Anyone else ever have these?
Although I am 1000 years old (48 in actual years), during this last year I have felt my heart skip a beat every now and then. I can notice it when I'm going to sleep.
I went to the doc, but of course it wasn't skipping then. I had an echocardiogram and they told me they would call if anything was amiss, but that was a week ago. I have a holter monitor booked next month.
I ride over 13,000 km per year and do weekly club races, weekend centuries ect. The technician who did my echocardiogram asked if I ever was short of breath, had trouble going up the stairs, or how many blocks I could walk? I told her I am never short of breath and walking is no trouble. I'm 5'9 and 155 pounds and she said I was "kinda skinny" for these tests.
After some reading about this I am thinking this is something I may have to live with. Unless they phone back and tell me my heart is ruined.....

glad to see you have a sense of humor about this... so i'm not going to tell you you are okay or anything, for all i know you'll drop dead tomorrow..., but my heart drops more beats than Ringo Starr did in his prime (if he ever had one... IDK).

i just count the number of times it beats per day. if the daily tally is within 10 percent of the norm, i'm golden.

Happens to me quite often. Had all sorts of tests when I was younger in my 30's.). Dr's say it's common and not to worry but I still do. Don't care for the feeling at all.

I'm 59 and I've had them on and off for 20 years. I ride 4K a year as long as I do that at good pace (as in sweat really good...say at least 75% MHR (that's based on about a max HR of 174)) and ride year round..I keep them at bay. If I stop riding, get heavy, they'll come back. Not pretty. Mine seem to triggered by indigestion and some vagus nerve issues but exercise is the ticket. I avoid caffeine (well, I sorta avoid java), spicy foods, soft drinks, red wine, tomatoes, any acid food really, chocolate, ...anything that can lead to indigestion. Sounds boring but for me it means not dealing with them daily for 2-4 hours. As the doc said..."Well, what you have won't kill you but they'll scare you to half to death!". I recommend annual check ups.

I have palpatations - diagnosed as a benign rapid heartbeat normally induced by alcohol (though I've found that not getting a reality good night's sleep before a ride contributes to it as well.) I'm supposed to keep to one drink a day. Sadly I do not. It's my one vice but the more work I've done on improving and building cardiovascular conditioning and core and body strength, the less I notice it. I take magnesium citrate once a day as recommended by my cardiologist, and do not drink too much, if at all, a day or two of a longish ride.

I doubt that you have palpitations. I think you have a double heart beat like I do. The double beat is so close together that it seems as though it is one. My doctor who diagnosed it said it was quite common and not to worry about it. My cardiologist more recently did not seem at all concerned when I informed him of it.

It does seem strange to have the flutter in the chest, but I have gotten used to it. My first obvious manifestation was during a 300km randonnee. That was some 11 years ago, and I am still alive.

At some point, I decided my heart would persevere through the occasional palpitation or double beat or whatever. Because it always has. Knock on wood, lol. But here's my real point- getting OCD about your heart beating funny, will make your heart beat funny, and that's a very nasty feedback loop.

So I say, make your peace with yer God, pilgrim, and forget about the occasional thump in your chest. You'll know when your heart stops beating. Until then, fuggitaboutit.

I love the interview where they ask the other three about Ringo possibly being the best drummer in the world, and I think Paul replies, "We don't even think he's the best drummer in the Beatles!"

Yes, I get palpitations. Sometimes they go on for quite a while ... like 5-10 minutes ... and that feels really odd.
Yes, I have heart valve damage, and have had since I was 4 years old.
Yes, the palpitations and other irregularities do appear on the tests ... sometimes, not always.

I go for a series of heart tests about every 3-5 years, and on the recommendation of my cardiologist, I will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

I went through a series of heart tests this past December, including an echocardiogram and angiogram, and the results were good. The valve damage is evident, of course, but everything else seems fine.

And even with heart valve damage, I've raced for 3 years and have been a randonneur for 13.


Oh, and I'm experiencing them right now, as I type, but only for a few seconds at a time.

...like some of the others have told you, I've had a left sinus arrhythmia that
results in missed beats for my entire adult life. I'm 65, and so long as I stay in
reasonable physical condition, they are minimal.

It's not a big deal for me, and would be foolish for me to worry about it.

There are a lot of causes for arrhythmias, some less benign, so if it's intermittent and
does not repeat during an EKG, they have a monitor thingy you can borrow and wear for
a week, and when you feel it happening, you punch a button and it records you.

I forget the name, but your doctor's office will know it.

It obviously goes with saying that doctors should be visited, etc; also, there are different types of arrhythmia and palpitations, but.......

apart from the better-known causes and treatments, here is some lesser known info about arrhythmia:

Abdominal/diaphragm pressure, from eating huge meals, having reflux, being overweight, or just bending over and straining etc, can trigger arrhythmia through irritation of the vagus nerve.
Here's a long discussion about it, which includes some very interesting anecdotes:
https://forum.asktheneurologist.com/p...erve-t396.html
You'll find heaps more if you Google "arrhythmia vagus nerve gerd"

Also, check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roemheld_syndrome

Other people have stopped or improved their arrhythmia through supplementation and/or avoiding triggers. Supplements that are often touted as being beneficial include magnesium, iodine, iodine taurate, taurine, amino acids, potassium (low amounts) or by simply eating more protein (etc). Common alleged triggers include msg (both 621 and 635), aspartame, cinnamon, ginger, sulfite additives (the "200s"), natural glutamates, caffeine (of course), even gluten, etc, etc,

There are lots of interesting anecdotes about triggers and iodine on here, in the comments section under the less-than-complete initial blog entry at the top of the page, which I recommend skipping.
https://www.livingwithatrialfibrillat...ersonal-story/

Acetaldahyde, a byproduct of breaking down alcohol, and candida, can also trigger arrhythmias.
Google it; there's lots out there.

Anxiety/stress is said to be a cause. Mild anxiety could be a protein deficiency, due to low serotonin, via low levels of certain amino acids.
https://anxietyforum.net/forum/showth...red-my-Anxiety

Here's an interesting forum post about low serotonin, Roemheld and arrhythmia:
"In absence of heart disease, Roemheld's is typically caused by low GABA levels, low norepinephrine levels and/or low serotonin, and occasionally low acetylcholine. Levels of these neurotransmitters can be addressed with medication or by using natural means. This is why Amitriptyline (prescription) works, it elevates serotonin and norepinephrine activity."

Hmm, what else? Hypoglycemia?

dehydration, drugs, sleep apnea, lack of sleep......

https://stanfordhospital.org/cardiova.../external.html

They must have done an ECG 1st right?
They didn't just jump to the echo?
Like others have said-minor and even somewhat major palpitation episodes are common and usually not a big deal
I started having/noticing them in my early 20's-40 years ago-still have them
that funny occasionally un-nerving "bubbling feeling" in your chest-very occasionally on a long run folks can feel a bit lightheaded.
My suspicion is they MIGHT be more common in folks with low resting heart rates-like you folks.
Low heart rate means there is more time between beats for an aberrant cell or cells to "fire early" and trigger the entire heart
So folks with resting rate in the mid 50's might be more likely to have them than folks with a resting HR in high 70's-
Just an idea of course-if I looked I could find other folks had the same idea many years ago-
too obvious to be a new idea

In any case-I wouldn't be surprised to find that folks here notice them more than other aged matched older folks.
You get used to them.

I've got benign arrhythmia (extra beats) and palpitations. My cardiologist has limited me to two cups of coffee a day and to lose weight. I've only "felt" palpitations a few times since lowering my caffeine intake and that was always after a high caffeine day. I've also lost weight though I've had this for years and used to weigh much less. I've always been a huge coffee drinker, though.

Listen to your doc as YMMV as to causes and treatments.

Not sure what the question is. If the doc clears you you're probably good to go. There are some rare things that pop up. For example I know a 19 year old who played soccer for probably 10+ years had her heart stop - it was a genetic thing - and now has a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted near her collarbone. It would have been fatal had she not been at work and some paramedics not been nearby. She's outwardly healthy, active, fit, etc, but it's a genetic thing.

On the other hand a long time ago I had a bunch of ECGs done and I finally asked (a new to me) doctor why they were testing me so much. It ends up I have an "inverse T wave" - something goes backward. My doctor explained that any person unfamiliar with my medical history would assume that I was having a heart problem and, if I wasn't conscious (for example), they'd keep me under observation for a bit. He recommended carrying a small version of my ECG in my wallet. He laughed and said that if I wanted a day off or two I could walk into an ER rubbing my chest and not say a word. With RoadID I also have a wristband with that info on it.

The thing is that I've had ultrasound, the ECGs (10?), two nuclear stress tests (radioactive dye injected, I run, get HR up, and they take pictures of my heart), I'm sure I've missed something, and no one explained why.

In the end it's been a non-event, at least so far (I'm 2 years younger than the OP). The first sign of this was about 15 or 16 years ago (when I went through two ultrasounds measuring my heart). I'd been racing 15+ seasons at that point, been racing every season since, and it's all good.

I have no idea what will happen when I'm 80 but I'll find out when I get there.

For the OP I think it's the same thing. If the doc clears you then go ride, knowing there are others out there like you. Good luck, hopefully it's something like that.

1. Avoid getting medical advice over the internet. Not all palpitations are the same.
2. That said, based on what you wrote, it sounds harmless and most likely is occasional ectopic (premature) beats.
3. Any more questions? See your physician and refer back to rule number 1 above.

Glad to see I'm not alone with this. My heart doesn't race and I never feel light headed. Nothing like that. I feel a pause then a "thump" if that makes sense. Sometimes I can feel this in the throat if I'm lying down.
My resting heart rate is in the 40's and as mentioned above, if my HR is higher when I'm walking around at work I never feel them. But now that I think about it I do feel these more after some wine or rum. Or after a big meal.
I guess I will wait and see what the results are. They did an ECG at the same time as the echo. After reading all the above posts I think I will hammer out an hour on my trainer today. I raced weekly last summer after feeling this and I didn't drop dead.

Holter monitor is the gold standard for determining these beats, as they don't occur frequently enough to be caught on an ekg. They'll also ask you to keep a log (many people forget to do this tho) to record activities, feelings when you had the skipped beat. It can be caused by lots of things and can be located at different areas of the hears.

premature atrial contraction (PAC), premature ventricular contraction(pvc), etc etc.

The echo tech asked if you get short of breath as they'd document that on your history during the echo. The echo will tell how well your heart crontracts and if your valves are working correctly.

Right a very SLOW resting heart rate allows a stray muscle cell or two to fire "early"-trigger the rest of your heart to fire early-
in folks with more rapid resting HR-those stray firing cells-won't be noticed since they won't be very early or they will be nearly in sync with normal firing.
When you have an "early beat" frequently it will be followed by a longer than Normal pause-compensatory pause-
the PAUSE will allow MORE heart filling for the next beat-so it will be a "bigger more volume" beat
that extra volume might be the THUMP you feel
Usually docs will explain this -as a way to ease your mind-AFTER all the testing comes back"normal"
Might give you some advice-caffeine OTC meds sleep foods -sometimes it is helpful-usually it isn't.
Are you doing ANYTHING different-switch shifts-swilling energy drinks-quit energy drinks quit coffee -changed diet bigger volume meals-losing weight-later hours with new girlfriend boyfriend -kids keeping you up nights-new baby-new wife-longer commute- CO poisoning from "bad heater" venting-(winter)? happen only in a specific chair or only sitting??
ANYTHING DIFFERENT-is worth eyeballing-but usually nothing turns up-
ANYTHING DIFFERENT-check for venting gas heaters- carbon monoxide-but that is waaaaaay down the list
Usually there is no answer.

Slight aside-All heart muscle cells have the capacity to fire on their own-no nerve connection needed-
But muscle cells normal rate is probably around 30-40-(forget exactly what it is) so in folks with 75 resting rate-it is never an issue


Your doc-checking for "old MI or ongoing damage" by hunting for problems with wall movement-and ECG same story- but electrical


Now older folks-me-62-a low RR frequently isn't normal-it is a sign of heart disease age etc
Now younger folks-you-doing serious endurance training-different story.

"Palpitations" often refer to a rapid and/or quick irregular heart rhythm. "Skipped beats" often refer to a single albeit frequent "thump" you might experience.

Yesterday I had lots and lots of thumps. I was also sitting around, drinking coffee, and watching Dead Snow on Netflix.

Silly me.

I then did some HIIT on my trainer. It took a while for thumps to go away, but they did.