Did you have to catch your breath?

I HELD my breath to try to make my heart start!

If this is the first time you've experienced something like this, I would try to make an appointment with your EP/Dr. - ASAP.

That's scary. How many times has this happened?

I've had this happen before... About a dozen times over the years. I told one doctor, and he said it was a premature beat... That then the heart needs to fill with blood, and that's the pause and the thunk I feel. But sometimes it lasts longer, like a second. My heart has been flopping around all day today. I hate this. ;(

1 second? That's not a long time between ventricular contractions.

IslandLuvr, I have that often. I feel like I'm going to pass out everything stops then boom everything is fine. My cardiologist said the same thing as yours said and it showed up on the event monitor I had. It was scary the first few times, now I am aware and it passes quickly.

Hope that helps,
Take care

Scary stuff indeed. Sounds like you have a handle on it? I'm glad you do,..... Thanks for sharing. Good luck and God bless. ;)

I would agree with everyone. Could you ask for an event monitor and check what it is right when you have it?

Katy, yes, that's it exactly. I've had so many event monitors, I can't count .

To everyone, thanks for your support. I really had a rotten, flip floppy day. Afib sux!

Hi Island: I think I remember you mentioning that you have occasional 1st degree heart block (delay in the conduction of the electrical impulse as it travels to the ventricles). I recall this conversation because I also experienced episodes of 1st block most of my life. Most recently, my 1st degree block became occasional 2nd degree block (Mobitz type 1). Rather than a delay in conduction, an occasional electrical impulse is blocked at the AV node and a ventricle beat is missed/skipped). Maybe you should ask your doctor to re-evaluate? Sometimes rate/rhythm medications can exasperate any conduction/ AV node issues. Hope this info is helpful.

Last time I went to the EP (which was just a few weeks ago)... I asked him about it. To my surprise, he said that I *don't* have 1st degree heart block.. yet the EKG from the hospital said I did. About ten years ago, another cardiologist mentioned it. He said that it wasn't a bad thing, and many athletes have it.

Yet, my EP tolde me that 1st degree heart block is over-diagnosed.

How are you doing?

Island-Yes, I was told that 1st degree heart block and junctional rhythm are benign issues. After I developed Afib, my EP and cardio both informed me that the although the before mentioned issues are fairly benign, they significantly increase the chances of developing Afib. As for the 2nd degree heartblock, my cardio reduced my Flecainide to half my previous dose in hopes of resolving the heart block because it appeared to be an unpleasant, common side effect. Not sure how this is all going to pan out as the reduced dose is allowing more incidents of afib.

When you take your pulse and you feel a skipped beat, is it in a regular pattern? This was the case with the 2nd degree block...I would have regular beats for a period on the EKG but the interval between P and QRS wave would get longer and longer (signal delay) until around 5 beats it would skip a beat (blocked signal). The skipped beat makes you feel dizzy and lightheaded for a short period of time.

That's really good info, thanks. I'll discuss this with him at my next appointment. I'm doing pretty good today, only one missed beat that I felt. Yesterday, it was all day every minute or so.

That is what happens to me on antiarrhythmics. My heart pauses. What are you taking? Please let your Dr. know. They make my QT interval much too long. Valsalva maneuvers helped me. That's why I'm a failure at taking them.....for me they are dangerous.