Skipped heartbeats
Skipped heartbeats
I've been doing good for several months now but in the last few days I have been experiencing what feels like skipped heartbeats throughout the day. I am not sure what is causing it as not much in my life has changed. It does not seem to inhibit my daily routine or work, and I can do heavy lifting and other physical activities without issue. although sometimes I do experience a strange discomfort in my left arm but that can come on when I'm doing nothing. The skipped beats are kind of scary because I don't know whats causing it. Any ideas?
Re: Skipped heartbeats
Skipped heartbeats are very common, it is not a dangerous thing! Sometimes caffeine can cause our hearts to flutter, skip, race, and all sorts of things! I have had my heart experience all of this and then some! Do not worry over this! If you have been checked out by a doctor recently, and if all is well, rest assured, you are fine!
pauly j
pauly j
Re: Skipped heartbeats
Thanks for the reply Pauly. I've also noticed that it does not seem to start until about the middle of the day. Very strange, maybe it's all in my head.
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goodwillchic
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:59 pm
Re: Skipped heartbeats
It feels a bit ironic that I came across this post. I haven't logged onto this site in quite some time...decided to log on today because I have been struggling emotionally after a health scare.
Several weeks ago I got a bad cold that lasted more than a week. I thought I was getting better when I woke up one morning to find myself having a lot of difficulty doing simple tasks such as just walking to the bathroom. A couple days later I passed out after work and my fiance took me to the ER where I found out I was in heart failure! The doc thinks it was caused by a virus since I'm just 27.
I've experienced heartbeat irregularities in the past and always attributed it to either my asthma or anxiety. Now, to be 100% clear, I told my cardiologist about these past events and he did not think they were related, so please don't think I'm telling you this means you're in heart failure.
My point is two-fold. First, I wish I had educated myself more on heart issues when I first started having occasional chest pains or palpitations because then I would have had a better understanding of what was happening to me those weeks ago and perhaps gotten myself the right type of treatment sooner (I did go to Urgent Care twice before ending up in the ER, they tested me for all sorts of things but never did any heart tests despite my claim of chest pains...I think because of my age no one thought it was my heart). My symptoms were a severe cough followed by EXTREME fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and chest pains.
Second, while so many of us have going through/are going through this problem to help stop over-reacting to life's worries, it is important not to ignore your body. I KNEW something was wrong but have spent so much of my life as a chronic worrier that others often don't take my complaints seriously and I'd begun to stop taking myself seriously. I didn't trust myself and should have been more assertive.
If you KNOW this isn't normal for you, see your doctor and ask for heart specific tests (echocardiogram, EKG and/or chest x-rays) as just listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope isn't always reliable. In my case, my heart sounded strong and normal to both doctors I saw at Urgent Care because the issue wasn't continuous. Try to trust yourself : )
Several weeks ago I got a bad cold that lasted more than a week. I thought I was getting better when I woke up one morning to find myself having a lot of difficulty doing simple tasks such as just walking to the bathroom. A couple days later I passed out after work and my fiance took me to the ER where I found out I was in heart failure! The doc thinks it was caused by a virus since I'm just 27.
I've experienced heartbeat irregularities in the past and always attributed it to either my asthma or anxiety. Now, to be 100% clear, I told my cardiologist about these past events and he did not think they were related, so please don't think I'm telling you this means you're in heart failure.
My point is two-fold. First, I wish I had educated myself more on heart issues when I first started having occasional chest pains or palpitations because then I would have had a better understanding of what was happening to me those weeks ago and perhaps gotten myself the right type of treatment sooner (I did go to Urgent Care twice before ending up in the ER, they tested me for all sorts of things but never did any heart tests despite my claim of chest pains...I think because of my age no one thought it was my heart). My symptoms were a severe cough followed by EXTREME fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and chest pains.
Second, while so many of us have going through/are going through this problem to help stop over-reacting to life's worries, it is important not to ignore your body. I KNEW something was wrong but have spent so much of my life as a chronic worrier that others often don't take my complaints seriously and I'd begun to stop taking myself seriously. I didn't trust myself and should have been more assertive.
If you KNOW this isn't normal for you, see your doctor and ask for heart specific tests (echocardiogram, EKG and/or chest x-rays) as just listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope isn't always reliable. In my case, my heart sounded strong and normal to both doctors I saw at Urgent Care because the issue wasn't continuous. Try to trust yourself : )
Re: Skipped heartbeats
Thanks for the heads up post Goodwillchic. I have worried in the back of my mind that it might be heart related. Although about 2 months ago I went to the ER because I was having tightness in my chest and difficulty breathing, but they found no issues and it eventually went away after about an hour or two. I also realized I had dehydration from drinking the night before. About a half a year before that I had a run of heart tests that included EKG, Echo & blood and was told I was healthy. I'll be 30 in August but still have a heart problem fear. I have a physical job but have been a little extra tired and stiff each day. Maybe its all stress/anxiety. I just want to be sure.
Re: Skipped heartbeats
Hello,
I have had these "skipped beats" for years and years. These heart palpitations are normally PVC's or PAC's and they are completely benign and will do no harm. Anxiety can trigger or increase them as the PVC's are electrical in nature and the vagus nerve that stimulates our bodies is also electrical. The vagus nerve connects many parts of the body and when we get anxious, the vagus nerve gets stimulated and the heart gets stimulated. The heart then gets these little electrical "hiccups". They feel like a longer pause and then two beats close together. This is simply the heart adjusting itself. It causes no harm. But these heart palpitations can get uncomfortable and makes us uneasy, especially to us anxious people. There is no rhyme nor reason when they occur and when they stop. I do know that caffeine and nicotine make them worse. That's a proven fact.
If you wish to validate what you have for sure, have your doctor refer you to a heart specialist and let them do an EKG, stress test, x-rays, and holter monitor. Perhaps not all of these. A simple EKG would show these if you have a palpitation when they take the test. A holter monitor would be a good idea as you wear a small monitor for 24 or 48 hours and it would show all heart activity during that time period. I have had these done and it showed I had thousands of these skipped beats over a 24 hour period. They were simply PVC's and they do no harm at all. But like I said, they sure can be disconcerting and uncomfortable. In fact, my doctor told me one of his patients averaged 38,000 palpitations in a 24 hour period!
Good luck and try not to worry about them. They are very, very common.
I have had these "skipped beats" for years and years. These heart palpitations are normally PVC's or PAC's and they are completely benign and will do no harm. Anxiety can trigger or increase them as the PVC's are electrical in nature and the vagus nerve that stimulates our bodies is also electrical. The vagus nerve connects many parts of the body and when we get anxious, the vagus nerve gets stimulated and the heart gets stimulated. The heart then gets these little electrical "hiccups". They feel like a longer pause and then two beats close together. This is simply the heart adjusting itself. It causes no harm. But these heart palpitations can get uncomfortable and makes us uneasy, especially to us anxious people. There is no rhyme nor reason when they occur and when they stop. I do know that caffeine and nicotine make them worse. That's a proven fact.
If you wish to validate what you have for sure, have your doctor refer you to a heart specialist and let them do an EKG, stress test, x-rays, and holter monitor. Perhaps not all of these. A simple EKG would show these if you have a palpitation when they take the test. A holter monitor would be a good idea as you wear a small monitor for 24 or 48 hours and it would show all heart activity during that time period. I have had these done and it showed I had thousands of these skipped beats over a 24 hour period. They were simply PVC's and they do no harm at all. But like I said, they sure can be disconcerting and uncomfortable. In fact, my doctor told me one of his patients averaged 38,000 palpitations in a 24 hour period!
Good luck and try not to worry about them. They are very, very common.
Re: Skipped heartbeats
I'm starting to wonder if all my current issues are caused by my prevacid. I did some research and found quite a few other people having odd side effects after using prevacid for longer periods of time, including palpitations/skipped beats. Has anyone one else heard anything about bad side effects by prevacid?
Re: Skipped heartbeats
I took Prevacid for years before switiching to Losec because of the cost. This is my own experience, but I never found that taking either Prevacid or Losec made any difference to my PVC's (heart palps). I am still on Losec (omaprazole) and it doesn't make any difference that I notice. Good luck!
Re: Skipped heartbeats
I'm not sure if its just an odd coincidence but the first day I stopped taking the prevacid my skipped beats tapered off to just a very few. Then maybe one or two occurrences the second day, and now nothing. I haven't changed anything in my diet or activities. Not sure what to make of these results, maybe I do need to find an alternative medication.
Re: Skipped heartbeats
Hi Enigma,
There has been nothing to suggest that GERD medications cause heart palpitations. However, there is research that GERD can cause palpitations in some people. In your case, it may be just a coincidence that the palpitations stopped or lowered when you stopped your medication. However, it may be the case just with you. Perhaps look at a different GERD medication as there are different families of medications. Prevacid, Prilosec are PPI's, but there are others you could try. Also, some people claim that there are natural supplements that will help. Maybe research these as I have had no experience other than with both Prevacid and Prilosec (which I am currently on). Good luck and let us know what you find out.
There has been nothing to suggest that GERD medications cause heart palpitations. However, there is research that GERD can cause palpitations in some people. In your case, it may be just a coincidence that the palpitations stopped or lowered when you stopped your medication. However, it may be the case just with you. Perhaps look at a different GERD medication as there are different families of medications. Prevacid, Prilosec are PPI's, but there are others you could try. Also, some people claim that there are natural supplements that will help. Maybe research these as I have had no experience other than with both Prevacid and Prilosec (which I am currently on). Good luck and let us know what you find out.