Hi Stacey, Welcome to the forum. I know it can be hard to believe but the extra beats really are not a threat to your heart healthy since your heart was evaluated to be healthy. It's only when our heart is diseased or damaged that they can pose a threat to us but a few extra beats here and there is nothing to worry about. That is basically how I like to view them. As harmless little extra beats. I had an svt where my heart was beating over twice as many beats as it should so a few here and there is not much. Unless we are having well over 10,000 a day they really don't bother the heart much. Stressing about them may actually bring more on so do your best to tell yourself you are fine and ignore them. Also avoid caffeine, cut back on sugar and carbohydrates, spicy foods, and heavy meals. Also try to make sure you are well hydrated and see if that helps. For some, unfortunately, they really aren't able to pinpoint triggers and the best they can do is ignore them so they don't take over their life. If you need to cough to break up the beats then do so, it seems to help me. Other than that work on the anxiety it is causing and hopefully you can stop noticing them. Take care.
Hi Stacey, Welcome to the forum. I know it can be hard to believe but the extra beats really are not a threat to your heart healthy since your heart was evaluated to be healthy. It's only when our heart is diseased or damaged that they can pose a threat to us but a few extra beats here and there is nothing to worry about. That is basically how I like to view them. As harmless little extra beats. I had an svt where my heart was beating over twice as many beats as it should so a few here and there is not much. Unless we are having well over 10,000 a day they really don't bother the heart much. Stressing about them may actually bring more on so do your best to tell yourself you are fine and ignore them. Also avoid caffeine, cut back on sugar and carbohydrates, spicy foods, and heavy meals. Also try to make sure you are well hydrated and see if that helps. For some, unfortunately, they really aren't able to pinpoint triggers and the best they can do is ignore them so they don't take over their life. If you need to cough to break up the beats then do so, it seems to help me. Other than that work on the anxiety it is causing and hopefully you can stop noticing them. Take care.
Thanks for responding! Although I was checked by a cardiologist, it annoys me that when I had my holter for 24 hours, it didn't pick up any extra beats because they had gone away. This seems to be a pattern. I get strong, extra beats consecutively for a two week period and then they go away until the next time. It's all day everyday, every few minutes. I start researching everything online and get even more anxious. Some info says that if you have 3 palpitations in a row that it could be deadly! So of course I'm nervous. What was it that you had? SVT?
Thanks again! How are you so knowledgeable in this area?
So ectopic beats are the same as pvc's? I'm like you, I research everything so that I'm well informed. But sometimes the more I know, the more freaked out I get-which will increase the pvc's. I go through spurts it seems every month for two weeks and then I get relief. When I do get them though, they are intense and pretty much don't stop. How can that not be dangerous? Can it weaken the heart? I really don't know how this started...anxiety?