PVC worries, Exercise intolerance??

[NurseKagome]

Dr.MD MJM,I am a 23yr old female,echo,stress test,echo,holter and blood work all normal as of 2+ yrs ago.I have not exercised adaquately in about 2.5yrs.I eat healthy and am a healthy weight for height.High HDL and LDL, good ratio.I wish to be more active since I want to get my confidence in my health back.I find during swimming I get a very high number of pvcs(pause and thuds)at the end of the pool after only one lap.I'd rest, they'd subside and then I'd go another lap and boom, another 5 mins of 10+ a min or more.I love swimming and this has halted my confidence in my heart health.My GP said to not exercise and do testing,I'm getting my thyroid checked(always been normal in past)in the mean time I feel so freaked that he would suggest to me not to exercise,it has been devestating since now I feel like I have a heart 'problem'.My cardiologist told me to not worry about any rhytms and to exercise and live, that I am fine(last year).Who do I listen to?I told my Cardio that I get a lot on exercise,yet the stress test he did,I had 0 and hr 198 reached.I tend to get them mostly swimming(just the breaststroke). Treadmill or walking I get a few.Also, I have noticed that the pause before the next beat of my heart had been 2-3 secs,it really feels like forever.It gives me a light head and SOB.What is bad is when I get a few in a minute, then by the time I'm almost catching my breath another one happens, thats the worst.Do these problems I have presented sound serious in your expert experience?What to do about the exercise?Whats with these longer pauses with PVCs? Thanks!

[Forum-M.D.-bkj]

Nurse,

While I haven't had an opportunity to review your full medical record, there is no indication from what you post that you have anything other than PVCs and a lot of anxiety in dealing with them.

In the setting of a normal cardiac workup, of which you've had more than what we would consider a normal workup, there is no significant adverse risk associated with PVCs. If your symptoms have changes, i would discuss it with your cardiologist. Overall, there should be no reason you shouldn't be exercising.

The pauses I would imagine are your sensation of of your palpitations which often fluctuate.

Again, if your symptoms have markedly changed, discuss it with your cardiologist.

good luck

[axg9504]

Nurse: do you get a clutching sensation in the throat when u have PVC's. Do you get really dizzy at some point during the exercise?

[NurseKagome]

I dont' get the throat sensation you discribed. I do however get dizzy sometimes, my legs feel super heavy and tired and I feel like my energy has been sucked out of me, I could go right to sleep. Then a while after it comes back. Isn't exercise suppost to give you energy???

[artskip]

I've had PVCs for most of my life.  In the last 10 years I've gone thru periods of freedom(no PVCs) and what seems like never ending PVCs.  Just recently, I have been getting them on exertion.  These are scarey cause with me just walking up a flight of stairs can bring them on.  The Doc's say there just PVCs and don't worry about them.  I find that 5mg's of inderal helps.  It dosen't work to prevent them, I have to take it during the attack and it settles them down.

[77PIP]

I was getting lots of pvcs every day for about 8 months they were driving me crazy then i was diagnosed with an eye condition which i found even more distressing,my mind became occupied with my eyes instead of my heart and the pvcs completeley disapeared the very day of the new diagnosis and never returned its been over 2 years now....could be a coincidence or is it possible we create our own heart skips by thinking and obsessing about them...try and get them out of your head best you can....whats that saying"to forget one love is to find another"...all the best to you all.

[jon o]

I have had major irregular beats, PVC's. PAC's, I have had SVT's which I have had three EP study/ablations and one EP study without ablation.  All irregular beats are uncomfortable to me, I sometimes feel as though my heart is going to stop.  I will say that there are days that my heart seems relatively normal but then are days that I think my heart beats more irregluar than regular.  After my last ablation it does seem that my PVC's. PAC's are less frequent, but it hasn't even been two weeks.  I feel your pain.

[george1355]

I have pvc's of all sorts (bigemini, tritgemini, nsvts, svts) pretty much all the time and they are totally bizarre when I pause in exercise.  When I am actually exercising my heart beat is completely normal (the only time actually) but as soon as I pause they start to go crazy and I have had several nurses in the cardio dept at hospital shoot each other very worried looks when they start going right off the paper printouts.

My cardiologist has seen all the data (actually kinda laughed at how bizarre it was) but he encourages me to excersise as much as possible unless other symptons begin to show up along with the whacko heartbeats.  He does suggest that I try warm down slowly rather than abruptly stopping and to avoid standing up too fast when recovering.

Good luck with yours...don't give them anymore panic or worry than they really need because tt just makes it worse.