Extra heartbeat?

Easy for my doctor to say... he has them himself.

10 days in hospital? Are you in the UK?

Hi Derek,

Yes, I am in the UK.

Apart from my heart valve replacement I have only once in 1993 been admitted for investigation after having what they thought were heart attack symptoms  but were not.

When I went back into AF last year I went to A&E. They confirmed it and said go to your GP in the morning and get him to do an ECG. My heart rate increased during the night and I phoned 111 and then 999. They wanted me to get there under my own steam. I said that I do not drive and it would be a twenty minute walk to the bus stop and and the busses don't run  this early. She told me to get a taxi. I hung up. She called back and said if you are taking a taxi take your phone with you in case your condition worsens and you need to call 999. Again I hung up.

The locum at my GP's said it would take her letter two weeks to reach the hospital... in this electronic age.

I phoned the consultants secretary and asked for an earlier appointment I had for six weeks in the future to be brought forward. A registrar phoned bsack and saw me a couple of days later.

If they do a cardioversion in the first three days you need not be on Warfarin after that you need to be on it for eight weeks. I ended up waiting fourteen weks.

When I went with chest pains when waiting for heart surgery they did tests and said that they would keep me overnight. Just after 1am they sent me home as they needed the bed.

Thank you Merryl and Derek for your replies, certainly sounds like you have been through the wars!  Think I am going to keep my eye on it and go back to docs if i feel it is getting worse...i actually have had several ecg's and heart monitors over the last few months due to the chest pains and this is the only one that picked anything up, so hoping it was just a 'blip'.  I do wish you all the best and thanks again for your replies.

I had ECG's and 24 hour BP monitors over the years and no one ever mentioned ectopic beats although I commented that my BP monitor bleeps were often erratic. 

After heart surgery I had AF and a cardioversion with later ECG reports saying  in sinus rhythm or preserved sinus rhythm. After going back into AF last December the report after my March cardioversion said 'Back in sinus bradycardia with premature atrial ectopics' When I queried that I was told that I had always had them.

 

I was first diagnosed at my local surgery during an ECG, the nurse said it was abnormal. I was put on bisoprolol but too many side effects so stopped them. A couple of months later I had palpitations and chest pain so I phoned 999 and was admitted there and then. I had blood tests and was put on a heart monitor for 8 days plus a 24 hr monitor and when I left hospital I had to go back to out patients for a 48 hr monitor.

While in hospital I also had chest x-ray and an echocardiogram. I was finally diagnosed with ectopic beats and fast heart rate. I now have an appointment next week to attend an arrythmia clinic to which my own GP referred me, I did'nt know about this until I had a letter.

I can't believe they wanted you to get a bus or a taxi, it is important to get to hospital as soon as possible wjth heart problems.          

Hi amys, these extra beats can come and go, so in your case you might not get anymore or just the odd few here and there. They become a nuisance when they last for days or weeks but can suddenly stop as well.

Take care.

  

One Saturday I woke up sweating and with a fast irregular heartbeat.

 I waited a couple of hours to see what happened and then dialled 999. They asked the usual questions and then said that they would phone back in an hour to see how I was.

I was no better and they said that they would send an ambulance. They kept on phoning back saying that they were busy with emergencies.

By the time the ambulance came at 4pm my heart rate was going down.

The hospital did an ECG that was normal and said that I must have had Tachycardia . Half an hour later I was on a ninety minute bus journey home. Edinburgh made a big mistake when they built their new Infirmary out of town at Little France.

I got a new hospital 5 mins from where I live but they don't deal with heart patients, although, they have a cardiologist there. I have to go to another hospital which is about 35 minutes by car / ambulance but not as far that you have to travel.  

I don't live there now so I am like you in that my local hospital covers cardiology but not the surgical side so I now have a 40 minute train journey.

I also have that journey for one of the few hypertension referral centres..