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What Could Cause Severe Anxiety After Diagnosis Of Extra Systoles?
Hi, I have been diagnosed by a cardiologist with extra systoles. I have had a few ecgs, holter monitor and an echocardiogram. Recently, they have increased and seem to be stronger when I am active. They are causing me severe anxiety and am constantly checking my pulse. I have read a lot about them an am concerned that the cause may be something more sinister.
Sat, 22 Feb 2014
Dear patient,
The first thing: take a deep breath and relax!!! Extrasystoles are benign, only harmful in patients with very deteriorated and weak hearts, or when the counts are excessive, more than 20 thousand per day; if you have none of those, then it is probably benign. You may feel a stronger heart beat after an extrasystole, but that is normal; after an ectopic beat, the heart makes a compensatory pause, and the next contraction is indeed more forceful to compensate the volume of blood for the pause.
Avoid caffeine, tobacco, stimulants and sleep deprivation. Regular exercise helps a great deal.
Hope this helps, wish you the best,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
Cardiology
The first thing: take a deep breath and relax!!! Extrasystoles are benign, only harmful in patients with very deteriorated and weak hearts, or when the counts are excessive, more than 20 thousand per day; if you have none of those, then it is probably benign. You may feel a stronger heart beat after an extrasystole, but that is normal; after an ectopic beat, the heart makes a compensatory pause, and the next contraction is indeed more forceful to compensate the volume of blood for the pause.
Avoid caffeine, tobacco, stimulants and sleep deprivation. Regular exercise helps a great deal.
Hope this helps, wish you the best,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
Cardiology
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