I always ask my drs if I am at an incresed risk of something serious happening from my pvc's.The answer is always "no" ( although I'm still scared). But myself and most( if not all)of us who post here need that constant reasurrance. I'm sure studies that show increased risks are in patients with family histories, prior heart problems etc. etc. The reason I say this is, I used to do a lot of reading on the heart and most often would get really freaked out by things I read. I finally decided that the doc's know best about pvc's pac's etc and we have to believe what they tell us. There are very many people who have tens of thousands of these things daily ( i'd go crazy if i had that many) for many years and are still alive with no apparent damage or further risks. I know two of them myself. One of them is 67 and has had them for over 40 years
Not sure I except the increases mortality hypothesis just because you have PVC's. Most/all of the populatiom get them, so would the studies you are refering to suggest that everyone has an increased risk?
A few persons with PVCs have a severe pain or sharp pain with every PVC, from what I understand this is not a common complaint. I imagine this can be very debilitating.
I too have seen/read very conflicting studies regarding PVCs, their medical or clinical significance and their possibily as a marker for increased mortality.I think that the experts have reviewed these studies very carefully and that we interpret the studies differently than the experts.
I think the most persons with PVCs have no increased mortality because of them, while definitely for some they are marker for increased cardiovascular events or probably due to some undiagnosed cardiac problem, my personal opinion only.
I must say that I never seen either doctor here on the forum minimize their symptoms at all , on the contrary they have been very compassionate in understanding the distressing symptoms caused by them.
I hope everyone that suffers with them gets some relief soon. I cant imagine having severe pain with every PVC, that must the most distressing symptom of all.
I also get palpitations when I take a deep breath, so it's comforting to hear that this happens to other people too. I don't get them frequently, but every few weeks I'll have a day where I get a palpitation, or a series of palpitaions whenever I take a deep breath.
Well everyone.. i feel like i have found a new family. I get skipped beats flutters occasionaly. after several ekgs, holters a series of blood test i was told all was good. But i still get the pvcs that scare the poop outta me. And at times i do feel the pain in the middle of my chest.. it is not centerally located but it comes and goes with a pvc. Spoke to my dr. about it and he said not to worry.. all was well. I have sinus arrythmia. I feel like i am going on and on.. but i guess what i am trying to say is that i am so happy that i found this site. People that have exactly the same symptoms that i do, and hear the same thing I do from drs. and also people that still feel scared at times too. this helps me realize that this is perfectly normal and we all have these same feelings. Thank you all for being so open and candid.
Hope everyone has a safe, wonderful, palpitation and pain free holiday :-)
~L
Thanks everyone, I feel much better listening to you all. After all the testing I have had I dont feel like running to the ER. I was there so often a year ago I was on a first name basis with the staff...lol. I probably coulda invited them over for dinner lol. I get short stabbing pains that are gone really quickly. I am only 31 and should not yet be worrying about dropping dead from an heart attack or an arrythmia. I know it can happen but its not a common occurence. My best friend had a heart attack when she was 30. Luckily she had it at the doctors office because they told her she wouldnt have survived it otherwise. She had a 90% blockage. She was also taking vioxx for her knees when it happened. Anyways,thanks so much all for your help and thanks to the doc for answering my questions.
I know - I experience PVCs/PACs with deep breathing. Wish I knew why as deep breathing should help you relax more. I have been at my therapist's office going through breathing exercises for anxiety and crying because everytime I breathed deeply it made me have a PVC! These things are so confounding!
I feel the same way about the deep breath causing PVC's. I even feel sometimes the way I move sets a few off. Just yester day loading the grocery's in the car, some of the bags were really heavy (hubby packed them) and it set off a few.
I did read something about oxygen and rythum, but I can't remember where I read it.
It amazes me how so many people suffer from symptoms such as pain from PVCs/PACs and find that deep breaths can produce PACs/PVCs, yet cardiologists say they have never heard of this. I for one experience both of these (caught them on Holter as confirmation, so I know they can be painful and I know deep breathes can set them off).
i notice them when I take a deep breathe alot. I have also been experiencing a sharp focused pain in my upper chesty that seems to last for a beat or two then goes away, does anyone experience this ever?
Thank you for your post. I have been going through panic attacks since i was 18 and the skipped heartbeats started ( while exercising) when I was 20. I've been to 4 different cardiologists and 3 different family docs over the course of the past 20 years. So I totally agree with you when you say it takes a well trained cardiologist or gp. I am very happy with both of mine.After many years of being told it was in my head I finally found drs that are compassionate,& understanding and don't mind the occassional emergency phone call when I think i'm gonna drop over from the skips.I was at the cardio today & was given a 30 day event monitor. & a script for 25mg toprol.
hope all is well with you
happy holidays everyone
I get chest pain, arm pain, light headed, short of breath.........now the arm pain might be from a herniated disc in neck......however all of the others are related to my pvc's and pac's..........last night I was hanging candy canes on the tree and got light headed, and tropped backwards and fell into my grandsons pile of gifts I rolled around laughing at what a sight I must have been when I flopped on the floor............anyway...get all your tests to be sure its nothing else, and then join the rest of us pvc misfits hahaha..and have a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year...by the way I am on Inderol.and when needed I use something for anxiety..good luck
Anxiety and pvcs, they go together like a horse and carriage. Nah, that doesn't rhyme at all. However, according to some of the stuff I've read, a large (up to 30%) percentage of people who complain about (or peceive) weird heartbeats do also suffer from some kind of anxiety or panic disorder. Which is cause, and which is effect? From my own experience, I cannot rightly say, except that for me a burst of pvcs is accompanied instantaneously by panic; I cannot actually tell which came first. I can say that it does not seem to be related to stress in my life. I betcha that most of us who post here are wired differently from Joe Average, and I'll bet it's genetic.
Here's an article about pvcs that's not too patronizing, and which may be helpful in understanding how doctors arrive at their diagnosis when they have patients with arrhythmias:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050215/743.html
I too suffer from panic attacks. I have had them on and off for years. My cardio said that my pvc's are there with or without anxiety, however they are significantly increased with anxiety. I really believe this to be true cause mine always seem to happen in situations where i worry that they will. Sometimes i'll take a xanax and they will go away and then come back when it wears off(weird) cause they'll come back even if i feel great.I am one of those who is constantly worried about my heart. I had a stress echo in 2003 and now i feel like what if my arteries are clogged ? should I get anouther echo? etc. etc. It's a constant worry!
I think persons with PVCs , PACs, palpitation, etc. are probably healthier heartwise than most of the general population( probably sounds stupid and could very well be, just my personal belief and opinion)simply because they are checked out more thoroughly most of the time than someone without any of these symtoms.
PVCs have to be given some credit in saving some lives, alot of asymptomatic persons discovered to have frequent PVCs or PVCs that make a doctor think twice were given test to rule out CAD and found to have significant CAD even though they might not have felt much PVCs at all, therefore if it were not for the PVCs the necessary test might not have been given so in these cases the presence of PVCs have to be given the credit for the discovery of their problem, even though the 2 might not have been related at all.
I think in the vast majority of cases when doctors tell you that your PVCs are benign and cause a great anxiety they are probably correct.From what I gather only a very small percentage of persons presenting with PVCs are found to have significant heart disease or structural abnormalities.
Merry Christmas to Everyone and all the Best for 2006.
Actually, I'm pretty positive that anxiety is my main problem. I also have panic attacks. It runs in my family. I have more issues that I am dealing with and for a long time would not accept anxiety as the cause. Though after all the testing that I have been through and talking with other family members who also have anxiety I fit right into all the other symptoms. Though you are correct on saying that to many doctors will pass everything off as anxiety or panic. To many people are diagnosed with it.
Yes, I have experienced most of that. The worst times for me are bending over (especially if my stomach is bloated or reflux is on the warpath, twisting to reach something, and the worst,using a squeegee to clean the windshield of my car. That reaching forward motion while applying just a little pressure, drives my PVC's wild.
Just my two cents, but I don't believe any of this means things are going downhill. At least that is what my cardio doc told me.
Take care. Happy Holidays.
hello everyone, I am so glad to have found this site. FINALLY I can see that there are many others who understand how consuming pvc's pac's are. For many years I've getting my skips 90% of the time when bending over, talking with my head turned to the right or left, raising my arms, laying on my left side, taking a deep breath,cleaning ( like when i'm wiping something side to side)etc. I have recently noticed that they have been getting worse ( with even slight movement) has this been the case with any of you, that after years of having them they seem to get worse?
I think the anxiety from the pvc's is what is causing the lightheadedness. I was laying in bed the other night and took a deep breath and could feel my heart pause and THUNK. So of course then I had to try it again and see what happened and it did it again. I hate taking up question space though cause so many others need to ask their questions.
Good Questions especially the one with taking a deep breath causing PVCs. Nearly everytime I get a PVC now it is related to taking a deep breath or I find myself hyperventilating. I also have tension in the chest , lightedheadness and tingling in the fingers and arms but this I really cant relate to the PVCs which thank goodness is what I would call a rare occurence now.
Hello,
PVCs seem to affect people in different ways. Many people don't even notice them, some people notice all of them, and others imagine them when they aren't there. It is often difficult to determine what is causing symptoms without trying to correlate them with a holter monitor.
1. My question is with PVC's can they make your chest feel heavy with brief pains in the middle of your chest?
I haven't heard them described as pains -- thumps, skips, fluttering are all common descriptors, not usually pain.
2.Also can they cause arm pain and lightheadedness?
Some people do get lightheaded with frequent PVCs. I haven't heard of arm pain.
3. Is there a reason that taking deep breaths either makes PVC's happen or is it just more noticeable?
It is not common for deep breaths to make PVCs worse. Theoretically, it can happen, but not very often.
I hope this helps. Good luck with the treatment of your anxiety. That can be a tricky problem.