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Ectopics forever? (Read 4033 times)
beadbabe
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Ectopics forever?
Mar 08th, 2007, 10:09am
 
After some test results that were good, I am left wondering why am I having these heartbeats that are so random and out of synch. What I want to know is, can they be caused only by having anxiety (I can understand that panic attacks cause them, but just anxiety, although admittedly because of the beats my anxiety is very high)? Also, once you have them can they ever go away? Is it possible for your heart to retrain itself to ignore whatever is causing the rythm to go awry?

I am hoping and hoping someone is going to tell me they aren't a lifelong condition.
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saab
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Re: Ectopics forever?
Reply #1 - Mar 8th, 2007, 1:18pm
 
Hi, Beadbabe, I was wondering this too. I feel that my missed beats are generally less frequent at the moment (though not yesterday and today) and I was becoming fairly optimistic that they may go altogether. There is a posting by Joesparrow in the Welcome thread in which he says he has been free of them for 2 years. I do think that I can minimise them with exercise, diet changes, good sleep patterns etc.

I am frustrated at times because the ectopics and 'flip' sensations can appear even when I am fairly relaxed - I think that RLR has explained this somewhere. In truth, though, I am never totally relaxed these days - I am much more susceptible to anxiety than before these ectopics appeared - and I think that in itself is a barrier to eradicating them completely. I can't fully relax because I have ectopics - I have ectopics because I can't fully relax. When I am anxious and then take my pulse and feel it missing beats, I often wonder, did the anxiety just make my heart start to miss beats or did the missed beats sensation just trigger the anxiety?

I know that anxiety did not start my ectopics (I think that was the general anaesthetic), but I think it has prolonged them. Lots of people get an irregular pulse after a shock or accident, and I do wonder if I hadn't got so worked up about it, it might have gone back to normal on it's own.

I guess the answer is that it doesn't matter because either way they are harmless, unpleasant, but harmless. One thing that does concern me a bit is that I have a slight tremour of my head all the time - even when I am feeling ok. This is due to the anxiety, because it gets worse the more anxious I am. It's also a very common side effect of nervous illness, shock etc., but it is certainly one thing I'd like to be rid of.

I am really pleased that your test results have been good and I hope that you will be able to move on quickly and put your health worries behind you very soon. Best wishes.
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RLR
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Re: Ectopics forever?
Reply #2 - Mar 8th, 2007, 2:00pm
 
Okay, this has been discussed many times. Just because you experience symptoms does not mean that something is wrong. You have to acknowledge this fact in order to begin moving beyond your anxiety where this is concerned. Let me give you an example for illustration; If you place your arm in the proper extended position, it is quite common for the radian and medial nerves to become slightly compressed and cause parasthesia along the forearm, hand and outer digits. This does not mean that you have a damaged nerve or that disease is responsible for the symptoms. The very same circumstances hold true for Vagus nerve stimulation and associated anxiety. The Vagus nerve is responding inappropriately due to stimulation, but it does not mean that the symptoms produced are caused by "disease" of any kind.

Patients become very frustrated by this because when their heart acts abnormally from what they normally expect and exprerience, it can become very frightening and the first conclusion drawn is that it represents something wrong. It is just not the case here, nor will it ever be the case under these circumstances. Negative tests are negative, negative, negative and will not change just because benign symptoms are present. Patients are simply accustom to making direct relationships between symptoms and illness. It does not apply here. You have a condition and not an illness or disease of any type. It will never cause your heart to become damaged, nor will it ever cause you to experience a cardiac event of any type. Knowing this, you must logically begin to accept this and look for ways to improve your knowledge on the topic, which will improve your rationale about the events and diminish anxiety.  

You're going to be fine. Time spent educating yourself about the symptoms and their cause will go a long way to reduce anxiety and boost your outlook on things.

And finally, many if not most patients experience a reduction in symptoms when anxiety is reduced or abated through professional counseling and treatment where necessary. Spontaneous resolution is also very common.

Best regards and Good Health
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Best Regards and Good Health
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