skipped beats

I have written to you before and you were most helpfull.
recently over the past few months I have skipped heartbeats..my heart beats normally then appears to stop and starts again..I was in hospital for a night where they did tests ..blood..ekg and chest x-ray..all was normal..I went back to my Dr and he says its probably PVC.s.. and he has put me on Zannax to calm me down when its happening. My questions are..why have they suddenly started what is the cause as I have no previous problems and no history of heart problems in my family?
How can they be prevented?
Thank you so much

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

Wearing a Holter monitor for a couple of days would help establish the diagnosis. Assuming you are having PVCs, there is not always an obvious triggering factor. Common triggers for some people include caffeine, fatigue, stress, alcohol, and tobacco. Avoidance of these factors are very useful for certain individuals. There are also medications that your doctor can prescribe to decrease the frequency of PVCs if they remain very bothersome to you.

[kim]

Hi this is Kim I'm a 24 year old female and i have been having heart palpitations since i was 16. I went to the doctors often and they told me its nothing to worry about. When i was 20 i had gotten pregnant and the palpitations seemed to disappear. I am now 24 and the palpitations are starting up again. I tell myself constantly that its nothing to worry about but i cant seem to stop worrying about them.If anybody has any information to help me i would appreciate it very much . Thank you.

                           Kim

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

Since the symptoms have started up after such a long time, it might be a good idea to see your doctor again and make sure nothing different is going on.

[Annya]

Hi Kim I understand what you are going through it is indeed scary  ..do make sure you have all the necessary check ups and I am sure you will soon get a reply from the doctor here also.

ok so ..I avoid all the things you told me about caffein I have two mugs of coffee a day..do not smoke..do not drink.. and am now on zannac for any anxiety.. but no one seems to realise the only anxiety is the worry over the PVC's.would a glass of white wine in the evening be beniciical as I am told just one is good for you?
I have started to walk every day for 20 mins. I have another question is it harmful to continue walking ..cleaning house whateevr if you have one of these episodes? I try to continue doing whatever hoping I dont notice it so much.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

Assuming that what you have actually is just benign PVCs, exercise will not hurt the situation and may help. There is no reason to start drinking a glass of wine a day if you do not already do this. Anxiety and PVCs can create a sort of vicious cycle; relaxation techniques can be useful. If I understood your post correctly and you are drinking two cups of coffee a day, you ought to try stopping.

[Annya]

Yes I drink two mugs of coffee first thing in the morning. I ahve started walking and this does make me feel better though I am still having them..I simply can not understand why I should get them all of a sudden..sometimes two or three days pass and nothing then it comes on again and can last from minutes up to over an hour..I am going to England in January to visit relatives so will have a complete  physical then.what do I do if it occurs on the plane with sitting still so much..can my doctor prescribe anything to prevent it. ? I am on beta blockers.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

I was about to suggest beta blockers. You may need to be on a higher dose.

[Diane]

don't forget to check www.onelist.com and look up PVC's, then register. It is for all of us that suffer from PVC's and had been a tremendous help for all of us. If you need additional help, let us know... Diane

[Diane]

don't forget to check out www.onelist.com for support, got to that site and then look for PVC's. It should bring you  to a community for peoplewithPVC's. Then review the archives and sign up. It has been a great support group. There are about 100 of us that suffer from PVC's and everytime someone submits the whole groups get the mail. Try it and it may help you to. Thanks, Diane

[Annya]

Dear Dr and Dianne
Thank you for your support. I will go to the web page and sign up.
One more question Dr assuming they are PVC's are they caused by anything I have done>  and can they be cured completly or will they possible go away in time?
re tha beta blockers I am on Indral 40mg once a day and half in the early evening.

[Mark]

ANNYA:
I TOO HAVE PERIODS OF SKIPPED HEART BEATS. WHETHER I'M WALKING OR SIMPLY SITTING AND WATCHING TELEVISION, IT CAN HAPPEN. IT MAY HAPPEN ONCE A DAY, TWICE IN 2 MINUTES, OR I COULD GO SEVERAL DAYS OR WEEKS WITHOUT HAVING IT. HOWEVER, BOTH MY INTERNIST AND CARDIOLOGIST HAVE CONFIRMED THAT IN THE COURSE OF A DAY every person WILL HAVE SKIPPED BEATS. THE REASON I AM NOTICING THEM IS BECAUSE I AM A VERY ANXIOUS PERSON AND DEPENDING ON MY DEGREE OF ANXIETY AT THE TIME, THAT DETERMINES WHETHER OR NOT I ACTUALLY AM AWARE OF THE SKIPPED BEATS. ALTHOUGH YOU BELIEVE IT'S THE SKIPPED BEATS CAUSING YOUR ANXIETY, I WOULD GUESS THE FACT THAT YOU ARE HAVING THESE EPISODES IS KEEPING YOU SOMEWHAT ANXIOUS AND PARTIALLY CONTRIBUTING TO YOUR ACTUALLY NOTICING THEM. HOPE THIS HELPS.

MARK

[Annya]

Thank you everybody it helps just to know there are others who go through this it is so frightening though..each time there is a huge pause you wonder if it will indeed start again.
Should I take a higher dose or perhaps take the 40 mg of inderal both morning and night?
What causes this to happen just out of the blue.?

[Samuel Tomaselli]

I'm only 23 years old, a vet living on my own for nearly 6 years, and can't afford health care. I'm scared (due to past experiences) to trust what the VA tells me, so here I am. In probably the past 3 or 4 weeks, I've been noticing palipatations of my own quite frequently - usually 4 or 5 times a day lasting between about 5 and 45 minutes. Quitting caffeine has helped, although not entirely. Do I have this to look forward to the rest of my life? It's even bothering me know as I type this. I'm not really much of a nervous person, and I'm fairly thin. The VA doctor told me it could even be thyroid problems...

[debra]

I'm 49, overweight...and having irregular heartbeats too.  I am happy to read about PVC's..and how many others are like me.  

I noticed heart flutters and palps in May..I was under a bunch of pressure regarding work.  I also started smoking again after quitting for over a year, which I am not proud to admit.  The flutters or skipped beats can happen any time of the day.  They really bother me!  I finally quit smoking August 13th and the palps seem to lesson.  But, lately I'm having them very often..  always after eating meals but it could happen as I sit here relaxed or at any time.  
I'm freightened and stressed about this.  Being overweight doesn't help.  I don't drink more then 1 cup of coffee a day and I'm already considering giving that up too after reading the posts here.  Perhaps I need a complete life change.

I went to a Cardiologist in October when I was up in Ohio <I live in Florida>  after the MD read the ekg he said he saw one PVC and figured it was probably benign and asked if I had insurance.  I said no and he said because if I did he would send me for a couple tests..24 halter moniter and echo cardiagram.  When he found out I was without insurance he said when I get back to Fl. to see my doctor.  Needless to say I'm nervous and thinking of just walking into an emergency hospital to get the test needed.
It's sad to think that money is stopping me from getting much needed help.  

Thank you for being here

Debbie

[Annya]

Dear Debbie
I agree with you about the money issue ..I too am not on any sort of insurance and can not afford the holter monitor and the reading at this stage..after just having had a bill for over $1800 for three hours in the emergency room where I was assured all was fine but I am still having the PVC's. where do you live Debbie?