Hi, Claude - Hopefully I can clarify some of the misconceptions on here. Under ordinary circumstances, when a person is at rest, there is very little variation in the time interval from one heartbeat to the next. Sometimes, the heart rate can become somewhat irregular. There are several reasons why this can happen including premature beats (which are almost always very benign),
heart block (sometimes benign, sometimes more problematic), and atrial
fibrillation (which can put patients at risk for strokes). As you can see, it is impossible to say whether your
irregular heart rate is dangerous without knowing which of these arrhythmias you may be having. The way to make the diagnosis is to check an EKG or, if your symptoms come and go, have you wear a
Holter monitor or event monitor to capture these episodes. I recommend that you see your doctor about this so that he/she can tell you whether the irregular heart rate needs to be addressed. Good luck!