Can stress cause ectopics

[annquinn]

If my cardiac anxiety cranks up my go to relaxation technique is listening to one of Dr Gupta’s videos . It helps me every time . Thankyou so so much from the bottom of my jumpy heart .

[robertdebenham]

I think for everyone commenting there is another 10 with this issue just reading the comments.
My ectopics increase inline with stress. They started from what i believe was burn out or almost adrenal fatigue. But it is very true once they start they can then cause stress about your health and the vicious cycle starts. Sometimes i can go months with out an issue and then suddenly it all starts again.

It's comforting that this Doc is so passionate and is reassuring so many people :)

[draymond]

Dr Gupta, you are performing an incredible service by posting these videos for people suffering from ectopic beats. Thank you so much !!

[ronaldisenberg]

Wish there were more people in this world like you to take your precious time for helping people with suffering God bless you young man. take care Thank you cheers from Canada.

[vegaslady]

Whenever I get scared and anxious I pull up one of your videos. Deep breathing and trying to be calm. Wish you were in California. Have a great day.

[walterstorm]

I'm surprised this only has 14K views! I am a low stress person and recently went through a divorce, and I didn't think I was as affected by it as I was. My ex (a self-righteous, holier than thou "christian") cheated on me with someone who worked for her (who was also "married"), and just when I thought I was over it, I started having PVCs to the point of bigeminy for hours at a time. My PCP caught a few of them on the ECG and they were textbook patterns. What is crazy is my healthy, 17yr old daughter also started having them a few months after me (without me ever telling her about mine)!! We both take magnesium now and I am on a beta blocker, and that has helped a lot. Learning more about this, taking care of our mental health, and ensuring our diet is full of variety has given us our life back! Thanks for putting this out there and helping random people like us!

[xLife]

Trust me... I don't know if Dr. Sanjay Gupta is really a genius or not but trust me he is the best in calming the patients like us... I am Anxiety patient from last 2 years now, initially I never had answers of my questions from many doctors. But after finding Dr. SANJAY and the way he let us understand... trust me once again, anxious mind calms down ready fast. Lots of love and respect to you Dr. ❤

[lindagemmell]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and helping with these debilitating symptoms. I've just had a heart monitor and scan for a racing heart and ectopic heart beats. I had a 10 minute consultation with a trainee heart consultant, but we only had time to discuss my symptoms. Your video explains everything I've been worried about. You are a saint! Thanks so much for your time and kindness. I'm on beta blockers now for anxiety due to the heart problems I have, and they have really helped.

[sarahdeal]

Thank you for your thorough review of this study! Boy could I relate to this and your suggestion that people who are anxious have an enhanced awareness. I remember getting pvcs every once in awhile throughout life, but I never knew what they were, and I ignored them and went on with life. Once they were diagnosed, I got more "paranoid" about them and now I feel like I get them every day or at least a few a week! I am addressing as many aspects as I can but also working on psychological pieces such as mindfulness meditation. Your videos are so validating and I learn so much - I REALLY wish you were my doctor! P.S. thank you for the shout out to cognitive behavioral therapy, I actually am a therapist and a big CBT proponent!

[lawranger]

Thank you for this post. Working as a First Responder, I've noticed more in the past two years of PVS. I've seen a Cardiologist and was told there is nothing wrong with my heart. But I kept getting PVC. In my line of work, removing stress is complex. But thank you, this video has helped remove some of the anxiety.

[hotrodray]

200 mg of magnesium citrate 2x day cured my heartbeat in about 2 weeks.
My cardiologist says my my beat is now "perfect".
I take it religiously.
70 white male.

[adrya]

thanks for all you do for us, you're an amazing person.

[YvisWorld]

The world need more doctors like you, Im so happy I find your videos.My mom has health anxiety with palpitation, ectopics since I can remember, she always counting her pulse.She is 74 years now so I always telling her why she is so afraid for them when she know she have it since 1960!I also have health anxiaty with ectopics since I was 14 years old, Im 54 now and Im still afraid when I getting them.I saw your videos and I finally understand that my anxiety is my enemy not the ectopics.I decided to change my life, better late and never:)so I will change my thinking path about my health.I dont drink alcohol, dont smoke dont even drink coffee and Im a vegetarian since I was 5 years old, my tests are always fine but I always check myself and I think that something is probably wrong with me:(This health anxiety and palpitation made 40 years of my life a hell but Im hoping to change it now.Thank you for your videos they really help💐💐💐💐💐🌺🌼🌷🌹

[momozoide]

So true!!!! I have much much more PVC when i am in a stressful environment or when i have to rush or do something that i don't want to do.

[henryleejr]

Extremely helpful, and thorough response. I have a good cardiologist, but he doesn't sit down and really explain things like this, which is of course exactly when people need. Doc, thanks for posting these, just finding your videos now but they are extremely helpful. In my case, I was someone who had no real noticeable anxiety until I reached around 40 years of age, and then suddenly one day had a heart rhythm disturbance out of nowhere that lasted for a few minutes, and subsided - it felt like my heart was beating randomly, dizzy, and a bit weak, but its so hard to know which symptoms came from the heart itself and which from the panic that immediately overwhelms you when this first happens. In the 5 years since, I have had hundreds of "single skipped beats" that I strongly feel (very tuned in to it), spread out. Probably no more than a 3-5 in a single bad day, and many weeks or months with none at all. During those 5 years, I have had a half dozen "extended" episodes, which were likely doubles, triples or quadruples of pvcs. I have worn a holter monitor, and more recently 5 days a Zio XT patch, but in all monitoring cases I have never been able to capture an extended event (more than a single skip), so I still cannot tell if it's afib, or ectopic.

It does correlate with stress (work stress especially as I manage a team of technologists), and also with low levels of testosterone. Caffeine (I love my morning coffee) exacerbates the odds of a palpitation, and having drank alcohol the night before also does. The ultimate recipe for likely palps is: stressful week of work, followed by social alcohol at night and a coffee the next morning.

One note that always surprises me ... my heart rate is very calm when these happen, before and after. I've checked my pulse (manually and with a device) many times right after these happen, and it can be as low as 58-68 bpm right after an episode, which has me feeling terror (so one would think it would spike my heart rate). I am not a marathon runner, but my blood pressure is 110/80, and I do exercise and go jogging. So i think the bradycardia rates I see in the high 50's at time are likely not an issue. But I do find it odd that I will feel out of nowhere flutters and flops for 1 to 5 seconds, and then a steady 58 bpm after that. Also, I always have an urge to cough when an episode starts. No idea if it helps or not, but almost always it works, just might be timing in that they were only going to last 2-3 ectopic beats anyway.


Lastly, years ago I investigated my testosterone levels with a doctor. They were extremely low (280) at the time. Anxiety is a top symptom of low T, so I worked with a doctor to take clomid, which raised my levels to normal, and my anxiety went away and my skipped beats reduced to almost none. The times I have had issues were the times where I tried to taper off of the treatment, and more recently when I ran out of my meds and tried to half my dose to space them out. I wonder if this whole issue is a cycle of low T, plus work stress constant, causing high anxiety, which triggers palps, which causes more anxiety.


So this short thank you post turned into a long-winded explanation of my symptoms and life. Apologies! Thanks again for all of your work and videos!

[clairhunderose]

How can we get this incredible man seen and awarded for his thoughtfulness and care for us all god bless you xxx

[joanschomburg]

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge with us! You are a wonderful blessing to many people!

[DerSpanier]

i agree... being stressed out and anxious/worried makes you definately more aware of any kind of symptom like in this case extrasystoles... thanks a lot Sanjay!! you are really comprehensive and get to explain everything sparkling clear!

[EstellaKirstine]

Does anyone feel like their pvc's are like a "shock" in the chest ?

[hannahotwa]

Thank you for excellent video ! Dr. Gupta, you are so special in many ways. Please keep educating us.👍❤️👍❤️👍❤️