[jayone]

Hi guys,

Sorry I've not been around, been a little busy recently.

I've had a free couple of weeks with only the odd one or 2 palps. Today I was sitting at my computer working (coding) and I had a nice bout to knock the life out of me.

I felt a flip flop. I ignored it. Then I felt as if I had a run of some sort, but it was light. I could feel it but it was more like a tickle.

Then I had some more hard palps. They felt as if they wouldn't stop for about a second. Like a machine gun feeling.

I've heard about VT and this scares me even more. Since my bout (about hour ago) I've not had any more, so I hope it stays that way.

I stayed up with a friend till 6am to watch the UFC and woke up at 12pm, so I have a feeling it's related to that.

Can anyone relate to this strange experience and relate to it? I need a nice warm community hug

** Sighs ** Why are we put on the earth to suffer these things

[poohbear2026]

Lack of sleep definitely affects mine. Along with hormones and diet. Hope you feel better soon.

[jkfrench]

It doesn't matter how long we have had these skips. 1 day or 10 years...when they start acting up we are right back at square one worrying that something really bad will happen this time. So don't be too hard on yourself. I know for me, I can go weeks with just feeling the few (10 or so ) a day. Then last week I started getting more and they were the kind that felt different. That drop feeling in the stomach. I am trying to NOT focus on them because I know that if my anxiety level goes up just even a small amount then that is all it takes to "feed" these PVC's. It can be a vicious cycle and it sucks. Sometimes just a phone call to the doctor's office helps too. Anything to keep the anxiety level down. GOod luck to you and yes lack of sleep always contributes to mine.
Jodie

[Jeff]

jayone - What is it about coding?

I swear some of the goofiest rhythms I've experienced have come while sitting in front of the computer, coding a website.

Yes, sleep affects me a lot. Over the years, as I've had tests and tracked my heart's behavior, I've come to realize that for me, lack of sleep affects me more than anything else. More than caffeine, alcohol..just about everything. Except maybe stress. Which leads to a lack of sleep.

Anyway - I'm not sure what to tell you other than I've felt the exact same things. A strange sensation, a tickle flippity-flop, then a couple hard beats where the heart feels like it's getting itself back into the right gear again.

For awhile I would wear a heart monitor while I did everything, so I could see what my heart rate was during that activity. And after a couple hours of coding, the alarm on the monitor went off! My HR had dropped to the low-mid 50's. I felt fine the entire time, though a little startled at the alarm, but I have to wonder if the slightly bradycardic heart rate while sitting there coding contributed to the skips, because if there's any easily excitable heart tissue in there, giving it a full second or more between beats seems like it's a perfect opportunity for my heart to skip a few beats.

If you're worried about NSVT or VT, go get some tests. Get it ruled out. Then you don't have to worry. I think the worrying at this stage is unnecessary, because you don't know if the skips are originating in the atria or the ventricles, and until you've had them identified in a somewhat real-time fashion, you really have no way of knowing, and it's more likely that this is a harmless rhythm issue, not a dangerous one.

[jayone]

Jeff I have to agree. Whilst coding I think I concentrate alot more, my breathing becomes very slow and my heart rate lowers. I think having a skip at a lower heart rate feels worse than having one at a normal heart rate.

I found this forum because someone write an article somewhere about PVC's and coding. I was asking Google one day about programming and PVC's. lol.

[COPD2]

Hey, Jeff, you said for a while you would wear a heart monitor while you did everything so you could see what your heart rate was during that activity.

Are you talking a scripted Holter type event monitor? Or is there some type of home heart monitor that one can buy?

[Jeff]

@COPD2 - it was just a Polar-type monitor you sometimes see people wearing when exercising. Chest strap that transmits to a wrist watch receiver.

[COPD2]

Thanks, Jeff. Not much help for someone sitting at a 'puter most of the day who has events they aren't even aware of then, eh?

[Jeff]

Not really, but I found it interesting and helpful just to check my rate at various points in the day, or if I felt something weird (the key there is being able to feel it), I could quickly glance at the watch (which showed each heartbeat as a flashing little heart icon) and see what was going on.

Those were also the days that when I went out running or walking I had my cell phone pre-dialed to 911 so I could react quickly if I was passing out...

Which I never did.

This stuff makes you do crazy things sometimes.

But it wasn't unusual for me to sit down to the computer and have a HR in the 80's, and then a couple hours later, it'd be down in the low 50's. And then I'd stretch or something and it'd jump back up to the 80's, then slowly settle into the 60's, high 50's, then low-mid 50's.

Knowledge is power, I guess. Or fuel for fear. Sometimes both.

[COPD2]

Eh, I prefer Knowledge is Power! (Keeping in mind a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous - *wicked grin*). To quote some famous person "There's nothing to fear but fear itself" - or some such.