Hi all, A little bit of background: I am a 41 year old male. We have heart related issues in the family starting as young as 46. I have suffered from anxiety / stress for years. I have asthma and also costochondritis. Therefore, I have dealt with pains in the chest and shortness of breath for years. However, out of nowhere, 3 months ago I started getting what initially felt like subtle palpitations. Within days the feeling became worse, with fluttering, shortness of breath and dizziness. This has not stopped and is a daily constant for me. My pulse will be a healthy 60 bpm but then without any movement increase to 90+, however never dangerously high and never constantly high. It definitely feel;s like my pulse slows and increases without doing anything, this has been noted by a nurse friend. Since it started I have had numerous short ECGs (which caught the missed beats), including a 24 hour one and also a chest x-ray. I am waiting for a specialist appointment (Cardiologist) mid November where I will also be getting an ultrasound. Every single day, every single minute (or so), I will get missed beats. When at its worst I can have 5-8 in a minute. I can take my pulse and physically feel the miss / pause and then the strong beat after. I have read a number of research papers into the issue (not being a Google Dr though!) and it seems it's not missed beats per se, but a Premature Atrial Contraction or that's what it seems like anyway. I have been told by my GP that PACs are nothing to worry about. However, the research papers I have read show that it's only classed as normal for the over 50's and only 1-2 per day. As stated above, I have hundreds. So, why am I here. Well, I feel that because I have suffered from anxiety and stress my GP is simply putting it down to that. Even after the 24 hour ECG I have not had any results given to me 3 weeks later. My day to day life is pretty horrifying at times due to the sudden feeling of a missed beat and / or dizziness. I really want to hear from anyone with experience with any of the above, combined. It seems there is very little research into what I am experiencing and is put down to something benign. What am I missing? Could this be something else? Why is it that all research papers I have read mention 1-100 PACs per day and nothing like what I am experiencing? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hello,
My 24 hour monitor showed about 2000 PACs and the Cardiologist didnt think it was a problem at all. It felt like a problem to me though . I dont always experience that many that I know of. In fact the day of wearing the monitor I thought I hardly had any at all based on not feeling them. I have been dealing with them for a few years now and some days I notice more than others, with some days or weeks of not feeling any.
Thanks for the reply.
Is there anything specific that sets them off for you?
Not that I can pin point. But I do notice when I get these feelings I also feel bloated with the need to burp. Also I notice more when sitting than standing but the Cardiologist said this was normal due to the pressure when you sit making them stand out more.