Questions posted in the Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: Another PVC Question

Forum: The Heart Forum
Topic: Palpitation


I had posted here some time ago asking about PVC's. I have been diagnost
with PVC's and am currently taking Atenolol(50mg).I have another
question. Lately, as I have become more tuned with the workings of my
heart, I have noticed something interesting. My PVC's come in two distinct
parts. First the "flutter feeling" then the "strong beat". When the strong
beat occurs, I get a wierd pressure feeling in my head and around my eyes.
After a day of severe PVC's (around 5-10 a minute), I have a pretty serious
headache from the pressure. Is this anything to be worried about? Care to
speculate on the mechanisms that cause this?

Thank You.

Dear Eric,
The flutter feeling is most likely the premature beat itself and you sense this early beat as a fluttering;
the strong beat that you feel after that is most likely what is termed the compensatory beat. Because the flutter
beat is early there is not enough time for the heart to fill with the normal amount of blood, thus it tries to make
up for it in the next beat(thus the name compensatory beat) by creating a slight delay that allows for more filling of the
ventricle(main pumping chamber of the heart). In trying to compensate the heart also creates a more forceful contraction in order to
pump the extra blood out to the body hard and fast. It is believed(not known nor well studied)that this forceful compensatory beat is what causes the
sensation of pressure in the throat, chest, and or head in some patients (as you may know already some people have PVCs and feel nothing)
There is nothing for you to worry about except to be sure any new symptom such as headache is really coming from the multiple PVCs and not say a new medication that you are taking(either prescribed or over the counter.)
It appears therefore that in order to avoid headaches, you need to minimize
the occurence of the PVCs. One possible helpful hint is to also work at controlling stress in your life as well as removing any type of stimulant from your diet and or life that might cause your strong beats to be even stronger.
Also avoid dehydration as much as possible. The above is all speculation, as PVCs have never been investigated in a physioogic sense
mostly because this is a benign disease and no therapy is warranted in most cases. Let me end by saying that any new symptoms you might develop in your life should be discussed
with your physician and not attributed to your current diagnosis until an evaluation takes place. Information provided in the Heart Forum is intended for general informational purposes only,
actual diagnosis and treatment can only be made by your physician(s).



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