3000 PVCs in 24 hrs

  I recently had a holter monitor evaluation and was found to have approximately  3000 PVCs within a twenty-four hour period with some bigeminy. It seems to be worse at night. I had an echocardiogram done and all was  normal except for the PVCs. I was told that the PVCs were benign and it was something I would have to live with. I am 28 years old, in school full time. have 2 children and work on a PRN basis. It seems to me that the PVCs are too excessive to be normal. They drive me crazy because I can feel almost every single one. I do feel lightheaded sometimes, but it is not a frequently occuring thing, about every 2-3 weeks. Also I could swear that all of this began after the birth of my second child 1 year ago. The other symptom I am havinf is pain below my left breast and sometimes in my arm pit, but it does not last very long. I also get a tightness in the same area under my left breast in the rib area when I jog sometimes. Could this pain be related to my heart? I was told by an ENT that the pain I was having could be related to TMJ which I do have. It seems crazy!! I am going in for a stress test in a few weeks but the cardiologist who has a great reputation has told me that this is not a life threatening situation. I just can't stop thinking about all of those PVCs and how it doesn't seem logical that they are not a problem. Is there specific number of PVCs that are considered normal, and a number that are considered dangerous? Could all of these PVCs cause me to have a heart attack?  Erin

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Dear Erin,
Topic Area: Palpitation
Thank you for your question.  I have addressed your specific concerns below and attached a more general discussion below.
Q: Is there specific number of PVCs that are considered normal, and a number that are considered dangerous?
A: There is no "cutoff" point at which PVC