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Palpitations, panic disorder, excercise
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MedHelp Member's Question

Palpitations, panic disorder, excercise

by Mommyplus6, Feb 12, 2002 12:00AM
I would like to know why it is during activity as simple as walking up the stairs makes pvc's and pac's more noticable?

Can you reccomend any books that deal with panic/pvc's..

I have had panic disorder many years...fast heart rate was a common complaint but in all my years I never noticed the skipping til one day I was ehausted and dehydrated..

I am getting better and have learned to ingore them..I still do tend to notice them after excercise.

I have just come to the conclusion I have probably had them but neve noticed them before.

I am managing panic/pvc's without medication but it is so hard when your heart is racing close to 160 bpm...(I did use xanax for 6 months but do not liek the way it makes me feel fater use  but did help the panic)

usually it is brought on by hypervigilance or misinterpretting normal body sensations..

I have had echo,ekg holter and all tell I have healthy heart...my bp is wonderful(110/65)normal resting pulse is around 75 and I am 28 year old female...

my bp does go up (160/100) but quickly recovers but my pulse takes longer to come down...is that typical....?

I just wanted to hear if you have any experience/theories on panic/pvc's and is it normal to feel more aware of pac's after/during excercise?

my pcd keeps pushing paxil and tells me I am doing this to myself....

thank you for taking the time...





Doctor's Answer

by CCF-M.D.-CRC, Feb 12, 2002 12:00AM
Dear mom,

Many PACs and PVCs are sensitive to adrenaline and increased sympathetic tone which are both increased with activity.  Therefore activity/exercise will increase these types of PACs and PVCs.  I don't know of any good books dealing with PVCs and anxiety but there certainly is a market out there.  Maybe one of our readers knows of one.   It is normal for pulse to rise more quickly then decrease, especially in someone who is not very fit. Paxil is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor that is actually quite helpful for panic and may decrease PACs/PVCs as well.
Member Comments (29)

by car, Feb 12, 2002 12:00AM
To: mommyplus6
Hi Mommyplus 6, I read your post and it sounds a lot like me.  Do you have actual skipping beats and pauses or is it just racing.  I suffer greatly with skipping and runs of PVC's and long pauses.



My doctor started me on Celexa and it has helped me greatly with my panic (which started when I was having the palpitations).  I am 40 years old and have had this since I was 23.  



Anyways just wondering if you have the skips and pauses as well as the racing.



C.

by alexawesome1, Feb 12, 2002 12:00AM
To: Mommyplu6 § Car
To Car: I was just wondering if you're PVC's/PAC's and pauses have gotten worse since the age of 23 or have remained the same.  I ask because I first got a run of a few at age 24, now 27 I still get a skip about 1 per week, sometimes a skip a day and sometimes nothing for a a few months.  They seemed worse at the beginning at a rate of a few a day.  My 24HR holter showed the longest pause of 2.4 seconds, rate of 38, the Cardio (3) told me it was because I was athletic most of my life.  Thanks, Alex... alex_dolgonos***@****



To Mommyplus6: I have personally found that during exercise or when my pulse is above rest, the occurance is very rare. During a stress test, my Cardio had told me that the PVC's (I couldn't feel any) decressed as the heart rate increased, he said because the timming of the beats are so fast, that there is less of a chance for a pause or a skip.  I could suggest a diet and exercise program that I think has helped myself in the last 3 years, I too went throught the whole "panic" thing. Good luck!  alex_dolgonos***@****

by car, Feb 12, 2002 12:00AM
To: alex
Hi, about your post.  My PVC's have definately gotten worse over the years.  I noticed the first one when I was really strung out at work one day and when in a major panic to my doctor.  She said that if it didn't happen alot that it was normal.



Well at age 29 when I had my first child, they really got bad.  I was having one to ten per hour.  I was terrified.  I went for a holter and it showed v-tach.  I think they caught a run of six they said.  Needless to say my life has never been the same.  I have lived in constant terror or these damn things and I have been for two EP studies (where they insert a long probe into your groin and lead it up to your heart to check electrical activity).  Anyways they could not find anything abnormal about my heart and say that I just have short runs of nonsustained v-tach.  This was controlling every aspect of my life to the point that I was not functioning properly at all.  I lived in constant terror or v-tach and that I was going to drop dead at any moment.



I was finally referred to a cardiac physcolgist and she has helped my immensely.  I take 10mg of celexa per day and it has calmed down me a lot.  I still get some PVC's (maybe 1 - 6 per day) but I don't let them control me anymore and don't fly into a major panic attack every time I feel them.



Sorry to ramble - I really didn't answer your question.  Anyways my PVC's did gradually get worse because of the way I was mentally letting them run my life.  



I now know that everytime that I get one that I am not going to drop dead on the spot (even though sometimes it feels like I will).  It was taken me at least 15 years to get my head straightned out but I am glad I am taking them better.



So if you feel yours are getting worse it is no doubt stress/anxiety.  I know that mine were definately worse from my constant tension/butterflies in my stomach.  I am kind of a high strung person anyways.



Carol

by nancyjo55, Feb 13, 2002 12:00AM
To: MOM
HI, I HAD SO MANY SYMPTOMS AOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, ALOT OF THEM HEART RELATED, SAME AS YOURS AND WENT THROUGH TESTS FOR 4 MONTHS. EVERYTHING WAS OK, BUT YET I HAD ALL THESE SYMTOMS. ONE DOCTOR, OUT OF ABOUT 8 , ALL SPECIALISTS, INSISTED I TRY BUSPAR FOR ANXIETEY. I WAS SO AGAINST ANYTHING FOR DEPRESSION. ALL DOCTORS SAID I HAD BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH EMTIONAL TRAUMA IN LAST YEAR, ALL MY SYMPTOMS COULD BE DUE TO THAT. I WOULD NOT HEAR OF IT, NOT ME, STRONG, MOTHER OF 4, HAVING GONE TROUGH LOTS OF BAD TOUGH TIMES........BUT AFTER A YEAR OF BEING SO SICK AND WEIRD HEART SYMPTOMS, SKIPPING, RACING, FLUTTERING, SHOCKING FEELINGS, I STARTED THE BUSPAR, BUT HAVE NEVER TAKEN A FULL DOSE, AND BY GOLLY, AFTER 2 WEEKS, MY HEART HAS NOT FLUTTERED, SKIPPED , NOTHING, SINCE. AND I ONLY TAKE, NOW 1/3 OF ONE PILL A YEAR LATEER. IT HAS NO BAD SIDE EFFECTS LIKE ANTI DEPRESANTS. NO DOPED UP FEELING, NO SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS, NOTHING. I TALKED TO 3 PHARMISISTS, AND CALLED THE HOT LINE ON BUSPAR PAMPLET AND TALKED TO THEIR DOCTOR ABOUT ALL MY CONCERNS. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU AT LEAST MENTION THIS DRUG TO YOUR DOCTOR. GOOD LUCK TO YOU. FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME IF YOU LIKE. NANCY  ***@****

by Radedaddym, Feb 13, 2002 12:00AM
I have been having these palpataions on and off for approximately 6 months.  They come mostly at night and they last for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, sometimes longer.  My heart rate remains around 6o, but it wakes me up and feels like my heart is flip flopping. Approximately two years ago I had an ablation  for A-Fib around 2 years ago and the rapid    a-Fib has gone away.  Just recently I have been experiencing these weird beats, usually in the late evening and late at night. They have place an event monitor on me this month and I have recorded consistant evening irregular beats.  They have termed these beats as PAC's. In the last few months I have stopped any caffiene intake and was started on 24mg of Atenolol. The medication has not stopped the arrythmias and I'am still having them at night. Sometimes they are really intense and they wake me up out of a solid sleep. Do you have any ideas on the etiology of these arrythmia's or another direction I could take to help elimanate these arrthmia"s

by MennieBeats, Feb 14, 2002 12:00AM
PHOBIA FREE – by Harold N. Levinson MD



Based on research with over 20,000 patients in the last 25 year, linking 90% of all phobias and panic attacks to a HIDDEN PHYSICAL PROBLEM, a damaged inner ear system.



*Most phobias are due to an easily diagnosable inner-ear dysfunction and not to emotional illness.

*Most inner-ear-based phobias respond favorably to a series of anti-motion sickness and related

medications.

* Most panic episodes are related to a similar underlying physical disorder and respond as favorably to

   these medications.

*Depression can often be directly linked to an inner-ear dysfunction.

by Jenifur, Feb 14, 2002 12:00AM
Hi,

I just found this message board, and am in tears. I though I was the only person going through this, and that noboday around me understands what it feels like when your heart feels like it stops and it takes your breath away..

I finally ended up in the E.R. the other day after I had 3 HUGE skips in a row, I panicked of course which i always do and my co-worker could tell something was very wrong. Anyway they put the 24 monitor on me, and I just had a echo today. I am 29 and had soemthing like this happen to me in my early 20's they said it was common in women my age they did the echo, stress test. holter monoitor and said everything seemed fine.

I dont know what all these tests are going to show by nature I am a VERY anxious person, my husband and I are talking about starting a family soon, but I'm afraid to with these...awful pvc's. They are terrible, and nobody knows how bad they feel until you have one, and I am sooooooo glad there are people there that know what it feels like. I just wanted to express my relief to see I am not alone....Thank you all.... :-))

by Mommyplus6, Feb 15, 2002 12:00AM
thank you Doctor...I appreciate your time...

I definately notice them more when active...and not always but some of the time it scares me right in to full blown panic attack...

I am looking in to all things....as all my tests have come back negative...

I am going to start watching my blood sugar as well...maybe its too low..it is always around 80...

they are frightening and it is of some comfort to know there are others...

by Mr. Know it all, Feb 16, 2002 12:00AM
You may have had an electrolyte depletion episode..as a result of sweating and suddenly noticing pvcs.  I suspect you suffer from magnesium