Skipped beats

[fishm]

I am a 36 yr. old male in very good health. I have been having many episodes a day of skipped beats,  and have had occasional occurances of PSVTs. My cardiologist said that the skipped beats and PSVT episodes are caused by the impulses coming off my scar tissue, which was from an ASD repair which was done 30 years ago. He put me on 180mg of Cardizem about 2 months ago, and although I have not had any recent occurance of PSVT, I do sometimes still have about 40-50 skipped beats per day.

The cardiologist mentioned that if the calcium blocker does not work, there is the option of doing an ablation.

1. Should the Cardizem be completely stopping  the skipped beats 2 months into the protocol? or should I talk to my Dr. about going to a higher dosage?

2. Do the skipped beats pose any long term danger, or are they just an annoyance?

3. What are the risks of doing the ablation and should I seriously consider that option?

Thank you.

[Cleveland Clinic]

fishm,

Assuming the PSVT and the skipped beats are coming from the exact same area then both would be ammenable to ablation. Without seeing exactly what you mean by skipped beats on a holter then I cant really specifically comment on your therapy options.  Generally, if Cardizem were going to work it should be by now.  I think that the 2 rhythms you have are probably going to be separate. ie...treating the PSVT will not completely get rid of the skipped beats.  I also think that you physician was most likely talking about the PSVT when he/she was discussing an ablation.  

Im not sure what the skipped beats are ie...PVCs, PACs, nonconduncted PACs, etc...but if I had to guess they probably are more of an annoyance than anything. You should discuss this with your doctor.

"3. What are the risks of doing the ablation and should I seriously consider that option?"

Again, the ablatrion is most likely for the PSVT. An ablation carries some risk of bleeding, heart damage and even death. These sound pretty scary, but the true chances of a complication are pretty low.  However, if you are able to cure your PSVT with medicines, that would be a better and noninvasive option.

good luck

[Cashiers]

I had an ablation for PSVT, worked very well for that problem.  Although the other crazy impulses(pacs, pvc, etc) are still an issue and am now on meds.  But no more of those wild events with PSVT.
They became more frequent and so had the ablation 1.5 yr ago.  7 months later tried to ablate other foci's but no luck there are to many in the upper and lower areas, so that is why finally gave in to the meds.  I am having some good results so far, started about april.   I pray they continue to work.

Good luck

[Will70]

just went to the ER for the first time regarding these skipped beats  they say benign palpatations after blood work and EKG and chest x ray  but i am having these everyday and alot of them i got an appt with cardiolgist i hope he confirms its a benign condition  and i have a long history of panic attacks so it makes it much more difficult to even function..i guess its nice to read these stories and know im not alone...because this is tough to deal with

[madgeOwens]

Good luck at cardiology.  If all of your tests ie echo and heart catheterization, stress etc are ok and you have a 24 hour halter monitor and they find that you are having irregular heart beats ie palpitations ie pvc's and or pac's (preventricular contractions  or preatrial contractions) they will say they are benign.  Now the real fun begins.  If you have no symptoms, they will say you will be ok have a good life. If you have symptoms (maybe) they will try and treat them......or they will say its anxiety.......it is a frustration enough to cause more pvc's..my halter monitor showed the symptoms were caused by the pvc's....7000 in 24 hr..........and I am still looking for help...........................hope you have a healthy heart and can find a good doctor who will actually listen!

[thatgirl]

HI everyone, appreciate you all for all of your understanding , and support, I went back to the doctor today and she took me off my blood pressure pill saying that most likely it is the cause of my pvc's I also had a low potassium level which the blood pressure pill takes from my body to make it low as you know your heart thrives and lives from potassium so if it is low then your heart can have pvc's or palpitations , I just started having them a few days ago and they have continued to get worse however since being seen in the ER and been given a large amount of potassium I am feeling somewhat better but I can still feel the pvc's at times, I also had 2 ekg's and ecg's and they were normal and I wore a halter monitor and it was also normal, I have also had a life of panic attacks so I am thinking some of the pvc's are coming from worrying and fears etc or just thinking about having a panic attack and palpitations it is a very scary thing to go through it feels like your heart is going to come out of your chest and you are going to die , but now when I am feeling my heart skip beats I just think of something else or get up and move around and do something to get my mind off of them and I feel them go away after awhile , so I can relate to what you all are going through I will keep you all in my prayers and I hope you do me also god bless thanks for all your support ... Marcy

[808Aaron]

Hi Marcy:

I'm 43 and have dealt with PVC's/PAC's for years and I know how you feel. I would constantly check my pulse whenever I feel those "butterfly" contractions in my abdomen area. I've come to realize over these years that indigestion problems seem to trigger irregular heartbeats. In most instances, I get these episodes when I'm pretty tired, stressed, or ate too much. It has changed my lifestyle; quiting a softball league, taking elevators instead of stairs, and etc....avoiding activities that may trigger these skipped beats.

I'm currently on 10mg of Doxipin; which is mainly prescribed for depression or anxiety. A shrink in the past (went to him for treatment for anxiety attacks) determined that my indigestion problems affected the conductivity of my heart, resulting in irregular beats. In most cases, the Doxipins works for me!  It had calmed my indigestion problems and minimized my irregular heartbeats.

Don't worry, there are thousands of us like you.  I wasn't aware of it until I found this forum several years ago. This forum serves as great therapy for us, assuring ourselves that we are not alone.  

Hang in there and Happy Holidays!
Aaron

[rds]

I seem to share the frustration of many of the members of this group with regards to diagnoses and management of irregular and skipped beats. Mine started about 12 years ago at 50 yrs old. Very episodic and lasted about two years. I would have noticable to marked weakness coincident to these events/episodes. I only once went to doctor (emergency late at night for assessment). It seemed to worry them and they kept me for three days for assessements, they couldn't find the reason for the "misfires." I am generally a very healthy guy for my age. Non-smoker, light drinker and manage my weight well. The maternal side of the family, that I seem to mimic, all had early onset artery disease. I seem to follow my Mother who, unlike many of her family members, she had many similar warnings.. somewhat similar to mine and she didn't have to have any procedures until 69 (open heart). She then lived to 85 under medical managementafter 74. Her last six or so years were fraught with angina episodes, but she was an excellent self-manager of her health. My skipped beats went away for about 4-5 years then reappeared more in the form of arrthymias (heart periodically speeding and slowing, but only on occasion of occasional physical or emotional stress). Since I have also been periodically bothered with episodes of dizziness and sometimes accompanying nausea. I finally had an angiogram a couple years ago. They didn't find anything overt enough to be causing my symptom. The cardiologist said I had more blockage than a man my age should have, but the surgeon was conservative, which I appreciated and didn't see need at the time for a stent. My brother is in the hospital as I write for his fourth stent (this time a renal), but he is 6 1/2 yrs older (69). I am open to other stories. Perhaps we will find some correlations.. or just empathy. :)  I have accepted that until the state of the art advances, what isn't broken probably shouldn't be fixed. Over the past two or so years, the aging comedian in me as introduced another "wrinkle." I occasionally (perhaps once or twice a month) get periodic sharp pressure and pain above my eye/left temple that causes me quite exceptional dizziness.. twice it happened while driving and I had to drive to side of road and park, but then it goes away in 3 to 5 minutes, usually with some accompanying nausea. Anyhoo, best to my fellow suffers and thankful for those of you who do not. I'm like an "old Corvette" who runs strong, but then very rough when a little overheated. My ignition system doesn't seem very forgiving, like an aging racing engine! I like the analogy anyway. It makes me feel a little less "the aging hulk" that I am!  :) Happy Holidays  David

[cheeseburg]

HELLO EVERYONE, IT HAS BEEN QUITE SOMETIME SINCE I LAST POSTED. I TO HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING PALPITATIONS, PVCS,PACS, FLUTTER, AFIB FOR THE LAST 21 YEARS.  I HAVE HAD SEVERAL STRESS TESTS DONE, NUMEROUS EKGS, SONAGRAMS, CATHERIZATIONS, AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT ALL IS NORMAL, I WAS TOLD HOWEVER THIS LAST TIME THAT I HAVE DEVELOPED CARDIOMYOPOTHY BUT NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. I HAVE TAKEN LANOXIN 0.25 MG FOR YEARS IT WORKED PRETTY GOOD, I WAS THEN PLACED ON TOPROL IT WORKED FOR A WHILE, NOW I AM ON AMIRODERONE IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING PRETTY GOOD , VERY LITTLE ACTIVITY WITH MY IRREGULARITIES.  I WAS TOLD BY MY PHARMICIST THAT THIS IS A POWERFUL DRUG AND HE DID NOT THINK I SHOULD BE ON IT FOR ANY EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS DRUG?  I ALSO WAS GIVEN LISINOPRIL FOR BP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT DRUG MAKES MY PULSE RATE SLOW BUT IT RANGES FROM 47 AFETR AWAKENING FROM SLEEP TO AROUND 52TO 59 I AM TOLD BY MY CARDIOLOGIST THAT THIS IS OK, BP IS 116/60, I WAS TOLD THIS IS OK ALSO. I RECENTLY HAD A HOLTER MONITOR FOR 24 HRS BECAUSE OF MY CONCERN OF THE LOW PULSE BECAUSE OF MY REQUEST TO BE TAKEN OFF THE AMIRODERONE BECAUSE OF WHAT THE PHARMICIST TOLD ME, MY DOCTOR TELLS ME NOT TO LISTEN TO ANYONE ELSE.  I ALSO WHAT TO FESS UP TO QUITING ALL MEDICATIONS FOR A TWO WEEK PERIOD WITHOUT ANY BOUTS, I ACTUALLY FEEL GREAT WITHOUT THEM, BUT WHEN I INFORM MY DOCTOR OF THIS HE GETS MAD AND TELLS ME IF I AM GOING TO TREAT MYSELF AND NOT LISTEN TO HIM I SHOULD GE ELSEWHERE. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?