Really worried about irregular heart beat

[joeg]

Dear Doctor,

I'm 32, male. Four months ago, I felt sharp chest pains. I was panic for worrying about having a heart problem.

I went to see my doctor, and every test (EKG and X-ray) came out normal. He told me it was anxiety, but he would schedule me
for a stress test.  But I was still worried.  After about 2 weeks, I started to notice having early heart beats, at some time, I had about one early beat after every 5-6 normal beats.  I then went to see a cardiologist.  He also heard the early beats, and scheduled me on a Thallium and Echo tests.  Both tests
came out OK.  The report says there was RARE PVC in stress test as part of the Thallium test.  Though I did see many irregular heart beats on the screen during the Echo test, but the Echo test report didn't mention it. Why? After the tests, the cardiologist told me I should not worry about it, even though sometimes early beats may happen more freuently.  Now, after about 2 months, I have noticed I have more frequent early beats, every day, especially at night. Sometimes, there is an early (sometimes like skipped) heart beat in every 1-2 normal beats and that happens 3-4 times in a row. Whenever I have those early
beats, I would feel fluttering my chest. I am really worried.  

My question is: should I worry about those early beats even the doctors said my heart was normal after the Thellium and Echo tests?  There are times the early heart beats are much more frequent than the time I did those tests, so the tests may not catch everything. Is that possible? Do I need to see the doctor again?

Thanks a lot!

J

[Mr. Know it all]

I suggest purchasing the very best magnesium and potassium you can get your hands on, Solarray magnesium and potassium with bromelain is good. the bromelain helps to absorb these nutrients. a little birdie told me the FDA may raise its recommended allowance. to 700mg for magnesium.  Keep in mind that serum level and intracelluar levels of mg may differ and only a handful of MDs know which labs offter this type of test
***@****

[arthur]

The comments re. disturbances of vestibular autonomic regulation as being a possible cause of arrhythmia are quite interesting.  I'll be sure to check out the literature and your references.

I'm interested because I was convinced that a viral infection of my inner ear had somehow precipitated a series of events leading to PACs and even PAF.  I know that these arrhythmias are produced directly by PV foci, however, if I always had these PV foci, what exactly "uncovered" them?  I recall having a prolonged viral infection of my right ear...with an extremely odd presentation which made music sound very dissonant for weeks.  Weeks later, this was followed by a bout of PAF and a growing number of PACs.  In the same period I experienced very odd, slow, undulating "twitches" of my abdominal muscles.  All this suggested to me, was that something was travelling downward from my ear.  Months later, I was left with a constant inner "buzz" (centered in the chest, not ectopic) and PACs and PAF.  So, I am of the opinion that a viral factor entered the scene early on, and set up the conditions (affected some part of the nervous system)  which allowed the PV foci to disturb my heart rhythm.  The only problem is, not a single doctor has taken this progression seriously, not even several ENTs.  So, thanks for the post.  I'll definitely check out the scientific literature as well as your references.

[Mr. Know it all]

Since the tests were normal, it appears you may have a deficeny in magnesium and potasium, these vital nutrients regulate the electrical activities in the body and too little will cause pvc's and other symtoms.  Dr's today are trained to sell drugs from the pharmicutical corps and would never prescribe a cheap mineral to cure you. I had pvc's, eye twitches, sometimes discomfort in my leg bone, intermittent racing heart for a few minutes, it all went away when I began taking magnesium/potasium suppliments, I cut out using Tums for sour stomach, they loaded w/calicum, too much no good. it may take a few days to work and upto a month to replenish your bodies supply of mg and potas.
***@****

[arthur]

Mg is well-noted for its use in re-establishing sinus rhythm in individuals with Mg depletion.  The mode normally used is IV.  The stuff you buy in stores is usually a relatively insoluble salt or admixed with other minerals, and as a result, tends to get flushed out of the system before it can do any good.  What form of Mg do you take and how much per day?

[MennieBeats]

Has anyone here read PHOBIA FREE and SMART BUT FEELING DUMB by Harold N. Levinson MD?  Levinson links inner ear damage to panic attacks and a host of other neurological fallout, including arrhythmia.   Evidently, in evolutionary history, our brain grew out of our inner ear system.  As such the inner ear (vestibular system) is highly integrated with CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.  If the CVS (Cerebella Vestibular System) is damaged by 1) viral/bacteria (colds, flu, viruses, sinus infections, 2) trauma (head injury, whiplash, neck injury, blows to the jaw, explosions that blast the ear, TMJ, concussions) or 3) toxins (metabolic problems, poisons, hormonal imbalances) our entire nervous system can go wacky while the inner ear is trying to "balance" the CNS.

Dr. Bill Yates (along with about 17 other ENT's) has written a book called Vestibular Autonomic Regulation, which ties the vestibular (inner ear) system to our CNS system.  This includes the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Few doctors start checking the vestibular system when you have arrhythmia.  

It

[arthur]

Early beats with everything else normal is always tough to swallow...you'll probably see a lot of posts herein describing a  similar condition.  If all that's wrong are the skips and your doc says they are benign, believe it or not, they are benign.  He should also tell you they are a pain in the a**, but you probably figured that out already.

In my case, they showed up a couple of years ago along with something less benign, bouts of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.  So in my case, my anxiety was boosted big time, since PACs and PVCs seem to herald the onset of PAF.  I had an ablation and the AF is gone, but the PACs remain...and after 1.5 years, I have actually gotten used to them (even at a clip of several a minute).  No more anxiety...I just had to put them out of my mind and stop them from running the show.  This was not easy, and the first step I found most useful, was to stop checking my pulse.  Once I achieved that, I became much less aware of skips.

Good luck!