Assorted unusual rhythms

Over the past few years I've suffered off and on with PVCs and weird feelings such as dizziness associated with them. I had a ECG in 2008 which showed I had right axial deviation but seemingly nothing else; an Echo came back normal. In 2009, still getting the the PVCs etc, I had another ECG which was normal, and a 24 monitor which showed only a few benign PVCs. My GP said this was nothing to worry about. But during 2010 I seem to have got a lot more symptoms which really started affecting my life more and more, so I went for another ECG which came back normal, but another 24-hour tape which showed episodes of bigeminy, PVCs and some "junctional beats" when I was sleeping. I've been referred to a cardiologist - which, to be honest, isn't reassuring in the least! On the day I had the monitor, too, I didn't feel nearly as severe symptoms as I had the day before, or did the day after - though I have to say, since then I've been feeling less symptoms.

But the most worrying are the PVCs that cause dizziness. Especially when I don't feel the PVC, just the dizziness. I noted a very slight dizzy sensation when I was wearing the monitor, which, it turns out, corresponded with PVCs which I didn't even feel! This is also worrying to me - what else is going on that I don't feel?! Also not very reassuring was my doctor telling me "not go anywhere where I can't get to a casualty department". He's advised me several times that if I feel a lot of PVCs and they persist for 45 minutes or more, I should go straight to hospital. The worst thing is, on occasions when they have lasted that long I either haven't been able to go anywhere or I'm too scared to drive. I sometimes get bouts of dizziness too - they feel like someone has grabbed me by the neck and shaken me. Sometimes these are definitely preceded by a PVC (or PVCs) so they're super-scary.

I also get other dizzy feelings, where I can't *feel* any PVCs - but then, I didn't when I wore the monitor, but there they were! These spells can go on a long time - hours - and it's mainly my head that feels weird: I can't concentrate, and even moving my eyes makes me feel odd and dizzy and woozy. I don't know whether these are even related, but they're still scary. When I get them I don't know whether to go to hospital, or whether to "save" that for an episode where I *do* feel persistent PVCs!

Finally, I've been bothering doctors about this sort of thing for years, and previously they've always said it was anxiety. Now, bearing in mind my cardiologist referral, is there a chance it's still just anxiety? The only reassuring things my GP told me were that, I'd been having the symptoms for years, and the 24 monitor didn't show up anything that suggested immediate danger. He also didn't advise me to do/stop doing anything, except avoid caffeine/excess alcohol which I do already, but I have noticed that sometimes mild exertion (eg 5 minute walk up small slope) tends to bring on a few PVCs, as does even a very small alcoholic drink. Sometimes sugar or just eating in general does too, though not always. (Caffeine, on the other hand, actually doesn't tend to so much!)

Sorry for such a long rambling post, I'm just waiting for my referral and while I'm glad I'm being taken seriously, I just wish I didn't have to be!

[Mom2four85]

sorry you're going through this and been told it's anxiety...alot of us go through this and have a hard time convincing dr's something is wrong, sounds like you found a dr who takes your pvc's/arrhythmia's seriously enough to warn you about them but I am curious about something.

"Also not very reassuring was my doctor telling me "not go anywhere where I can't get to a casualty department". He's advised me several times that if I feel a lot of PVCs and they persist for 45 minutes or more, I should go straight to hospital."

Did he tell you why you need to do this? I've never heard that - most dr's dismiss pvc's as benign or anxiety and brush patients off.  You may want to ask why.  Even with persistent recurring fainting and very frequent pvc's dr's have told me it was nothing until I had an EP Study and I've never been told anything about a 45 min thing to go to the hospital even with malignant PVC's. I don't know much about it, but SVT or AFib...[brain fog here sorry]

I would get my paperwork and tests and find out exactly what I had and how many and why they told you this.  At the ER/A&E they will ask you some of these questions and other things so you'll want to know.

If they haven't a tilt table test might yield some information about the dizziness, which could be cardiac related or completely unrelated.

[SarahEH]

The hospital thing is just so they could get a picture of what my heart was doing *right then* when I'm having symptoms that I didn't necessarily get when I had the 24 hour heart monitor, and especially after I had the ordinary ECG because it's so short, it's very unlikely to catch symptoms if they're sporadic like mine. He also said if I set off to the hospital with symptoms and they resolved while I was on the way, I should just go home, because there'd be no point if I wasn't still having the symptoms! He told me, if I do go, to just tell them about my symptoms and say I'm waiting on a cardiology referral, and they'd ECG me asap.

Thanks for your response!

[rilesnic]

Sorry you're feeling bad. I'm curious to what they say about the dizziness and PVC's as I to have always been told, it's anxiety or PVC's, PAC's and nothing to worry about. My cardio also told me if I passed out, I would come to. Sometimes, they are not very reassuring even though I think they're telling us these things to try to keep us from freaking out, but it tends to backfire on me...I do freak out. Keep us posted on what your cardio says. Best to you!

[RNRita]

Hi there.  Just want to tell you that you're not alone.  However, what you are describing regarding your "dizziness" does not sound like it is cardiac related.  I have wooziness and all of the feelings you described, along with all sorts of neat PVC/PAC/SVT/bigeminy/couplet combos.  I know from much experience that they are not related.  Having both these problems, though, really is challenging to live with.  Driving is the worst for me because I am afraid I will one day pass out (even though I've never done this and have been "dizzy" for about 4 years) and hurt someone else.  

I think a lot of that is anxiety.  Also, I get it worse when I talk a lot....hmmmm  not sure what it is....surprise surprise...doctors have not been able to figure THAT out, either.  Oh well.

I also have never heard any say not to go anywhere that you can't get to a casualty center.  If it is because they want to catch something else, get an event monitor.  You can have these for like....a month.  Surely THAT will catch something!  Good luck and keep us posted!

[SarahEH]

I'm still waiting for my cardiologist appointment to come through and while I don't seem to have had QUITE as bad PVCs some days, I've been having horrible dizziness that I just can't even explain properly >_<

[SarahEH]

I'm still waiting for my cardiologist appointment to come through and while I don't seem to have had QUITE as bad PVCs some days, I've been having horrible dizziness that I just can't even explain properly. I can't concentrate on what I'm looking at, when I look back I feel like I was in a dream. I feel like my head is separate from my body almost, like it's moving - but it doesn't feel like vertigo: I've had that before and I couldn't even walk, but I can still walk fine - if I dare! I can't hold a conversation properly, I even skipped a class I was supposed to go to because I couldn't face the thought of sitting in a room for 2 hours feeling awful. I even went to the hospital, but of course I wasn't having any PVCs at the time and by the time I got there the dizziness had passed... The doctor there told me to go back if I had any pain, clamminess/sweating or breathlessness, which I don't tend to get - though I do occasionally get stabbing pains to the left of my breastbone, but I've had those for years and years on and off. Of course, this makes it seem more likely to me that my symptoms are exacerbated by anxiety - going to the hospital in itself made me feel better - but I still can't help being scared! I daredn't even drive myself to the hospital to see if I feel better on the way, because the dizziness scares me so much. It feels like I can't see properly, so I wouldn't trust myself to drive. I'm even scared crossing roads when walking because I feel like I don't notice the cars, even though I see them? I feel like I'm going to fall even though I don't get any tunnel vision or anything like that.

The people at the hospital, and my GP, said don't let this stop me doing what I want - and I'm trying to do things I want to do, but I just don't enjoy them! I feel awful (especially if they involve eating or drinking, because I tend to get more PVCs after I eat or drink) and I just want to run away. Sometimes I feel better when I get home... but it never lasts. I'm afraid to move around, it feels like any movement will send my heart into a crazy rhythm or something, but then sometimes they feel worse when I sit still, and get better when I move around! I just can't win!

Thanks for reading, I just wanted to get this off my chest - the vision thing is REALLY worrying but I just don't know how to even explain it... I'm just freaking out, all the time, and whenever some unusual sensation hits I'm terrified all over again that I'm about to die. ><

[bbxx]

Hey, are you on any medication that may be causing the weird dizzy stuff?
Antidepressants can cause stuff like that, but then again so can anxiety.

[SarahEH]

Nope, I don't take any medication. Dizziness this extreme is quite a recent development and it often does seem to coincide with PVCs, even if it's not always the really violent-feeling ones, if you get what I mean!

[bbxx]

wow. i hope you get things figured out.

[Celeste77]

I've had the very same symptoms as you off and on for 20+ years. I have dizziness with my PVCs about 50% of the time. Some people just have a more sensitive nervous system.

Please don't worry about the sudden cardiologist referral. Most of us have ended up with one at some point. I was actually relieved to get mine years ago. Hearing from the cardiologist that nothing is dangerous about your PVC's helps the healing of the vicious cycle of fear=more PVC's. When I was having 15,000 a day, my doctor patted my hand and told me to come back if I got up to 25,000 and we'd talk about ablation. (15,000 a day equals about 10 per minute) I got up to about 20,000 and they slowly regressed and then disappeared almost overnight.  

The most common cause of dizziness is fatigue and emotional upset/anxiety and hyperventilation..ie..breathing shallow using diaphram instead of "stomach breathing".
Try taking some deep breaths, hold for 10 seconds and then ex-hale out of pursed lips.

Hope you get the answers you need from the Cardiologist!

[SarahEH]

Still here, still waiting for my referral - they said I should receive an appointment by the end of April, so while I'm kind of relieved it's not urgent, I still feel like I'm in unknown territory!

I don't feel to have had quite so much dizziness lately but I have been having a lot of PVCs. I've been having them all day at a rate of between 4 and 8 a minute, but somehow they don't "feel" scary because I don't have the dizziness if you see what I mean! I keep toying with the idea of going to hospital just to catch them while they're there, but I'm too busy today...

[RNRita]

I am with you.  I have been having a ton, as a matter of fact, about the same as you, with dizziness( (which I've never had before) and weird sensations that feel different.  Holter monitor cured them....while I wore it.  Going to the doc to talk about possible thyroid tomorrow.  Good luck!