Any Cardiologists here?

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Seemingly more in the winter, I sometimes get this empty tugging feeling inside.

I just had one of my vegetable smoothies that I had made yesterday, so was in the fridge cold.

After I ate it, not only was I getting the empty tugging feeling, I could feel my heart beat with my hand on my chest, quite slowly, maybe 50 beats a minute, quite powerfully so I could lie on my back and see my whole stomach lifting, but an odd beat, instead of daa, dumm.......da dumm, it was two beats the same, then a third different one, so, daa...daa........da and I could see my stomach rise with the first two beats, but rise in a different manner for the third beat, sort of off to the side slightly.

I also notice that when I get the empty tugging feeling, my stomach doesn't move at all so my heart had stopped for a second.

Should I be concerned?

I'm not a cardiologist - but I think you need to see a doctor IRL to get an answer to that question.

Do you get heartburn? I have a hiatus hernia and if I lie down after a meal the digesting food can cause my heart to have an irregular rhythm. If I open my mouth you can clearly hear my heart beating against my oesophagus.
See your doctor and mention hiatus hernias BUT take note that if you experience chest pain that does not disappear after 15 minutes you should seek medical help immediately!! !!

It does sound to me [I do have some medical knowledge/professional occupation] as though you may benefit from having a GI investigation. Just bear in mind any chest pain that doesn't go away needs attention sharpish but do see your doctor to put your mind at ease.

I get an irregular heartbeat from stress, it can skip several beats then thump loudly. I have also suffered Labyrinthitis in my time which caused my heart to stop when I moved my eyeballs.

I'm an anaesthesiologist and we have equal training in such things in Australia.

The heart is normally predictably rhythmic - that doesn't mean it's always the same. When you breathe in, the rate should increase slightly; when you breathe out fully, the pace will soon slow a bit. You will notice this change more if your heartbeat is generally slow - that is, slow when you are fit, or slow when you are resting. If your heart rate is usually less than 60, this difference in normal breathing is detectable easily.

HOWEVER it is completely possible that you have an arrhythmia. We on the forum cannot figure that out from here, but the way you described it to me sounded like "vagal stimulation" was a possibility. Go to the doctor and explain very precisely when your heartbeat is irregular. One possibility is atrial fibrillation, which can be brought on or made worse by cold and by lying down! Repeat, I cannot guarantee this diagnosis. Slow atrial fibrillation is usually not a big deal, until it gets really really slow and you feel dizzy. One way to diagnose the problem is to have a simple electronic monitor taped to your torso for 24hrs. Check out this webpage:

http://www.afibbers.org/victor2.html

Here is a small sample from that page:

"A. Vagal stimulation

For patients with VMAF, vagal stimulation can bring on or terminate episodes of AF.
This includes activities such as:

? bending down, sitting down, or lying down
? drinking cold water or eating cold food (e.g., popsicles, frozen yogurt)
? jumping into a cold swimming pool
? gas buildup in the stomach
? eating a heavy meal
? coughing hard
? alcohol ingestion
? straining with a bowel movement.

These activities are especially likely to bring on AF in late afternoon until early morning,
when vagal tone is predominant. So can vagal maneuvers (carotid sinus massage,
particularly when lying down, Valsalva maneuver (sitting, bending forward, and trying to
blow out), plunging face into a basin of ice water while holding breath for half a minute). "

Thank you for that Sydney, I used to Cycle race to national championship level and was measured as just entering the highest level of fitness on the scale by timing recovery from 200 heart beats a minute, though I havnt done cycle racing for years, it has left me fit for my age and I have always had a low heart beat, but reading the links you posted, does sound plausible.

How dangerous is it?, should I rush to my doctor or just see him soonish?

Cheers all