u/Linkaara

Note: if the text looks AI-ish is because I used AI to organize my thoughts and clean typos TL;DR at the end..

I’m a 35-year-old male, and over the last 3 weeks I started noticing extrasystoles at a rate of approximately 2–3 per hour, after a stressfull day regarding the health of my dad. I’ve never experienced “hundreds” like some people describe — usually it’s just a random “bump” in my chest every now and then.

At first, they terrified me because I would suddenly feel a “skip,” pause, thump, or flutter in my chest. Sometimes I feel several during the day, and other times I can go hours without noticing anything.

I’ve never had any other physical symptoms alongside them.

What confuses me is that during exercise they almost completely disappear — either because they genuinely stop happening or because it becomes difficult to distinguish them from a naturally elevated heart rate during exercise. I’ve done fairly intense gym workouts (lower-body strength training, pushing myself hard, etc.), and during the workouts themselves I usually don’t feel them at all, only normal exertion. They tend to return later once my heart rate goes back to resting levels.

The first thing I did was go to the ER. They performed an electrocardiogram, and the doctor didn’t find anything concerning. She mainly noticed that I was extremely nervous and gave me something to calm me down.

A few days later, since I was still feeling them, I went to a cardiologist. My blood pressure and pulse readings have generally been normal (although my pulse was elevated because I was EXTREMELY nervous), and the cardiologist did not seem alarmed.

The cardiologist prescribed bisoprolol fumarate, 2.5 mg daily for a month. She told me that depending on how I felt, I could decide whether to get a Holter monitor. The problem is that I was so nervous during the appointment that I forgot to ask what exactly she meant by “depending on how I felt.” She mainly told me to take the medication, continue exercising as usual, and stay hydrated. I’ve been taking the pills for 5 days now.

At the same time, I went back to my psychiatrist, who prescribed 60 mg of duloxetine and 0.5 mg of risperidone daily.

I also struggle with significant anxiety, including generalized anxiety related to my mother getting cancer and losing my job last year — both happening around the same time. (My mother already recovered and I got a new, better job)

A few things that make me anxious:

• I still feel multiple extrasystoles during the day, sometimes around 2–4 per hour, sometimes nothing.
• I suddenly became aware of them after basically never noticing them before in my life.
• I worry about whether they are truly benign or if I could be missing something dangerous.

A few things that reassure me:

• They seem to disappear during exercise.
• I can exercise intensely without chest pain, fainting, or any weird symptom.
• My cardiologist was not overly concerned.
• My vitals are normal.

I’m considering asking for a Holter monitor mainly for peace of mind and to quantify how many PVCs/extrasystoles I’m actually having, although the test is expensive.

Objectively speaking, I feel fine. I just feel the random "bump" in my chest once in a while.

TL;DR: I recently started noticing extrasystoles/PVCs that scare me, mostly while at rest. They almost disappear during exercise, my cardiologist wasn’t alarmed, my vitals are normal, and I can train hard without symptoms. I’m wondering if others have had similar experiences and whether getting a Holter monitor is worthwhile for reassurance.

https://preview.redd.it/8v8pune2o72h1.png?width=1581&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0fcc38d359433b92a4cbfbe50b01bb73746c18f

Note: if the text looks AI-ish is because I used AI to organize my thoughts and clean typos TL;DR at the end..

I’m a 35-year-old male, and over the last 3 weeks I started noticing extrasystoles at a rate of approximately 2–3 per hour, after a stressfull day regarding the health of my dad. I’ve never experienced “hundreds” like some people describe — usually it’s just a random “bump” in my chest every now and then.

At first, they terrified me because I would suddenly feel a “skip,” pause, thump, or flutter in my chest. Sometimes I feel several during the day, and other times I can go hours without noticing anything.

I’ve never had any other physical symptoms alongside them.

What confuses me is that during exercise they almost completely disappear — either because they genuinely stop happening or because it becomes difficult to distinguish them from a naturally elevated heart rate during exercise. I’ve done fairly intense gym workouts (lower-body strength training, pushing myself hard, etc.), and during the workouts themselves I usually don’t feel them at all, only normal exertion. They tend to return later once my heart rate goes back to resting levels.

The first thing I did was go to the ER. They performed an electrocardiogram, and the doctor didn’t find anything concerning. She mainly noticed that I was extremely nervous and gave me something to calm me down.

A few days later, since I was still feeling them, I went to a cardiologist. My blood pressure and pulse readings have generally been normal (although my pulse was elevated because I was EXTREMELY nervous), and the cardiologist did not seem alarmed.

The cardiologist prescribed bisoprolol fumarate, 2.5 mg daily for a month. She told me that depending on how I felt, I could decide whether to get a Holter monitor. The problem is that I was so nervous during the appointment that I forgot to ask what exactly she meant by “depending on how I felt.” She mainly told me to take the medication, continue exercising as usual, and stay hydrated. I’ve been taking the pills for 5 days now.

At the same time, I went back to my psychiatrist, who prescribed 60 mg of duloxetine and 0.5 mg of risperidone daily.

I also struggle with significant anxiety, including generalized anxiety related to my mother getting cancer and losing my job last year — both happening around the same time. (My mother already recovered and I got a new, better job)

A few things that make me anxious:

• I still feel multiple extrasystoles during the day, sometimes around 2–4 per hour, sometimes nothing.
• I suddenly became aware of them after basically never noticing them before in my life.
• I worry about whether they are truly benign or if I could be missing something dangerous.

A few things that reassure me:

• They seem to disappear during exercise.
• I can exercise intensely without chest pain, fainting, or any weird symptom.
• My cardiologist was not overly concerned.
• My vitals are normal.

I’m considering asking for a Holter monitor mainly for peace of mind and to quantify how many PVCs/extrasystoles I’m actually having, although the test is expensive.

Objectively speaking, I feel fine. I just feel the random "bump" in my chest once in a while.

TL;DR: I recently started noticing extrasystoles/PVCs that scare me, mostly while at rest. They almost disappear during exercise, my cardiologist wasn’t alarmed, my vitals are normal, and I can train hard without symptoms. I’m wondering if others have had similar experiences and whether getting a Holter monitor is worthwhile for reassurance.