Hi There

[ken2]

Hi
I have been suffering form severe frequent PVC the last year or so.  In an EKG I had 12 years ago it showed PVC's but I had no idea I was having them and as the years went on it slowly increased in frequency.  Currently it seems to have somewhat of a pattern of being fairly normal early in the day and by the late evening they really hit hard. right around 7pm my heart has a hiccup every 3rd beat and by the time I hit the rack they are in series of 3-4 simultaneous skipped/extra beats and than 2-3 normal beats and to add insult to injury now I have episodes of rapid heart beat,  I can be just laying there and get a 5 minute epsiode with a pulse around 200 or so.  I am currently on 75Mg of atenelol but it doesnt seem to be doing anything but lowering my blood pressure.
Yesterday, for the first time I woke up in the middle of the night dizzy and I felt like I had a hard time breathing but i  pushed through it and few hours later felt fine.  A bit scary.
I have read a few posts through out the web that perhaps there may be a connection between inflammitory bowel issues and PVC's,  as I have ulcertaive colitis, any thoughts?
I am currently working in Afghanistan and medical attention is very difficult to come by currently so of course this doesnt make me feel any better.  
I definately feel for all of you out there that have anxiety over PVC's while we are told many of the times that the issue is benign, its as if someone if flicking your ear, while it may not necessarily hurt, you cant help but to focus on it.
Any way good luck to all and keep posting your feelings and comments, I can say pesonally that it is comforting to belong to such a large group of people that are experiencing the same issues.

[ken2]

Unfortunately Because heart dieases runs in the fathers side I am not exactly surprised that a heart issue has come to center stage and is the reason that I had the stress test performed a few years ago.  My father has not experienced PVC's himself.
As I mentioned before I have ulcerative colitis  which I had developed in 91 and a recent bout with tendonitis in the elbows and knees prompted me to see a rheumatologist and was put on medication (sulfasalazine), she said the UC may be comprosmising my immune system to some degree
I will contact the Doc and see if the meds have possibly Exasperated the PVC's.

[itdood]

I"ve read a lot of anecdotal stuff about GI connections to PVCs.  I've never seen an official study on it.  Doctors and medical people will look at you like you have 2 heads if you mention it to them.

I went through something similar back in '09, a lot of GI distress and palps.

For you the way it cycles at night must mean something.  Same with me, it came in cycles and was worst around 3am for me.

The other argument is that only heart cells can cause ectopic beats.  When you peel back all the layers that's what you're left with, heart cells that are misfiring. The majority of 'benign' ectopics are caused by something called "enhanced automaticity" (EA) of the heart cells. There are outside influences that can make EA worse, such as certain chemistry.  

The only thing that I can think of that's going on is that when the parasympathetic or sympathetic nerves send signals to the heart to relax or speed up it further aggravates EA.

Those nerve branches all tie back to the central nervous system and the vagus nerve, all of which tie to the GI tract as-well.  What I think is happening is that people notice GI symptoms as-well when ectopics flare up so they obviously correlate them.  Again, I get back to the EA issue as the primary cause for the ectopics beats.  For some reason the CNS gets active and it further irritates the EA.

Any chance you could get hooked up to an EKG when this is happening to see what's going on?  especially on the tachycardia, I'd be curious where that's coming from.

[ken2]

Thanks for the replys
I had an nuclear stress test done in the beginning of 07 and they said everthing looked fine. When I go home on RxR in April I plan on seeing a specialist again.

[Bromley]

Ken, you are working in Afghanistan? I could be mistaken, but that does sound like it could be stressful from time to time.  Have you considered that stress hormones might play a role in this?

I admire the fact that you are able to cope with all of these issues, but would caution you that there are some circumstances in which PVC's and dizziness can be an indication of a problem that needs attention. My suggestion would be to consult a medical doctor, then with a clean bill of health, continue to do the outstanding job you are doing of coping!!

In so far as lack of available medical care goes, perhaps you would consult an out of area doctor by email or telephone regarding some type of heart monitor. A device might be able to store or transmit data from where you are to whereever they are.  You might also seek some type of medical assessment over the phone to preclude any obvious possibility of heart disease or some other type of issue.

Just make sure to take care of the basics here. With a medical evaluation and clean bill of health, not only can you feel safe, but you can be less likely to experience real problems (also, they might be able to supply some medication to help reduce the symptoms).

Best of luck.

[Jerry_NJ]

Sorry to read you are having problems far away from medical help.  I think from what you have posted it would be best to set seeing a cardiologist high on you priority list of things to do.

Not trying to cause more anxiety, but any significant change in a heart condition merits checking with a heart specialist.