Are PVC's /PAC's supposed to hurt a little or is it someting else?

[MistyEve]

1.) Do nice hot baths normally "bring on" or contribute to PVC's or PAC's? (On January 14th I had the first ever "painful" PVC/PAC in a hot bath - and it happened again the following day)

2.) But - on Monday morning - January 14th -- I started adding 50 mcgs of Selenium to my morning regimen of supplements that I take with my thyroid replacement medication. (Cal-mag; Vit C; Vit E; CoEnzymeQ10). (Selenium is supposed to help convert T4 thyroid hormone in the body to more readily usable T3 thyroid hormone). Do you think the Selenium could be a cause of the PVC's?  

3.) Are PVC's normally a bit painful? I asked that question on the Thyroid Forum and nearly everyone said they experienced frequent palpitations but not with pain. (I was SO glad to find this forum for that very reason). Again though -- the pain I experience only lasts for the duration of those few odd beats -- though the anxiety that I'm left with tends to keep me hyper sensitive to my heart beat for a long while afterwards.

4.) I've experienced palpitations before -- kind of a wonky feel to my heartbeat ... like a surge and then a pause ... and then kind of a jump in my chest and my heart either calms right down ... or it races for another few beats and then calms. Is this also a PVC/PAC? There's never been any pain involved in the past - even the temporarily.


Thank you sincerely for any insight you can offer ...

Nancy

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear Nancy,
I haven't had anyone else complain of an increase in PVCs during a hot bath.  Is it possible you were just more aware of your heartbeat during this quiet period?  Does it also happen with a hot shower?

Selenium on the other hand in an unapproved "supplement" that has poorly characterized effects on the hearts.  It is very possible this could increase palpitations.

Although everyone has PVCs to some degree not everyone experiences them the same.  Some people don't even know they are having them but for others each PVC is a painful and frightening experience.  Doctors don't have good explainations for why this occurs.  However we do treat individuals with uncomfortable PVCs with medications such as beta-blockers and antiarrhythmic drugs.  In some cases we will perform an ablation procedure to eliminate or decrease the PVCs.  

PVCs are followed by a compensatory pause and then a more forceful beat due to increased blood filling to the heart.  They may occur in association with sinus beats in a rhythm called bigeminy or trigeminy or may be single or multiple PVCs.  Various combinations of PVCs and sinus beats can feel very odd.  The only way to tell for sure what is happening is with an ECG.

[dailychaos]

Hi My Name is Nancy too, and like you I'm glad to find relief here.  I totally understand that once something unusual happens in regards to your heart how it becomes more of a focus and a wondering of "what's next?"  Logically I know that everything will be ok.  It's hard not to dwell on itthough.  Reading here every day since last week has helped.  This is all new to me.  The tiny flutterings I have been feeling swelled into a huge no relief episode that lasted several days.  I'm waiting for all the usual testing to be done, but every day I feel anxious while at the same time physically  better. This forum has been very educational!  Good luck to us all!  Nancy

[trusteeme]

I had Wolfe-Parkinson White syndrome (an extra electrical pathway in the heart that caused a bypass of the AV node resulting in heart rates of over 200 BPM) successfully ablated in 1995.

On August 31, 2000, I began experiencing about 2,000 PVCs/PACs daily and feared my WPW had returned.  It hadn't. After eliminating any underlying cause to the PVCs/PACs through holter, EKG, etc. I learned to live with them. After exactly one year of PVCs every 4-5 beats, they disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared!

The PVCs/PACs vanished completely for about 4 months but returned during a successful campaign for a local school board seat. After the election, they disappeared again, and have now returned after 5 months, but at a very decreased frequency.

As a stage performer, public speaker, and HONEST politician, I attribute my PVCs/PACs to stress - even though I don't feel "stressed". My electrophysiology cardio. also says the nerve endings in the heart can become ultra-sensitive to minute chemical changes in the blood, causing them to fire prematurely or "misfire". Over time, the nerve endings "heal" thus eliminating the PVCs/PACs.

Having lived with "heart-related stuff" for 47 years, the best advice I can give is 1) listen to your doc  2) eliminate unnecessary stress from your life   3) try not to worry about the benign PACs/PVCs - even though they are a pain in the neck.

This forum has been very reassuring - even to an old war horse like me with years of heart-related incidents.

[RobM]

I've just found this forum and already it's making me feel better.  I had my aortic valve replaced 4 months ago and one of the lasting side effects seems to be very pronounced PVCs.  Some of them are so painful that they stop me in my tracks or wake me up at night.  They have been dismissed by my cardiologist because of how common they're supposed to me, but that hasn't stopped me from being terrified every time they occur.  I'm now working on the (obvious) elimination of all caffene (sp?) and alcohol from my diet, but I also think work stress has contributed.  Now to try and get on a 4-day week!  Good luck to you all in dealing with this - I'll be sure to post any results from my recovery.

[sjr]

Having PVC's and PAC's in unquestionably frigtening.  In 1990 I had open heart surgery to remove a bypass tract in my heart.  (I was diagnosed with WPW at a Naval Academy Physical).  Since then PAC's and PVC's have come and gone without any true understanding of why they have started and stopped.  When one episode lasted for over 4 months I did start to question why this episode was going on much longer than normal.  It seems to be that stress and axiety play a critical role in the continuation of these symptoms.  Once I learned to relax a bit they started to subside.For anyone who is truly suffering mentaly from these conditions, it is understandable.  But take it from someone who has had a much worse condition, it won't kill you.  Try not to live in fear for that is the worst thing that can happen to you.  I highly recommend anyone who cannot get relief through resassurance from a good cardiologist to seek counseling.  All the best to all suffers of this very frigtening yet benign condition.

[Blessedx4]

hi trusteeme,
scrolling through the posts and came to yours. my 13 yr old daughter was recently diagnosed with wpw. she is scheduled for an ablation june 5, 2002. since you have been through this procedure, can you tell us what to expect? is it a painful recovery? did you have any complications? did you develope pvcs afterwars? dr. gillete, my daughters electophysiologist, is suppose to be an excellent physcian. that of course doesn't allievate my concern. it is scarey to think my daughters heart tissue will be ablated.

i appreciate your help!

blessedx4