Very frequent ectopic heartbeats (i'm 20 yrs old)

[Skull Kid]

First of all, excuse me if I make any mistake in my writing, since my mothertonge is spanish (I'm from Spain).

I'm twenty years old and for the last week and a half I've been having very frequent ectopic heartbeats. Aproximately three years ago I was having the same problem and so I went to the cardiologist. I was told I had a structurally normal heart and that I shouldn't worry at all, just calm down and not give it too much importance. After a while, they ceased, or at least I stopped noticing them.

But they've come back. I'm a very aprehensive person, and tend to get very anxious about these things, to the extent that I'm pretty sure that this anxiousness has contributed to some sort of vicious circle in which these arrhythmic beats have grown in number as I've been getting more and more nervious.

I'm not talking about a few ectopic beats every once in a while. There's not a single minute I don't have them, and they might come in a row of three, four or five. I might have six in a minute, or more. What could be causing this? Can anxiety lead to having them so frequently? Tomorrow I'm visiting the cardiologist again. These past two days I've been having them less frequently, but I really need to know what might be causing them, if anxiety or something else. I just don't think it's normal to have so many, unless it's possible anxiety can lead to such a situation.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

[frs87]

I am 20 years old too, and I can't write in English so well either (though your writing seems great). Lots in common, huh? ;)

The answers you needed have already been given, so I don't have much to talk about. Just want to say that a sympathise too. Anxiety makes the ectopic beats very worse. Today, for example, I barealy slept and I'm having a tough day with all these moving process. I'm having a PAC every hour. But honestly I'm more concerned about not having hot water in my shower until tonight. You know, just worry about the normal stuff. You have been checked already, believe your doctors.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

If you hadn't mentioned English wasn't your native language, I wouldn't have noticed.

What you are describing is both normal and common.  In general, we do not know what causes PVCs with the exception of outflow tract PVCs, which are caused by a very compicated phenomonon called after depolarizations. This might be the mechanism for most PVCs but again, this is complicated and best to say that we aren't sure yet.

We do know that there are some triggers like stress, depression, hormonal changes (unlikely for you ;)), caffeine, sleep deprivation, energy drinks, etc.  Some people do not have any triggers.

The natural course is for the extra beats to come and go with little understanding about why they are starting or stopping.  We do know that because you have a structurally normal heart the premature beats do not pose a significant long term risk.

I am a big believer in trying medications like SSRIs (prozac, zoloft, effexor, etc) for the anxiety component -- it really helps some people.

It is possible that anxiety is making the premature beats worse -- anxiety probably increases your own adrenaline, cortisol, and other endogenous hormones that may make them worse.  If this is the case, getting your axiety under control could be pretty important.

One thing you can probably bank on is that they will go away again and they will come back.

I hope this helps.  good luck and thanks for posting.

[Skull Kid]

It's been two weeks since I had my last drink with caffeine, I'm currently taking no medecins at all, I sure get enough sleep, and I haven't gotten drunk in my whole life. I actually don't drink at all.

But I'm aprehensive as hell.

[Skull Kid]

Hi! Thanks for the compliment about my writing. By the way, I'm a male.

I can't tell whether the last time I had this problem with ectopic beats I was getting them so often as now or not. But it was often enough to drive me crazy, that's for sure, since by then I didn't have any idea what was going on whatsoever. Anyways, as I said, after a few weeks from seeing the doctor they just went away. I'm sure I still had them every once in a while, but after all that's the normal thing with most individuals.

Also, I've noticed that they usually appear when taking air.

Thanks in advance.

[ireneo]

I'm sorry the ectopics have come back. That seems to be the way they work - they just come and go. Yes, anxiety and stress may add to the problem. But there are other things that might trigger them: caffeine (coffee, tea, sodas), certain medicines (I avoid cold medicines), dehydration (that does it to me), fatigue. I'm sure there are others. It seems to be an individual thing. My heart also acts up if I drink any alcohol or get overheated (summer time isn't that fun).

The good news is that the doctor checked your heart and it's in good shape. You just have these "heart hiccups" that will come and go. I found that getting busy doing something to distract me helps. Even when I had a bad spell (15-25 a minute for hours on end) I just did something to take my mind off them. They will ease off and you'll feel better. Take care.

[deedle1976]

I can sympathise. It's not nice getting so many ectopics beats.  I was just wondering, The first time you had this problem (before they went away) were they as frequent then as they are now? Also are you male or female? By the way your writing is perfect.