PVCS....PVCS and more PVCS!!!

Hi everyone. I just need some reassurance. I am having a lot of PVCs at the moment and it's really starting to worry me no :(
I was having about 10 a day but for the past few days i have started having about 100. I am so afraid because they have suddenly increased without any reason.
I also had a run of them...about 4 pvcs in a row with no normal beat in between. I was checking out some messages on another heart forum and i read that 4 pvcs in a row can be dangerous. Why am i having so many now??

[massage therapy]

hi friend!
sorry to hear you're having such a bad run! but, ya know....i've been there, and it can be for no rhyme or reason. sometimes higher stress levels or hormones around the time of ovulation or menstration, and sometimes it's for no discernable reason at all!

my heart's been pretty jumpy lately, too. yuck.
hang tough!

and don't worry about any 4 pvc's in a row. i've sat through about 10 straight minutes of the things, and aside from discomfort and anxiety, nothing doing!

i'm sending you good thoughts!

[tickertock]

Man you got to stop worrying, 100 PVCs a day is nothing, of I course I agree that when you fell them it's distressing and annoying, but you have to get past that, I used to have PVCs in the 1000s daily for months at a time, luckily I dont have them much anymore, probably 50 a month that i feel or even less.I had a 5 beat PVC run with no normal beats in between in 1987, just about 20 years ago, I'm now 42 male, the EP i seen back then was rated one the best, I was told not worry about it, I had a normal heart, apparently he was right or I'd bit the dust long time ago. While I can surely sympathize with you & what you're going through, a 4 beat run of PVCs in normal heart has no more significance or adverse prognosis than that of isolated PVCs. Be careful what you read on the net, it will scare u half to death!!!

[Momto3]

I agree with tickertock....you're going to make yourself sick with worry!!  Four (4) pvcs in a row is not a big deal. Remember, in a normal heart, a run of pvcs is no more significant than a single pvc.

I know pvcs are frustrating.  But, they are not going to kill you.  I've had pvcs for 25 years, singles, couplets, triplets, salvos, bigeminy, you name it....and I'll probably always have them.  Some days/weeks/months/years are better; others are worse.  Have you thought about what it would take to convince you that you are fine?  Maybe therein lies relief for you.  Take care and relax.  You're fine : )

[bama jane]

I have gotten at least 100 a day for seven years and tachycardia and other rhythm problems.  It feels awful for sure but try to take some comfort in the fact that so many people on this forum have that many a day and much more and have had them for a long time and are sitll around.  I know how it is to have to deal with them, i hope you feel better.

[juniorfan32]

I feel your pain.  My PVCs come and go as they please with no rhyme or reason.  I got off atenolol for my stress test and I haven't had a PVC since.  My blood pressure is also better.  Who knows why.  Try to keep living life which can be difficult.  I find if I keep myself busy doing fun things or work I don't notice as much.  Go for a walk sometimes that helps too.  Good luck and know that many of us are in the same boat.  We all have good days and bad days.

[sb786]

Thank you. I don't know whats wrong with me at the moment. I guess i'm still trying to get used to these things...
One of the reasons i freaked out is because i read a post by a lady on another heart forum who claims that more than one pvc at a time like couplets triplets etc indicates something dangerous. She also said that if you experience a sudden increase in pvcs it should be checked out again as something is not right!
I'm just going crazy with these things. Perhaps its just me but didn't anyone else get concerned when they started having these pvcs suddenly one day?

What annoys me the most is that other than my cardiologist no-one else has told me that they are benign. My own doctor told me that it isn't normal to get so many. A nurse in A&E told me that it would be normal if i got 1 or 2 but 100 a day is not right!!!

[Waldem]

These things are hard to get used to. I was very concerned when I began to experience them with great frequency, and am still uneasy even after my cardio has told me they are not serious. Whether or not frequent irregular beats are dangerous depends a lot on the underlying condition of your heart. If your heart is otherwise normal and healthy, apparently even very frequent arrhythmias do not pose a serious threat. I would trust your cardiologist in this regard, since your regular doctor and nurses do not have as much specialized knowledge or experience with this particular issue.

[CollegeGirl143]

Does the "lady on the other forum" have any kind of medical experience? If not, she can only speak for wahts normal for HER, not whats normal or acceptable for you, or anyone else for that matter, even if she did have some kind of clinical experience, its impossible to diagnose someone over the internet and without seeing their history... Take others words with a grain of salt.. Have you considered a second opinion yet? it sounds as if you are getting conflicted messages, and maybe another perspective can help you rest easy... Remember, take your cardio's advice, PCP's are not trained to deal with cardiac issues nearly as extensivly as a cardio is,which is why we have cardiologists in the first place..

[Momto3]

You bet, I got freaked out when I "noticed" the pvcs....Years would go by, and I'd freak out again.  Then, I'd settle down and a few years later, back to freak out mode.  I was not afraid, just not sure what was going on.  It all felt so weird.  Now, when I get them, I try and take notice to learn more.  That has really helped me to understand them better.  Anyway, you're not alone : )

I'm not a doctor, but it is my belief that the "lady on the other forum" is wrong.  I've been to lots of doctors and although the pvcs have raised a few eyebrows (non cardio docs/nurses), all the cardio folks are fine with them.  After 6 years of seeing the same EP, she commented one day while listening to my heart that it was the first time she ever listened and didn't hear skips....Last November, I was in bigeminy in her office and we both laughed because it was like old times.  They subsided and we continued with the exam.  

Trust the cardio!  I'm not sure why your internist would say otherwise especially once you had been checked out by a cardio.  I am shocked that a nurse in the A&E said 100 could not be normal.  Trust the cardio!!  

Remember, you're not alone.  You're gonna be fine and one day you're gonna share your story with newbies ; )

[anacyde]

I'm just going to echo what everyone else said, especially tickertock.

These will wax and wane.  You'll have good days, weeks or months followed by bad, then you'll return to good.  It is just that way for us, for all of us who have these.

If you don't get a handle on the stress, it will ruin you.  The detrimental effect of the amount of worry you're having is far worse than the effect of a few PVCs.  Please hang in there.  Try some yoga!  Seriously, yoga breathing has been shown to decrease PACs and PVCs.  I recommend Yoga For Dummies - I use it and I love it.

[sb786]

Thank you to everyone for all your comments. I really do appreaciate it. I've just been having a really really tough time with the pvcs lately. I know you guys are all right and i do need to work on my anxiety but it's sooooooo hard especially when i'm having pvcs every third or fourth beat for hours and hours.

[sickofpvcs]

How did you get rid of your PVCs?? I get over a thousand a day. Now I have pausing where I feel like I am going to faint. Those are what scare me. I keep hoping they will go away on their own,but they seem to get worse every year. I had my last 24 hour holter in December and I am thinking about another one so I can find what these pauses are all about. I can handle the jumping and skipping with PVCs, it is the feeling faint that scares me. Did you ever experience that?

[tickertock]

I definitely used get a kinda fainty feeling especially when i had bigeminy, though rarely with isolated PVCs, those occuring every couple of beats rather than every other beat. Note, the bigeminy was documented in the cardiologist office and he was no more concerned about it than the random isolated PVCs.

My PVCs always seem to wax and wane for no rhyme or reason, even while on beta blockers , it was not til the drug cozaar(losartan) was added which is an ARB for hypertension that I noticed a sudden subsiding of the PVCs, so far for the 5 years, I've been as practically PVC free as one can be considering the amount I used to have, I maybe get 20-50 a month that I feel, sometime even less and I could esaily have 50 in 5 minutes at my worse times.

In my opinion though hard to prove cozaar combined with atenolol plays a great role in keeping them at bay, this is my personal opinion only, I don't think any link to controlling PVCs has been established with this drug combo.Good luck and Hang in.

[annetteamc]

Hi ,Try wheat germ 2 tablespoons a day it took 2 weeks of me taking this I still cannot believe it, I have not felt one in 12 days hope it works I was getting them 5 min apart some days Good luck I don't mix mine eat from the Jar

[live4jesus2]

I am officially part of the PVC club. I get them and hate the sensation they produce in my chest. They increase in number on any given day.  If I am busy or exercising I do not notice them.  When they first occured, I saw a cardiologist, had an echo done and was told my heart was only functioning at 40%. Next came a stress test which was normal. I was told not to worry, go on about my life.  And was told I have cardiomyopathy. The Dr said I probably had in infection which caused the cardiomyopathy and that I was prob not even aware of it. Are the PVCs related to the cardiomyopathy? My Dr told me  exercise, cutting out caffine and losing weight would improve my heart function. I am only in my 40s, have led a fairly healthy lifestyle and get anxious of "sudden death", which of course increase my stress with increased PVCs.  I also experience pressure under my sternum like I have a "burp" that needs to come out. I was told that this was an anxiety attack.  Is there anyone out there that can relate to what I am experiencing? Thanks and God Bless