Two weeks post Covid and getting some ectopic beats

My heart has been rock solid for 10 years after an ablation by Dr. natalie. I finished a bout of covid two weeks ago and I am noticing I am getting some ectopic or something. I did a few ECG's on my watch and notice that when looking at the length of blocks a typical series takes when I feel the ectopic if the normal took 5 blocks I would get a 4 block and then a six block then it would go back to 5 blocks again. Has anyone gotten this after having covid?

What do you mean by blocks? What are blocks?

Timing intervals in msec on an ECG readout. There is always a minor bit of variation in the R wave intervals, whether in AF or NSR, but the variability is readily apparent to the eye when in AF. However, the other necessary component in AF is the absence of the tiny vertical blip just prior to the QRS complex. This is the depolarization of the atrium and is called the P wave. If it's obviously there, it isn't AF. If it's missing, it's AF, possibly flutter.

If things don't settle down over the next month, I would ask for a Holter monitor and to wear it for several days. They do get in the way, but they do their stuff well, and the tale will be in the readout when they look at the archive.

I'm guessing your watch is using a normal ECG scale of 25 mm/s. With this scale, the large blocks would be 5/60 or 0.20 seconds long (the small dots would be 0.04 seconds). In heart rate terms 4 blocks would be a beat that is 0.8 seconds long or 75 BPM. 5 blocks would be 1.0 seconds long or 60 BPM. 6 blocks would be 1.2 seconds long or 50 BPM. If the watch ECG has the finer grid (each big block divided into 5 parts), you could fine tune these BPM numbers. Is this variability a one off or continuous repetition?

This is a one off and the a few minutes later another one. This is bringing back bad memories of when I had afib, I would always start out with a number of pacs and then slip into afib, fortunately I haven't had any afib with it and hoping it stays that way.

I would do what I could within reason to calm the heart down. Take some extra ubiquinol. Maybe some GLY-NAC, magnesium, potassium, colchicine and avoid any stimulants or toxins. Confirmed covid? Spike protein persists and there are several strategies to address spike protein.

[www.youtube.com] Watch several and decide what's right for you.

Oh, he meant boxes. I've never heard them referred to as blocks.

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KenH
My heart has been rock solid for 10 years after an ablation by Dr. natalie. I finished a bout of covid two weeks ago and I am noticing I am getting some ectopic or something. I did a few ECG's on my watch and notice that when looking at the length of blocks a typical series takes when I feel the ectopic if the normal took 5 blocks I would get a 4 block and then a six block then it would go back to 5 blocks again. Has anyone gotten this after having covid?

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KenH
This is a one off and the a few minutes later another one.

Visualizing this, it sounds like a single PAC followed by a compensatory beat. With what you describe, the "normal" beats at 5 blocks or boxes, is 60 BPM, the PAC beat is 4 blocks or boxes at 75 BPM, which is premature, but not very premature. Then the compensatory beat is 6 blocks or boxes at 50 BPM. Compensatory beats happen at the same point in time that they would have happened had there been no PAC beat. Here is an article on these compensatory pauses.

Moderator Shannon & I have chatted about this in the past and he says that Natale's team has seen some unusual rhythm things happening with COVID.

Here is a case report. "COVID-19 has been linked to atrial arrhythmias. Clinical course of atrial arrhythmias is unknown following recovery from the virus." [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]. The good news is that one of these every few minutes is not a large burden.

I was ablated by Dr Natale 8-6-21. Covid 12-29-21 til jan 8? Anyway i was rock solid til 2 wks after covid. Then a 2 hour afib. My only in over 2 yrs now. After that my rhr went to 78-82. 90-92 walking around. 2/16/22 back to Austin for watchman. Dr Natale said it was my autanomic nervous system that itd calm. It did 4-6 weeks later. Now im 58-62
Covid was the strangest illness ive ever had & im 70. Nothing is close and i wasn’t terribly sick. Fatigue dizziness vertigo strange dreams etc