I am almost 26 and remember first getting palpitations - ectopic beats, which I was 16. However for the past 3 months I have had them every day - missed beats, thump in chest, anything from 2-30 a day. Sometimes in runs, mostly isolated. Docs dismissed it at first but I went a month or so ago as it was getting so frequent. I had a blood test (thyroid etc) and an ecg - normal. But I didn't get any ectopics while on the ecg. Doc said hold-off on a 24hr monitor....thinks its stress/stimulants. But I still get them all the time 0 just now had a huge run and I am scared witless. I can't live like this, they come when I think I am relaxed and scare me and ruin my day....I am worried I have something wrong with my heart - can anyone help? Should I go back to the doctors? I don't have time, work hard etc... I just hate them, they feel so scary, not painful exactly but uncomfortable, slightly pinchy - help

Hello and welcome to the forum. Realize that when you feel that you're relaxed, parasympathetic activity is increased. The vagus nerve in this context, provides inappropriate parasympathetic stimulus to the heart.

A run of benign palpitations is not uncommon at all and is likely due to body position relative to activity at the level of the GI tract. Changes in body position often truncate the stimulus and the palpitations cease.

It's important for you to understand that this type of event has absolutely no ability to interfere with the normal function of the heart, although it may feel quite strange to you. The fear which arises most in people who suffer with palpitations of this type is that the heart is going to stop, or at the very least cause a cardiac event of some type.

By example, if you've ever experienced an eye twitch that seems to remain present for several hours, despite rubbing it, the nervous stimulation of the heart by the vagus nerve is quite similar. The effect is far more dramatic only because the heart is an extremely dynamic organ and muscle which is constantly in motion.

You're going to be just fine. You stated that your doctor mentioned stimulants. Realize that the effects of caffeinated beverages or food stuffs that contain caffeine such as chocolate, can be extremely dramatic and have a direct effect upon the onset and frequency of benign palpitations. Moderation or elimination altogether would be advisable if the palpitations are causing intense levels of discomfort.

Best regards and Good Health

you say you dont think its the caffine that affects you....can i just say,,, if u are a palp sufferer then do stay away from caffine it does affect you its impossible not to ,its a stimulant...switch to the decafe....tea is just as bad.... and chocolate I have had to give that up as when i ate choc i would get a run of mega fast beats for about  6  beats..... no choc, no beats xxx just try hun xxx

well if you had a defect they would tell even from a ecg without you havng any....  it can be hormones hun.... i think my latest run this yr is def stress after my sister was sat on the sofa next to my father in my other  sisters house and she just dropped  dead... wiv heart failure BUT she had a heart defect through self abuse and a desese she had which affected the valves of her heart....but of course i thik this is gonna happen to me..but her symptoms were different, breathlessnes and her lungs filling with fluid all the time, never ectopics! your subconcious mind does all sorts to your body regarding stress  xxx  you are stressing about your ectopics...thats why your here,,,, which causes more!

Experiencing a pinching sensation is a common complaint by patients suffering from benign palpitations. It does not represent anything problematic and it's important for you to realize that the anxiety induced by the palpitations is largely responsible for their persistence in many cases.

At some point, you'll have to move away from the notion that your symptoms are associated with some type of underlying heart problem and realize that they are being induced by merely parasympathetic stimulation. It's sort of the equivalent of a muscle spasm. Nothing more.

You'll be just fine. Take some time to better understand precisely how this type of palpitation occurs and it will help you to realize that no harm whatsoever can come to you as a consequence of their presence.

Best regards and Good Health

This is related to chest wall pain and does not constitute heart pain.

Again, your symptoms are not associated with heart disease of any type. It's important for you to begin to understand this concept.

Best regards and Good Health

That's reassuring RLR - this is a new symptom for me. So when do you know something sinister is going on? I just can't fathom how I can getting these everyday now, when they used to be less frequent - I can't rationalise how this increase in frequency can't be a sinister sign... thanks

Miss L