More PVC's than ever before...

[Terri58]

Thank you for creating this forum.  I know it is comforting to many. Heart arrhythmias are terrifying, as anyone who suffers from them knows.  In my case, I've had PVC's and a mild case of MVP for years.  However, I've NEVER had heart "palpitations" like those I've been experiencing in the past few weeks.  I'm 47 years old, nearly 48...and peri-menopausal...(not fun!)  I discovered that I was anemic a few months ago...blood count 9.8, so I started taking iron.  I noticed an increase in PVC's around that time, and was so tired.  Anyway, as my blood count went up, the PVC's increased instead of dissipated.  Finally, a week and a half ago, they turned into bigimeny, which I have never had before...and which scared me to pieces!  I ended up in the ER. Anyway, they did a CT to check for blood clots in my lungs, which was negative.  I had had a thyroid check and electrolytes the week before...all normal.  Well, my cardiologist seems to feel no sense of urgency in seeing me now.  I already had an appt. for May 4 (before the ER incident), and he refused to see me any sooner afterward.  I haven't seen him in six years, and the very first thing he wants to do is a stress echo test, without even doing an EKG or a holter monitor...or an exam.  I tried to see another doctor, but no one in town will see me without a referral, and certainly not sooner than May 4.  I have been very sendentary and exhausted with the anemia, and am afraid to do the stress test.  I just want to know what is causing my problem!!  Could it be hormonal? Is my doctor doing the right thing? Why a stress test?

[Cleveland Clinic]

Terri,

The health care system can certainly be terrifying, especially when you have unanswered questions.

A stress echo isnt a bad place to start when you are evaluatiing palpitations. It allows your physician to rule out both structural heart disease and ischemia as the underlying cause of your palpitations. In fact, if your exam is negative, your overall prognosis is quite good despite what ever would show up on a holter.  

If you have worries or concerns or things seem to be changing, you can always call your physician or seek care with the emergency department before your appointment.

good luck

[3dognewt]

Hi, sorry to answer before the dr, but please don't worry so much, I have tons of PVCs, I am female and in my early 50's . I've always had them, but about 2 years ago, they increased dramatically to every third beat being a pvc. this would go on for day and weeks at a time, then giving some relief for a few weeks, only to return with a vengence, scared the **** out of me. Last fall, I went through all the tests, 24 hour holter, 2 week holter, stress, echo, numerous ekgs and all the blood work they could dream up. My cardio said, don't worry, your heart is fine, yes you're getting a lot of them, but they arn't going to kill you. He said "sure you could drop dead tomorrow, but so could I, and if you did, it won't be from the pvcs, and it won't be because the pvcs turned into something else. They are just that pvcs, nothing more". So, as relieved as I was, I still kept getting them, but started to ignore them more and more, I find now I don't get them anywhere near as much. But I have also stopped checking my pulse and try to distract myself when I am having an episode. This works most of the time, although there are still times when I get really anxious, but those times are less now. Hope this helps. Take care.

[yellowrose]

hi, wanted you to know i can feel your pain. i have had pvc/pac since i was 23 never have they been a all day thing, until last nov, they are here every day most of the day. yes it scares you to death but my dr keeps telling me they not going kill me. i had a ecco done and ekg all was good i wore a heart montor for 30 days they saw them but said not nothing, i go in two weeks for a stress treadmill test which i failed a year ago, taking it again have had heart scan to all good so have to go with they are just here to give me a hard time. am 46 and been through menpause so not sure why mine are here and so bad , but try and be calm and know your not the only one going through this, i ask same question after all these years why now are they worse than ever but they tell me its just what they do . no reason. hope you have a better day today and try not stress makes them worse they say, mine are worse just because they feel like it . ok  hope dr gets back to you soon i need see answer to . barbara

[fearfactor]

Hi - I just wanted to tell you not to worry about the stress test.  They wouldn't let it go on if you were in any danger.   I hear that PVCs can get a lot worse around the menopausal time - I am SO not looking forward to that!  I hope that the doctor gives you some reassurance!

[dafan]

Just wanted to say that i was plagued with these also. I was on Toprol XL for over a yr with no relief. I had borderline hypertension 145/90's and now it is 115's/75. Not sure if there is a connection but in my case they have been almost nonexistant for almost a half yr. PVC's in my opinion im not a dr. occur for many different reasons some of which are unknown. I have to believe the drs when they say with a normal workup they are harmless(which i know is very hard to do from my own experience. I was having trigeminy and couplets i think and now they only occur maybe 10 15 times a day at most... i pray they will stay in that range. Good luck to all with them.... It might have taken the Toprol xl that long to help.

[Terri58]

I really appreciate everyone's comments...they do help so much... It is hard not to be scared, though, isn't it?  I hope going to the doctor will relieve me, at least for now.  I have been waiting for a week and a half, so hopefully I can stand it for three more days!!  Thank everyone for your kindness, and I hope all who contribute to this site will have relief soon.  Blessings...Terri

[tickertock]

It is my experience with PVCs that they wax and wane, disappear and reappear for no particular reason. I found that taking a beta blocker atenolol and a ARB losartan to help keep my B/P under control has worked wonders in regards to PVCs, they are almost non existent nowadays, dont know how long it will last, but enjoying it for now. Hope everyone gets relief soon. Take care.

[upbeat63]

One more post for reassurance, I hope. I too have had high frequency PVCs for 22 years now. Used to be 450pvcs/hr, now it's up to 1200+/hr. I'm perimenopause and would have to agree that hormone flucuations can cause havoc.

Even after a 48hr holter, ekgs, stress echo and a short course of toperol XL, the buggers are still here and for the most part unchanging. And the advice is still the same, benign PVCs. You'd think I'd "get" it by now. But until you've had them I don't think anyone can fully understand the feelings they cause.

I had a cardio appointment last week because my family GP couldn't really say how frequently I should be monitored (very "rare"-"rare" chance that cardiomyopathy "might" develop). The cardio didn't think I needed to be monitored at all, but then he also recommended a transthoracic echo because he says the stress echo only views the left ventrical and not right, and this would complete the picture. I don't know if that matters. He was exceptionally nice, but didn't have any thing more to offer. I think he hopes that a "complete picture" will make it better?? Hee, hee, if only it were that easy.

Hang in there, let us know how your appointment goes.

[nicoro]

I am so happy i read this thread.  I am 32 y/o F. about 10 pounds overweight non smoker.. But I too am plagued with PVC's... and i have the same fears.  But seeing all of your posts puts myu mind at ease.  I do have a ? though .. Can anyone tell  me the BEST way to deal with them without stressing out more? Any ideas would be great.  also can someone feel the palpitation in their chest but not their pulse.  IE: I had an episode where i felt it in my chest but i had just had one.. so my hand was still on my pulse and it did not change it was still steady strong and slow.  I range about 65-75 BPM. any insight would be great.  Sorry to zone in on someone elses thread .. thanks to all
~N

[dafan]

Hi. The only advice i can give you is to put your mind at ease would be to go to a cardiologist if you have not already so you can have any testing done that he may deem necessary to RULE OUT any type of problem that might be causing them. When the testing is completed and if you come back normal you MUST believe your Dr. I say this because it is still hard to believe your heart is normal when you are feeling these beats. I personally have struggled with it for going on 3 yrs. Thankfully, mine have all but stopped which i think is in response to Toprol XL although it may just be a cycle im in where im pvc free. I am 51 now and thinking back over the years i did have a few pvc here and there and did have the occassional fluttering that might last for 3 or 4 seconds. But when they started occurring every 4th or 5th beat all day i was at my wits end. So, in a nutshell there is hope that they MIGHT subside. I do understand what you are going thru. Good luck.

[nicoro]

Thank you.. I have seen a dr. they did EKG's blood work and a 24 hr. monitor all is fine.. i am just having a difficult time relaxing when it happens.. Just they feeling in my chest when it does happens is so scary.  thank you for setting my mind atease and i am glad to hear you are better

God Bless
~N

[jeff 67]

In this thread there are a lot of people with high frequency PVC's ... does anyone get many R on T PVC's?

[Barbarella]

My Cardiologist said the same what 3dognewt doctor told her.  I've been dealing with extreme PVC's off and on for over 40 yrs and I'm still alive.  At one time they were so bad after each meal that I was afraid to eat.  My Cardilogist said to me "let them skip, they will go away if they don't get your attention anymore".  I've them a LOT less now since I lost the fear of dropping dead from them. Sometimes low potassium can cause it and I make sure that I have enough potassium in my diet i.e. banana, raisins etc.  But for most PVC's there is NO cause.

[Terri58]

Well, I do think the fear is almost worse than the thing, itself.  Like this morning, for example, it doesn't seem like the way my heart is beating now can possibly keep me alive.  These bigeminy beats are so intense and unnatural--yet here I am, writing, obviously still breathing, too!  Possibly fear is the worst thing in the world...even more horrible than grief, and I've had a good deal of that, too.  At least with grief, there are a few blessed moments of peace when your mind tricks you into forgetting what has happened--or exhaustion, when you have cried so hard and long, that your body is limp and your mind blank.  But fear is relentless...never letting up for a moment.  It's like living with a monster all the time, and you never know when he's going to spring out of the closet or grab your ankles from under the bed. I am a very strong person who has survived a great deal...perhaps my coping mechanisms are worn out in places now. Even physical pain can be assuaged in increments--at least most kinds.  Well, I'm not a "poor me" sort of person, either, but lately I feel at such a loss at how to find a way to live peacefully with this heart arrhythmia.  Usually, I can laugh at anything...my sense of humor is my coping mechanism...but I'm having a hard time laughing lately... Anyway, thank you all for sharing your stories, and for your compassion.  It means a great deal...

[Barbarella]

I UNDERSTAND exactly how you feel.  I've been living with fear, anxiety and panic attacks for many yrs, and am still not cured 100%.  I'm the "what if" person i.e. "yeah, but what if I'm the person who will drop dead the next time I've severe PVC's".  Luckily I saw a Cardilogist who grabbed me by my shoulders and said "look at me, you've a healthy heart you will not drop dead from PVC's".  Some people take beta blockers for them.  I can't take them because my pulse is only 50, and when the ER gave me beta blockers at one time my pulse went down to 34, and I felt like ****.  The Cardiologist took me off beta blockers right away, and said I had to "live with the PVC's".  Hormonal changes as in menopause will make them worse.  I had them one time so bad like every second beat, and that lasted for a very long time, like weeks to no end.

Good luck!

[upbeat63]

Keep your sense of humour, it can sometimes be the very best medicine.

I too went through weeks and weeks, actually a couple of months of constant bigeminy then trigeminy. Even toperol xl didn't touch it (although I was only taking 25mg night and half that in the morning because of the fatigue, and maybe if I were on a higher dose it might have changed the PVCs, or maybe a longer course of treatment like the previous poster)....but my point is, after awhile, believe it or not, bi and trigeminy became very familiar to me. So much so that when I started having varible PVCs--one every 5 beats, or 10 beats or sometimes once in 15 or 20 regular beats I wondered what the heck was happening. I had on a few occassions thought that having 10 or 20 regular beats would be heaven but I had become so used to the constant bigeminy that the change freaked me out!! How ironic is that!

I have all but thrown up my hands in defeat. The cardio last week said there is basically nothing to be done about PVCs even extremely high frequency PVCs. He recommended a transthoracic echo, but my stress echo last year was "normal". So I think I'll use the TTE cost of $1040. and go on a mini vacation instead. ha

[upbeat63]

what is an R on T PVC?

[tickertock]

R on T PVCs as I understand are usually a benign phenomenon unless you have significant CAD. In general with PVCs this is not something to be necessarily worried about, sometime PACs conducted abberantly occurs early in the cycle but usually can be distinguished from R on T PVCs, though then can have the appearence of PVCs, this is only my understanding , I could be completely wrong. I am not a doctor. rely on your docs diagnosis.

[upbeat63]

oh oh, one more thing to worry about, ha ha, actually that's so technical I honestly don't have the brain cells this late in the day to grasp it.... I have no idea what type of PVCs I get except frequent unifocal, right ventricular with infrequent supraventricular episodes. Benign, benign, benign, benign, benign, hee hee hee, haw haw, if I couldn't laugh over it, I just might cry. :-))

I did ask the cardiologist last week to interpret that day's EKG and advise if any of the PVCs looked "ominous", were the pauses longer or shorter than they should be, would that contribute to my dizziness and he said "no they all looked like run of the mill PVCs". He said that unless the pause were so long, maybe 2 to 3 seconds, there is no significance in the length or sensation of them. REEEALLY!!?? Not to me.

I have given up, the information from the cardio 12 years ago was exactly the same as the cardio last week (only my frequency has changed). It just cost me another $499.20 to find that out. But it was a pleasant chat.

Connie, don't paint such an appealing picture of menopause, dropping falling, disappearing or shrinking, did I read? , ughhh, well at least I'll have something to take my mind off the PVCs for a change. Glad we installed air conditioning last summer because the night sweats can be icky.

[Momto3]

LOL!!  I don't want to spoil all the surprises you've got to look forward to.  Let's just say you will probably be very happy you installed a/c!  Despite the yukky stuff, peri-M is also "benign."  Now, where have I heard that before?  hahaha

Benign, benign, benign.....Here the rhythm of the music?  Just keep chanting.

I know it's tough to shell out the $ for those appointments, but the piece of mind can be invaluable. Now, it's time to plant some flowers and enjoy the beautiful weather : )

I'm going next week for my semi-annual checkup...I'm going to try and remember to ask about the difference between the stress echo and the regular echo (besides the #$@% treadmill).  Some people may think of it as the "DREADMILL." LOL

Have a great day!

[Momto3]

Let me join the bandwagon.  As a former high frequency pvc'er, I'm also here to tell you, they're essentially harmless.  

I just read Upbeat's comments about getting "used to" bigeminy, etc...and strangely enough, I had the same fear when the pvcs were LESS frequent.  I became so accustomed to my own hearts goofy rhythm, that when it was more normal, I was MORE aware!!  Weird, for sure.

We are nearly the same age, and I'm almost certain that hormones are a trigger!! I've always had a strange rhythm, but sometime around my late 30's, early 40's, I began to have significant increases in the number of palps!! Had tens of thousands everyday for years and I'm still here too : )

Perimenopaus - YEAH, NOT fun!!!  Everything I was used to CHANGED, grew, shrunk, didn't work, stressed me out....LOL.  This is temporary, I'm told.  Better be!!

Good luck with your doctor appointment.  Keep us posted and in the meantime, we're here.  Think of us as your personal cheerleaders!!  Feel better and smile : )

[arthur]

Feeling a odd pulsation in the chest while not feeling a skip in your pulse is not uncommon.  Some folks feel a vibration in the chest, and all the while the pulse goes on either completely normal or nearly so (maybe some PACs or PVCs).

Assuming you ruled out GI movements, muscular spasms in the chest wall, esophageal spasms and diaphragmatic flutter (your diaphragm twitching), then you are left with the heart muscle. Note that if you are particularly anxious and have been so for a while, it is possible to have that anxiety take the form of diaphragmatic flutter. If you are sensing the vibrational/twitching feeling dead center in the chest, and can feel it better when lying down on your back, then it may be a cardiac focus at work (probably located at the back of the heart).  This could be the same focus which leads to your occassional PVCs or PACs.  Some folks can feel it, most don't.  Why you might be feeling it is up for speculation, but the best answer I have obtained is that you could pick up the electrical noise of the focus by the nervous system surrounding the heart (a kind of cross talk).

Nothing to worry about, in my humble opinion.

-Arthur

[jeff 67]

An R on T PVC is one where the R part of the QRS of the PVC falls on the T wave of the beat prior to the PVC.  In other words, an R on T PVC occurs when you get a very premature PVC. I asked the question because sometimes my PVCs seem so early (the compensatory pause feels so long), that I have to think I am getting R on T PVC's.  In the literature R on T PVCs can lead to VT since the PVC occurs before the ventricles have completely repolarised (repolarisation is complete after the T ends).  I was curious because if people here are getting thousands of PVCs a day, then I was wondering whether they got many R on T PVCs.  I am really not sure what the prognosis these carry in a structurally normal heart.

[Fran71]

Hi jeff,
I think you shouldn't worry about this too much, and above all, if a cardio has not told you what type of PVC you have, don't try to infer it just by feeling your pulse.
My cardio said I have fusion PVCs, which occur very late in the cycle. But I do feel pauses. I'm not sure all my PVCs are fusion PVCs - my cardio told me so by looking at an ECG taken when I was also having bad sinus tachy. But what I mean is, the length of the pause may not tell you exactly what you're having.

My cardio told me by chance. Doctors usually don't tell us the type of PVC we're having, and just tell us they're harmless. so I guess it doesn't matter much. I think very premature PVCs may be a bit dangerous only  if you have CAD, but I'm not sure.

Fran

[Fran71]

Yeah like Upbeat says this is all so technical...the doctor at the ER thought I had PACs only. My cardio looked at the ECG and said I had PVCs. I asked him why the doc at the ER had said I had PACs and he replied that I was having fusion PVCs, which may look like PACs. When I asked him if it meant anything important he said absolutely not, so for me that was the end of it.
I love to know more but sometimes we end up being even more confused and maybe even scared...LOL

Thanks for the comment in the other thread about thyroid disease. I actualy like to know there may be a cause for my arrhythmia though that sure doesn't make it go away! I'm going through a fairly good period btw,like you. Hope it lasts for both of us!

Bye everyone
Fran