A Thank You from a PVC sufferer

I've been suffering from PVC's for about a decade (40 yo male, 6'2" 200#, in decent shape), and just discovered your website today.

All I can say is wow, what a blessing to find it.  To find so many other people working through their PVC issues, what the PVC's can sometimes turn into, recommendations for when ablation might be helpful.

For the sake of giving others another perspective from another PVC sufferer, I'll try to give all a brief history of my PVC issues.

I started having PVC's in 1999 - had my very first after chugging a Mountain Dew and then exercising.  Scared the bejesus out of me.  Had a stress test, Holter monitor, and as has always been the case for me, my heart never wants to perform when there's actually someone watching.  So all came back as normal.  

But as others have said here many times, it sure didn't feel normal.  

Over the next few years, during times of stress I'd have more, but they'd usually go away after a few weeks and I wouldn't have another for months.

Fast forward to 2005 - a growing family put increased demands on my time and stress in my life, to make sure I could provide for everyone.  At the end of the construction season (I own a small business) I was having anywhere from 1 every 30 seconds to one every 5 or 6 beats.  This lasted through the better part of 2006, with an average PVC day consisting of one every 30 seconds.  I got to the point where I knew the doctors said I was OK, but I still had fears that each day I left for work might be the day I drop dead.  There were days I estimated I had 10,000 PVC's in a day.  

One day while exercising (and wearing a sports heart rate monitor), I noticed that I had a PVC, then my heart rate jumped 50% on the ensuing beats.  Lasted for about 4-5 seconds, but again put what felt like a real fear of death in me.  I went to my family practice doctor who put me on a 48-hour Holter monitor, and also ordered an echocardiogram.  As fate would have it, I only had 8-10 PVC's for the entire period of the Holter.  The echo came back normal.

After tracking my PVC's for over two years via spreadsheet, it's become pretty clear to me that stress and anxiety are a big trigger for me.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm older, but I find the PVC's come on faster than they did when I was in my early 30's, but they also disappear more quickly.  But that may also be because I've gotten much better at analyzing whether stress has been building in my life.  It's something I'd suggest everyone do in some fashion.  Track what's been going on in your life recently, what's coming on the horizon (possible job loss?  moving?  holidays with in-laws?) and you might be able to greatly reduce your PVC frequency.  Just recognizing the kinds of things that caused a slow buildup of stress for me was so beneficial - both in eliminating those stressors, but just knowing what caused the stress and in turn caused the PVC's made a large portion of them go away.

I'd been worried lately about the short runs of tachycardia that occasionally followed a PVC, but reading other's notes here has reduced my worry load quite a bit.  I was not at all surprised to hear that some people were taking anti-anxiety meds to control their PVC's - I had often wondered whether that would work, and it appears that for many it does.  It gives me another avenue to pursue if my symptoms get worse.  (As yet I haven't taken a single medication since the PVC's started.)

Also good to know about magnesium - I may ask my doctor about that.

I'm also glad to hear about the many successes of ablations, though it sounds like ablation procedures for PVC's might be overkill.  But I'm not a big fan of lifelong medications - at least not if they have to start when I'm 40, so ablation sounds like a reasonable option if my symptoms worsen.

So thank you very much for all the wonderful insights and professional opinions for all the sufferers of this sometimes very scary condition.


This discussion is related to Skipped Beats, PVC's etc..

[jondsam]

I have thrown over 5000 PvC's a day for years now.  I have had all the tests and they came back normal and benign.  I will tell you this, having an ablation procedure, or a cath procedure is more risky than the PvC's are.  Unless you are having tons of couplets, triplets, V-tach, then there is no way a surgical procedure is for you.  I would try some anxiety meds as they helped me out a lot.  I still had the PvC's but they dont bother me mentally anymore..LOL

Best wishes

[Wisconsin2007]

Thanks for your reply, Jondsam - I read through some of your posts from a few years ago - I think you'd asked about R on T phenomenon back then.

I'm not even sure if I'm having couplets or triplets, but I know the Vtach happens very seldom (maybe 10 times in the last 2 years), and when it has happened, it's of very short duration (1-5 seconds).

Sorry to hear you've had that many PVC's over that long a duration (though I will admit that finding others here that have had as many or more PVC's in a day as I have I was very reassuring), but I'm glad you've come to terms with it.  

Thanks again for the reply, and for the words of wisdom.  
  

[oldie]

I had 20,000 PVCs while wearing a Holter. The doctor was not impressed but found something else - a long QT I think - and rushed me into ER to start me on amiodarone. This has kept my pulse enerringly at 60 for 18 months. Not even one PVC for a year now. But two months ago a thyroid problem was found with a TSH of 38. That has now been brought to normal by Levothyroxine adn I have been taken off amio for Propafenone. I await results....

[Wisconsin2007]

Thanks for the note, Oldie.

I didn't realize how high a TSH of 38 was until I looked up the results of a blood test I had a few months ago - glad you're getting that under control.  Reading up on amiodarone, it sounds like that may have been a potential cause.

It's so odd - I read the posts of people here with real worries about PVC's that occur once every 5 minutes and I remember being there, too.  I also remember thinking on my worst days "what I wouldn't give to only have 1 PVC every five minutes."  Then I read about people like yourself who've had double the PVC's I ever had on my worst day and I can't even imagine what it must feel like.  

Hope the new medications work to give you a nice, stable heart and thyroid.