Worried about PVC

[starling97]

Hi everyone. I like many of you here have suffered for many years with the fear of my pvcs. I have been to many doctor's to try to deal with my fear. Talking with the doctors helped, and I have been doing well.The past few years have been pretty good, till a few weeks ago when they have increased in number. Now I am full of fear again. I saw a posting this morning talking about how they can be dangerous, it was from Medline 16635610. I don't know what happened to the posting it seem to be gone. Could any of you read the article and please tell me what you think? I hope I am reading it wrong, I don't want to go down this road of fear again... thank you!

[Ally29]

Hi Arthur

I really wish you all the best with your ablation. It's really good of you to share your experience on this forum. Heart issues cause alot of anxiety. Warmest wishes Alison xx

[arthur]

I have lone AFib, also known as PAF.  It's brought on by PACs which are brought on by adrenaline rushes which are brought on by vigorous exercise.  A few years back a rf ablation knocked out one of the atrial foci responsible.  With time the condition has returned.  I am planning a second ablation this November...using techniques quite advanced from the original procedure which are designed to completely isolate any and all atrial foci.

-Arthur

[Ally29]

Hi Arther,

You sound highly intelligent. I have read a few of those studies myself and I agree they can be read in a variety of ways. Do you suffer from a heart condition yourself???

Alison xx

[lady scimitar]

Dear Starling97, I am an Italian lady. I am 53 yo and doctors discoved I had Total Anomalous Polmonary Venous Return (or Scimitar Syndrome) when I was 51 yo!!! I had Sovra Ventricolar Tachycardia and I know how frightful it it is. I discover this  SVT by cardiac catheterization because in others ways it was impossible to detect. Neither  wearing Holter because the arrhythmia arrived suddenly but no every day. On may 06 I had surgery open-heart at the Childrens'Ospital in  Boston (Departm. for adults)they corrected my anomalous polmonary venous return and now I have no more arrhytmia. This to suggest you to investigate more carefully your situation and  to go to a specialized Center.
I created a web page for my condition: is www.amicidellascimitarra.it
Pls take a look and...
Good luck!

Rita

[Ally29]

Sorry Arthur....I spelt your name wrong!!! lol xx Alison xx

[starling97]

Thank you Collegegirl143,Aurthur and Manhahan for your replies. I try not to look up to much info on the internet as I have almost scared myself to death a few times! But it is hard when you are lying awake at night with your heart doing strange "Things", sometimes you just want a little reasurance! I love the look of the new site!!! Thank you again everyone:)

[Manhattan]

You should know that the study that was referenced was done in people from 55-70 years of age and that these people did not have full cardiac workups prior to enrolling in this study. I believe they just wore a holter for a short period of time. Therefore, they could have had underlying heart issues and did not know. Also, this study included smokers which is a risk factor in itself. Only men were shown to be at a slightly greater risk, but the above factors should be taken into account. If you've had a workup by your doctor and were told your heart was healthy, then most studies show you are at no more of risk for problems than the general public. Abstracts can be alarming until you've read the full study, but some people choose to mention them anway :(

[arthur]

I was the one that posted the reference.  It described a study conducted on 678 "normal" men and women (aged 55-75) presenting no apparent health issues.  These folks were monitored for a period of time to look for a correlation between PVC frequency and incidence of cardiac-related health "events".  The authors found such a relationship, which surprisingly showed up even for a low frequency of PVCs.  The authors point out early on that the prognostic signficance of different ventricular  arrhythmias is controversial and has not been updated in recent years. I will point out here that such studies are statistical in nature and do not point to cause and effect, rather they point to "risk factors".  

As the baleful, and now phantom thread had erupted into some unseemly remarks, both the thread and its point was lost.  Most cardios will side with the vast majority of studies which point to occassional PVCs as being benign in the context of an otherwise normal heart.  The majority opinion is that PVCs can be associated with more serious underlying conditions, and that they do not, in themselves, cause such conditions.

So, we all get them, and you should follow your cadio's advice in forestalling any anxiety about them.  I just wanted to clarify my posting and put it into context.

-Arthur

[arthur]

Who are these malcontents that keep posting abstracts?
Let's get a rope and string 'em up ;)

Please note, in case it wasn't obvious enough, my point was simply that cause and effect relationships are not possible to ferret out of any study dealing with human beings, because statistical correlations are used.  As I pointed out, the results are no more than "risk factors" and are of no consequence when found in the context of a normal heart. There are a zillion risk factors in any such study, and if they are not taken into account, it's difficult to notice an effect.

Some people take such results to mean there may be underlying causes for PVCs, while others believe that PVCs themselves can cause mischief.

And please stop posting those abstracts...they just lead to confusion!

-Arthur

[CollegeGirl143]

Its completely normal to be afraid of something new and startling, and want answers, but honestly, the best answers you are ever going to find are the ones you are getting and will get from your personal physician.. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

[CollegeGirl143]

im sorry you are so afraid, but the posts are gone, and the person posting them is gone, because they where innacurate..Trust your doctor, not soom out of control quack on the web...This topic has been deemed innapropriate by the admins of this board, so unfortunatly we cant get into it again, but if you'de like to do your own research on the web, you can find many more studies indicating their benign nature, if you read the entire thread, you would have seen these studies.. Sorry but we all have to refrain from citing studies in here now :)