frequent pacs

[girldia]

I have been having pacs or flutters since I was teen.  I notice them more when I am undergoing stressful times.  They come and go.  However, this year when I underwent a long period of anxiety and panic attacks they became more frequent.  I get flutters and sometimes I feel the runs of the beats.  I don't feel faint but I notice sometimes it maybe that I am so intent on feeling them that I forget to breath normally.  I had an event monitor for a week but they say they were all PACs and nothing to worry about....But I worry about getting an atrial fibrillation or sudden death all the time.  I wonder have I developed a mitral prolapse or ARVD or anything like that.  It is paralyzing my life.  I don't workout anymore, I am scared to do anything fun.  It makes me angry and frustrated.  I went to the hospital with chest pains and they ran all these blood tests/EKG...the results normal....He gave me some test that would show if I had a heart attack or would be at risk and the number was "0".  No possibility.  Can someone please put ot rest these fears or should I make my doctor do other tests?  What if they missed something?  My friends keep telling me it is not physical but mental....but I feel them.  What should I do?

[girldia]

thanks so much....I appreciate the encouragement from you both.  I will continue to press on./

[anacyde]

:)

[ihatepvc's]

I went through all of the same fears and put the same limitations on my life. I was scared to do or eat anything in fear of the pvc's coming on or of me dying of sudden death. I guess you have to come to the point where you say, okay if it's going to kill me it's going to kill me but i'm going to live my life! Of course, it is NOT going to kill you but you have to have the mindset where you just don't care anymore. For instance, last night we went to dinner at this special place and normally I don't drink alcohol because of the pvc's but I need to feel "normal" so I ordered a glass and drank about a quarter of it and I was totally fine. It's the cutting things out of your life that makes you feel depressed, not so much the pvc's and pacs. What's interesting is if you have some big crisis in your life the pvc's will take on minimal importance and the fear of them is completely gone. This means you have a choice. Does this make sense? Whenever they start coming on again, I come back to this site to remind me that I am not alone and they are NOT going to kill me. I agree totally with everything Anacyde said about you continuing to exercise. Whether you exercise or not, they will be probably be there. I don't care much for Dr. Phil anymore but he did say something that I always replay in my life and that is "Get excited about your life"! You are not defined by your pvc's. They are a minor annoyance in your life and be determined not to let them impact the way you live in any way. Are you taking medication? This helps to control them so you are not always so aware if you can't quite mentally get over them. Good luck!

[girldia]

Dear Anacyde:  I was crying reading your post.  Thanks you so much for that.  I appreciate it.  I am tired pf being paralyzed this way.  I am going to seek some counsel and move on with God's help.  I appreciate you.

[anacyde]

Frequent atrial ectopy can increase your risk for atrial fibrillation, but sudden death from PACs (or afib, for that matter) is virtually not worth worrying about since the chance is sooooooo infinitely small.

Most normal people in the population experience PACs and/or PVCs.  PACs are usually less concerning than PVCs, though both are most often benign.

To develop any kind of problem from PACs, you would need to be having tens of thousands of them a day and even then, sudden death is not typically one of those complications.

I agree, this is paralyzing your life, and with no need.  The risks of avoiding exercise for a few PACs is *far* greater than just exercising with them.  A sedentary lifestyle will put you at risk for a myriad of cardiovascular health problems, as well as many other health issues - not to mention that lack of exercise will increase your anxiety serving to feed your fears and make the cycle snowball.  The risks of exercising with PACs are nearly zero, in any event, far less than skipping the exercise.

A heart attack is very very different from sudden death.  A heart attack is caused when the heart lacks oxygen and bloodflow due to narrowed arteries, clots, etc.  Sudden death is what happens from a prolonged fatal arrhythmia.  PACs are not a fatal arrhythmia, even a bunch of them, even when they come in pairs or even short runs.

I've been where you are so I speak from experience.  I have exercise induced PACs.  Now, in my case I actually had a heart problem (from pregnancy, not from the PACs) and I kept exercising to help my heart heal.  In spite of frequent PACs (sometimes 50 of them in 30 minutes of exercise) my heart not only healed from being enlarged, it is better than it's ever been.  Why?  Exercise.

Staying fit has decreased the frequency of the PACs too.  Just a thought.  Since anxiety worsens them and exercise decreases anxiety...the natural result is a decrease in PACs.

What you should do is live.  I asked myself a question once that was a turning point for me.  "What is the point of life if you aren't living it, but merely existing?"  And I got out there and started living.  You should too.  Don't let this (very common, very benign) problem keep you from life.

[girldia]

thanks for responding.  No, I don't eat alot of sugar, drink plenty of water and mostly is when I am stressed which is most of the time.

[emilycaitlin]

Hi, have you noticed anything in particular that triggers your pacs besides stress (that one's hard to avoid isn't it)? Some people find that avoiding triggers such as caffeine, sugar, and dehydration can help decrease the pac's. Just a suggestion, hope you feel better soon, em