constant ectopic beats- SCARED!

[vonnhelsing]

for the past 4 days i've been having constant ectopic heart beats and they're absolutely driving me insane. i'm freaking out.
like i usually get one every few days but these past few days it's been up to 6-7 every day. sometimes they're just painless ones but the occasional ones are painful and leave me with chest pains and feeling a bit dizzy and flustered and super super scared. i've noticed that i get mild ones when i inhale deeply through my lungs, like i can feel a flutter in my heart. but the bad ones are random and they're ruining my day always. i'm scared one day my heart will just stop beating because of one of these. i'm not even that anxious these days. i've had waaayyyyy more anxious times where i wouldn't get ectopic beats at all. why now?? :(
anyone can relate? any advice? should i go to the cardiologist?

[SunnieDebris]

If you were my friend, and I was sitting next to you, and you told me this, I would insist on calling an ambulance. They can look you over and hook you up to a monitor (using your finger), to see if you are in cardiac distress. A trip to the ER may not be necessary, and you may end up waiting there a while before someone can assist you. It is probably anxiety, but be safe. Either call an ambulance or go to the ER. And then follow up with your doctor as soon as you are able.

[dazza]

In the case of anxiety, this isn't uncommon at all. Palps come and go in waves - sometimes when you least expect them.

There's a kind of paradox state with anxiety in that, even though you're on the path to recovery, your fright response remains active.
You may be past the previous panic attacks & severe levels of anxiety - but rest assured you're not over it by a long shot.

The palps shouldn't be painful, but this could be a mixture of anxiety pains (which tend to hovver around the heart area) at the time the palps occur - and so it may just seem like the pain is palp. related.

Do you notice ANY kind of tell-tale symptoms before the palps occur? like a bloated feeling in the chest? like there's something stuck in your chest? stiff neck / shoulders? feeling of unease? maybe moody, angry or excited?

I recall you've had heart anxiety for some time. What happens is that when you've had a partifular anxiety for a period of time, you end up fully focused / obsessed on it.
Your anxiety effectively becomes a 24 hour "watchman" - looking for signs of problems around the issue that you obsess over.
When in this state, ANYTHING can provoke the watchman. Even breathing.
You might deeply inhale - so deep that the sensation (stretching) in your lungs can wake up the watchman and trigger a response to it... completely AUTOMATICALLY and out of your immediate control.
The result is unbelievably shocking.

Think about someone with a phobia of say, spiders. They've probably been obsessed with spiders for years - and what happens when one lands on their shoulder?
They completely freak.
The same occurs with anxiety - only your obsession is of your heart, the surrounding chest area & other areas which COULD be related to heart problems.

You know what they recommend though, ANYTHING related to the heart should be looked at by a medical professional.

[PanicCured]

The only thing to do is go to a cardiologoist. They will give you an EKG and an electrocardiogram. They will then give you as holter monitor to wear for 24 hours. Then they will analyze your beats and tell you what they find. If the doctor tells you they are benign and not life threatening then you have your answer.

[PanicCured]

And of course, if you feel it may be potentially dangerous just stay calm and go to the ER. You can at least get your vitals checked on an EKG.