Exercise and PVC's

[ScottH]

I am a 51-year old male. My entire life, I have experienced stress-induced PVC

[jkf]

Hi,
I also wake up about once a month feeling like I'm not breathing.  (sometimes gasping sometimes it just feels like I'm not breathing.  It is hard to explain). I think anxiety can cause this too.  It only lasts a second or two and my pulse is always normal but just a little fast.  Unfortunately I've never caught this episode on a holter.  I have PAT and PVC's.  I've mentioned it to my doctor however he didn't seem to worried about it.  I just wanted to let you know that there are probably a lot of people this happens to and it doesn't always mean something "BAD".  I'm  not a doctor, just my opinion.

[Jeff67]

ScottH, your post has generated some great discussion.  It is unfortunate that the moderator limits the number of responses for each question that is posted as this makes it difficult to continue interesting discussions.

I have been wondering, when doctors talk about a person having an insignificant increase in risk when they have VT in the setting of a "structurally normal" heart, does anyone know whether "structurally normal" includes the electrophysiology of the heart? I ask this because based upon my reading SVTs and VTs mostly occur due to extra pathways and a reentrant circuit and are rarely due to one area of the heart just firing repetitively.  Therefore, the structure may be normal, but the electrophysiological characteristics are not.  If it were not for these extra pathways people probably would not get the SVTs or VTs to start with, so I guess I kind of answered my own question. Any comments?

[Konopka1955]

Hi Scott,  I knew you didn't have 5 ICD's in at once - I should have written that better.  But even so to have had 5 different ICD's is quite process on you.  

I would ask for another lead - you must feel awful when your pulse gets down to 30's - I know when I had the meds without my pacemaker - I got down in the 40's and I could barely stay awake.  Office co-workers decided to call the Rescue Squad and get my pulse going again.   Well, I took one look at the paramedics and let me tell you my heart rate rose very quickly..  But, I certainly did not decline a ride to the ER with them !!!   All that happened on 12.5 mg of atenolol twice a day !!  Thank god I have a pacemaker - I'd hate to think what it would do without my minimum beats as I take mexiltene as well as atenolol..  

I thought if they programmed your pacemaker correctly you can get 'paced' out of your vt's and not get shocks if programmed according to your algorhythms.  I would think it might also keep you from passing out..

I think the newer ICD models come packed with 35 Joules - vs mine which is 31 Joules which was enough Joules to take me out of VT..  Too much if you ask me..  But it did work.  

If you don't mind my asking - what do you mean by 'zipper' and how does that correlate with VT's?  

Best
Marilyn (runner)

[Abeybaby]

Premature Ventricular Contractions

[Mantels]

What are PVC's?

[Mantels]

What are PVCs?