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Excitable cells

(jenevoldsen.com)
304 points johannes_ne | 1 comments | 28 Mar 25 13:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.201s | source
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eknkc ◴[01 Apr 25 14:19 UTC] No.43547077[source]▶
I have frequent ectopic beats that I feel as a flutter / heavy beat on my chest. The doc says it won't kill me but it is extremely uncomfortable at times. This has been a great material to learn about the inner workings of heart cells.

BTW Here's an ECG from my Apple Watch showing 3 such beats (you can't miss them): https://link.ekin.dev/l1Vc3Gdf

If you happen to have these, just get checked out by a cardiologist. They are almost always benign but the frequency / daily amount are reasons for concern.

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elric ◴[01 Apr 25 15:29 UTC] No.43547971[source]▶
Many (most?) people get ectopic beats, but the threshold for noticing them seems to differ. Being stressed/anxious makes them more noticeable. There's a self-reinforcing feedback loop: the more you notice them & worry about them, the easier you will notice them ...

The thing about arrhythmias is that they can only cause damage while they're happening, but ectopics are only a problem for a single beat, which is not going to impact your oxygenation or blood pressure or anything else. Even a bunch of them every day won't cause any damage.

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1. UncleOxidant ◴[01 Apr 25 16:40 UTC] No.43548844[source]▶
> Many (most?) people get ectopic beats, but the threshold for noticing them seems to differ.

This. Some of us have very high levels of proprioception. I can feel my pulse just by sitting quietly - I don't need to put my finger on my wrist to take it. Same with ectopic beats, I definitely feel them. And I find that there's a cycle to it - as you say there's a feedback loop: feel ectopic beat, become anxious, more ectopic beats, more anxious, etc. Then I have to try to actively forget about them. During those feedback times I'll have many ectopic beats / day (many per hour, even), but then some days later I'll realize I haven't had any for a while and I might go for weeks without noticing any.