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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
skipped beats and fast beats
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
skipped beats and fast beats
by Heart3, Dec 01, 2005 12:00AM
Hi DR.
I have had PVC's for at least 9yrs. Saw Electrophoiologist in Boston and got the same answer as everyone on this site. DON'T WORRY and live your life. No restrictions. Had echo, ekg, holter, and been to the ER a couple of time. But every DR. says the same thing. Your heart is healthy don't worry.
So with that said.
Should people like us take an Asperin every day?
I used to get just PVC's with an occasional odd flutter that would really scare me. Now I seem to be getting a short speady beat that last only a couple of seconds, but it is different than the pvc. I felt my pulse and it was beating .......... fast. And then when back to normal. Is this of concern?
With the PVC's it beats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .?
And WHEN is the fast beating of concern? What are the clues that we should get to a hosptal. And is there any thing we can do to slow it back down on our own while we seek medical help.
I carry atentol (but don't take it) but thought it would be good to have if needed. Is that something that would slow the heart rate in enough time to get medical help?
This recent different beat, that I am not used to has made me scared again. I don't want that fear of going somewhere. I use to avoid things due to the PVC's, and I finally got over that. Now it had changed, and the fear is coming back.
I could probably go on all day. These people are a special group, as no one else understands me when I talk about my heart.
Thanks for your time.
I have had PVC's for at least 9yrs. Saw Electrophoiologist in Boston and got the same answer as everyone on this site. DON'T WORRY and live your life. No restrictions. Had echo, ekg, holter, and been to the ER a couple of time. But every DR. says the same thing. Your heart is healthy don't worry.
So with that said.
Should people like us take an Asperin every day?
I used to get just PVC's with an occasional odd flutter that would really scare me. Now I seem to be getting a short speady beat that last only a couple of seconds, but it is different than the pvc. I felt my pulse and it was beating .......... fast. And then when back to normal. Is this of concern?
With the PVC's it beats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .?
And WHEN is the fast beating of concern? What are the clues that we should get to a hosptal. And is there any thing we can do to slow it back down on our own while we seek medical help.
I carry atentol (but don't take it) but thought it would be good to have if needed. Is that something that would slow the heart rate in enough time to get medical help?
This recent different beat, that I am not used to has made me scared again. I don't want that fear of going somewhere. I use to avoid things due to the PVC's, and I finally got over that. Now it had changed, and the fear is coming back.
I could probably go on all day. These people are a special group, as no one else understands me when I talk about my heart.
Thanks for your time.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-MJM, Dec 01, 2005 12:00AM
Hi Heart3,
I am sorry to hear that you are so scared. Becareful not to let the fear consume you. PVCs are alarming, they can scare you, but don't let them control.
1. Should people like us take an Asperin every day?
No. For simple PVCs alone, there is no indication for aspirin.
I used to get just PVC's with an occasional odd flutter that would really scare me. Now I seem to be getting a short speady beat that last only a couple of seconds, but it is different than the pvc. I felt my pulse and it was beating .......... fast. And then when back to normal. Is this of concern?
I doubt it. The easiest thing to do is get a holter monitor and record the time when they happen in a diary. That way you can correlate the symptoms with the heart rhythm at that time.
And WHEN is the fast beating of concern?
Anytime there a sustained fast heart rate or you are feeling faint associated with the symptoms and certainly if you lose consciousness, but any of this would be very rare with simple PVCs. This is a very individualized question -- you should probably address this with your doctor.
Is that something that would slow the heart rate in enough time to get medical help?
PVCs will not cause tachycarda. If you have tachycardia, you should find out why. It may be sinus tachycardia, it may be an axiety attack with tachycardia. The problem is I can't give you a range of rates. We have patients who have baseline heart rates of 110 or 120 and we can't change it, but if someone has a normal heart rate of 60 beats per min and increases to 120 that is much different than a normal rate of 110 and is now 120. That is why this should be an individualized decision.
This recent different beat, that I am not used to has made me scared again. I don't want that fear of going somewhere. I use to avoid things due to the PVC's, and I finally got over that. Now it had changed, and the fear is coming back.
If the symptoms have change, talk to your doctor and figure out why (if possible). A holter monitor may answer these questions.
I hope this helps a little. Good luck and thanks for posting.
I am sorry to hear that you are so scared. Becareful not to let the fear consume you. PVCs are alarming, they can scare you, but don't let them control.
1. Should people like us take an Asperin every day?
No. For simple PVCs alone, there is no indication for aspirin.
I used to get just PVC's with an occasional odd flutter that would really scare me. Now I seem to be getting a short speady beat that last only a couple of seconds, but it is different than the pvc. I felt my pulse and it was beating .......... fast. And then when back to normal. Is this of concern?
I doubt it. The easiest thing to do is get a holter monitor and record the time when they happen in a diary. That way you can correlate the symptoms with the heart rhythm at that time.
And WHEN is the fast beating of concern?
Anytime there a sustained fast heart rate or you are feeling faint associated with the symptoms and certainly if you lose consciousness, but any of this would be very rare with simple PVCs. This is a very individualized question -- you should probably address this with your doctor.
Is that something that would slow the heart rate in enough time to get medical help?
PVCs will not cause tachycarda. If you have tachycardia, you should find out why. It may be sinus tachycardia, it may be an axiety attack with tachycardia. The problem is I can't give you a range of rates. We have patients who have baseline heart rates of 110 or 120 and we can't change it, but if someone has a normal heart rate of 60 beats per min and increases to 120 that is much different than a normal rate of 110 and is now 120. That is why this should be an individualized decision.
This recent different beat, that I am not used to has made me scared again. I don't want that fear of going somewhere. I use to avoid things due to the PVC's, and I finally got over that. Now it had changed, and the fear is coming back.
If the symptoms have change, talk to your doctor and figure out why (if possible). A holter monitor may answer these questions.
I hope this helps a little. Good luck and thanks for posting.
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We all know what they feel like beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat beat.
That's better (lol)
Most beta blockers usually work for slowing the heartrate within 30-45 minutes after taking it orally, of course that is for those that respond to beta blockers, others it might have no effect at all.
My experience after suffering with PVcs for over 20 years is that the very same pvcs feel different at times, if they feel different have them reevaluated either by ekg, or holter , chances are you will find out that its the very same arrhythmia just the feeling is different. Most people that suffer from one arrhythmia will usually have the same arrhythmia repeatedly throughout their lifetime.
I have wanted to post a very similar question but for some reason the questions are full when I try...but I digress.
The one thing I have noticed is the different advice some get from Cardiologists regarding skipped beats and fast beats. I was just diagnosed yesterday by the cardio with benign tachycardia (wouldn't tell me what type just said it was not life threatning) and skipped beats (I was in a state of shock and had my 4yo with me and was not expecting to actually see the MD since I was dropping off my event monitor) and he suggests a Cardiac Ablasion and for now a Beta blocker. I don't know what to do...my regular MD didn't even want me to see a Cardio just told me it was stress and to take a couple zanex.
I wish I could give you some great advice but just know you are not alone. I hope the MD here is able to give you some answers.
It is just so strange how they come on out of the blue, and go away the same way. There is almost no way to find a pattern of what brings them on. Some times I am under the most stress ever and not a single beat out of wack, but then 4 or 5 months later boom there they are when every thing in my life seems to be going just smoothly. They only thing I do know is that if I let them get to me and I panic they get 100% worse right there on the spot. So I just try to keep myself calm, and talk myself through it.
thanks :)
I am not a doctor, but your symptoms and problems closely resemble what so many of us have complained about, both on this board and with our own doctors. Speaking from vast personal experience, the endless fear and "what ifs" will absolutely eat you alive if you let them. Looking at it from the professional point of view (as an observer...like all of us), I think a doctor would be a bloody fool to deliberately mislead a patient. The potential for legal and professional or ethical disaster is huge!
If you are as genuinely troubled as you seem to be, you should at least call your doctor if not actually go for an office visit. Maybe your doc can take a moment to reassure you over the phone. Whatever...you have to find some peace of mind, otherwise your fear/adrenaline/fear cycle will continue to exacerbate your symptoms and emotionally beat the stuffing out of you.
I hope you find some help and feel better soon.
dying, i went to the er and they did an ekg and found nothing
but i kept having chest pains not major but a sort of pinching an squeezing feeling so they gave me nitro, that didnt help, it made my heart rate go up to 160 bpm which scared the hell out of me. anyhow the dr decided to keep me in the hosp for a night to monitor me but nothing ever came out of the whole ordeal. anyway from that point the feeling of being scared and the heart palps seemed to get worse. does any one out there get these feelings and the pains at night more like i do? or when it gets extremly cold. I feel like i cant deal sometimes, and i look at my kids and wonder am i gonna die???? that scares me more and then my heart starts hearting again, will it ever end??
i guess im just rambling on but i really get scared.
thanx everyone for listening
I am so used to feeling the pvc's that I don't even notice them all the time unless it is one of those bigger thumps in the chest.
F.Y.I Sometimes we get a bigger thump vs. a little thump because of our heart rate. I think if your heart is beating slower 60 beats per minute you feel a bigger thump. and if it is going a little faster 70 to 80 beats per minute, then you don't seem to notice the pvc's as much. That is just my analogy.
I hope this is reassuring. I had severe anxiety for about a year because of those exact same thoughts, but I finally got to the point where I hardly think about them anymore, and amazingly once my adrenline rush from the extreme anxiety subsided so did my PVC's! WoW! So please take comfort from knowing that we all have felt these same thoughts! Take care.
To make things easier for me to manage my PVCs I come back to this site and feel comforted to read others posts especially when people chime in and say they have had PVCs for 25 years. I realize I am not alone and that my life expectancy will not be diminished because of the PVCs unless I let it.
In speaking to my cardiologist, he did say that he never realized how devastating this condition is until a good friend of his started having PVCs and PACs. He said his friend would call him all hours of the night and day in panic mode. Because of this he is more sympathetic to me and others that see him with these symptoms.
Finally, every time I have gone in to have the irregular beats monitored, the doctors just look at me and say, "Yeah, your having PVCs/PACs. Have a nice day."
Hang in there. Have a positive attitude (as hard as that seems) and things will get better.
Good luck.
As a lot of you mention, you either have been told that anxiety is a factor with these things, or you know it from your own experience. Every few years, I have a phase of panic attacks that lasts for months. It is invariably accompanied--instantaneously--by pvcs, and whether it’s the chicken or the egg, well, who knows? However, I have learned when it’s really bad, cognitive therapy and such do not help me at all, and I have to turn to the pharmacy, for which I am grateful, even though it has meant trying a LOT of different drugs. By now, I know that some SSRIs are worth their weight in gold to me for long-term control of anxiety or panic. Zoloft is my favorite, and has worked reliably for me time and again (sometimes, the pvcs have disappeared for months when I was on it). I also know that Celexa may work, or it may not. And for me, Lexapro and Paxil are useless in quieting down a good, four-alarm panicky phase. Lately, since my BP has been rising, my doc put me on Toprol XL, and I have personally found it the best drug so far. I feel vastly calmer and more comfortable with my BP and HR kept low.
Books and articles about this say that extra heartbeats are usually only perceived by people when they are anxious, and that has been my experience: After a little while on Zoloft or Toprol, I hear and feel them less and less, and I mind them less and less, because when I’m calm, I can see that the pvcs do not affect my normal activities, including exercise. The faintness and shortness of breath go away when my nervous system is quieted down. Based on my experience, I’d urge any of you who have been told your hearts are OK, but who are still suffering from the fear that you are going to die, to keep on trying those antidepressants and beta blockers. You will probably have to see more than one doctor or shrink, and try numerous drugs to find the right one, or the right combo, but the end result will be that your lives will once again be enjoyable.
Another thing I found extremely helpful is to become informed about how hearts and circulation work. These things can be understood even by ordinary people, when they’re properly explained. For example, in people actually diagnosed with benigh pvcs, the sensation that we feel as a heart stopping and starting again is an illusion. There is a lot of medically correct info about the heart’s function on the internet, and I think this is a good example:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/heart4.htm
So, difficult as it is, let’s keep actively searching for both relief and knowledge. I think doing that will help us feel more in control.
Speaking about the feeling of the heart stopping, or skipping a beat.
It is actually an early beat and then the pause and then the next natural beat. And the reason for the thud in the chest is because the when the early beat fired, there was just a little blood to pump. So the pause let the ventrical fill up a little extra and the heart pump harder to get the blood to get out.
Thanks to heart3 also. The first time I noticed my pvcs, I also thought my heart had stoppped! But once you realize that your "pacemaker" (the SA node) is ticking along fine, you just don't feel the pulse because of the lack of volume, it's less unsettling (mentally - physically of course, it still feels like crud!)
that he might think about eventually weaning me off it and I said NO WAY! He told me that I was the only person that he had ever known that wanted to stay on it. It has truly truly given me my life back. I am so thankful that my cardiologist placed me on it.
Just as a side note, for the first week that you are on it you will feel draggy and tired, but trust me it WILL go away after about a week. I have been on it for over a year now and I have no side effects whatsoever - unless you count the good side effects, like a low/normal heart rate and almost no PVC's / PAC's!
Good luck and I would love to know how you do once you have been on them for awhile.
LOL thats the first line I seen when searching on google for metoprolol :) Why the hell do I have to have a problem with the most important part in my body!!! I wish our heart didn't need to beat , just be there and do its job without a heart rhythm to worry about.