Skipped or extra beats question

Hi all I have a question I have been getting some PACs or PVCs the last couple of days and they only occur when a am laying back in the chair when I sit up or I am standing up I do not feel them at all and I check my Pauls sitting back and felt the extra beats and sat up and check my pulse and had felt totally fine and standing up also is there a reason for this has anyone experienced these only when laying back or laying flat on their back I don't understand it? My history is 40-year-old male have had two episodes of a fib in the last 10 years, not lasting more than one hour per episode self converting with dialtzem ,and have been doing the Potassium and magnesium routine for six months and feeling fine this is the first time I have started to feel any trouble with PACs or PVCs since starting the regimen has anyone else experienced this in these positions ?any type of feedback would be greatly appreciated thank you

I get the skipped beats also, and usually at rest when my HR is low. They seem to go away when I am slightly more active, like standing or walking. They also seem to come on after eating. I've found that about 500 mg of potassium gluconate in water makes them go away or significantly diminish. I just developed them last fall , I've been dealing with afib for about 8 years. I'm not sure if that means the afib is progressing, my number of episodes have stayed the same or diminished somewhat over the last year and a half while on the Strategy.
John

This old post on that subject may help you, or at least you might get a good laugh out of it.

[www.afibbers.org]

Also please look at the list of conference room titles for the one on the PACtamer, it is bound to be helpful.

PeggyM

I was put on an advanced event monitor for several weeks that was smart enough to sense an 'event' even whilst sleeping and record one minute of ICG before and after the sensed event. Or if I pushed the EVENT button on the event monitor. When the monitor filled up I simply downloaded by telephone (not cellular) to PACE and they went into my file.

In the end, the PAC's, PVC's and all the other goblins I thought I was having turned out to be skipped beats only. And they could be directly traced back to low Potassium levels and/or intake of salt. Nothing else.

I have worked to maintain my Potassium levels at the high end of normal and have eliminated salt intake in all forms as best I can. And guess what? No skipped beats. Let the Potassium drop... take in some salt.... guess what I get? Skipped beats.

I have been on TIKOSYN since Dec 2011 and in NSR; problem is that I am not sure how much longer I can tolerate the side effects of the TIKOSYN (balloon head, 'electricity' coursing through my body, trembles, etc. starting at about 5 a.m. and running to about 11 a.m. generally). It is certainly affecting the quality of my life and my performance. Funny thing is that on some days there are no side effects whatsoever. Wonder if anyone else on TIKOSYN has the same.

Anyway, nutrition and maintaining proper serum levels of Potassium, etc,., are critical to a calm and NSR heart.

Murray L

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Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

Murray,
I was placed on Tikosyn 3 years ago, but went back to Sotalol after about a month. I had the same symptoms as you. My hands shook so bad I couldn't even write , my insides felt like a bowl of jelly and I was jittery 24/7. I couldn't live like that so asked to be put back on Sotalol (Sotalol doesn't give me any side effects, but apparently is not fully effective either, because I had to have an ablation.)

Jean

Jean:
Thank you for that response. EXACTLY what folks on the board need to know.
1. We are each an experiment of ONE
2. TIKOSYN is not for everyone.

In my case I must avoid aFib sessions like the plague and remain in NSR to allow my left atrium to shrink to the point where my odds for a good ablation are somewhat substantial (At 60mm they were pretty much zip?). Anyway, one year and down to 54mm. I am heading back to see Dr. Verma in June and if I have hit the magic 50mm or less I am going for the ablation. My quality of life has been diminished by the "CURE". It has become almost as bad as the "AILMENT". Today not too bad but have been up since 4 a.m. so lots of time to dissipate. Normal morning I cling to the bed from 4-5a.m. until about 8 a.m. at which point I stumble downstairs, take my medication and sit on the couch until my head clears and I stop trembling.

BULLSEYE.

P.S. Many will mistake skipped beats for PVC, PACS or aFib. In my case, it has been skipped beats since starting TIKOSYN Dec 2011 but also NSR.

Murray L

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Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

I had been eating 3 oz of salmon every day...my LDL went up too high so I quit doing that. Guess what? My PVC's reduced from one every ten beats to at most one every 50-60.... go figure.

To people having ectopic problems I recommend going off of all supplements and see what happens. If your ectopics are reduced or eliminated, you've just learned something. You can always start adding the supplements back one at a time to find the culprit or culprits.

Tom,

This is really interesting. Why do you think it was the salmon that increased your LDL? It's so hard to figure out cause and effect. Was it the salmon (or something not naturally occurring in salmon) or was it just the ebb and flow of ectopics?


I think your idea about going off the supplements and seeing what happens if a good one. How long do you think it would take so see a difference if a supplement was to blame?

Hi,
Fish oil tends to increase LDL but also increase HDL (which is a good thing). I started eating salmon daily about 18 months ago, and was pleased with a 10 point increase of HDL, and a significant reduction of triglicerides. However, after about a year, my LDL continued to rise seemingly proportionate to the amount of fish I was consuming (I have a lipid panel done about every three months). Most experts say the increase in LDL from fish oil is not something to worry too much about, as the HDL level increase is more important in the scheme of things. However, in my case, the LDL levels were becoming unacceptable (they've always been somewhat high regardless of exercise or diet) - causing total cholesterol to rise to about 240. I have backed off the daily fish and now have added niacin to my diet to try to reduce the LDL levels. (even LDL levels are complicated...they are calculated from other blood element numbers and don't take into account large vs small particle types, which affect the true impact on health.) The whole cholesterol topic is becoming more controversial as different risk factors seemingly play a part beyond the numbers, such as red meat consumption, inflammation, and so on. Saturated fats are less the villain these days (at least with regard to heart issues) and the march goes on.... we're all carried along by divisive tribal mantras, it seems, and only time may tell which direction is the right one.

With regard to the salmon and ectopics...well, I've been though this before. If I took too many fish oil supplements (well within recommended amounts) I also had an increase in ectopics a couple of years ago. I've also had issues with ectopics from various supplements. We're all different in that respect, I think.

I read an interesting perspective on fish oil use, specifically the author noted that nearly all studies showing the benefits of fish oil were done for time periods of one year or less, and that a major study of a two year duration implied that long-term fish oil use was actually harmful. I usually don't pay much attention to the various "insightful" perspectives generated by different studies, but this one seemed to be in line with my problems with eating a lot of fish starting out at about 18 months or so.

I seem to get the most production in dealing with medical issues using the good old "trial and error" method and not take any expert's viewpoint as gospel. I've not seen anything yet to indicate we have a good understanding of complex biological processes.

Tom