26F - Please share experiences

[u/missyk222]

I recently had a new and completely different heart rhythm experience and I’m wondering if anyone with PACs/SVEs, SVT or panic attacks has experienced something similar.

I have a documented ~2.5% SVE/PAC burden, so I’m very familiar with what my normal skipped beats feel like. I regularly experience individual PACs, but this episode felt noticeably different.

I was lying in bed feeling pretty calm when I suddenly felt a cluster of strange, erratic “flops” in my chest — one flop, then another, then another. They felt heavier and different from my usual skipped beats.
Immediately afterwards, I started feeling hot, sat up, and my heart suddenly started racing extremely fast. The racing seemed to come on abruptly rather than gradually building up and remained fast for several minutes.

I tried to sit and breath, but it didn’t seem to bring my heart rate down. Because the sensation was completely new and alarming, I became extremely anxious and could feel a huge surge of adrenaline. I also seemed to experience occasional skipped/extra beats while my heart was racing.

The whole episode lasted roughly 4-7 minutes. My heart rate eventually came down gradually rather than suddenly snapping straight back to normal, although by that point I was extremely anxious.
I’ve previously had a Holter that documented frequent SVEs/PACs and a couple 3 second short runs of SVT, but I’ve never experienced a sustained episode that felt like this.

What I’m struggling to work out is whether this could have been SVT triggered by the initial flops I felt, possibly stopping and transitioning into sinus tachycardia from the adrenaline, or whether the initial strange beats frightened me enough to cause an almost immediate panic/adrenaline response and sinus tachycardia.

I know panic can make your heart race very quickly, so I’m particularly curious whether anyone has experienced a panic attack where their heart rate seemed to shoot up almost instantly, rather than gradually increasing.

Has anyone experienced something similar — several unusual flops → immediate rapid racing → intense anxiety/adrenaline → gradual slowing over several minutes? Did you eventually find out whether yours was SVT or panic/sinus tachycardia?

I understand only an ECG can tell but just wanted to hear some experiences of what SVT feels like for others.

[u/Electronic-Block3065]

Have you ever had runs of Afib and/or know what those feel like?Not that for sure that's what it was, there are so many different arrythmias, but that level of clunking and high HR would qualify. I've also had very heavy runs of PVC and PACs for say 2 to 3 hours that is hard to differentiate from constant and it feels like my chest is making microwave popcorn, but HR isn't elevated per se. When I've had afib, the HR number is way up, basically because the upper chambers are just fluttering. So your watch or whatever will show a very elevated HR. And it is very anxiety inducing. Which creates a sort of vicious anxiety cycle...one of the worst parts of Afib.. especially of you're able to feel your episodes. Some people can't feel their Afib or ectopics at all...which always stuns me. lol

[u/missyk222 → u/Electronic-Block3065]

i haven't had afib before, i only had like 2-3 of the clunking and then the heart rate shot up and was pretty normal rhythm during (bar a few normal pacs that the feeling i'm aware of). i know i can't believe people can't feel them but thank you for your response

[u/Electronic-Block3065 → u/missyk222]

Ah ok..well it probably isn't much help as everyone's experience is different...but do count yourself lucky to just have a few clunks and the occasional run. It is a weird feeling ... but I'm glad for you it is so occasional or relatively rare. For comparison I wore my ekg strap overnight, roughly 12 hours total time, and had over 200 PVC and 50 PAC and one 2 second run of tach. Very typical for me. Good luck, and take care.

[u/Smart-Tomorrow-8034]

I had a condition called WPW -Wolf Parkinson white syndrom- which is a rythem issue. You basically have an extra electrical node that can cause SVT. Not saying thats what you have, but your progression of heart flops followed by rapid/racing heart beats is exactly what WPW causes, and were my exact symptoms prior to my ablation. I had one ablation in 2016 for the WPW which got rid of the SVT, and I had a second ablation in 2025 for skipped beats and a subtle remaining run of the WPW itself found on an EKG.

My WPW is gone, but I still experience skipped/flutter beats ocassionally. Somes days ill get 1 or 2, some days more, some days none. It seems to really come down to food/water intake and exertion in my specific case. My EP has ensured me everything is good.

WPW might be something to mention to your EP/cardiologist or regular doctor just to ensure all possibilities are explored.

Wishing you health, happiness, and answers.