Palpitations

[river1961]

I am a 44 year old female who has had palpitations from the age of 23.  I have been checked out by numerous cardiologists and they say I just have PVC's and PAC's and some runs of beats.  They don't seem to be overly concerned.  

Is it normal for a person to get these things every day though?  The doctors have said they get them as well but didn't specify how many.  I get a couple of quick beats and then a pause and then a thud usually three or four or even half a dozen times a day.  Is that normal?  It just seems like quite a bit to me but from what I have read it doesn't look like that many.

I also sometimes get a run of fast beats that I can stop by holding my breath.  Hasn't been caught on a holter but I get that maybe every couple of months or so.

I guess my main question would be if it is normal for person to get the dropped beats and missed beat sensation as many times as day as I do?  Also why is it that some days I don't get any and then some days I get a bunch?  I just don't get it.  I guess I am just looking for answers.

Thank you for your help on anything you can tell me.

[Mgmark]

Stacie you are now my Kindred Spirit :-)  I too get the beats in the throat/neck area.  In fact those thuds in the throat area are what first alreted me to my PVCS.  For a while I actually thought I had indigestion.  Upon feeling my pulse thats when I realized it was my heart doing crazy things.  When I get real fast tachy I definitely feel it primarily in my neck pulse.  Thank you also for describing that elevator feeling as a "wave/rush" feeling as well.  Thats a perfect description.  It really is a sudden wave and it's very alarming.  My body imediately responds by me slightly jolting a bit and taking in some air because it's so alarming when it happens.  It really does feel like you are going to pass out or slip away but then it quickly vanishes and whats left is a very scared feeling wondering what the heck that was.  

I've been dealing with "the elevator wave drop" off and on for almost a year now.  It started happening right about the time as the PVCS were noticed.  The Cardio didn't seem concerned with it at all after all the tests were run.  So even though I still have these waves and other dingy sensations I continue to chant my mantra... "they said all the test came back normal.  Everything is ok with my heart"  and try my best to accept this crazy sensation.

Although I have said I wouldn't wish this stuff on anyone it does help knowing others have these sensations and they are living with it.  Thanks for replying.

[Mgmark]

Hi Lauren.  Thanks for responding to my comments and letting me know you understand those sensations.  I do have to say I did get lucky durring my tests.  On my EKG, ECHO and Holter they all showed PVCS so they were able to isolate the situation and go from there.  My treadmill showed no signs although I have had PVCS durring exercise and post exercise.  I know many who eventually get to the Cardio and say their PVCS disappear. That has got to be so frustrating.  Durring my testing it was the only time I wanted them real bad  :)  The one thing my cardio noted from my holter which surprised me was that my heartrate dips below 60 when I am sleeping.  Sometimes I wonder if that wave or rush that I feel when I am about to fall asleep or when I'm in a real relaxed state sitting up is associated with a dip in my heartrate and possible a dip in my bp?  I average 116/68 in the evenings but have never monitored it while sleeping.  I do recall about 18 years ago when I was 20 that durring my appendectomy surgery my BP dropped very low and they were a bit concerend and kept me in the ICU a bit longer after surgery to moinitor it.  So I would have to say I do have a little bit of history with a drop in bp and heartrate.  I guess when I'm relaxed I'm really relaxed  LOL.

Sorry to read about your frustration over all this.  I know it all too well.  When it first all came about I wanted to climb the walls.  My Doc really wasn't any help with the symptoms so I suffered much longer than needed initially worrying about it.  My Cardiologis though I was very impressed with and trust his expertise.   The burden financially to find out whats going on is also added stress.  Then there is the aftermath of still wondering if they missed something. It's a viscious cycle but I have to believe the longer I'm around the more obvious it is that everything is alright.

[LaurelN]

Thanks for responding.  This forum is a godsend to me, I read it every day and more when I'm having a bad episode.  Mine started August 1975, with a bang, scared me to death (almost) and my gut feeling is that it is caused, or at least aggravated, by a nose spray addiction.  A 40 year nose spray addiction, and since I cannot sleep if I breathe thru my mouth I use generic Afrin to keep clear.  I really think that is what the underlying problem is and I have done many things to kick the spray and it hasn't helped.  Nose spray is such a common addiction I wonder if it could be the common denominator for others.  I can go months without feeling any heart problems then wham, I get them for weeks at a time.  I sure hope they don't kill me.  Every day I check the obituary column in the paper and if my name isn't there I go ahead and start my day, ha ha.

[squidqueen]

Hi I'm a 23 year old female and have been getting what I assume are PVCs or PACs since last september. They started very suddenly for no apparent reason! I also get the elevator feeling you described, only when falling asleep, but at any time of day! I've also felt a 'silent' ectopic beat when these occur, I get up to 10 before I can fall asleep.
I can really relate to how scary it is, I've become an insomniac due to it and often the only way I can fall asleep is to resign myself to the fact that if I do die it will mean an end to all this horrible stuff! I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so maybe that is related... I've been trying to post a question about my symptoms but as you know it's rather difficult, and I guess there are plenty of people with more serious heart problems who need to feedback more than I do!
So I have a question for the other members if you don't mind.... Do you get palpitations which feel like a hard thumping in your chest but actually quite slow? My doc says it's tachycardia but I don't get why it's when my heart is beating at a normal speed! It's like someone is thumping on my chest and I have it most of the day and night.
Hope you are all as well as possible! :)

[sb786]

I have too experienced the elevator feeling and the silent pvcs whilst trying to sleep. In fact i have had very little sleep for 2 nights now because of the PVCs. Why is it that i get more PVCs as soon as i lay down? Last night i kept jolting awake because of the PVCs. Does anyone else actually wake up because of them? I also noticed that whilst laying if i take a deep breath in or yawn it triggers a pvc too.
How do you guys cope with the pvcs at night and actually get some sleep?

[kitcurious]

You know, all this "thud" this and "thud" that is so subjective it's not really meaningful. If you have a strcuturally normal heart  you are fine. How you experience sensations in your own body is really your own interpretation.