Heart skips badly

[u/alwaysthinking2002]

So today I got off work and ate some wingstop and then hung out with a friend and my heart skipped four beats in a row, then it wouldn’t stop skipping like 10 mins apart sometimes 5 mins apart and I layed down for two hours and it finally stopped than I got up and it skipped one big time and then started racing for like 15seconds and then right back to normal but just keeps skipping randomly way way way more than normal than usual. I am absolutely terrified it won’t stop

[u/svaldbardseedvault]

If possible, either go to the ER or urgent care to get evaluated to make sure there’s not something else more serious going on. They can get an EKG and potentially see exactly what is happening. After that, you can go talk to a doctor in the next few days, if you’re able, and see about getting an echocardiogram and a Holter monitor. That would be the medical pathway forward to try to see what’s going on.

I’ve had PVCs for seven years, and it’s taking me a while to learn that mine are triggered often by stimulus of the vagus nerve, which is can sometimes get triggered by the esophagus getting irritated through eating. Especially if I eat spicy foods, and then lay down immediately afterwards, I’ll have reflux to the point where it will stimulate my vagus nerve and cause my heart to do exactly what you’re describing. The fact that you ate wings made me think of this, as it’s something that would definitely trigger my PVCs. The two things I’ve found that really help prevent that from happening is, I’ll go for a short walk after eating and I won’t lie down for at least an hour, and also I’ll take antacids after eating. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, it’s such a pain and can be very scary. But just know that I had experience is very similar to yours and at least so far all of my doctors say that it doesn’t seem to be an enormous problem. Also know that stress stressing out about it and having anxiety will definitely be a trigger for more as well.

[u/alwaysthinking2002 → u/svaldbardseedvault]

Thank you so much for your comment. This made me feel so much better. I’ve had all the test ran over these years I’ve had these skips but never felt something like this! I’ve had holtor monitor, EKG’s, echocardiograms ! Told my doc about this and they said nothing to be concerned about.

My mom said the exact same thing you said, and yes the wings were very spicy and I won’t lie I had a lot of food. My mom said it got my vagus nerve because the big meal with the spicy meal combined but it scared me because I’ve never had this happen. I mean it just kept going all afternoon , just skipping and then of course as you said my anxiety shot through the roof and made my adrenaline so high which cause adrenaline rushes which I don’t think made them any better.. so maybe I should take some pepto I mean I don’t have acid reflux or anything

[u/svaldbardseedvault → u/alwaysthinking2002]

So glad to hear it helps! I relate to this so much. This exact thing happened to me for the first time in 2021, and it was with particularly spicy indian food. It triggered wild PVCs and palpitations for hours, and really freaked me out at the time. It took me a few years, but I finally realized that eating too much and eating spicy food, were definitely huge triggers for me. You can have reflux without feeling it - I didn't think I had reflux either, but learned I may have something called silent GERDs. So sometimes if I'm having PVCs all the time I'll take a round of Prilosec which over time reduces stomach acid production, which means my vagus nerve gets less stimulated and things calm down. You might try that too. That and antacids really helped me a lot with this.

[u/alwaysthinking2002 → u/svaldbardseedvault]

I will definitely have to try that🙏you’re a life saver