Do Certain Foods Trigger PVC's?

[ARHMOM]

Hello!

I am new to this forum and new to PVCs.  I began having them in April (5 months post partum).  I have seen 2 cardiologists and had all of the tests run--all "nomal" results.  I am a very anxious person and HATE to feel the skipped beats so I have been taking Propanolol (and I know the anxiety only makes them worse).  I would like to be "med free" so I am working on finding out my triggers.
I have cut out caffeine, alcohol, etc. and I am also trying to see if there are any foods that may trigger them.  My doctor said that sometimes peppers can cause them???  I ate something with jalepenos last night and I definitely noticed an increase.
Do you all have any other foods or food groups that you avoid?  Also, any books or web sites where I might find more information on preventing these?  I need all of the help I can get.  
Thank you so much--this web site has been so beneficial to me!  :)

[PVC man]

For me, caffeine and red wine are big triggers, as is lack of sleep.  I can have spicy food with no problems.

Feel better!!

[va_tony]

I've read that acid reflux will cause PVCs. So eating anything that brings on reflux is a PVC trigger.  Peppers would definitely fall into that category. I've also read that honey works to calm the stomach and reflux related PVCs.

[SillyHeart]

Caffeine and sugar trigger palpitations for me and over the years I've seen a ton of others report the same thing.  So try eating a low sugar diet and quitting caffeine.

[BHP39]

Heavy olive oil will do it for me and alfredo sauces (probably the olive oil again)  

[myjeepbeepbeep]

i have noticed that anything with nutrasweet cause me problems.....at least that was before my ablation.  I havent had th guts to try it since my procedure i few weeks ago.

[FLBrat]

why not start a food diary so you can learn your triggers?

[FLBrat]

also, food diaries make you more aware of the "little bites" taken here and there that tend to land on the hips and buttocks.  (Not that you may or may not need to lose weight.  Just a comment)

[ARHMOM]

Thanks everyone for your comments!  I have started a food diary so we will see what that shows...
I can definitely cut down on my sugar.  Also, I am wondering if maybe artificial sweetners (Splenda) and even aspartame may be a trigger?  I will report back if I find anything significant.  :)

[Maryell]

I seem to do pretty good during the day, but it's when I lay down and settle in to go to sleep, that my PVCs start.  

I don't know why I did the following, but for some reason I took an over-the-counter antihistamine, and as soon as it took hold, the PVC went away.  I now carry antihistamine in my purse, in case I might need it when I'm out and about.  They make non-drowsy antihistamine, so you don't have to worry about driving, etc.   The anithistamine maybe works because I am allergic to something, but I don't know what.  ARRGH!

This has worked for me, and is not necessarily a recommendation to others...just an FYI.

[anacyde]

Sugar, for me.

[aussie mum]

Well just like you i to am trying to figure out what (if anything) may trigger my pac/pvc/svt ?? I started looking into PHENYLALANINE in food thinking it  may have something to do with them but to cut a long story short it all seemed to came back to being linked with ASPARTAME.

I'm not sure what part of this wonderful world you live but in Australia all food products must state what ingredients and additives have been put into them. The additives are listed using numbers. So now I'm trying to stay clear of products with these addatives/numbers !!

Well it may have nothing to do with them but it can't hurt to try and see if it makes a difference. It may even be the toilet paper I'm using LOL.

You said you are 5 months pp, is this your first baby ?? There is a very good forum 08/18/07 " What's with females having babies and heart problems"  which you might find to be an interesting read.

[FLBrat]

Vienna posted a great link about aspartame once.  I wish I could find it.

ARHMOM, how is your diary going this week.  make sure you are noting the times you feel the heart funk too.

[ARHMOM]

Thanks again everyone!  Your comments and tips are very much appreciated.
Well, I have figured out that sugar is definitely a trigger for me.  That is kind of a bummer but I guess it is another reason for me to stick to a healthy diet.  :)  I have also noticed that evening is worse for me--maybe because I am more tired?  I am guessing that is it.  

[dolfnlvr]

Make sure you get plenty of rest too.  For some reason, not getting enough rest, feeling tired, seems to be a trigger for many of us.  I always thought it was just me, but amazingly...it's a large portion of us.

Hard to get rest with a 5 month old, but if you can, catch a nap here and there...it does help.

[KBDeB]

I recently discovered that food preservatives cause me to have a rapid, irregular heart beat.  I had first isolated the trigger to sulfur dioxide (a widely used preservative of dried fruit, processed cheese, wine especially white wine, restaurant potatoes) and have since eliminated all sulfites and sulfates, most preservatives, and avoid any highly processed foods.  My SVTs have now disappeared (for 4 weeks!) when I scarsely had a day (over the last 7 months) without episodes of rapid, irregular HR since I started eating dried mangoes from the Philipines last winter (listed ingredients are mangoes, sugar, sulfur dioxide).  Measurements show that I have no HR reaction to coffee with sugar and milk in the morning.  However, I don't drink coffee again during the day, do not drink soda and, happily, never had a taste for junk foods.  While I had never sought health foods or organic foods in the past, I am quickly evolving into someone who is very suspicious of food additives, growth hormones and antibiotics in the American diet.  So many new man made chemicals in our foods during my lifetime, in the last half of the 20th century.  I believe we will find that our migration from "natural foods" to man made "edible alternatives" will eventually be implicated in many human diseases and disorders.  Unfortunately, I haven't found a cardiologist who is interested in "triggers" that the client might discover.  To the contrary, they are really quick to prescribe heart meds that essentially treat symptoms but don't correct electrical anomalies of the heart such as, in my case, atrial flutter and SVTs.

[myjeepbeepbeep]

for some reason, everytime i eat at Pizza Hut, I get a racy skippy heart....wondering what they use as preservatives in their food?

[RC1088]

Just a note on foods, PVC's and the digestive system.  I was recently diagnosed with gallstones in my gallbladder, the gallbladder needs to be removed.  But it has/is causing some stomach discomfort, usually after eating, especially if the meal was oily or fatty because that's what the gallbladder does is add extra digestive horsepower to aid in breaking down oils and fats.  If fatty or oily foods seem to mess up your stomach, you may have gallstones.  I've learned they're pretty common in the population, just many people don't realize their indigestion is from gallstones.  Surgeon told me about 3 or 4 out of ten adult Americans 30 years of age and over have gallstones to some degree.  Indigestion, bloating/gas/belching/flatulence after most meals is an indicator of possible gallstones.  The surgery is very routine, laparoscopic for most patients I'm told, a same-day surgery usually go home the same day.  

Anyhow, I have lifelong PVC's and my gallstone condition definitely aggravates the PVC condition by varying amounts depending on what I eat.  I theorize also that the Vagus nerve plays into digestive problems and PVC's.  Its this long meandering major nerve bundle that runs from your brain stem to your colon area, running near the esophagus and stomach as well as near the heart.  But that's only my theory and I'm far from being a medical authority, LOL.

As above, I too also think some of the screwy food additives in use can aggravate our condition.  Wife and I are definitely label readers when it comes to buying groceries.  We try to steer clear of too much processed food with ingredient lists that read like War and Peace.  

Hey, one thing I just read in this one book by some MD who is into natural whole foods and such is that you should try to use organic sea salt instead of packaged refined table salt.  Has to do with what is done to salt during the refining process, they apparently add some form of aluminum oxide to the bulk salt to keep it from caking during processing, and this means when you use table salt you're getting some trace aluminum as a hidden "extra."  He said basically that the way refined table salt is, the body tends to not use it properly and there for it screws up the balance of sodium with potassium which both need to work synergistically together in the body to regulate all sorts of things, and we all know that potassium is important for heart rythm, so...  we don't want to screw up the sodium/potassium relationship in our bodies, we need it balanced more so than most non-pvc people. So if you're going to use salt, use organic sea salt.  Kosher salt is usually sea salt I think.    

[PVC man]

Maybe MSG which doesn't bother me but seems to bother others.  Chines food also loaded with it.

[bd1967]

  I'm new to the irregular heartbeat problem. My irregularity started about 2 months after my blood pressure medicine was doubled.  Now I'm on a low dose beta blocker (metoprolol) which seems to help the irregularity. I still have it from time to time though.
  A trip to the er got me this list of  non-heart-related causes: certain medicines (asthma inhalers and decongestants);  some herbal supplements; illegal stimulant drugs; caffeine, alcohol and tobacco; medical conditions such as thyroid disease, anemia, anxiety, and panic disorder.
  I've been through a bunch of tests and see a cardiologist Wednesday. I have acid reflux and I'll be asking the doctor about that being a trigger.
  My heart has been doing fine the  last few days, then yesterday I ate some chocolate chip cookies. I have an irregular beat this morning. This is the second time I've experienced this with chocolate. I believe it's a trigger to me.
Does your diet include chocolate?

[Betty46]

if you take soy that can be a problem with panic attacks and racing heart.  I have go through this many times only to find out from my doc that it could very well be soy.  I would always mix a preexercise shake with soy milk and right after get the worst panic attacks of my life.  It just doesnt happen to women either .  A friend of mine who was a trainer even went through it and ended up in the evmergency room weekly until he discovered it was the soy and got off it

[Donna-lee]

Coca cola does it for Stu sends his heart into a spin. Bugger have to drink ginger ale with teh burbon. Lol

[oldie]

Racing heart is not a PVC, which is a skipped beat. You may be chasing up the wrong tree in your research. Take care
oldie

[Barbarella]

Many additives can cause PVC's and a racing heart in "some" people.  Phenylanine which is in most diet sodas for example.  Splenda sweetener can cause it, mono and dyglicerides can do it, for some people caffeine, alcohol, watch out for the ingredients of chinese food, there is one that starts with a "g" watch out for that.  Hydrochloride can cause it in some people prone to PVC's and the list goes on.

[michi885]

sulphur dioxide was the cause of mine (two years of stress, worry, hospitilisations etc) the pharmacist I asked about my script told me all medication for arrythmia causes other arrytmia's so i never got the script filled. I realised one thing. their has to be a cause. a four hour really bad episode kicked in six hours after red wine (lots of it). Finally, an answer, and then detective work. For me, it's sulphur dioxide. it's in everything we eat but it was ineverything I was eating all day, vegemite, cereal with dried fruit, cordial, dips. I only eat natural food now, I don't even get so much as a missed beat which i'v e had for YEARS.