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ectopic heartbeat
im 24 old and i have suffered from health anxiety for 6 months, ive been to a and e because my heart was skipping too many beats the paramedic said nothing serious though, got hospital did about 5 ecgs when heart was beating 150 per min then it would skip beats even skip constantly 3 hours later the nurse said i was fine to go home, ever since then ive had ectopic heartbeat either occassionally or now and then, how do i stop worrying over them?
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how did you find out she had heart disease? will that show on an ecg? or is that just electricity in our heart? i wouldnt trust my old doctors cuz of some illness i had when i was 5 i wouldve been dead the next day if i listened to them, my new doc is great. i think some people read too much about health problems
It may help you to understand that ALL of the cells in the heart have the ability to fire off electrical impulses; they are a back-up system for the normal SA Node and AV Node. EVERYONE on the planet have premature beats; most people never realize the beats are there. if you feel them, there is really no way of knowing whether or not they are PACs or PVCs. When you are having anxiety attacks over this, your body is releasing cathacholamines into your blood system and that will cause the premature beats to worsen because that is the same system that gives you your fight or flight response. As far as thinking that a hospital will never let you go home if there is a problem; think again....I took my daughter home, not once, but twice, with a terminal form of heart disease and she recieved no treatments for the following year!! (she later recieved a transplant)
Premature Ventricular Complexes (PVC)
PVCs
PVCs
Premature beats or extra beats most often cause irregular heart rhythms. If you've ever felt your heart "skip a beat," it was probably from a premature beat.
Just as with PACs the heart doesn't really skip a beat. Instead an extra beat comes sooner than normal. Then there's a pause that causes the next beat to be more forceful.
Typically no cause can be found and no special treatment is needed for PVC. The premature beats may disappear. In some cases, PVCs are caused by disease or injury to the heart and certain individuals may require medical therapies. PVCs can also be related to high or low potassium levels.
PVCs
PVCs
Premature beats or extra beats most often cause irregular heart rhythms. If you've ever felt your heart "skip a beat," it was probably from a premature beat.
Just as with PACs the heart doesn't really skip a beat. Instead an extra beat comes sooner than normal. Then there's a pause that causes the next beat to be more forceful.
Typically no cause can be found and no special treatment is needed for PVC. The premature beats may disappear. In some cases, PVCs are caused by disease or injury to the heart and certain individuals may require medical therapies. PVCs can also be related to high or low potassium levels.
PACs sometimes appear in rows/salvos (without normal beats between). This is not considered a dangerous arrhythmia, but should be checked out just to find the cause.
PVCs rarely appear in rows if your heart is normal. If it happens, your doctors will try to find a cause and remove it. Rows of PVCs are considered dangerous if your heart is structurally ABnormal.
PVCs rarely appear in rows if your heart is normal. If it happens, your doctors will try to find a cause and remove it. Rows of PVCs are considered dangerous if your heart is structurally ABnormal.
only had ecgs, only one was normal on the way to hosp. then when got there my heart was racing skipping beats and couldnt get normal ecg, i was in for 3 hours and the doctor said i was fine to go home, ive seen a heart specialist when on beta blockers and ecg was fine he said its definately anxiety, ive asked my doctor what they are she explained and said because heart specialist was happy with ecg she was too they are normal, its taking time to get used to them, i think if anything was wrong they wold have kept me in.
PVC is premeture ventricular contraction PPPPPPP being premeture as in early not late or not existant.
You can't be 100% certain, of course.
If you count your heart rate, and it's like:
1---2---3---4---5---6--------8---9---10 (just nothing where the 7th heartbeat should be, and beat 8 is where you would expect it to be, as if nr 7 was there) it's possibly a PVC.
1---2---3---4---5---67-----8---9---10 = PAC.
1---2---3---4---5---6------8---9---10 = PAC (beat nr 8 happens before you would expect)
Again, do not get obsessed with this, you can never be sure and it really doesn't matter if it's a PAC or PVC.
If you count your heart rate, and it's like:
1---2---3---4---5---6--------8---9---10 (just nothing where the 7th heartbeat should be, and beat 8 is where you would expect it to be, as if nr 7 was there) it's possibly a PVC.
1---2---3---4---5---67-----8---9---10 = PAC.
1---2---3---4---5---6------8---9---10 = PAC (beat nr 8 happens before you would expect)
Again, do not get obsessed with this, you can never be sure and it really doesn't matter if it's a PAC or PVC.
How did you know the difference between PACs and PVCs while feeling your girlfriends pulse? What do they feel like in the pulse? I think I may feel them in my pulse from time to time, but do not quite know.
did you have a stress test or other test or just an ECG while laying flat. Anxiety or not if it were my heart I would not be able to fully be ok with my heart doing anything strange. PVC's are mostly benign YES but they can be a warning sign of other stuff going on as well. if you have other symptoms and have not had a stress test I would at least ask for stress test. Please dont let your self think to much use distraction to take you mind off it.
If it is anxiety ask for some meds to help you.
If it is anxiety ask for some meds to help you.
The term "benign" means "not dangerous".
Here is my recommendation:
Order a 30 minutes consultation with your GP. Use this time to ask your doctor all the questions you have (write them down before you visit him). I think you need this, because the hospital has given to little information, and you are afraid. You need to get this explained in detail from a medical professional, to get it out of your mind. Follow this advice, it's important.
I'm completely sure your partner have ectopics. The problem is - only 20% notice them. I monitored my girlfriends pulse and found 6 PACs and 1 PVC. She was completely relaxed, in bed. (I know this is not the best activity to do in bed, but yeah, I'm cardiac neurotic;) She noticed none of them.
Here is my recommendation:
Order a 30 minutes consultation with your GP. Use this time to ask your doctor all the questions you have (write them down before you visit him). I think you need this, because the hospital has given to little information, and you are afraid. You need to get this explained in detail from a medical professional, to get it out of your mind. Follow this advice, it's important.
I'm completely sure your partner have ectopics. The problem is - only 20% notice them. I monitored my girlfriends pulse and found 6 PACs and 1 PVC. She was completely relaxed, in bed. (I know this is not the best activity to do in bed, but yeah, I'm cardiac neurotic;) She noticed none of them.
what does the term benign mean? i wasnt told what was happening to me in hospital no one said its this or that, 2 be honest i was too scarred to ask,there were people there having heart attacks and there i was having a panic attack i felt a bit embarrassed after going for something so little, is it time to stop worrying now and ignore them before i start having more panic attacks, ive read its common for people with anxiety to think they have a undiagnosed problem with their heart, People say cut back on acohol and smoking and caffeine,i dont drink or smoke and have 1 cuppa tea a day i get ectopics BUT my partner drinks used to smoke and has more caffeine in his system than anyone cuz he drinks loads of energy drinks and has no ectopics?
just had ecg, because the doctor was happy with it she said they were normal, how do i tell the difference between PVC and PAC
You can't, except when being monitored on ECG. It usually doesn't matter, though, as both are usually completely benign.
You should read my "facts about PACs and PVCs" post, though, I've written some ways to tell the difference there.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Facts-about-PACs-and-PVCs/show/1215807
Here is the link.
Be careful though, and don't get completely obsessed with this. An important strategy to get over this is to trust your doctors and not reading too much cardiology topics:)
You should read my "facts about PACs and PVCs" post, though, I've written some ways to tell the difference there.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Facts-about-PACs-and-PVCs/show/1215807
Here is the link.
Be careful though, and don't get completely obsessed with this. An important strategy to get over this is to trust your doctors and not reading too much cardiology topics:)
It's very important to get the terms right here.
No, I don't assume he meant your heart had PVCs in a row. I assume he meant your heart skipped some beats (in other words, ectopic beats) several times with normal beats between, causing an irregular rhythm.
Anyway, those "skipped beats" during anxiety attacks with high heart rate are usually PACs, not PVCs. Runs of PACs may occur. If you had runs of PVCs, your doctor would NOT let you go home as this is a condition that needs more examination.
No, I don't assume he meant your heart had PVCs in a row. I assume he meant your heart skipped some beats (in other words, ectopic beats) several times with normal beats between, causing an irregular rhythm.
Anyway, those "skipped beats" during anxiety attacks with high heart rate are usually PACs, not PVCs. Runs of PACs may occur. If you had runs of PVCs, your doctor would NOT let you go home as this is a condition that needs more examination.
Hi,yes i have to agreed with is something wrong comment,if theres a clue or evidence that something might be wrong with ur heart rhythm they wouldnt have just let you walk out of the A&E,they would have performed more test on you just to make sure everything is on the safe side,beside having an ECG test,have u done any other test ? like stress test,echo or even a 24 hour holter.
thats why you should never be scared to ask question that will put you mind at ease. Speically with your Dr.
oh now i understand the term missed beats and what he said, ive read loads of peoples forum who get "missed beats", if he had explained this then i wouldn't of got so worked up at hospital, i thought he meant my heart was literally skipping loads of beats but i assume he meant i was having pvc's in a row?
It means that everyone have some ectopic beats during a week. If you monitor 100 people during 24 hours with ECG, 80 will have at least a coupe of "missed beats" (ectopic beats, the "missing beats" term is very incorrect). At least 10 will have hundreds to thousands of ectopic beats. During a week, almost everyone have them.
During anxious times, it's common to "miss beats" (to use this incorrect term) several times a minute. It's not "textbook normal" as anxiety is a kind of disorder, but not dangerous!
If you get to the ER and there is ANY clues of cardiac disorder, they will NOT let you go home!
During anxious times, it's common to "miss beats" (to use this incorrect term) several times a minute. It's not "textbook normal" as anxiety is a kind of disorder, but not dangerous!
If you get to the ER and there is ANY clues of cardiac disorder, they will NOT let you go home!
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Ectopic heart beats are (as you probably know) heart beats that origin somewhere else than your sinus node. They are almost always benign, but feels really scary. I would recommend you to read my post "facts about PACs and PVCs" that I wrote a couple of weeks ago.
In my opinion, worrying about cardiac events is worse than, i.e, worrying about cancer. The problem is; you feel an increased heart rate and/or skipped beats, your worrying will cause higher heart rate and more skipped beats, more anxiety, and eventually you will feel like going crazy or having a heart attack. A minor underlying condition (such as stress at work) can trigger this, and it's greatly elevated by your anxiety about symptoms.
I can give you some useful advice:
1. You need to accept that your symptoms are caused by anxiety and not heart disease. Always. It's a bit strange, because ectopic beats don't necessarily (though they can) occur during an anxiety attack. They usually appear after you've calmed down (or you believe you've calmed down since you in fact haven't completely). Your adrenaline levels are still high, making your heart believe it has to beat faster than it does. Since it doesn't, other spots in your heart would like to "help" as well, causing those extra/ectopic beats. I get mine after, not during, a stressful day at work, or before sleep.
2. Anxiety won't harm you. You won't faint, your blood pressure during these events is far too high (not dangerous).
3. Trust your doctors and avoid reading cardiology (believe me, I've got burned on this one)
4. If you get high heart rates, focus on counting backwards from 400. Do not count with the speed of your heart rhythm :)
5. Trust the fact that in a structurally normal heart (without congenital heart disease or heart attacks / MI), ectopic beats will not cause more dangerous arrhythmias.
Good luck:)