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What Causes Extra Heart Beat?
My heart sometimes adds an extra beat. I can feel it when it does and it makes my chest feel funny and makes me tired. It comes and goes. It just started doing it again a couple of weeks ago. It hasn't done it for about a couple of years now all of a sudden its back.
Tue, 18 Aug 2015
Hello. Thank you for your question and welcome to HCM. I carefully read your query.
This extra heart beat, with highest probability, is what we call extrasystole (a skipped heart beat). It is a premature heart beat that is generated from another area of the heart, not from the normal pacemaker of the heart. After this, there is a pause, as the heart "resets" and the next beat if more forceful and perceived from the individual experiencing it. This is called a palpitation. They can happen when you are tired, when you exerted vigorously, when you have had alcoholic beverages, and they can happen to anyone. In most of cases, they are totally benign. However, it is not a good sign if they happen often. Therefore, I would recommend you a 24-hour Holter rhythm monitor, to check how many times these phenomena happen throughout a day, and if they exceed the "normal" limit, proper treatment should be started. My opinion is that you should not hold back from everyday activity.
I hope I was helpful with my answer. Wish you a good health.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
This extra heart beat, with highest probability, is what we call extrasystole (a skipped heart beat). It is a premature heart beat that is generated from another area of the heart, not from the normal pacemaker of the heart. After this, there is a pause, as the heart "resets" and the next beat if more forceful and perceived from the individual experiencing it. This is called a palpitation. They can happen when you are tired, when you exerted vigorously, when you have had alcoholic beverages, and they can happen to anyone. In most of cases, they are totally benign. However, it is not a good sign if they happen often. Therefore, I would recommend you a 24-hour Holter rhythm monitor, to check how many times these phenomena happen throughout a day, and if they exceed the "normal" limit, proper treatment should be started. My opinion is that you should not hold back from everyday activity.
I hope I was helpful with my answer. Wish you a good health.
Best regards,
Dr. Meriton
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