back to the place i was before, as the anxiety meds begin to kick in , and come off the flec again.

    Anyway good luck.smile

     

Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.