Concerned about frequent PVCs

[nikgirl28]

I have been having trouble with my hormones lately...and about 6 days ago I started having frequent pvcs and short runs of tachycardia...my pvcs are every 5 - 6 beats...and it all started 4 days before my period...i went to the hospital and they did an ekg...and said pvcs are harmless and my tachycardia was still in sinus rhythm...so nothing to worry about...but it's still scary having so many pvcs in 24 hour period...and i'm my third day of my period and i'm still getting them constantly...they have settled in how pronounced they were...like the skipped beats now are not so forceful...but my heart is still skipping...and they seem to go away when i exercise...i just want to be reassured that my heart won't be damaged from this...or that it won't go into a dangerous rhythm...i'm 29 years old...don't drink or smoke...eat well and exercise everyday... hardly ever get pvcs until a week ago...but i'm really really afraid of pvc induced cardiomyopathy...do you think they will go away when my hormones settled down abit...
Thanks so much!

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

PVC induced cardiomyopathies are very rare.  I worked at major referral hospitals and saw maybe 1-2 or two of 8 years.  It is truly one of those situations where you are more likely to get hit by a truck or an asteroid than to develop a PVC induced cardiomyopathy (please recognize that the asteroid comment is actually a joke).  Hormonal changes can cause PVCs --- we don't really know why.  It should get better.  Talk to your doctor about it and it is probably best to not do any more google searches on PVCs -- they always show the rare, bad stuff.

I hope this helps.

[circadrt]

Hi,

If you read the posts here, some people get hundreds or thousands of PVC's a day and their cardiologists have said they are harmless. We are not doctors here, and nothing can take the place of you going to see a cardiologist to run the tests (Holter monitor perhaps) and reassure you that what you are getting is [b]not[/b] due to a "sick heart" or other medical conditions. If you have not seen a specialist, I would suggest doing so, and then [b]trusting[/b] them to know what they are telling you. If anxiety about this is an issue, you are making them worse by worry. You might want to talk with your doctor or the specialist about either a small does beta blocker to help, or an anti-anxiety medication to take when you get these so it will calm things down.

It sounds like you have been reading up on this and scaring yourself about what you might have or what it "might turn into." That is the worst thing you can do if you want them to calm down. Anxiety and worry will just make them worse. See a SPECIALIST, have whatever tests he or she recommends, and then get proper treatment, or if they say there is nothing you need but to quit worrying about them, listen to them and calm down. EVERYONE gets these. Some people feel them and other people do not. They are actually common in healthy hearts. Hormones can cause all kinds of symptoms, so if these occur during your menses/cycle, tell the doctor that and perhaps they can help on that end. But the best thing for you is to quit speculating, quit reading on what you could have and scaring yourself, since you are only making them worse and increasing your anxiety about them.

Go see a specialist, do what they say, believe them, attend to your anxiety if you need to with medication or other means, and then practice ignoring them or dealing with them in a way that does not pour more hormones that will "fuel the fire" into your bloodstream.

Good luck.

DRT

[Momto3]

Hi!

Sorry you're frustrated over the PVCs.  They really truly are more bothersome than medically significant.  Sometimes thinking of them as heart hiccups helps : )

It is really common for women to experience increases in their PVCs as a result of hormonal fluctations.  I'll bet they'll calm down, but don't be too surprised it they don't reappear.  A "good" EKG and being in sinus rhythm is great news..  My PVCs generally subsided when I was busy or exercising.  If I'd lie down and sit to relax, they'd kick up.  Another common thing about 'em....Sorry, this is probably not what you want to hear, but it really is not anything to worry about.  

Congrats on living such a heart healthy lifestyle!!  Try not to worry.....Remember, heart hiccups : )

[10rednails]

wow!!! your story is mine!! i have had pvc for 3 years now  however befor my period i started having them a lot more as well as having 10 in a row thats freaky! have you felt them in a row like that? has anyone felt that and is there a name and do i need medicine cause i have heard nothing to good about medicine. i am 31. lets talk, it makes me feel better.

[nikgirl28]

Thanks everyone!  I'm still getting them very often...but i am trying not to think about it...and hope it passes when my hormones settle abit...i also think i might have PMDD...a severe form of PMS...cause these things always happen around my period time...i know anxiety is an issue...but it's really hard to calm down when your heart acts crazy...i just hope it passes soon...keeping my fingers crossed everyday...
10rednails...10 pvcs in a row...i thought they were pvcs too...but it's not...your heart goes into a short burst of tachycardia...i get these very very often...especially now...it feels like it pvcs...but it's in normal sinus rhythm...the doctors at emerge caught it on the ekg...and i was only like 120 bpm...when it happened...it so does feel like pvcs though...cause a pvc intiates it...but your heart just goes alittle fast for a bit...which is nothing to worry about...cause i have those beats that last like 2 minutes since my early twenties and i'm 29...and it happened a lot more after my two kids...so i definitely wouldn't worry :)
Momto3....my heart seems to settle when i'm up and doing things and exercise...and i do notice they kick up often when i'm relaxing...so i'm trying to keep busy...
circadth...i'm definitely scaring myself...thinking my pvcs are endless...and i'm going to get cardiomyopathy...but i know i have to stay positive...and stop looking things up on the net and freaking myself out...
i'm glad to hear though that pvc induced cardiomyopathy is rare....so it settled my nerves... :)
Thanks so much!

[Barbmag]

I just wanted to reassure you re. the PVC's!! I am 62 and have had them prac all of my life!! I get 'runs' of them too which still bothers me  and causes much anxiety but I keep telling myself that they are indeed just heart hiccups!! It is wonderful that you live a healthy lifestyle...I commend you for that!!
Take good care and enjoy life!!