Anxiety & Skipped Beats, PVCs & PACs

Who else has this crap?

Anyone else as sick of it as I am?

I do. Mentioned it on your other thread. My PVC's have pretty much resolved, or episodes are too brief to be obvious. Didn't even know I'd started having PAC's until they showed up in some testing. No symptoms. Sorry to hear yours are at a more troubling level.

I have (had?) afib. I had an ablation six months ago. I never had anxiety in my life until this condition popped up. It really beats you down. So do you have afib? I honestly can't keep the pvc's and the pacs straight. As I understand it, skipped beats are relatively benign (tell that to the person whose heart is jumping around). I hate drugs but after my ablation I asked for anti-anxiety meds because it's common for your heart to freak out for a while and I knew that I would suffer from anxiety. Happily in my case it wasn't too bad. My MO was to enter into an anxiety spiral, where fear of my heart racing into afib caused near panic and an elevated heart rate, which increased the anxiety. I decided that a drug to stop the spiral would be a good idea. then, if I could calm down and stop my heart from racing from anxiety, I would stop the meds.

I've never quite had to do this but I still think that it's a good strategy. anxiety feeds on itself.

Of course I have half a dozen self calming tactics, which are helpful. I've gotten better at this. But meditation, which everyone recommends, is worthless when you're heart is freaking out because when you're all calm and silent the only thing that you hear is...your heart. I do meditate daily however--but not when I have heart issues.

hegel wrote: So do you have afib?

Nope. I haven't had Apnea long enough to cause it.

The PVC's / PAC's I get I guess are way more mild; one or two a day, if that. But they really pack a punch when they happen. And I do have bad anxiety which makes it a vicious cycle.

A few years ago I was getting some weird heart beat stuff, plus anxiety attacks in the middle of the night (night sweats also), however with my PCP's help, I started taking moderate mineral supplements like calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus (Seriphos brand)... all good for the cardio/nervous system. Also I added lots of fresh vegetables. I subsequently upped my exercise level, cleaned up my diet and eventually managed leave those problems behind. I think my CPAP helped to stabilize my emotional response to stress, not to mention sleeping better. Naturally you should talk to your doctor about these things beforehand, especially about how much and what type of exercise will be safe for you to attempt. Cutting back or eliminating alcohol can also be helpful.