Intense ectopic heartbeats

[SomeRandomDude]

Hi again.

heart worries became my first introduction to health anxiety, i had my first big panic attack something like a decade ago after mistaking my first bout of heartburn for a heart attack at 11 or so. And then i started getting ectopic heartbeats around the same time, maybe a year or two later

For the most part i've slowly gotten over my heart worries, and though my ectopics were and still are frightening i've gotten over them too. They'd appear one day, stick around for a few more and then disappear for a few weeks or months before reappearing to repeat the cycle. And the beats varied in severity. But whenever i stopped worrying about my heart health they became less noticeable.

However my most recent bout of ectopics has me pretty worried. I assume they're anxiety related, since days prior i started being hyper aware about my heart health after noticing random left shoulder pain, but if it's anxiety related. I can't stop thinking about them and thus continuing the cycle of terrible beats. They feel stronger than they have for awhile, going from barely noticeable, to catching my breath because the thud is so big. I've also been getting multiples in a row now, obviously it's harder to track when they come out of nowhere and trigger anxiety, but it feels like i'm getting three or four in a row.

They've affected my sleep, because whenever i'd try to lay down and relax, or change positions i'd get a thud or multiple thuds. I'm afraid to sleep, i'm afraid to move a certain way or move too quickly. I'm back to my old habits. Once again i'm sure this all stems back to anxiety and being hyper aware of my heart thus creating a self fulfilling prophecy. And i know for the most part they're harmless. But i just don't know how to get peace of mind and stop concentrating on them when they are so strong. Atleast seemingly. I heard Magnesium supplements can help both anxiety and ectopics. But for some reason i've always been nervous of taking any kind of over the counter medication or supplements. But if it works, what can i take? I have a small bottle of Mag Oxide that came in a covid care package, but i heard that mag oxide isn't used for anxiety or heart. And all around isn't that good as a magnesium supplement.

 

[suzzeeb]

Hello - I have always had ectopic beats. Sometimes they would be less noticeable than others, but of course the more you think about them the worse they get. Last November I started getting them constantly, like every few beats 24/7. I couldn't make them stop and couldn't stop thinking about them. I had the whole workup with echo, blood work, and everything was normal. My Holter monitor showed 3600 a day. The cardiologist didn't think anything about it and said to relax and not worry about it, but I was getting several in a row also, and it got to where my anxiety was so bad about it I couldn't stand it. I would be in the grocery store and feel like I couldn't breathe after I had so many of them. I saw an electrophysiologist who said he would do an ablation since I was symptomatic, which I agreed to. So I had that done in July. He ablated 2 of the worst areas that were causing so many, but I still have them every day. I try not to worry about them now. They are much better than they were and don't consume my whole day anymore, but since the ablation my anxiety has been out of control. Maybe it started before and that was the last straw for me mentally, but now I'm struggling trying to get out of this intense anxiety. I thought my anxiety would be so much better getting rid of them but apparently I just find other things to be afraid of!

I did try magnesium and beta blockers and they did nothing for my PVCs or my anxiety. Some people do notice some benefit though. My electrophysiologist said I really needed to work on my anxiety, whatever that means! Everyone says that, but no matter how many relaxation techniques I try, or exercise, or positive thoughts, my anxiety comes and goes in varying severity whenever it feels like it, so I don't feel like i have much control at this point.

Anyway, it can't hurt to try magnesium. It really doesn't hurt anything. Natural Vitality Calm is a good one to try. The best thing is to not worry about them, but trust me I know how hard that is!! Good luck to you.

 

[SomeRandomDude]

I feel you, if it's not one thing it's another. And it's always kind of frustrating when health experts tell us that it's nothing to worry about and we need to work on our anxiety. It's always so hard to accept something is benign when it feels so terrible.

I might give the little bottle of Mag Oxide a try before upgrading to something better. A relative also gave me some melatonin gummies today for dealing with an unrelated stresses, and they said they also help with palpitations. But of course i had to do some googling and found out they can make palpitations worse.

Anyway, thanks for the reply!

 

[Joe diesel 09]

I get them off and on too. Seemingly comes out of nowhere. They will and can drive you freakin nuts!!! The typically affect me later in the day when I have a run of them, like after a long day of work. I do go to the gym pretty regular and they don't seem to affect me while I'm exercising. That's weird. Once in awhile I'm thinkin it might have but if it has it was so light I could hardly detect it. Looking back, they almost always come on during or right after a spell of intense anxiety. Sometimes they will stick around a few days or weeks then poof! Their gone. Anxiety causes weird things. Praying for yall.