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Heart Disease  (Expert Forum)
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frequent heart palpitations
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MedHelp Member's Question

frequent heart palpitations

by belinny, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM




I am 34 years old with a history of having heart palpitations since I was in my early teens.  My mother has them quite bad but has never been tested for it.  My grandmother now has a pacemaker that she totally depends on 100%.  I had my third child on July 13 and during the pregnancy they were the worst that they have ever been.  At Christmas last year I had them repeatly one after another after I had gone to bed.  I lost count in a half an hour that is how many that I was having.  I didn't faint and I wasn't short of breath but I did wonder if I should go to the emergency room.  On a good day I will still have them, sometimes 2-3 in a row.  They have been to the point where it seems to actually stop and I can count up to 2 or three before the next beat.  I am about 50lbs overweight but I am trying.  I have taken off 50lbs in the past two years.  I seem to be healthy as far as everything else goes.  I have had ekg and I did have a heart monitor put on for a day but that was years ago.  I was wondering if I should be tested again?  My doctor did tell me that he would test me again if it really bothers me but he doesn't think that it is anything to worry about.  I just wonder if this is going to steadily increase with my age and if I am going to have to worry about a pacemaker too.  My heart rate for the most part will run high (90-100)but after I had the baby it tends to run in the 60's for the most part.  Sometimes I have a tightness or heavy feeling around my throat and upper chest area but I have never fainted,been short of breath or had pain.  Thank you.
Doctor's Answer

by CCF-M.D.-MJM, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
Hi Belinny,



Sorry to hear you are struggling.  You are not alone -- I see people all the time with similar concerns.



I was wondering if I should be tested again?



I usually give the same advice your doctor gave you.  I would consider retesting if you are very concerned.  The reason I would retest is not because I am concerned.  We know that young people with normal hearts do very well with PVCs.  I would retest because sometimes people need the reassurance of normal test results to know they are doing ok.  If you think this will help, it is reasonable to pursue repeat tests.







I just wonder if this is going to steadily increase with my age and if I am going to have to worry about a pacemaker too.



There is no way to know the answer to whether your PVCs will increase over time.  I should also emphasize that I have never seen a study that PVCs are related to the need for pacemakers or conduction system disease.





I hope this answers your questions.  Good luck and thanks for posting.
Member Comments (25)

by ihatepvc's, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
To: Francie
Are you sure you are getting them in a row? Could it be every other beat and just feel like every beat? If you are indeed having several in a row, then it's considered tachycardia which is not a danger either with a normal heart according to my cardiologist.

by francie12, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
To: ihatepvc's
Thanks for your answer.  I can't really tell if it is every beat or every other beat--it feels fast--but either way I guess it's nothing to worry about.  Thanks again.

by anacyde, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
Hi!  Congrats on your new child!  I had another baby last December :)



Anyhow, I'm not a doctor, I'm just going to tell you my personal experience on this.  After both of my children were born, I had a low heart rate for a while.  It eventually came back up.  Right after delivery though, it was about 45 sitting up.



After both children were born, I had palpitations.  Much worse the second time, some coming a few in a row.  I got it checked out and it's still nothing.  They are improving with exercise and time, and relaxation techniques like yoga and tai chi.



They seem to run in families.  Almost every woman on my mother's side of the family has them (no one has pacemakers).  It is possible that your grandmother's pacemaker is for a rhythm entirely unrelated to the rhythm you're having.  If you're checking out fine, try not to worry unless you develop some strange new symptoms or something changes.



As for the chest tightness, I got that after each child was born, for me it was just muscles adapting to toting an armful of baby around, heh.  With normal testing, it is almost assuredly just the work hazards of motherhood ;)



Hope you feel better soon!

by anacyde, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
P.S. - if it makes you feel any better...as far as frequency goes, I was having as many was 40 in 30 minute timeframes.  And still, they were nothing my cardiologist or his associate were  concerned with.

by ihatepvc's, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
If you read up on several of these posts regarding pvc's, you will realize that you are not having as many as you think. Some of these people get thousands upon thousands per day, sometimes every other beat. I've had them for over twenty years and am finally learning to ignore them and accept that they are benign. Did you discuss taking medication for them with your doctor? That sometimes really helps. I take 20 mg's of Propranolol which usually stops them for about seven hours.

by fearfactor, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
I just had a baby on Aug. 31 by caesarean and noticed my HR is a lot lower than it was in pregnancy.  In the hospital it was running around 60 or so (maybe under the influence of meds that REALLY relaxed me!); it is now around 70-75 while it was running around 85 in the late stages of pregnancy.  Amazingly, I had few palps during my pregnancy but they are starting with a vengeance again.  I am trying to stay positive and hope that they will go away.  It's weird what hormones can do - I am sure they are responsible for what I'm going thru right now.

by francie12, Sep 16, 2006 12:00AM
Quickie question...when you have many pvc's in a row, 12+, is it still pvc's or do they call it something different?  Though my pvc's are seemingly less frequent now, I seem to be getting them in long runs and wonder if this is still A-OK.

by gismatrix, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
I hate PVCs just as much as the rest of you do.  Lately, when I get really anxious, I go into bigeminy and it takes a while for it to calm down and return to normal sinus rhythm.  I had two avnrt ablations this year (the latest on July 25th with "knock on wood" no SVT yet.  However, I get more pvcs than ever before and the bigeminy.  Is is possible that this bigeminy will go away with time assuming I can get the anxiety under control?  I also have peptic ulcers and GERD which exacerbates my pvcs.  Does anyone know if it is safe for me to exercise with this bigeminy happening and if it will potentially help lessen or eliminate the episodes?  Any insight is appreciated.



-Bill

by BRAZZY3, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
I need some answers Mr. Dr recently stopped my Coreg for 2nd time because I was having side effects crying & low libido.  1st time off I felt fine he did this one week off to see if symptoms improve then he did one week on to see if they came back.  This was after MUGA scan showed no weakness in heart & EF was up to 63%.  My dose was 6.25 2x daily.  After second removal two days later I was sleeping and felt heart racing I jumped up and yelled my husband's name.  He was startled...I took my pressure in both arms readings were 167/94 hr 99 & 157/80 hr 102 normally my pressure is much lower took reading few minutes later was normal but for the rest of the nite I could not sleep, I just felt weird in my chest.  Can PVC's cause such frightening feelings?  Was diagnosed w/DCM 2/24/06...

by Fran71, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
I wonder why so many people on this forum with PVCs also have SVT. Are the two related? PVCs are in the ventricles; what's the connection between them and supraventricular tachycardia? Just wondering.



by dmil241, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
To: Fran
There is no connection because supraventricular means "above the ventricals". SVT would be associated more with PACs. I think most people on this forum suffer from both and simply call them all PVCs. I know that some people say they can feel the differnce but personally I doubt it. I know people who have been hooked up to monitor swearing they are having numerous PVCs and they are actually having PACs. I believe and I may be wrong that you can only tell the difference by watching a monitor. I know that most people won't like this idea. It does not have anything to do with how hard the thud is because that is related to how full either the atrium or the ventrical has gotten prior to pumping the blood out.



by dmil241, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
To: fwilson
WOW...you really took a giant leap there! Yes-experiencing PVCs involves the hearts' conductionsystem BUT to say that it is diseased is NOT accurate. I don't think that ANY cardiologist or general family doctor would agree with what you wrote.



Conduction system disease is very serious. It involves bradyarrhythmias and AV block and things like that. PVCs are simply NOT in the same category no matter how upsetting they can be to experiecne!

by RHYTHMRN, Sep 17, 2006 12:00AM
To: gisaatrix and all
Hi,

I am kind of in the same boat.  I also had 2 ablations this year for AVNRT.  The last was 6/22/06.  I have not been the same since the ablation (Inappropriate Sinus Tach at first and now tons and tons of skipped beats - 24 hrs a day ).  I also have no tolerance for activity and become short of breath with minimal exertion. The skipped beats are causing me a lot of anxiety now and I am afraid to exercise