Did anyone have been diagnosed with "extra heart beats"? How dangerous are they?
Thank you!
Posted by davidx (Member # 8326) on :
I've had a slightly irregular hearbeat and also a mild heart murmur since I was a kid (I am 31 now). I know that every time I go for a physical the doctor does an EKG and echocardiogram to make sure all is ok.
To answer your question- I think that it might depend and that you should probably just talk to your dr. about it to make sure everything is ok.
-David
Posted by Elinor (Member # 8174) on :
Yes, I've got an ectopic heart beat, the heart does an extra beat now and then but when it tries to get back to the correct rhythm it feels fluttery and a bit scary.
It can be caused by a couple of different faults in the valves so I had it checked out and they couldn't find anything wrong, the cardiologist said sometimes it can happen for no reason and it's not harmful, just feels a bit weird.
Since then I've found out about lyme so that probably explains it, but you should really get it checked, it's not dangerous but could be a symptom of something the lyme has caused to go wrong.
Posted by Slappy3243 (Member # 7889) on :
Generally speaking, extra heart beats (PACs or PVCs) are totally benign and harmless in a structurally normal heart. Recent studies estimate that up to 60% of the population suffer from them. Most people do not feel them. Unfortunately, I feel every one. It feels like somebody punched me in the chest when I get it. It is really scary. I had an event monitor for a month and my cardiologist told me they were nothing. I have a feeling tha Lyme is the cause of mine. When I was 17, I was hit with A-fib for no reason. Ever since then, I have had PVC's.
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
I had some of that 'fluttery' stuff going on for awhile. Someone here suggested the inexpensive and the obvious... take plenty of magnesium.
Lyme is well known to deplete our magnesium, and it is essential in order for our heart and other muscles to function properly. We need quite a bit of it.
For me, that took care of the flip-flops and flutters.
Posted by johnnyb (Member # 7645) on :
Ditto on what James said. Mg helps with LOTS of stuff. Might want to check intracellular levels (doctor's data packed blood cell or urine analysis tests). If you are REALLY low, you may need shots or IV Magnesium. I suffered migraines for almost 2 decades before stumbling on this, and now have greatly reduced their frequency by taking Mg regularly. Have wacky heart stuff too... selenium is also beneficial for heart-beat, and it is a mercury antagonist as well. Don't overdo selenium, though. Too much will cause other problems.
- JB
Posted by henson2 (Member # 463) on :
Hi, NewDurham,
I'm sorry I haven't replied to your PM yet. I wanted to write in detail and with thought and thus have not succeeded in pushing away other competing obligations. Apologies.
Briefly, I am not sure I know what you mean be "extra" beats - I think of them as flip flops or skipped beats, sometimes incomplete beats. Mine are PVCs, and they have been deemed to be harmless. That was after numerous cardiac tests, incl. EKG, Holter Monitor, and Echos, repeated at various intervals.
Have you had a cardiac workup?
If you have chest pain or chest wall pain/ inflammation, which I have had for a long time (altho now improving) -- the flip flops feel greatly magnified -- so pronounced at various times that they've interfered w. sleep.
A doctor can put you on a beta blocker to help this. This works!
Let us know if you've had a work up.
Shall to try to write you privately soon.
I hope that you feel better and get some answers. - henson
[ 16. December 2005, 01:30 AM: Message edited by: henson2 ]
Posted by henson2 (Member # 463) on :
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