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PVC's and Murmur
Hello.
I am a 28 year old male. Last year, for the 1st time, I was diagnosed with PVC's during my physical. The MD told me I skipped 3 beats my EKG. I was sent to a cardiologist who found the same thing and gave me a stress test, which was normal. Both said that it was not a big deal at all. Just yesterday, I had another physical and the EKG showed 7 skipped beats. The doc also heard a heart murmur as well. He told me my blood proessure was fine and everything else checked out. He kept asking me if I drink a lot of coffee and I told him that I hadn't had any in more than 5 years, or alcohol, or tobacco. In fact, other than Ginger Ale, all I drink is water and milk. I have a VERY healthy diet in fact. I have never felt any symptoms of the skipped beats though, or at least I don't think I have. I do have a history of stress related illness like GERD and IBS, even though my diet and taking Prevacid 30mp once a day and made that very tolerable. I know I get stressed very easily and have gone to the psychiatrist and we tried everything but nothing worked and the side effects weren't worth it. My question is, is this something I need to worrk about (the 3, now 7 skipped beats and the murmur)? My doc wants me in from an ECHO and then the heart monitor. But to not feel symptoms and then be told about this is pretty stressful. How should I feel about this and should I be worried? I really do not want to go on another medicine which I have to take for life. The prevacid itself is enough for me in that manner.. Thank you.
I am a 28 year old male. Last year, for the 1st time, I was diagnosed with PVC's during my physical. The MD told me I skipped 3 beats my EKG. I was sent to a cardiologist who found the same thing and gave me a stress test, which was normal. Both said that it was not a big deal at all. Just yesterday, I had another physical and the EKG showed 7 skipped beats. The doc also heard a heart murmur as well. He told me my blood proessure was fine and everything else checked out. He kept asking me if I drink a lot of coffee and I told him that I hadn't had any in more than 5 years, or alcohol, or tobacco. In fact, other than Ginger Ale, all I drink is water and milk. I have a VERY healthy diet in fact. I have never felt any symptoms of the skipped beats though, or at least I don't think I have. I do have a history of stress related illness like GERD and IBS, even though my diet and taking Prevacid 30mp once a day and made that very tolerable. I know I get stressed very easily and have gone to the psychiatrist and we tried everything but nothing worked and the side effects weren't worth it. My question is, is this something I need to worrk about (the 3, now 7 skipped beats and the murmur)? My doc wants me in from an ECHO and then the heart monitor. But to not feel symptoms and then be told about this is pretty stressful. How should I feel about this and should I be worried? I really do not want to go on another medicine which I have to take for life. The prevacid itself is enough for me in that manner.. Thank you.
wats long qt syndrome? and yes my grandmother dropped dead at 58 and my uncle dropped dead at 52 and my cousin died at 26
Hello everybody. I am a 20 year old competitive runner. In the past year I have been fainting after practice and experiencing flutters, chest pain and dizziness so I was sent to a cardiologist. I've never been diagnosed with any heart conditions. only a heart murmur that I've always had but has gotten softer but is still there and my bp is fine. My doctor tells me that I have pfo, pvc/pac, and that I am something that begins with a "t"? I dont know what any of these terms mean but i am assuming they're nothing to worry about because I wasn't given any medications, but i was offered beta-blockers but I was told that they are'nt recommended for me. (why?) Last year I was restricted from exercise because of the fainting but the doctors couldn't find out the reason i was fainting and couldn't find a reason for me not to exercise so I was allowed to again after a couple months. I've had many many tests. tilt table, countless ekgs, echo, mri, stress test, holter monitor. as far as i know they came back relatively normal. The only thing i heard was that on my EKG's one of the lines go very low? (what does that mean).and that I have an extra beat that is healthy. I was told to drink more fluids and to stay away from caffine. If there appears to be nothing wrong with me why does my cardiologist want me to come back every few months?I am confused, can someone help me understand this better? - krista
Hi everyone. I just came across this forum while searching for some answers to pvc's - I feel like I found the right place. I didn't realize so many people had this discomfort. I recently began an agressive exercise program - Bowflex - feels great and I'm doing well on it. I have no problems and had never before, but about one week after I began this program, I started having these "skipped beats". Talked to my dr. and he said they were pvc's and not to worry. I did have a heart cath last year because the er thought I might be having a heart attack - turned out to be a stomach ulcer. I was on prevacid, but was able to discontinue that about a month ago. Could this be a side effect of the prevacid? The cath showed that my heart was strong and all arteries were big, fat and clear! That was certainly good news. But now these annoying pvc's. I have no other symptoms and feel absolutely wonderful while I exercise - 1.5 hrs 3x/week resistance and 3x/week cardio. No pvc's occur AT ALL during that time. I drink 100oz of water throughout the day and drink "smart water" just after I workout. I keep moving after my resistance workout and eat nothing 1.5hrs before and 1.5hrs after. I follow a modified low-carb diet and get plenty of vegs and fruit. I take supplements of calcium/mag 1000mg/500mg daily, CoQ10 120mg/daily, multi-vitamin and EPA & Vit C 1000mg/daily. I'm sorry to ramble on so, but I am so concerned when this happens. I do take some comfort, however, in your posts - seems many of you have suffered a great deal with this problem. Btw, these pvc's start about an hour after rising, none at night, and they are about 2-3/minute. I would be so very grateful for any comments and I thank you all in advance for taking the time to read this. Regards, Shonmarie
Dear All:
I have had a functional, mid-systolic heart murmur since birth and have experienced frequent PVC's dating all the way back to when I was in college years ago. The murmur is, from what I gather, common and is heard loudest at the apex, expeciall when lying on my left side. I see a high-powered cardiologist from Boston who is totally unconcerned with the murmur and dismisses the PVC's as well. (He gets them too.) The PVC's occur frequently and are not helped by the fact that I drink a lot of coffee in the morning. They used to bother me, but I've gotten used to them over the years. I feel a strong, almost violent thumping in my chest when they occur, followed by a long interval while my heart regroups and begins beating normally again. When I was younger, I thought I might be having a heart attack (although there was never any pain, but my doctor at the time reassured me that they were harmless. I should drink less coffee, because it definitely aggravates the extra beats, but I don't. I quit drinking alcohol seven months ago, and it seems to me that when I was drinking, I would definitely experience more frequent PVC's, especially in the morning after coffee. My body's electrical system, including the wiring of my heart, seems to be very sensitive to stimuli or excitement. My heart will race wildly when I perceive myself to be in danger, e.g., a near automobile accident while driving, eventually calming down.
From what I can tell from the literature (and I've read a lot about this) my heart murmur is caused by vibration of the leaflets in the left ventricle/aortic area, which is quite common. These murmurs are called "innocent", or "functional". I suffer no side effects, such as shortness of breath, and excercise regularly. However, when I was young and medical knowledge was not as advanced as today, my physical activity in some vigorous sports, e.g., football, was restricted. So I took up golf and continue to play and enjoy the game.
Some years ago, I thought I might have Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), because of the similarity of the symptoms(murmur, panic attacks, sensitivity to caffeine, etc.) but my cardiologist performed an echocardiogram and the results ruled it out. An echo is the definitive test for MVP. By the way, one of the respondents said that his/her murmur was detected by an EKG, and I've always heard that murmurs don't show up on EKG's and can only by heard by stethoscope or some other electronic monitoring device. By the way, Mitral Valve Prolapse is most common in women, not men, occuring in up to 15% of the female population, depending on whose statistics you believe.
While the extra beats can be disconcerting, I've gotten used to them. The most uncomfortable feature is the long time interval between the intial thump in my chest and the eventual resumption of a normal, regular heartbeat. Vigorous excercise seems to lessen the occurence of my PVC's.
I've had many EKG's and three echocardiograms over the years, and am not restricted in any way as to my physical activity. In fact, my current cardiologist tells me that running is a great way to reduce my tendency to high blood pressure.
I had a scare about 8 months ago when I was at a retreat and, for some reason, the resident physician gave everyone EKG's. He said the tracings from lead V1 through FV3 on my EKG were abnormal and might be indicative of damage to the right side of my heart. When I got back home, I went to my high-powered cardiologist, who performed another EKG and said I was within normal bounds. He even got copie of old EKG's of mine from the early 80's which showed exactly the same quirky pattern on leads V1-V3.
I hope the foregoing is helpful to anyone who visits this website and is concerned about his or her murmur or extra heartbeats. I have done a lot of research on the subject of heart abnormalities and can recommend one or two very good books on the subject that are understandable to the layman. I can be reached through this forum or at my personal E-mail address of ***@****.
Regards,
Bill R.
I have had a functional, mid-systolic heart murmur since birth and have experienced frequent PVC's dating all the way back to when I was in college years ago. The murmur is, from what I gather, common and is heard loudest at the apex, expeciall when lying on my left side. I see a high-powered cardiologist from Boston who is totally unconcerned with the murmur and dismisses the PVC's as well. (He gets them too.) The PVC's occur frequently and are not helped by the fact that I drink a lot of coffee in the morning. They used to bother me, but I've gotten used to them over the years. I feel a strong, almost violent thumping in my chest when they occur, followed by a long interval while my heart regroups and begins beating normally again. When I was younger, I thought I might be having a heart attack (although there was never any pain, but my doctor at the time reassured me that they were harmless. I should drink less coffee, because it definitely aggravates the extra beats, but I don't. I quit drinking alcohol seven months ago, and it seems to me that when I was drinking, I would definitely experience more frequent PVC's, especially in the morning after coffee. My body's electrical system, including the wiring of my heart, seems to be very sensitive to stimuli or excitement. My heart will race wildly when I perceive myself to be in danger, e.g., a near automobile accident while driving, eventually calming down.
From what I can tell from the literature (and I've read a lot about this) my heart murmur is caused by vibration of the leaflets in the left ventricle/aortic area, which is quite common. These murmurs are called "innocent", or "functional". I suffer no side effects, such as shortness of breath, and excercise regularly. However, when I was young and medical knowledge was not as advanced as today, my physical activity in some vigorous sports, e.g., football, was restricted. So I took up golf and continue to play and enjoy the game.
Some years ago, I thought I might have Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), because of the similarity of the symptoms(murmur, panic attacks, sensitivity to caffeine, etc.) but my cardiologist performed an echocardiogram and the results ruled it out. An echo is the definitive test for MVP. By the way, one of the respondents said that his/her murmur was detected by an EKG, and I've always heard that murmurs don't show up on EKG's and can only by heard by stethoscope or some other electronic monitoring device. By the way, Mitral Valve Prolapse is most common in women, not men, occuring in up to 15% of the female population, depending on whose statistics you believe.
While the extra beats can be disconcerting, I've gotten used to them. The most uncomfortable feature is the long time interval between the intial thump in my chest and the eventual resumption of a normal, regular heartbeat. Vigorous excercise seems to lessen the occurence of my PVC's.
I've had many EKG's and three echocardiograms over the years, and am not restricted in any way as to my physical activity. In fact, my current cardiologist tells me that running is a great way to reduce my tendency to high blood pressure.
I had a scare about 8 months ago when I was at a retreat and, for some reason, the resident physician gave everyone EKG's. He said the tracings from lead V1 through FV3 on my EKG were abnormal and might be indicative of damage to the right side of my heart. When I got back home, I went to my high-powered cardiologist, who performed another EKG and said I was within normal bounds. He even got copie of old EKG's of mine from the early 80's which showed exactly the same quirky pattern on leads V1-V3.
I hope the foregoing is helpful to anyone who visits this website and is concerned about his or her murmur or extra heartbeats. I have done a lot of research on the subject of heart abnormalities and can recommend one or two very good books on the subject that are understandable to the layman. I can be reached through this forum or at my personal E-mail address of ***@****.
Regards,
Bill R.
Boy do I feel a little bit better. I felt fine until my 6th month of pregnance when I landed int he hoispital with a heartrate of 235. It took a while to get it down and for the remainder of my pregnancy it stayed at 110. I went to get ablated and they wer unable to induce the tachycardia. They tried everything and nothing worked. So I was back to square one. Then I went in for a check up and there was the tachycardia. It is atrial and they are not able to ablate it. I am now considering having a second child and I am very scared to go through it again. After reading all of this I feel a little bit better. Not as nervous. It is such a difficult thing because the doctors tell you that it is ok but you are the one with this heart that is just WHACKY!!!!! I am so pleased to find this forum. I feel like I am no longer alone!!!! If anyone has had this problem through pregnancy please email me!!!
***@****
***@****
Dear Arthur,
I was a member of this site for several years but just recently started viewing the forums again. I noticed your response(s)to "many" people who have the similar problems coupled with the same worries I too had had for the longest time. I personally think you are well informed based on what I've read in the forums, as I too, after over "10 long years" of these Arrhythmias, have educated myself and learned many things about my condition(s) and the options I may or may not have regarding these episodes and anticipatory anxiety that results from them. I had my 1st episode of SVT in November of 92, subsequently I developed PVC's in 94, although the PSVT's are, for the most part, under control with Tenormin, I "occasionally" break through the med's and have a shorter run of sinus-tach borderline PSVT which eventually stops on it's own or, as instructed by my now long term friend and cardiologist in the event of break through, to take another dose of tenormin. At any rate, I always wished that I could omit the Beta-Blocker(tenormin) but every time I've tried, it seems like I become more vulnerable to the SVT, and more frequent "benign", as I've been told for over 10 years now, PVC's. So, I've opted to stay on the small dose of Tenormin (37-50mg daily) since it helps, despite it's side effects that I'm certain are a direct result of "other" problems\symptoms, however, I always have been opposed to anti-Arrhythmics for the simple reason, and a good one, that I am concerned with a pro-arrythmic effect and the possibility of developing a worse or more life threatning rhythm from these class of drugs. This is why I vacated the site for a few years since ALL the suggestions\advice was the same, take medications or have an EP study\ablation etc.. To this day, I have my reservations about EP study\ablation, as I hear just as many horror stories as I do "total" success or suppression of arrhythymias. Bottom line there are NO guarantees even by the best EP doctor. Of course, "maybe" soon, they will have perfected the procedure so that those of us who have suffered this long can get "completely" off the Meds and resume a normal life or revert back to the way I felt "before" this conduction disorder ever began over 10 years ago. I think the doctors should put more effort into this area. Excuse the pun, but it doesn't take a "Brain Surgeon" to deduce from ALL the people who post their questions in this "one" forum\website regarding arrhythmias however benign they may be to a "physician" that there is a definate problem and more cardiologist should address the concerns of the "many" of us who have to accept taking medication since it seems to be the only hope besides the "risky" no guarantee ablation procedure.(s)
Eddie S
I was a member of this site for several years but just recently started viewing the forums again. I noticed your response(s)to "many" people who have the similar problems coupled with the same worries I too had had for the longest time. I personally think you are well informed based on what I've read in the forums, as I too, after over "10 long years" of these Arrhythmias, have educated myself and learned many things about my condition(s) and the options I may or may not have regarding these episodes and anticipatory anxiety that results from them. I had my 1st episode of SVT in November of 92, subsequently I developed PVC's in 94, although the PSVT's are, for the most part, under control with Tenormin, I "occasionally" break through the med's and have a shorter run of sinus-tach borderline PSVT which eventually stops on it's own or, as instructed by my now long term friend and cardiologist in the event of break through, to take another dose of tenormin. At any rate, I always wished that I could omit the Beta-Blocker(tenormin) but every time I've tried, it seems like I become more vulnerable to the SVT, and more frequent "benign", as I've been told for over 10 years now, PVC's. So, I've opted to stay on the small dose of Tenormin (37-50mg daily) since it helps, despite it's side effects that I'm certain are a direct result of "other" problems\symptoms, however, I always have been opposed to anti-Arrhythmics for the simple reason, and a good one, that I am concerned with a pro-arrythmic effect and the possibility of developing a worse or more life threatning rhythm from these class of drugs. This is why I vacated the site for a few years since ALL the suggestions\advice was the same, take medications or have an EP study\ablation etc.. To this day, I have my reservations about EP study\ablation, as I hear just as many horror stories as I do "total" success or suppression of arrhythymias. Bottom line there are NO guarantees even by the best EP doctor. Of course, "maybe" soon, they will have perfected the procedure so that those of us who have suffered this long can get "completely" off the Meds and resume a normal life or revert back to the way I felt "before" this conduction disorder ever began over 10 years ago. I think the doctors should put more effort into this area. Excuse the pun, but it doesn't take a "Brain Surgeon" to deduce from ALL the people who post their questions in this "one" forum\website regarding arrhythmias however benign they may be to a "physician" that there is a definate problem and more cardiologist should address the concerns of the "many" of us who have to accept taking medication since it seems to be the only hope besides the "risky" no guarantee ablation procedure.(s)
Eddie S
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