Quick ? anyone know - Heart Disorders Message Board

Ccarrie76 · 02-14-2006, 09:01 PM

When someone has skip beats or extra beats is that the same thing as atrial fibrillation? Or are those two different things? I have had skip and extra beats for about 10 years now and i was wondering if that meant I had Atail Fibrillation?

redbaron · 02-14-2006, 11:54 PM

In Atrial Fibrillation the atria quiver rather than beat as a unit, and the Ventricles can beat as high as 200 beats per minute due to the extra electrical discharges from the atria. So basically the extra or missed beat is nothing like Atrial Fibrillation, however in my case I had extra beats for 8 years and that gradually developed into Atrial Fibrillation 12 months ago.

Ccarrie76 · 02-15-2006, 10:56 AM

Thanks for the reply! Im sorry your turned into that, I hope mine doesnt! How many was you having a day before it turned into the other?

Timber · 02-15-2006, 03:16 PM

Skipped/extra heartbeats are definitely not the same thing as atrial fibrillation. It doesn't sound like you have a-fib.

redbaron · 02-16-2006, 12:11 AM

Hi Ccarrie, when my extra beats started I only had runs for an hour or so each week. A Holter Monitor picked up an 8 second burst of AFIB 3 years ago, and the AFIB has gradually replaced the extra beats and occurs for at least 12 hours a day. I now take Tambocor to keep my Heart in normal sinus rhythm. Very few people who have extra beats progress to AFIB, so I wouldn't be too concerned.