Skipped beats during exercise?

[bin_tenn]

I just canceled my appointment with my heart doctor, due to social distancing/COVID spread. I even had palpitations last night and some today! I just worry about SVT, which is why I am on low dose beta blocker. My cardiologist isn’t even concerned about the random SVT episodes I get occasionally. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m a big heart hypochondriac and I willingly canceled my appt and will reschedule later. If I felt something different or the SVT didn’t go away, then of course I would go in ASAP. I have had issues with heart palpitations when I’ve done more strenuous or not so strenuous things: lifting heavier objects, bending over to look underneath something, sitting in a chair, etc. Mine are so random. I think you are ok, but certainly go to the doc if something is different for you. That’s what I did for my last SVT that lasted longer than usual. The doc still wasn’t concerned but she did give me a beta blocker. I haven’t had an SVT with the beta blocker so far, but there have been a few times I thought one was coming, just by the nature of the heart palpitations I have preceding my SVTs. Hard to say if the beta blocker is working.

Sorry I just now saw your reply, but I appreciate it. I'm not terribly worried, in the sense that I don't feel like my heart is in awful shape. But as I'm sure you know, these sensations we sometimes get can make us feel like things are bad.

I take spells with them. I may go days or weeks or maybe a month without a single one. Have been under huge stress the last couple weeks and they have returned. This afternoon I believe they were the worst I've ever had in my life. Felt like every 4-5 beats I'd feel one. No chest pain, hard to breathe, nothing. But it freaked me out. Lasted like that for several hrs. Still having them but not quite as bad. Yesterday I was in an almost all day anxiety attack. Not quite panic, but really amped up. Had a tough day at work. Felt kinda ok today but not the best. This afternoon was scary tho.

I hope you feel well soon. I understand what all you're saying. I also don't tend to have any other symptoms, except occasionally I may feel a bit lightheaded and/or "short of breath" with the palpitations. I do believe that's anxiety though, that initial shot of adrenaline that occurs when I feel the palpitation.

Lately I've been doing well! I wonder if this was just yet another flue of sorts. Despite all the stress I've been under lately (things I'm actively addressing) I've not noticed any of these, even during strenuous activity. Once in a long while I may feel a light flutter or skip when I'm not doing anything, but it's nothing like what was happening when I initially wrote this post.

Nothing else has changed. I'm still on the 25mg Atenolol, nothing else. Checked BP a while back, because I had a routine doctor appt (though it was cancelled due to the pandemic) and it was fine. I check before I go to appts because it always runs high in their office.

But yeah, doing well in this department lately. Haha.

 

[Joe diesel 09]

My resting blood psi is almost low. Like the other day it was 109 over 55 I think. Felt perfectly fine. Typically at work if I stop and go take it just to see what it is it will be like 116-120 over 62-67 maybe. Heart rate is always in the low 70s to low eighties. According to what I was doing I guess before hand. During an anxiety attack it will be around 145/84 or there abouts. It was tonite and I was very anxious. I go to the gym alot but in the last 2 weeks I've only been a handful of times due to my workload. But something sure sparked my pvcs today. Have had em off and on the last 3-4 days, but just here and there. Today they have been unreal. Never had em quite this bad. But my stress level the last few weeks has been unreal too. Think im gonna go run get checked out just to be sure. I'm 47. Fairly healthy or so I think.
Forgot to add tho that I never experience pvcs at the gym. Ever. Well, that I felt anyway. They are fairly easy to detect for me.

 

[bin_tenn]

My resting blood psi is almost low. Like the other day it was 109 over 55 I think. Felt perfectly fine. Typically at work if I stop and go take it just to see what it is it will be like 116-120 over 62-67 maybe. Heart rate is always in the low 70s to low eighties. According to what I was doing I guess before hand. During an anxiety attack it will be around 145/84 or there abouts. It was tonite and I was very anxious. I go to the gym alot but in the last 2 weeks I've only been a handful of times due to my workload. But something sure sparked my pvcs today. Have had em off and on the last 3-4 days, but just here and there. Today they have been unreal. Never had em quite this bad. But my stress level the last few weeks has been unreal too. Think im gonna go run get checked out just to be sure. I'm 47. Fairly healthy or so I think.

Oh, I see. Lucky! My BP most of the time still runs pretty decent, around 120-something / 70-something. It can be lower if I'm very relaxed. During a severe panic attack it can easily hit 150ish / 95 or so. My heart rate is usually good, in the 60s and 70s at rest. Sometimes dips into the 50s.

I should definitely be more active. I'm really trying to be, taking it slow and starting with just doing more around the house, and walking the dog more often.

 

[Joe diesel 09]

Forgot to add tho that I never experience pvcs at the gym. Ever. Well, that I felt anyway. They are fairly easy to detect for me.

 

[Joe diesel 09]

Wound up going to the er for the non stop pvcs. All labs came back great except my tsh was higher than it should be. I'm guessing I may possibly have a hypothyroidism issue. Pvcs were so intense/frequent they did make me an appointment for a cardiologist for tomorrow. Im 47 so it prolly wouldn't hurt for a more thorough work up anyway. Been feelin great last few days. Have got a lot of work done in the shop. Had some pvcs late this afternoon but they are light and not very frequent. I've had them like this for yrs. And it's always followed periods of intense anxiety. But what happened Sunday night has never happened before ever. So we will see.

 

[Matticus1983]

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, I've had palpitations often for several years, with no known cause (re: clear stress test and echocardiogram in 2016). However, I don't recall ever experiencing them *during* exercise before. Only after exercise, or otherwise outside of an exercise scenario. In recent months, when I do anything strenuous such as carrying heavy things repeatedly, I feel several skipped beats. Once I stop and rest, they go away.

Do you think this would warrant a cardiologist visit eventually? They don't occur with any other symptoms. My heart doesn't race more than it should considering the level of physical activity, no shortness of breath, no chest pain, etc. The skipped beats feel exactly like the ones I also sometimes get when I'm not doing any physical activity (e.g. when I've had too much caffeine). The fact that they're now quite frequent during exercise, whereas they weren't before, is the only thing that somewhat concerns me.

This doesn't apply to any and all activity. I can comfortably play around with the kids, lift my 5yr old, walk a long distance, etc. It's only when I do something more strenuous that I start feeling them.

I never got a clear answer from my cardiologist about this: is it indeed acceptable for some people to experience palpitations *during* exercise? (it's okay if you aren't able to answer that) Everything online just says some people with heart disease will experience heart palpitations and other rhythm disturbances during exercise, but never explicitly states that it "should never happen" in someone who's healthy. Do any of you also get this frequently?

If it matters, I do often get palpitations *after* exercise, which my cardiologist did say is very normal. Adrenaline levels are still high when you start relaxing. And that part makes complete sense to me.

Brother, I have them daily, I feel them in my neck when it happens. Caffeine,nicotine and anxiety are definitely the cause. Electrolyte imbalances and dehydration. I've had them for 15 years. Clear EKG etc. There frightening, but If I sit down relax for a moment they usually go away. They've happened when I'm calm, when I'm excercizing, when I'm in deep thought. I think breathing has a lot to do with it to. We'll be alright in the end

 

[bin_tenn]

Brother, I have them daily, I feel them in my neck when it happens. Caffeine,nicotine and anxiety are definitely the cause. Electrolyte imbalances and dehydration. I've had them for 15 years. Clear EKG etc. There frightening, but If I sit down relax for a moment they usually go away. They've happened when I'm calm, when I'm excercizing, when I'm in deep thought. I think breathing has a lot to do with it to. We'll be alright in the end

Oddly enough, they don't really bother me at all when I'm relaxing or whatever. It was bothering me because they were occurring during strenuous activity, they were consistent in how they felt and when they came on, and stopping what I was doing would relieve it almost instantly. That's what I was concerned about.

However, they have since apparently ceased. I'm also not experiencing them when standing from sitting or when I stand up in the morning. And all the other "symptoms" I was having seem to be gone. I reckon it was just a fluke, or perhaps my body was just in some weird state. All is well now.

I appreciate the reply.

 

[Samurai]

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, I've had palpitations often for several years, with no known cause (re: clear stress test and echocardiogram in 2016). However, I don't recall ever experiencing them *during* exercise before. Only after exercise, or otherwise outside of an exercise scenario. In recent months, when I do anything strenuous such as carrying heavy things repeatedly, I feel several skipped beats. Once I stop and rest, they go away.

Do you think this would warrant a cardiologist visit eventually? They don't occur with any other symptoms. My heart doesn't race more than it should considering the level of physical activity, no shortness of breath, no chest pain, etc. The skipped beats feel exactly like the ones I also sometimes get when I'm not doing any physical activity (e.g. when I've had too much caffeine). The fact that they're now quite frequent during exercise, whereas they weren't before, is the only thing that somewhat concerns me.

This doesn't apply to any and all activity. I can comfortably play around with the kids, lift my 5yr old, walk a long distance, etc. It's only when I do something more strenuous that I start feeling them.

I never got a clear answer from my cardiologist about this: is it indeed acceptable for some people to experience palpitations *during* exercise? (it's okay if you aren't able to answer that) Everything online just says some people with heart disease will experience heart palpitations and other rhythm disturbances during exercise, but never explicitly states that it "should never happen" in someone who's healthy. Do any of you also get this frequently?

If it matters, I do often get palpitations *after* exercise, which my cardiologist did say is very normal. Adrenaline levels are still high when you start relaxing. And that part makes complete sense to me.

Hi. I suffer from ectopic beats a lot. Started mainly in 2014. Im actually having them now. Also i get them after lifting something heavy.
I think it could be a hiatus hernia or a vagus nerve issue. I take Omeprazole for acid. I got to see a cardiologist for peace of mind yearly. He normally does a echo (Ultra Sound Scan) and says everythings normal. I also get ectopics while exercising and my cardiologist said that aslong the heart structure is fine, everything's cool.

 

[bin_tenn]

Hi. I suffer from ectopic beats a lot. Started mainly in 2014. Im actually having them now. Also i get them after lifting something heavy.
I think it could be a hiatus hernia or a vagus nerve issue. I take Omeprazole for acid. I got to see a cardiologist for peace of mind yearly. He normally does a echo (Ultra Sound Scan) and says everythings normal. I also get ectopics while exercising and my cardiologist said that aslong the heart structure is fine, everything's cool.

Hey, thank you for sharing! The issue has seemingly resolved itself. I'm able to do things I was doing before, without any noticeable skipped beats. During the period in which I posted this, even simple exercise such as push ups and sit ups could trigger it. Now I can do even more than that without issue. I don't know what caused it, but whatever!

I used to take Pantoprazole (Protonix) for reflux. For a while now I've been managing it through dietary changes and taking Tums as needed. My cardiologist, when I saw him in 2018 (I think?) said everything was still normal, and he didn't need to see me for at least another 10-15 years, at the very least, unless anything changes.

 

[juma khamis]

Well am more than glad you posted this .... i have been a friend of google all my life because of this issue and never did it give me a good answer until u posted this... well am 22 and started having anxiety when i was like 15.. i still remember how it started. Well i play soccer and the day it started felt like my heart flutterd and felt like it wanted to come out through my mouth. I dont know how to explain this but i can run many kilometers without having any problems but the moment i start sprinting i get them skipped beats. Other time i get them is during competitive sports eg during a soccer match , when i get into an argument with someone, when i suddenly stand from a sitting or lying position and when i hear bad news. I have seen a cardiologist once had an ECG done and the doctor said i have mild mitral valve prolapse with trivial regurgitation but he said my heart was working perfectly fine.

Hi. I suffer from ectopic beats a lot. Started mainly in 2014. Im actually having them now. Also i get them after lifting something heavy.
I think it could be a hiatus hernia or a vagus nerve issue. I take Omeprazole for acid. I got to see a cardiologist for peace of mind yearly. He normally does a echo (Ultra Sound Scan) and says everythings normal. I also get ectopics while exercising and my cardiologist said that aslong the heart structure is fine, everything's cool.

Well can acid problems cause skipped beats.... i always get them when my stomach is full of acid... and i suspect the acid is the reason behind ectopics during exercise

 

[bin_tenn]

Well can acid problems cause skipped beats.... i always get them when my stomach is full of acid... and i suspect the acid is the reason behind ectopics during exercise

Yes, acid reflux/GERD can cause palpitations, including skipped beats. I get the skips frequently when I have a flare up of GERD. I'm guessing that's due to vagus nerve stimulation.