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How do I know when skipped heart beats are dangerous?

Over a week ago for absolutely no identifiable reason my heart started skipping way more beats than usual.  I can go hours with none and then have several hours where I'll have 2 or 3 a minute.  It's setting me over the edge.  I don't know if it's dangerous or not.  I went to the ER the other day and they basically didn't care at all and just had me take Ativan and sent me home.  Today I panicked and called the paramedics who came and did a 12 lead and they said normal sinus with one ectopic and so I didn't go back to the ER.  I had a normal echo 3 years ago.  I already don't eat caffeine or sugar.

Please reassure or sympathize with me.  I'm going insane and have no idea what's causing this out of the blue.  Why would they suddenly increase for no reason whatsoever?
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Avatar universal
I have problems with skipped beats intermittently.  For the past week they have been bad and consistent.  I went and got a great massage and lo and behold they stopped.  I went to my chiropractor after the massage and mentioned it to her.  She said that the palpitations could have been caused by a misaligned neck or spine pressing on a nerve.  Just a thought to all of you.
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Avatar universal
the metroprol is that generic for toprol? my hair has been falling out also have anxiety and heart constantly skipping a beat for 3 months now. cardologist says nothing to worry about yet I saw him write on a paper atrial fib but he never mentioned a word to me about it and said I would be fine.
Waiting results from the halter moniter. I cannot sleep right for the same reason fear of not waking up, I began these constant palps after my grandmom passed, Anxiety? Atrial Fib? Just do not know......





























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Avatar universal
I have had irregular heart beats since about eight years of age.  I grew up on junk foods as most of America and my experience has been that the bad food and drinking coffee as a kid led to my having daily palpitations.  I love coffee. Like I said, I grew up on the stuff;  After years of suffering from regular palpitations, panic attacks, freak out attacks to the point where I would dread walking at all, I had to do something about it.  Went to the ER many times.  Cardiologists say i'm normal.  Stress tests, normal.  I first STOPPED DRINKING COFFEE at the age of about fourteen.  My symptoms stopped within a week.  I guess years of drinking coffee are cumulative?   Years passed, I started drinking coffee again, no symptoms for months.  Then, out of the blue, all the symptoms came back.  Thinking back, they slowly started back then came back to full freak out panic attacks, heart skips, etc.  I managed to live with the skips til I had a huge one that scared the *&)(*)&&^%*! out of me; went to the ER, again, normal tests.  I quit cold turkey on the coffee again.  Felt great!   I haven't had coffee since.  QUIT COFFEE!  It seems even the decaff brings it on; don't know why----must still have  caffeine in it somewhere.  

Time passed and I noticed after drinking wine I would get an immediate set of heart flips, but not all the time.  I also noticed large amounts of chocolate also contribute to the episodes.  Now, I know it seems like everything pleasurable seems to stimulate the flips but, I'm writing about my experiences of thirty years of living with this issue and writing exactly what I feel has been the cause which seem like a cause/effect to me.  

I hope this helps you.  I don't know if you drink coffee, smoke, eat lots of chocolate, etc. but that's what affects me.  Oh, by the way, only wine has that affect on me.  I can drink huge amount of Scotch, rum, etc. and have no skips!  That's the good news!  
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Avatar universal
sometimes when it skips...a feeling of breathlessness.  I average 10 a minute and luckily I don't always get that breathless feeling with every skip.  I hatem and I don't have anxiety issues...like others do...I just hatem!  I had a 6 month reprieve from them but started again in august and haven't let up.  I wish a dr suffered from these things like I do so they understand the feeling of the flip flop constantly evey 10 seconds.  I use to be an athelete and did everything from surfing to skiing and was very active...not since these stupid things...exercise makes them worse.
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Avatar universal
Well.. I get a sudden faint feeling and a lose of breath when my heart skips or takes an extra beat.. its been freaking me out since I was 19 and I'm 36 now, I hate it. Does anybody else feel faint when it happens to them?
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Avatar universal
I am 30 been having them since I was 13 off and on. It was only 4 years ago since I had them everyday like people been saying up to 200 a day and several a min. I have been to the doc like you all and told the same thing,but its a mental i also have anxiety and my palpation stared everyday since the day my wife went into labor with my first kid.So I kinda put two and two together. I also don't eat healthy I am not over weight I don't to caffeine and stopped smoking still get them. Its only when I sit down for the day and drink a beer and start relaxing and not think about crap is when they seem to go away. I am not saying get drunk but it just goes to show that its all in your head and its just how your body deals with anxiety. Its hard at times not to freak out I still do just find the trigger on whats setting you off and try to relax. eating healthy does help along with vitamin,I don't eat healthy all the time just not me. Also I have read and doc has told me If you have them allot the long term affects can cause a stroke so I take a half of a 81 mg baby aspirin a day with the vitamin why a half you say well a man once said " It's worth a Google."
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