Answers to why it feels like my heart skips a beat then makes me cough?
Monday, April 14th, 2008BoostLikeWoa asked:
I have suffered from what you are talking about. I am a healthy 25 year old female and I have been through every battery of test you can imagine on my heart because of this. I used to feel like my heart stopped beating for a second and I would have to cough. It completely freaked me out and my husband and I had many a trip to the ER. Like a previous post, I wore a holter monitor, but felt that the irregular beat didn’t occur when I wore it. After all my tests and meeting with a cardiologist, I was diagnosed with having Premature atrial heart contractions. It is completely normal. Everyone gets them. It isn’t an extra beat, it is a “skipped” beat. Everyone has them but only about 50% of people can actually feel them when they happen. My cardiologist said no one knows why some people are more sensitive to feeling them and some others are not. She said I could take medication to keep them from happening, but the side effects wouldn’t be worth it. They don’t change your life expectancy and are not a risk. Some people get them only when they are stressed and some people get them every other heartbeat. It is sort of like your heart is re-seting itself, like an internal pace maker. It makes you feel like your heart skips a beat or has an extra beat and may make you cough as a reflex. Working out helps as does keeping stress levels and caffeine consumption down. I went for a long time after without having (or feeling) them until I got pregnant with my second child. My recommendation is to ask your doctor about it. It has given me a world of comfort because once you start having them and they scare you, the anxiety that is derived from having one makes you more likely to experience more of them. I hope this helps and gives you something to discuss with your respective doctors.
Question posted courtesy of: Fred
I have suffered from what you are talking about. I am a healthy 25 year old female and I have been through every battery of test you can imagine on my heart because of this. I used to feel like my heart stopped beating for a second and I would have to cough. It completely freaked me out and my husband and I had many a trip to the ER. Like a previous post, I wore a holter monitor, but felt that the irregular beat didn’t occur when I wore it. After all my tests and meeting with a cardiologist, I was diagnosed with having Premature atrial heart contractions. It is completely normal. Everyone gets them. It isn’t an extra beat, it is a “skipped” beat. Everyone has them but only about 50% of people can actually feel them when they happen. My cardiologist said no one knows why some people are more sensitive to feeling them and some others are not. She said I could take medication to keep them from happening, but the side effects wouldn’t be worth it. They don’t change your life expectancy and are not a risk. Some people get them only when they are stressed and some people get them every other heartbeat. It is sort of like your heart is re-seting itself, like an internal pace maker. It makes you feel like your heart skips a beat or has an extra beat and may make you cough as a reflex. Working out helps as does keeping stress levels and caffeine consumption down. I went for a long time after without having (or feeling) them until I got pregnant with my second child. My recommendation is to ask your doctor about it. It has given me a world of comfort because once you start having them and they scare you, the anxiety that is derived from having one makes you more likely to experience more of them. I hope this helps and gives you something to discuss with your respective doctors.
Question posted courtesy of: Fred
