<prompt> If you are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patients description.Hi, may I answer your health queries right now ? Please type your query here... I went to the doctor because of skipped heart beats, only lasting a second, which causes me to cough. Just didnt feel right. At the office my blood pressure was 16992 which is 50 pts up for me, ekg turned out ok. He did chest xray and blood work. Waiting for results and appt. for echocardiogram. Heart feels like it beats a lot stronger.  <response>: Hello! Welcome and thank you for asking on Chat Doctor! I understand your concern and would explain that these skipped heart beats could be related to a cardiac arrhythmia. For this reason, I would recommend performing further tests: - a cardiac ultrasound- an ambulatory 24-48 hours ECG monitoring to examine your heart rhythm trends for a prolonged period of time-complete blood count for anemia-thyroid hormone levels for thyroid dysfunction - blood electrolytes for possible imbalance. You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues. Hope you will find this answer helpful! Kind regards, 