Posted by Quentin on September 2, 2007, at 7:29:43
In reply to Re: Skipping heartbeat - anxiety, meds or sinister?, posted by Jo U.K on January 12, 2007, at 4:17:21
This might be of interest. 10 weeks ago I statrted suffering from quite severe missed and irregular heartbeats for the first time in my life. I also had some chest tightness and breathlessness. I saw three doctors and had two ECGs over a period of a month, and they all said that it was benign ectopic heartbeats with no underlying heart disease, and that I should reduce the stress in my life. But things didn't get better, and I was getting very anxious. However, after a while I did notice that the ectopic beats came mostly after excercise or a short time after eating. I mentioned this to a consultant cardiologist colleague, who said that acid reflux from the stomach can give all these symptoms. The acid is released abnormally into the oesophagus, where it can lead to chest pain and breathlessness due to oesophgeal spasm, and this can influence the nerve supply to the heart, leading to ectopic beats. He recommended a week of stomach acid inhibitors (proton pump inhibitors called omeprasole). I took this for 7 days, and all symptoms disappeared, and 6 weeks later, have not come back at all. I feel perfectly healthy and have gone back to a normal life style.
I don't know how common or rare my condition was, or whether this is a frequent cause of ectopic beats, but it seems to me worth trying, as it had such a dramatic effect, has completely cured me, and I don't think omeprasole has any significan side effects. Maybe ask your doctor to prescribe you a course?
Good luck,
QS
poster:Quentin
thread:99207
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070831/msgs/780323.html