Arrhythmia's at night. Do I have PVC's or Afib?

[nietweer]

I'm a 31 year old male. Generally healthy although I suffer from health anxiety.

4 weeks ago I've got a weird feeling in my chest and I measured my heart rate in my neck. My heart rhythm was all over the place. Several weirdly timed beats in a row. I coughed and it stopped. It lasted like 5-7 seconds.

A bit later I had the exact same experience two more times. 2 days ago also once and last night also once.

I can only describe it as 'bubbles' popping in my chest. Like a mini whirlpool in my chest where bubbles are reaching the surface. 'Fluttering' is I think a common term here and that could very well be it.

It only happens when I lie down or in rest. Not when standing up and walking or exercising. I've had this a couple of times in my life now, but this month it is more than ever.

First my big question is, are these PVC's or can they be short bouts of Atrial Fibrillation?

My stomach and intestines are also acting up lately. Lot's of gas and air trapped in my gut. One burst of flutters in my heart rate was literally timed with gas bubbles in my abdomen. The one I had last night wasn't.

I went to the doc 2 days ago. Had an EKG (10 seconds) and came back fine. She does not believe in a connection between the gut problems and the arrhythmia's.
She thinks the arrhythmia's are harmless and can act up more with stress.

I will be put on a 7 day holter monitor later to rule things out, but the first possibility for this is in 3 weeks unfortunately.

So nothing to do for me at this moment... But I'm really worried so any answer would greatly help me. As you can imagine, I'm losing sleep over this because they happen at night.

Does this sound like PVC / PAC to you? It is not 'one' heart beat skipping or missing, but several in a row. Could they be short bursts of aFib? Is that even possible?
And why would they act up more now and only during the night?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Take care everyone.

[ejh2323]

Hello. I am sorry to hear about the irregular hearts beats at night. I was born with a serious heart condition and have dealt with SVT, Afib, PVC'S, etc... on and off throughout my life, yet it can still be scary to me sometimes when an occurrence happens, so I can just imagine how it would make you worry. Good news. I have had 2 Ablations and have got both SVT/Afib  in check. With that said yes you can have shorts burst's of Afib. I actually use to have consistent 5-30 sec bursts. The interesting thing....guess what part of day they would be worst? AT NIGHT!!! The answer one of my Doc's gave as to why they can present worse at night is due to the heart starting to relax compared to it working "normally" during the days hustle and bustle. It can unfortunately be hard to catch or diagnose with it being so sporadic, I would recommend getting a in depth cardiovascular exam if they persist, even if it is sporadic. Do not stress to much though brother. I am 34 and in pretty good health, even with my extensive heart issues. Just try not to let it paralyze you or anything like that, from staying active!!! I hope my long winded response helps. I am not Doctor or anything, but being born with heart disease and having a thirst for knowledge I would say I am a "civilian expert" on the heart. feel free to reach out anytime!!! Stay strong.    

[nietweer]

Thanks for your reply! Very helpful. Good to hear that your problems are under control.

Hopefully mine will be getting better soon. Last night I had some problems again and it prevents me from getting enough sleep. Next week I'll wear a holter monitor for 7 days. Hopefully the docs will know more after that.

Although, until now, I am told mine are harmless and probably just stress related.

Hope they are right!

[MichelleP_3811]

I don't have much to add that the others didn't except to say if coughing helps cough sooner and if you notice gas or acid reflux try antacids.  Regardless what the medical community says I get premature beats from gas in my stomach and a lot more if I have acid reflux so there is a connection.  I am not sure why but there is.  

[gethprime]

It's hard to distinguish whether it's afib , pvcs or pacs without a monitor on your chest. Ekgs only detect them in a short few second session.  Of course which most of the time they won't show up.