first time posting so hope im doing ok .
Ive had so called ectopic beats for almost a year ,in november i had a 24 ect ,tredmill test,echo,ecg ,i was told i had a slight aortic valve leak but not to worry .these beats are every day now ,and im getting i period od anout 10 -20 secong in a row feeling like it ,really scared

I've read your posting and you need to take a breath and relax. You're not going to die. This particular type of disturbance is entirely benign and although frightening, has absolutely no capacity to actually harm you or place your life at risk of any kind.

Secondly, it's important to remember that the forum is not real-time interactive and it may be several days to a week or more before I'm able to respond.

You'll find a great deal of support here, but again it's not a real-time network.

Again, you're going to be fine. Whenever you feel as though your symptoms may have changed or that your concerns have increased, it's always important to at least make contact with your primary care physician or specialist to determine together whether direct evaluation is warranted. A health forum should never supplant direct care.

The tests described are sufficient to indicate that nothing is actually wrong with your heart and the palpitations are actually being caused by inappropriate stimulation of the vagus nerve, a common presentation in persons experiencing significant anxiety or even clinical depression. It is not a warning sign that something is wrong or that some type of cardiac event is imminent. You can sort of think of the palpitations in this instance as the equivalent of a muscle twitch that might occur elsewhere in the body, except in this case the muscle simply happens to be the heart. Even so, it does not prevent the heart from performing its functions and the palpitations are originating from outside, rather than inside, the heart itself.

You'll be fine. Try to relax.

Best regards,

Rutheford Rane, MD (ret.)