Actually, in studies of young healthy adults wearing ambulatory electrocardiograph equipment (i.e. Holter monitors), more than 25% of the subjects show multiple ectopic beats (usually singles, but other patterns too) during a 24-hr period. Presumably, triathletes would have similar results. The reason these abnormal beats don't show up on resting ECGs for most of us is because these recordings are for a discrete period of 1-minute or less and ectopic events in affected individuals were often separated by minutes in these studies. I'm not certain how many of these beats are actually sensed by the individual, but it's probably the minority unless some momentary mechanical change occurs like extra ventricular filling after a missed beat and a resultant larger pulse wave.

I'm not a human cardiologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. ;-)

I am aware of these studies. although the vast majority of people don't feel them. However, I was told that after a-fib you tend to feel your heartbeats more...I had two lone a-fib (with slow HR, but irregular) and no other symptoms (plenty of tests done, showed nothing at all)...but now I can feel every single ectopic beat....

I'm not sure I understand your post correctly, but I infer your condition is changing in a way, at the very least, that is uncomfortable physically and mentally. Atrial fibrillation produces an irregular heart rhythm sometimes with no pulse (pulse deficit) and sometimes with a large pulse. It really depends on the length of time between successful stimulations of the AV node. Like I said, I'm not a cardiologist, but your situation seems to be such that continuous ambulatory monitoring is indicated during which you can trigger an event marker and correlate life events (eating, sleeping, exercising, etc) with symptoms and ECG changes. On the other hand, this might be a very familiar situation to a cardiologist and not require any special monitoring to arrive at a diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment plan (if one is indicated). Good luck!

I had one afib in 2002, then an other in 2003. both vagally mediated. each time due to drinking something very cold, very fast, mildly dehydrated, after training.
thing got tested and understood, but now because of these I feel the ectopic beats more...nothing that worries me (did holter, echocardio, exercise echo, stress test, thyroid function check etc...all normal) but it's just annoying when I feel them...

was just wondering if anyone else gets these...

Hey old buddy, you getting those again? I remember last fall when I was having them alot it's very unnerving. My cardiologist suited me up with the holder and said get after it and lets see what your talking about. Mine were after hill repeats, during cool down after last hill. Turns out they were Vent. premature beats. Later during the 24hr period some Supervent. premature, SV couplets/triplets and one lone Vent. ectopic were picked up. I think the only ones I feel are the Vent. premis they are creepy when they hit during exersize because of the big "Thump" I get from them( it feels weird at 165-170bpm). I got them again in the spring after a month long layoff after pnuemonia which left me completely detrained. I went back to doc and he said, Some people get them once a year, a month, a day, every 3 years,,, its random and it could be brought on by foods, stress, etc... After I got back to training about a month they went away, now I only feel the occasional lone Thump! but its rare, I hope they don't come back! I take precautions because my granddad died at 36 from a heart attack, I have had stress test, echo, etc. all tests indicate heart is structurally sound, the only thing I don't know for sure is the plumbing, I pray that all this cardio and grape juice and lycopene is keeping it from clogging up!!! I know a girl at my gym that gets off treadmill and her heart will stick at like 180!!!! after she stops!! That poor girl has been to every heart Doc. in town and knowone can tell her what is going on!!! She was fit but scared to do any exersize because of her crazy heart. Have you read many studies on irregular heart beats in athletes?

Well, I am kind of lucky as I get these at rest never when exercising (except a few times after eating a bit too much, being aero on the bike or swimming...my stomach seems close to my heart and when it fills up it presses on the heart or something like that)...
For my holter, I think they only picked up PAC, no PVC. But as you know, it's freaking annoying. Also, if I am in full training swing after a few days, I don't feel any of them (so I guess I don't have any...).
Read lots of stuff about arrhythmias in athletes and it is VERY common...

actually, one of the girls in the US swim team (she is 16) she has a portable defibrillator next to her!!! she nearly fainted after one event (I think it was the 400IM).

Francois:

Good luck with that.

I lift weights with a 16 year old female rower who just had to quit all rowing because she passed out twice during hard 2K sets and did so once at the erg races. Very scary stuff (I was there one day when it happened.) They are sending her to Duke for a consult with a cardiologist because she may need a surgical procedure to "fix" the electrical connection to her heart.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

I get ectopic beats as well. I've been trying to figure out what brings them on but so far all I know so far is that if I don't get enough sleep for a couple days I'll get them all day long. It also seems to happen more if I haven't worked out.

Doctors have checked it out...nothing going on so I guess its just an annoyance I'll have to live with. They are pretty disruptive even though I'm used to them now.

OT

Sept 01 and finished IM UT and WI in 02...........if assuming its PSVT or something similar, I was told if it worked everything would be aok, it did and it is...............aside from the blood clot thing.

I have had two episodes of a few weeks of PAC's. I felt each one pretty convincingly. A few actually appeared on the EKG in my doctor's office. He sent me for an echo and an exercise stress test both of which were normal so it is probably benign. I was worried for a bit before I went to see him. I'm a medical resident but before the EKG I thought they were PVC's not PAC's. I only get these when REALLY REALLY anxious or maybe coffee, so I don't drink coffee, or coke anymore. Oh well.

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berndog
How did we all get sucked into this crazy sport anyway?!!

Yes, I believe it was premature ventricular contractions (?) or something like that. Now that I think about it, one of the swimmers on my daughter's swim team had the same problem and the same operation. She was passing out and they initially thought it was her asthma, but discovered the heart condition after she kept passing out on asthma meds.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

If it is PSVT and requires an ablation, I had one three years ago this month and have not had the same issues since. Occasionally I get funky readings on a HRM but I think thats interference where as before it was noticeable and I felt regularly like I was having panic attacks with high HRates but I have not had those since so I think it is cured.

The ablation was painless, 6 hours done as an outpatient, went in at 6am, left at 3pm and done at the hospital that pioneered it, Northwestern in Chicago......

Wow! Isn't that incredible? Twenty years ago they would have sent you home and told you to not do any heavy gardening but today you're an IRONMAN!

Nice story, too.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Acutally 13 years ago IF they chose to correct it, and that was a big IF then, they would crack you chest and it was basically open Heart surgery the way it was explained to me.

13 years later it's done with straws through arteries (slight exageration but you get what I mean)

I get what feels like skipped heart beats regularly at rest. I can feel them, but no big deal. I saw one on a scope once and it looked more like a little heart beat followed by a big one. I am sure my terminology is inaccurate.

I have always had these. I only get them, or at least only feel them when resting. After 40 years of these I finally went to a cardiologist to have it checked last year. He ignored them but did have me do a $1,000 stress test which was normal. Well, normal except for the fact that they are not used to having someone actually run on their treadmills in order to get their HR up.

My heart only wacked out once during exercise. That was a couple years ago during an otherwise ordinary bike workout. My HR went very high for the moderate intensity workout. I had to coast for a minute or so, the HR went back down, and I continued the workout without any problem. It was odd.

I'm 47 and been racing tris for 19 years. Had a pacemaker put in in July 1999 to control slow heart rate ( rate would drop to 25 to 30 while working at my desk/phone job, I'd get dizzy and sick to my stomach) and severe arrhytmias. I haven't really noticed it myself, but my wife says I've had much more energy since then, and rarely nap anymore. Had two A-fib incidents the first year after I got the PM that really freaked me out cause I didn't know what they were, and the emergency room doc didn't know either.

Chuck

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"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster"

ok...so I am not alone...feel better now :-)