1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Cardiac Arrhythmias

How does it feel after a missed or skipped beat?

Posted , 4 users are following.

Rod051
Rod051

I am a male 51 years of age and have been having various symptoms over the past few years. I have been Diagnosed with PACs and Atrial Fibrillation after a couple of episodes have been captured on an ECG. I am taking High Blood Pressure Medication and a Beta Blocker for the Atrial Fibrillation. My Blood Pressure now always measures around 115 -125 / 70-80. I am not very fit but still active. My resting heart rate is 60-64.

I get these events of what feels like a missed beat, but sometimes they are very subtle and I hardly notice them and other times it feels like my heart has stopped and I am waiting for it to start again. After this happens I sometimes feel the need to cough. I generally keep doing what ever I am doing at the time but it seems to happen mostly when seated and also possibly after a eating. I can go for weeks without them but then weeks of having several a day. With some of them I feel very lethargic and generally just feel off for 30 mins to an hour afterwards. Often when I start yawning the feeling seems to pass and I feel fine again until the next one. I dont get any pain.

I understand that depending on when the glitch happens during the beat it can effect how quickly you go back to feeling normal, but it is still worrying me enough to join this group and seek some answers.

I have a very understanding Dr and a Cardiologist who has his door open to me but I still worry about this. I also suffer from Anxiety. The tests I have had to date which include an Angiogram, ECGs, Stress Test and Echo Cardiogram have not shown anything to concern the Cardiologist. The Echo Cardiogram showed very slight thickening of the heart walls and a small hole in my heart under 2mm.

What I am worried about I guess is this off feeling I get after these missed beats.

2 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • peter01729
    peter01729 Rod051

    Posted

    When I get an ectopic beat, it feels as if my breath has been snatched away and I have a hollow feeling inside. Since my ablation, I am permanently left with a reduced version of that hollow feeling, I am also permanently lethargic now as well, without I am having those ectopic beats or not. I dont get any thing occur with my heart however that leaves a change in my overall well being immediately after an episode.  Though having said that, if I go out for a few hours, as I did on Thursday to meet a friend and have a meal, my heart rate is so high that I become so exhausted that the following day, I woke up in the morning, then went back to sleep until 3 pm.
    • paul37731
      paul37731 peter01729

      Posted

      This is like reading about one of my episodes where it seems the breath is taken away. I get light headed with bad headache for quite a while after. Some episodes are quick others are far more noticeable. One large attack ended with a shirt black out.

      Nothing diagnosed yet as ECG was fine and echocardiogram showed a good looking heart. To come are a 24hr monitor and then treadmill stress test.

      My cardiologist recommended sucking on ice cube if missed beats continue OR clenching stomach muscles as if straining! These do seem to stop them.

      So you at not alone.

      I am just hoping for a diagnosis

      as at present they don't let me drive.

    • peter01729
      peter01729 paul37731

      Posted

      My first NHS test appointment was in September 2014, a couple of 24 hour ecgs showed nothing as back then, my symptoms only came occasionally, so I bought my own ecg machine, a Prince 180B, then, whenever I got the symptoms, I could see and record it on my little machine and then show that to the doctors, they started serious investigations when they could see I had Ventricular Tachycardia. One trick the paramedic showed me on one of my ambulance rides was to try and blow the plunger out of one of their syringes, that hard blowing action helped reduce my VTs.
Back to top

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.