PVCs vs heart block

[LynnSB]

I have been under an enormous amount of stress for about a week -- physical and emotional(had a mammoth garage sale and in the middle of it my mom called and had been injured in an accident so I've been taking care of her). I have a history of palpitations and PSVT which was mostly "fixed" with an ablation several years ago. I am in my mid 50s, great BP, cholesterol, weight fine, walk about a mile a day. Anyhoo, yesterday I woke up, felt weird, light headed, figured low BP but realized heart was skipping beats. took BP and could "hear" the skipped beats on monitor. I didn't hear or feel a hard beat just felt lika a regular pulse " missing" a heartbeat every 7 to 12 beats!called my internist who was off but had me see a nurse for EKG & rhythm strip, caught a couple of PVCs and doc said i'm feeling compensatory pauses. I'm not sure what they caught are the "missing" ones i feel. If i had intermittent heart block would something funky or suggestive have probably shown up on ekg? My doc says with my history ( every kind of cardiac workup in the past other than angiography),not worried about pvcs, even tons of them. They woke me up again this a.m. and am having them while i write this.. SICK OF THIS. any reassurance or advice would be appreciated.

[Forum-M.D.-MJM]

Hello,
If the symptoms are happening frequently -- everyday.  A holter monitor will answer the question.  If it is less frequent, an event monitor will answer the questions.

If i had intermittent heart block would something funky or suggestive have probably shown up on ekg?

If heart block is intermittent, it could easily be missed by an ekg.  But intermittent heart block is pretty rare and the diagnosis you already have is pretty common -- PVCs.  I cannot definitely say you don't have intermittent heart block, but the odds of this are very, very small, unless there is a significant part of your history that you aren't mentioning like passing out, history of heart surgery, etc.  

If you need reassurance, talk to your doctor about ordering a holter or event monitor. It should answer the questions.

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

[LynnSB]

my bp has been fine. a little high normal when super anxious but regularly normal to low normal.

[LynnSB]

ok, now it is every other beat to every 3 beats. called my doc and she said not to worry, not dangerous. emailed my former EP doc ( he has moved away, we are still buds) and he e-mailed -- go have fun stop worrying. egaaads! am i crazy to be  @)$*#& uncomfortable and scared with this level of PVCs! ????

[tickertock]

I feel for you. I remember my last prolonged episode of PVCs back in late 2001, early 2002 lasted for nearly 6 months. I used to go into bigeminy like every 15- 20 minutes for 1-2 minutes nearly all day, with about 6-10 PVCs a minute in between , sure can be unnerving to say the least.I stopped being scared and actually endedm up being more angry because of the uncomfortable feeling. I have been nearly PVC free for just over 5 years now, just an odd one now and then.Never did anything different, it still baffles me. I just hope they never ever return with that frequency or I'd sure lose my mind, not from fear but because of the uncomfortable feeling.Hope you feel better soon.

[CollegeGirl143]

sounds like you may be having run of the mill pvc's,with some
bigeminy which are pvc's that occur at regular intervals, ie. every other beat.. With a normal workup, these are no more dangerous than normal pvc's... Try and relax :) i know its hard but, it will serve you better to go out and have fun on the long weekend, than to sit at  home worrying.

[oneil420]

I am in the same boat as you, waiting on a Ep appointment in 10 days:) finally been waiting over 2 months with constant palpitations, Ranging from sporatic to 7-15 a minute for hours. yes it can be distracting, i like ticker tend to get angry because i just cant seem to get comftorable during the bad "episodes" that tend to flare up at night as im trying to relax. I am currenlty undiagnosed but i am pretty confident they are either pacs/pvcs as they follow the same pattern from what ive read. skip. hardbeat, pause, normal rythm, does try my patience some days. The truth is as long as you've had all the cardiac work ups there is nothing to worry about, Me i am still waiting to get those tests as my PC doc is a idiot and refused to do any tests or try any meds until i see the Ep doc and like ive already said that was over 2 months ago!! Lynn i know how unsettling they can be as ive had over 15 just writing this thread but you need to TRY and "ignore " them i know its not that easy but the more you give them the more they take. I will be online most of the night so feel free to write back if you need someone to talk to and my email address is below i know sometimes it helps to talk with someone who knows what your going through. Hope you find some relief.

"Its better to die once then fear death a thousand times" Julias Cesare

[oneil420]

SORRY! my email is ***@****

[3dognewt]

I too went through a very bad patch of PVCs about a year or so ago. They came on suddenly on a nice quiet sunny summer day and put me through hell and back for almost a year. I had every test, some repeated a number of times. At their worst, I was getting them about 20 a minute. 24/7. They drove me nuts! I spent most of my days and nights terrified I would drop dead at any minute. Then after about a year they began to subide. At first I would go about a week or two with hardly any and then they would be back full tilt, but one day they just left and now I am back to my normal, which is a PVC a few times a day, if that.
I keep a daily journal and I have gone over everything I did prior to getting them and have never been able to pinpoint the cause. I'm just thankful they are gone. They are terrifying, but the bottom line is, they won't kill you.
It's best to try to distract yourself as much as possible and DON'T take your pulse all day long, and remember there are lots of us who know exactly how you feel and can sympathize with you. Take care.

[LynnSB]

Thanks for the comments! I've had, literally, 20 or more holters and event monitors over the decades.... nothing life threatening ever showed up. I can't get another one now -- no insurance! Besides, my doc knows my history and I am trying to convince myself she's right -- PVCs,not dangerous in my otherwise fine heart. But have they let up? NOOOOOOO...woke up to the beat..beat............beat...beat...beat.........beat.......beat...beat..........beat. I'm sure a lot of you know exactly what I mean. GRRRRRR... i hate his. so inexplicable, too.

[3dognewt]

Hang in there, they WILL eventually subside. The trouble is, we are so aware of the out of sync beats that it tends to draw all of our focus to them. I sometimes took Serax when they were really messing with my mind. Didn't help the PVC's but at least I got some sleep.
Take Care.

[rwomalley]

I am 53 years old and have been experiencing the same thing just today. Actually had my first one about 3 weeks ago then nothing until 2 nights ago, and last night. Both times lasted about a hour max with the skipped beat coming about once every minute for a few minutes then stopping then maybe coming back 10-15 minutes later.
I usually just lie down or try to go to sleep. I have also noticed my blood pressure is elevated during that time, possibly because of the stress.

Since I dont drink coffee, I normally take a caffeine pill in the morning before I go to the gym. That stopped today. I also have been exercising very heavily over the weekend, riding my bicycle very hard (always wear a heart monitor when I do).

These are very unnerving at the least.

[Jojol2007]

I am 36 years old male and also having the same problem for 3 months now (but maybe I have this 1 or 2 years ago already).  I got thousands of PVCs and Bigeminy daily usually occur 7-10 in the morning and 4-6 in the afternoon. My bigeminy force me to cough when it the attack is severe but normally at night starting 8PM, I never have or feel this PVCs.

I undergo several test such as ECG, 2D echo, Holter, Stress test and Some Blood Test which are all Normal. My EP and cardiologist says that this is benign but still for the previous 2 months I panic too much and was so horrified. I visited my doctor almost weekly until I was given  a 25mg of Beta Blocker (Metoprolol) which totally eliminate my PVC's for 6 hours upon taking it. Now, I still have it daily but for less than a hundred PVC's only which only occur prior taking the Metoprolol.

I am doing daily log of this PVCs as long as I noticed them (I stop monitoring my pulse. This makes me feel better). As of now, trigger points/occurence of my PVCs are:

1. During driving motorcycle which I do it daily. (maybe my adrenaline level is high during this times)
2. When bored during long meetings (nothing to think off and focus to my PVCs)
3. When having discussion and debates (nervous)
4. Upon exertion (may or may not occur, not much sure with this one)
5. High blood pressure (140/100)

I am still studying the cause and possible solution to this problem. I am evaluating magnesium supplement, meditation/subconscious suggestions as of now. Hoping it will help.

I am inviting everybody with the same problem to discuss this together thru this forum or e-mails. Let's build a group to support each other. My email add: ***@****

[PVC man]

Well, it REALLY is reassuring to know we are not alone.  I am 42 year old male; have had attacks of PVCs since I was 18.  I drank a ton of soda a a youngster so I'm sure that didn't help.

Went through a stretch from age 25 to 37 with almost no PVCs. At age 37, I had two youngsters, my stress level did rise and I began to suffer again.I would get attacks from 4-5 hours with PVCs sometimes every 5th or 6th beat.  I had trouble sleeping or working.  I dealt with MANY umsympathetic MDs before finding the right one.  All testing normal and the doc put me on 25 mg Atenolol.  This STOPPED my attacks and saved my sanity.  That was four years ago.

Being mr. Macho I recently decided to try and wean myself off the drug. I enjoy running 12 -15 miles a week.  I weaned myself SLOWLY by increasing the time between doses 1 extra hour per week,  I was from 24 all the way up to 40 hours between doses when I began to once again suffer "attacks."  I was doing SO WELL during the weaning off period until- BAM.

So of course, I restarted at 24 hour intervals but am still suffering after 3-4 days.

Moral of the story: Maybe weaning off not the best thing for me...

Great to know you guys are out there.  God Bless  the clinic and the forum as we can at least stick together.

Remember: Excercise helps, as does sleeping 7-8 hours a night, avoid caffeine like the plague, be careful with alcohol, get all the right testing, and find the right Dr. who will care.

Be well and stick together!!