heart skips a beat.

Skipped beats

by AgentX86 - 2021-05-30 19:04:16

Your cardiologist knows best but "skipped" beats are usually PVCs (Premature Ventricular Contractions).  If you don't have a high percentage of them (like 30% of heartbeats) they're not dangerous.  However, they may feel really crappy (DAMHIK) and worth dealing with just because the symptoms are bad enough.  Once in a while is nothing to worry about.  Almost everyone has them but most just ignore them.  We're more atuned to every knock in the night so tend to feel trivial things.

If these are PVCs, they're not really missed beats.  As noted above PVCs are really premature beats.  Beats that happen before the ventricles are full of blood.  The next beat may not feel right either because it comes at the normal time.  So, you may have one or two "weak" beats.  They're there but not felt like a normal beat and may be skipped by any heart rate monitor.

You should understand this stuff a little more.  It'll be easier to talk more at your cardiologists level, so he doesn't have to over-simplfy things.

Skipped beat/PVC

by Julros - 2021-05-31 09:44:23

I agree that you likely are having PVCs, many people have them. I saw my own last week when I was attached to a continuous 12 lead for a CAEP test. I cannot feel mine, but many people do. As you may know, the usual cardiac cycle is the atria contract, pushing blood to fill the ventricles, then the ventricles squeeze and push blood throughout the body. An early contraction doesn't have as much blood blood to push, but the the electrical system whether natural or implanted, resets the timing, so the next contraction is timed to the PVC, not the last typical beat. So there is a delay, allowing the ventricle to fill a little more, and produce a stronger pulsation. So if you are feeling your pulse, you don't feel the PVC, you will sense a pause and then a strong beat. 

Then again

by ROBO Pop - 2021-06-01 18:13:17

Then again sometimes a rose is a rose and skipped beat is a skipped beat. I enjoy PVCs and skipped beats just for the entertainment value and frankly (or shirley) can't tell the difference. 

Thank you for the info

by KF - 2021-06-14 13:17:49

I don't remember if he mentioned PVC's . When I leave,  everything turns into a blur. I heard the words, "don't worry" and thats what I remember. Fortunately, it was a minor occurrence and isolated. I do appreciate the scientific explanation; I now understand what happened. However, ROBO Pop's explanation is going to put a smile on my face if ever my BP monitor shows the "shaky heart symbol again". Thanks for your input.