Hello,
I’m a retired health professional from the U.S. and would like to offer a reply. Heart palpitations very understandably induce considerable anxiety that are often accompanied by fear for the obvious reason that any disruption to one’s heart rhythm is perceived as warning of a potentially impending fatal event since the heart is the driving force that maintains life.
You are experiencing what we refer to as isolated PVCs, or Premature Ventricular Contractions. They very often arise in connection with significant anxiety and are essentially a benign phenomenon that induces many persons experiencing the events to present themselves at their local emergency room under the pretense of an impending cardiac event that, although worrisome, is an entirely misguided belief.
Heart failure, contrary to belief, is not an instantaneous event but rather an insidious process that is years in the making and is comprised of either congestive or non-congestive variants. Atrial Fibrillation is also quite distinct from isolated PVCs in that Afib is a episodic arrhythmia that is initiated in the atria of the heart from electrical impulses arising from outside the heart’s normal pacer that results in a quiver effect of the atria at a rate commonly above 400 cycles per minute, thus preventing the atria from properly filling. The effect is translated to the ventricles where abnormal and most often insufficient ventricular actions result in pooling of blood that can result in clotting. The most important point here is that isolated PVCs such as those being experienced by you are incapable of transformation into a subsequent pathological arrhythmia of any type that would place you at risk of some type of cardiac event. No such transformation has ever been recorded regarding the type of PVCs you are experiencing.
To illustrate the benign nature of isolated PVCs, all people experience them at some point in their lives and one example is when suddenly startled or frightened. People often exclaim “Gosh! that made my heart skip a beat!” or “That nearly stopped my heart!” What these people are actually describing is the sensation of an insolated PVC or heart palpitation often accompanying a sudden fear response. The difference is that it produces no worry because it is not considered out of context. In other words, it is a rational occurrence that does not ensue a path to worry because the causal circumstances are understandable.
In the instance where no precipitating event is present, however, the mind quickly seeks to link the palpitations to a cause and most often an irrational one since it is accompanied by anxiety. You also mention that you are simultaneously experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort in the manner of bloating and gas. It’s important for you to realize that gastrointestinal function is mediated by the vagus nerve, which is a mixed nerve that is also connected to the heart and brain. Gastrointestinal disturbances such as those being experienced by you can unintentionally stimulate the vagus nerve, wherein impulses can ascend and be reacted to by the heart in the form of electrical impulse. These impulses can result in an extra signal being imposed along with the heart’s normal pacer node and result in an extra beat that is felt as a thump or even a skipped heartbeat. The heart normally responds to these errant beats, or ventricular PVCs, with a corresponding and oftentimes strong beat as the heart’s normal pacer resets to normal sinus rhythm. The heart is absolutely capable in every such instance of re-establishing normal sinus rhythm.
The greater the gastrointestinal discomfort, the greater the potential for isolated PVCs to arise that may come about as much as every other heartbeat, in pairs, triplets etc., known as bigeminy and trigeminy. Regardless, these classified variants are harmless with no effect to either the structure or performance of the heart. Most importantly, isolated PVCs are entirely incapable of stopping the heart. They are benign.
So undergo your tests that will likely include a standard 12-lead EKG and a 2-D trans echocardiogram, the first of which will verify the electrical performance of the heart and the echocardiogram the mechanical structure of the heart. Rest assured that both tests will result in normal findings. Also be mindful that almost all such tests can indicate incidental findings such as trace mitral valve regurgitation but these are not indications of heart trouble whatsoever but found to be common in nearly all persons with normal healthy hearts.
You’ll also likely find that successful treatment of your gastrointestinal disturbance will quite literally result in a simultaneous reduction or even conclusion of the isolated PVC episodes. There are also medications such as low-dose beta blockers that reduce the workforce of the heart and subsequently can diminish or even eradicate the presence of the PVCs until such time that anxiety is reduced. Beta blockers also impose a mild anxiolytic effect as well that also helps to reduce the presence of the PVCs and needless worry.
Regardless, you’re going to be just fine. Steer clear of caffeinated drinks, smoking and other stimulants since these can aggravate the presence of PVCs. Otherwise, you’ll find these circumstances to slowly dissipate into history and the test results will provide the added confidence in the fact that you have a healthy, normal heart.
Best regards