"skipped" Heart Beats From Standing To A Crouch

[EarthMother]

This isn't a new thing for me ... just annoying and fused with fear thoughts despite my best efforts over the years. My heart is fine. Like many here I got the occasional stint of PVCs. Seems to go away for months at a time and then they are a constent tap on the shoulder (with a caddle prod) for weeks on end ... so it seems.

This morning, I decided to hang some clothes and spent time with my hands over my head looking for empty clothes hangers. I didn't have my pulse meter on -- whereas normally I would have rested sooner, but I'm guessing I was 140+ whilst upright for the 3-4 minutes I was hunting for the "good hangers" Then I crouched down quickly to sort through the laundry basket that was on the floor of the closet. That's when it feels like a car backfiring in my chest.

I know this happens anytime I go from standing to a crouch. I imagine it has something to do with blood volume, or heart rate trying to slow down. But does anyone actually have a "technical" explanation on why this occurs? Or even a SWAG? ;-)

I remember my cardios explanation of why we feel the "skipper beats" (his term) and I understand that it is a premature beat followed by the heart filling up more with blood and the extra blood being pushed out .... yada yada yada. That makes sense. But why would the rapid crouch cause the heart to have more premature beats?

Thanks for thinking about this with me.

~EM

[firewatcher]

My WAG: A rapid crouch increases your chest pressure and pumps the blood very quickly into the chest cavity like a g-suit. I know I read this in one of the many articles we share about anti-syncope maneuvers. If I stay in a crouch, I grey out completely! (probably good that I am so near the floor at that point.)

[Maxine]

I have to go into a crouch when I get those weird flip flop heart beats.

Blood pooling is what I'm thinking of, and maybe if you crouch too quickly, or stay there too long it might cause the blood to flow back up to the heart too quickly.

The last time this happened to me when I was standing too long, and my heart flip flopped all over the place---(almost felt like it was being squeezed-----but no pain), I crouched and things went back to normal. However, once I crouched this particular time I had to go from full crouch to hands and knee position, as crouching seemed to help initially, but I was still feeling weird. I can't remember when I had the grey out----but it seemd like I was crouching.

These things happen so quickly, and it's hard to be in the moment when you feel like your heart is going to stop-----or fall into your gut.

I can relate, and this only happens to me every so often, but it scares the you know what out of me everytime. It messes with my mind.

Maxine :0)

[MomtoGiuliana]

I have also noticed this--bending over as well as crouching.

[bizbiz]

Same as MomtoGiuliana - bending over and crouching.

[Lizzegrl]

I actually did the same darn thing yesterday! Closet cleaning. I have no WAG but I also get it when I crouch and try to wash my hair under the tub faucet. It actually hurt last time I did it - mule kick feeling. Won't be doing that again soon. ;0)

Funny - with the arms up thing - I changed a lightbulb in the kitchen and had to stand on a chair. It took forever to get the fixture off, and as I stood there, I thought to myself - "this is a silly a** thing for a chick with POTS to do!". So, I took a rest, finished that one and called the super for the one in the other room..