Sounds like PVC's to me....I get those too as I know lots of others here get them. I've been told they are benign and not to worry about them as well. And they feel exactly as you describe. Just try to calm yourself which trust me i know is easier said than done. Try to cut back on caffeine, alcohol, smoking (if you do), and drink lots of water...sometimes it helps. Hang in there, hope you feel better soon!

Angie

thanks angie for replying so quickly , i used to get them every now and then before i had this last big AF episode..now im getting them every day all day..and i am totally obsessing about them..im trying very hard not to focus on them...

hopefully they will settle down again..my local dr wants me to go on some anxiety medicine so that might be my next option...

thanks again shanny

Shanny, it does sound like PACs or PVCs. Either are harmless and fairly common. I know these events cause anxiety but rest assured they're not a threat. Gaining control of stress and anxiety is alway a good thing. I hope your heart settles down soon.

You are probably hyper-aware of what you heart is doing now too...I know I am. They sound exactly like PVCs. Try not to worry about them. Take a deep breath when you feel one and avoid stimulants like caffeine, try to get plenty of sleep, and I think sugar causes me to have them more often. Sugar is an inflammatory food.

Shanny63 Don't take this wrong but it sounds, at least to me, like you are causing yourself more harm by obsessing about what I assume to be pcv's or pac's or fish flops as I call them. Lighten up on yourself and try to go with the a fib flow. Most a fibbers seem to get these flops every now and then and the more you obsess about them the worse they get. Get it ??? NSR to all Rick

Hi Shanny, my husband was having them post ablation we thought they were pvcs. He really noticed them when he was sitting. When he went for his 4 month post op the doctor caught them on an echo. Some he wasn't even feeling. The doctor said they are pacs totally harmless and most people have them they just don't feel them. What you described is exactly what Chris was feeling. The only time he feels them now is if he gets stressed. Take care, lisa

shanny,

I would agree, they sound like PAC's or PVC's. Have you ever had a monitor on while you had these? That would tell you for sure.

I have these too and I am concerned that they might continue onto A fib. I share your concern.

But worrying about them, brings them on more, as everyone has said. So , the more you can put them out of your mind, the less frequent they will be. Easy to say...

hi everyone, well i went out on my motorbike today for a 6 hour ride and guess what..never felt one of my missed beats/extra beats..

i think my mind was busy thinking about the ride, in fact it was too busy to stress about myheart..which was a good thing..

and rick and marikay you are both absolutly right, i am hypervigilant at the moment, every thing my heart does im obsessing over..im my own worst enemy...

Hi Shanny,

I got pvcs for 35 years. Millions of people get them, but not everyone feels them. They can be caused by a variety of reasons. Stress, smoking, caffeine, obesity, eating a big meal, even drinking a cold glass of water or bending over. And it's true...the more you think about them, the more you will feel them. You proved that to yourself while riding on your motorbike. They are a nuisance, and we never really get used to them, but try not to worry.

Mary Ann

Shanny,

I usually get the missing beats (pvcs) when I eat a little of my trigger foods. Sometimes, after getting them for a while, I go to full afib if I had enough of my trigger foods. But, usually the missing beats for me are a warning. When I get them, I know I have sort of over dosed my trigger foods. So, I back off and don't have any of my triggers for a few days. They are good warnings for me.

PVCs are veeeeeeery uncomfortable for me, specially if they happen during a work out, a hike, or at home when I climb the stairs. However, the doctors were saying I should NOT worry about them. But, I do, since if it walks like a duck, quake like a duck, it is a duck :-) They feel uncomfortable like having a very mild afib.

Mine absolutely are caused by my trigger foods or when/if I get dehydrated and not anything else. So, I take them seriously.

Scott

Shanny, You and I are both alike, we start concentrating on every beat / skipped beat etc. and that anxiety also makes us even more paranoid and we shouldn't be. I know if I am busy doing something (be it my part time job) or just talking to someone... my mind isn't on my heart activity. All one has to do is watch the news and realize, that there are people worse off than ourselves etc. We have a health issue, many people do ... we just have to accept it, and like the song by Carly Simon lyrics reiterated "Nothing stays the same " (Song: Coming Around Again") Shanny you are in my thoughts and you WILL be ALRIGHT !

I too have them. I had them for some time before I even had the first A Fib issue about two years ago.. I have really only had two of those that amounted to anything. And like many once you start to notice them you tend to focus on them which may or may not help.. My doctor said as well that its nothing to worry with. I think I started to notice that type of thing after a by pass surgery about 10 years ago.

My doctor told me to "stay off the internet".. Sometimes to much knowledge is not always good for those of us who focus so much on everything. You can see though its not stopped my still reading things. I believe in knowing what others are going though but I have to keep it in perspective of what I am also going though. An my take is that its very much varied among us as to how A Fib effects our lives.

I shoveled snow yesterday which I maybe shouldn't have done but my cardiologist had told me after the Cardioversion that he had no restrictions on my activities.. I see here that many can't do things without tripping it. It may be that he wants to see how easily I might go into Afib but so far its not occurred.. I do however at times have to odd beats but not like in A fib. No doubt it will happen again but I am trying to relax and take life easier.. It was when I quit concentrating on a set of off beats for several nights in a row and instead decided to concentrate on them going away that they actually stopped.. Don't know if its a higher power or what, but somehow it worked..

Larry

going crazy at the moment with missed beats and extras..my son in law committed suicide 2 weeks ago and has left our whole family especially my daughter devastated...since we lost our son in law I have not slept well and have been very very stressed...ive noticed my missed beats occurring maybe 50-100 times a day..
spoke to my cardiologist he says its just all the stress im under...I feel like im losing my mind..thanks for letting me vent everyone..best wishes hope u are all well...shanny

Shanny,
I have seen many people on this site and stopafib.org suggest magnesium to help eliminate these extra beats as well. I am taking 400 mg. But this raises the question, which perhaps others can comment on. I believe CANMAN, you suggested 500 mg? And I saw someone yesterday on stopafib say they took 3 THOUSAND mg. per day Did I misread that somehow, or can you take as much magnesium as you want without any side effects?

But of course when I do get that little extra beat, like many of us, it is an "UH OH!" moment. But I do believe the mag is helping.

Bill

Hi Shanny,

I just went to the EP because I had about two weeks of constant irregular heart beats. (at least two PVCs every minute and a run of PACs here and there).

I had an Omcron monitor, and recorded a bunch of them. They were so bad, they were keeping me up at night, and I was sure I was in afib.

Well, of course when I got to the EP's office, and he took an ECG, my heart rate was PERFECT! But, AHAH! I had the Omcron monitor that records. I showed him all of my crazy heartbeats, and he said they were PVCs and PACs, and yes.. they're benign. However, they CAN spur an afib episode.

I thought my recent skipping was afib, but he said afib looks like spikes all over the place on the monitor for pages and pages. He said that I could go on rate control to control the symptoms, but that has it's side effects.. some of them serious... . and if I could "live" with the skipped beats, just to try to ignore them.

So that is what I'm doing. I've had three full blown afib attacks, but lots and lots of PACs and PVCs for much of the other time.

He said to stay on aspirin, that I don't need anything stronger because of my CHADs score.. and to stop worrying about them. His words, "They're uncomfortable but they won't hurt you.. look at the glass as half full." Alrighty... that's what I'll do.

But it's like having uncontrolled hiccups for WEEKS. It drives you crazy, and because it's your heart.. hard to NOT worry.