dizziness

  Dear Forum,
  I hope you don't mind mind me writing to you again.  I am currently
  experiencing three types of arrhytmia (documented): atrial/inappropriate
  tachycardia and PVCs (have had 3 ablations in the last 2 years).
  For two years now I have been experiencing dizziness which comes and goes
  of it's own accord but has never totally disappeared.  I have had a Negative
  MRI and have been seen by an Otologist who has ruled out any ear problems.
  My cardioligist seems to think that the dizziness has got nothing to do
  with my heart as the dizziness happens when I am not in arrhythmia state.
  However, the other day, I had a very long run of PVCs and during
  this event everything went gray/black.   After this episode, for the rest of
  the day, my dizziness and balance was very extreme and has been since.
  Before this event, I haven't experienced any major dizzy turns.  My question
  is, what could possibly be causing this.    Could the balancing mechanisms
  in my ears be very sensitive to the rise/drop of blood pressure during
  an arrhythmia?
  I would very much appreciate a view so I can look at other possibilities.
  Kind regards,
  Kj

[CCF Cardio MD - MTR]

_
Dear KJ, thank you for your question.  It's difficult to determine what is exactly causing your dizziness, but since you had a negative neurologic and ear work-up, I suspect it may be related to your arrhythmias.  When you have a long run of premature beats, the amount of blood the heart pumps to the body is diminished.  With diminished blood flow to the brain, dizziness and even loss of consciousness can result.  Thus, I suggest that you notify your cardiologist about this episode as soon as possible.  
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.  Good luck.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.