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!  :)

[ACTMC]

I have three big triggers: anxiety, caffeine, and carbonated drinks.

[MrGlitch]

Since June 5, I've been plagued with lots of PVCs. They're typically happening all day long, both while I'm awake and asleep (or trying to go to sleep). The typical pattern is: "beat, beat, pause,thump, beat, pause,thump, beat, beat, beat, pause, thump, beat, pause, thump, beat, beat, etc., etc." This goes on 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Well, recently I had an unexpected two-week reprieve from these things...it lasted until November 21. There's a cooking oil and a seasoning mixture that I purchase and use quite frequently. But I had run out of, and thus stopped using, the seasoning mixture just prior to when I noticed my PVCs had vanished. That seasoning mixture item is Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle flavor seasoning. And the cooking oil is extra virgin olive oil from the California Olive Ranch.

I finally remembered to replenish the Mrs. Dash seasoning on November 16. On the evening of November 20 --which continued to be entirely devoid of PVCs-- I enjoyed some during dinner. It was the first time in more than two weeks I had wholegrain pasta in olive oil with the Mrs. Dash seasoning sprinkled over it. So guess what? During the early morning of November 21, my PVCs returned with a vengeance!

It's now November 24. I've consumed no Mrs. Dash seasoning or olive oil since the evening of November 20. My PVCs are noticeably less frequent now. I've been periodically checking my pulse for one minute at a time and approximately 70% of these checks seem PVC-free. I'm hoping to get back to where I was during my two-week reprieve. If it is the seasoning and/or the olive oil that triggers my PVCs, it seems to take several days to get their effects out of my system. But perhaps it's neither of those items and was merely a coincidence. That of course would mean that the trigger of my PVCs is yet unknown. We shall see.      

[funkybro]

About two months ago I started having massive PVC's; about every third or fourth beat.  I went to the doc and had my annual physical including treadmill test.  Resting heart rate was 32 bpm.  During EKG on treadmill doc noticed that PVC's disappeared when heart rate got up over 70 bpm (I take no medications at all).  PVC's stayed gone until rate got up to 140+ bpm and then came back intermittently.  Same thing on the way back down.  Doc said that in his experience PVC's usually emanate from something in your gut rather than in your heart.  He put me on Nexium and ordered me to drink Pepto Bismal, about five or so doses a day.  PVC's diminished significantly, to where I could even get a good night's sleep without being bothered by the banging in my chest (which I could also feel in my neck).

So everything was fine until two nights ago when I ate a "Choco-Taco" which is vanilla ice cream drenched in chocolate sauce inside a sugar cone folded to resemble a taco.  My heart lit up.  Hardly any sleep that night due to the wild heart beat.  It's taken two days to get the heart back to a more normal beat.  I don't know what was in the Choco-Taco that set it off, but I'm going to keep experimenting with those ingredients and see if something pops up.

[boatswain]

I have read most of the posts and a common theme for people who found food triggered PVCs or PACs is that many of these foods were high in histamine or tyramine.  Both substances are known to affect heart rhythm, particularly tyramine.  Foods high in these substances include alcohol, cured meats, dried fruit, cheese, meat and, particularly fish, that is not very fresh, vinegar and any other fermented products.  The preserving of food allows bacteria to add histamine and tyramine to the food.  Some fresh foods also contain histamine or tyramine.  Janice Joneja, PhD, wrote a book on food allergies that contains chapters on histamine and tyramine.  I would recommend people who feel food triggers their episodes either get the book or find some other source of information (lots on the web) on foods with histamine or tyramine and give it a strict two-week trial.  You might be surprised.  

[boatswain]

I have read most of the posts and a common theme for people who found food triggered PVCs or PACs is that many of these foods were high in histamine or tyramine.  Both substances are known to affect heart rhythm, particularly tyramine.  Foods high in these substances include alcohol, cured meats, dried fruit, cheese, meat and, particularly fish, that is not very fresh, vinegar and any other fermented products.  The preserving of food allows bacteria to add histamine and tyramine to the food.  Some fresh foods also contain histamine or tyramine.  Janice Joneja, PhD, wrote a book on food allergies that contains chapters on histamine and tyramine.  I would recommend people who feel food triggers their episodes either get the book or find some other source of information (lots on the web) on foods with histamine or tyramine and give it a strict two-week trial.  You might be surprised.  

[Sunnee50]

I have a large list of foods that trigger my PVC's and my heart doctor has concurred that all of these are known to cause PVC's. I am suffering from them right now because I messed up over the holidays big time. Aged cheese has Tyramine, a chemical that gets more intense the longer the food is aged. This can even be included in aged meats. So I don't eat cheeses in large quantities. MSG is a very big culprit. I only eat Chinese at a restaurant that I know doesn't use it but keep in mind that Oyster sauce has it in it. I mostly make my own Chinese food. Vinegar or anything pickled, even sauerkraut or pickled eggs. White flour is a processed flour. Any foods that goes through a lot of processing will cause them. Stick to wheat flour. No white rice, same thing, eat brown rice. Do not eat boxed foods like mac n cheese, or hamburger helper etc. They all have tons of additives and processing that causes these things. Eat healthy as in make your own foods. Eat at restaurants that make home cooked meals, no packaged foods in their preparations. No caffeine either. Stick to decaffeinated beverages or water. I only take 7.5 mg of Atenolol and can increase that if I need to but if I eat right I can keep these things at bay. I ate sauerkraut, white flour, lots of cheese including velveeta which is sooo processed, kielbasa and hot cocoa. All in the last week or so. Today I ate white bread, cheese, white flour and hot cocoa all within an hour and sure enough, there they were with a vengeance. But I was able to calm them down by doing someone's home remedy of deep breathing and drinking ice cold water. Stay away from these foods and you should see a big difference. Cook your own food. No take out or fast food. No pizza (white flour). Eat burgers without the bun. Sometimes potatoes will cause them too.

[MH3077]

My PVCs and PACs have *completely* disappeared after I stopped drinking diet sodas and consuming other sugar-free foodstuffs.

[Tamara1722]

How long did it take to completely go away after you stopped eating and drinking those?

[Tamara1722]

How long did you have the pvcs for? Aand how long have you not have the pvcs

[Matildajimz]

I have had VT for over 20 years.  Had an ablation but after a few months my irregular heartbeat returned but to a lesser degree.  Food plays a big part in my episodes eg MSG , sugar, caffeine etc.   I had chest pain a couple of weeks ago and my cardiologist thinks I had a minor heart attack, waiting to go for an angiogram.  Anyone else had this?

[Ivymay52]

I have read every one of the above stories and found them fascinating.  Here is my story.  I am 63 yrs old (female) and have had PVCs for 40 years.  Since December 2015, the incidence of PVCs has increased dramatically.  
I DO NOT use sugar or artificial sweeteners, coffee, tea, soy products. The only dairy I eat is feta 4 to 5 times a week (25 gms).  I eat mostly unprocessed foods.  
I Do use rice, Dandelion tea, rice milk, honey, pasta (very occasionally), blueberries, strawberries, most vegetables, dairy-free sugar-free water crackers - seems very boring but I do enjoy what food I do eat.
I DON'T drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
I only use Panadol for relief of arthritic pain.
I have lost 18 kilos in the past 18 months on a low carb food intake and have kept a food diary for that time as well.  I still need to lose about 10 more kilos.
My blood pressure has always been great, my pulse averages 60, with resting pulse at 50.
So it seems like I am doing all the right things and keeping as fit as possible.  I walk 3 times a week and live under my daughter's house in a small Granny Flat, so walk up to the main house several times a day for extra exercise.
BUT I cannot work out what triggers my PVCs.  Last night I was having them every 6 beats - this measures up to the dreaded 20% of my total beats for the day so I need to find out what triggers them.  
I am presently looking at food preservatives so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[rick978]

Have you ever tried eliminating rice?  It is a big trigger for me.  I noticed it while living in Korea, were rice comes with most meals.

[Ivymay52]

The same thing happens to me, I don't feel thirsty at all and have usually had a few glasses of water during the day anyway.  My PVCs have increased dramatically over the past few months to the point where I lie awake at night counting and recording them in case I don't make it through the night - I know they are benign as my heart is healthy (has tests) but it always feels like I may not wake up.  I also record how often they occur, it is often bigeminy and trigeminy with feelings of weakness and light-headedness.  My B/P is low so this may not help.  I will try the ice water as I am keen to at least reduce them.  Like you, I know they can be normal but when I have so many at once,I tend to over-worry. I don't drink coffee or tea, don't use sugar or sweeteners (apart form honey), don't drink alcohol and stick to as much unprocessed food as possible.  I do use Ventolin puffer several times a day for asthma which is unfortunate as I cannot reduce that.  I also use a Preventer daily.
I am 63 yrs old. and have had the occasional PVC for the past 40 years.

[ivi210]

Food is extremely important part in healing heart palpations.There is much known, less known and unknown. Some of them pharmacy and food industry do not want us to know. Very hard topic...

[Jslow]

hello rose! i was verrry happy to read your post because you mentioned you're 60ish and you've had pvcs for a long time! I am  (57 yrs) and  I've experienced tachycardia, pvc and pacs since i was 22. for years, Inderal helped me to lead a normal life (even though i stayed terrified most of the time)! and then around 2009 my body got use to the inderal (i think) and i was put on metoporal suc (50mg a day) and resumed a normal. now, at 57 i feel every beat when i'm out and about. i make frequent stops while in the mall sooo my heart will feel somewhat normal! and, forget eating while i'm out and about. if i do, i feel every beat! do you ever feel you're going to drop dead...lately that's how I feel!

[ggmom88]

This post is to audio guy AND to all that read and are willing to take time to reply.    I am a mother of a 26 year daughter who recently pulled the plug on taking a daily dose of Singulair (it was generic) after over a year.  It was used as a maintenance treatment for chronic allergies and sinus infections. Seemed to work ok, however in the 6 months there had been a couple times she rushed herself to the doctor for symptoms that no one even thought to suspect the allergy medication.  First there was numbing and tingling in her arms. Then there were muscle aches in the lower back. BUT 4 weeks ago she started having chest tightness, heart palpitations, insomnia and fearful thoughts which of course brought on extreme anxiety.  It was after 4 days of these repeated systems that she told me.  I asked about work and all the usual factors that lead most  to stress and anxiety.  WITHOUT CONSULTING HER DOCTOR she stopped taking her Singulair. This was Saturday. She insisted work and all was good.  The next day while she and I were out for what was suppose to be a relaxing Sunday afternoon, she had a severe panic attack.  She had consumed coffee an hour earlier and were now sitting
eating dinner. We each had maybe half a glass of wine. It was then that I realized something was really off as she is a happy free spirited young woman. She does have a tendency to be a little OCD at times but in manner that one would call normal and stubborn.    That day I decided to research the drug. My daughter had shared some startling findings with me. IMWAS SHOCKED TO READ EVEN ON THE GOVERNMENT WEB SITE ALL THE ADVERSE SIDE EFFECTS  to this  DRUG.  ALL of the above mentioned
were there. This leads me to this posting.   It has been 3 weeks and she is still having some adverse side effects. They seem to come in waves.  

The chest tightness eased almost immediately. The fearful thoughts played out along with the anxiety for the first week. Then came insomnia. Last weekend the chest tightness returned followed with depression.  I have been helping with her diet and making sure she eats well.  She has juiced and done the Paleo diet before so eating well and cutting out sugar was just a natural response . Along with watching her diet we picked up L- Thianine (  which is basically green tea in a capsule).she took it for 3 days and then stopped. Decided to just try diet and vitamins .Also eliminated caffeine. She tried drinking her normal cups of coffee but even one gets her anxious and panic attack starts to set in. Also no chocolate. She started taking omega.  She has been taking a daily vitamin and probiotic for the past 2 years so adding on omega was easy. She works out several times a week and is good physical shape so she has tried to stay proactive in that area, but there have been days that the insomnia have barely made it possible to get through work.  I had picked up some phosphatidyl serine from our vitamin company last week and the omega and it seem to calm her mood somewhat.  Eating foods rich in amino acids help. Trying to eat balanced meals and snacking on pumpkin seeds , sunflower seeds, walnuts, apricots and cantaloupe along with some green juices are pretty much all she is eating. No junk food. Yes, and no alcohol.

Of course she wants to go out and get back to a normal life. It breaks my heart to watch.  It has been very scary.

I am hoping someone with a similar experience will reply. She is allergic to several antibiotics and we have known since she was 4 that she has sensitivities to fragrance and dyes  in soaps and environmental allergies but to date no food allergies.    

I was wondering about trying an over the counter antihistimine such as  Benydryl . She has taken it many times before without any side effects. Although she is afraid to try now .  Help..... Your thoughts would greatly be appreciated.

[audioguy]

Dairy, sugar, corn, rice, potatoes, gluten, dehydration. Aged cheese is the worst. Breathing dust and especially mold is a huge trigger for me. Even the tinniest amount of mold hiding in the fridge will give me constant PVCs.

I also have "seb derm" and my PVC and seb derm triggers are the same, so I'm pretty convinced my PVCs are an immune/allergy response.

[Jslow]

just curious, but do you still post DMAB? you and I are the same age I believe (57 yrs)! i read the forum from time to time just to keep sane! I've experienced tachycardia, pvc and pacs since i was 22. for years, Inderal helped me to lead a normal life (even though i stayed terrified most of the time)! and then around 2009 my body got use to the inderal (i think) and i was put on metoporal suc (50mg a day) and resumed a normal. now, at 57 i feel every beat when i'm out and about. i make frequent stops while in the mall sooo my heart will feel somewhat normal! and, forget eating while i'm out and about. if i do, i feel miserable!

[Coralista]

That is so interesting about fruit sugar.  I have suffered from PVC's over the past year and I had identified my triggers as alcohol (a form of sugar), chocolate (caffeine and sugar), and sugar itself.  I hadn't really thought about the fact that even fruit sugar could trigger them.  

I had finally given up on being able to completely avoid the triggers and gone on beta blockers, which are helping a bit but I'm still having them continuously for the second part of the day.

I am intending to come off them when the PVC' s have stopped and just be very careful with my diet.  It's really useful to know that I need to go as far as avoiding all fruit sugar too, thanks for sharing.

[Jenn1302]

I'm glad you found something that works! Unfortunately, it didn't work for me :(. I tried to cut sugar out of my diet and it helped a little at first,  but then I started getting a little lightheaded and the palpitations got worse (I think I had hypoglycemia or something and that my body simply can't function without sugar). Now I try to eat less sugar than usual, but I still get some sugar in my diet. It seems to help reduce the palpitations to some degree, but they're still there :(.

[Rose3130]

I don't know if you'll see this, but I wanted to write you in reply to your PVC post.  I've had them for almost 30 years.  The last couple of months I have days where they are much worse.  I've never had a doctor say that a narrow chest is a contributing factor.  I don't have a narrow chest but am long legged and short waisted.  Wonder if that can cause that same effect of it moving in the chest cavity.  I've never been on medicines.  Am finding lots of food items people have mentioned here may be contributing factors for me!  Glad your doc gave you a physical explanation for how PVCs work.  Many people don't understand that what they feel is not the extra (electrical)beat itself, but the next beat, which is trying to 'compensate' for the PVC putting out minimal or no blood with the electrical signal.  I'm an RN and you learn something everyday!

[Glori19]

Wow, good stuff and thank you for sharing. I had an ablation 5 days ago for SVT. The sugar makes so much sense. I know caffeine and chocolate (SUGAR) along with being dehydrated could set off a SVT. Thanks for taking the time to share. I am going to watch the fruit too....never thought of that.

[delrayqueenie]

which white wines are okay for you...I feel this is a trigger..I was drinking sav blancs from new zealand?

[walker742]

    I hope someone will read this and someone will try this after I spend an hour typing my story. Here goes...Ten years ago I began weight lifting and eight years ago I began having pvcs. It scared me to death. I was a smoker and had never had any health problems up until this happened to me. I went to the cardiologist and was put through stress tests and wore a monitor. My blood pressure was fine and my ekg was perfect. The dr. put me on 25mgs of Toprol. This almost stopped them so I figured I was going to be ok. One year went by and they got worse. So the dr put me on 50 mgs of Toprol. Eight months went by and they still got worse. I decided to quit smoking. It took me eleven months but I did it. Well low and behold the pvcs stopped. Nineteen months later I got a blood test done and my cholesterol was a little high. So I decided to eat healthy. Well I dropped my morning coffee, sodas and sweet tea and added two apples, a banana, orange juice and grape juice in place of the others. Well within thirty days my pvcs went crazy, worse than before. So back to the dr. I went. He put me back on the meds again and had no explanation. Blood pressure fine and ekg perfect. About eighteen months went by and they got worse and worse. Some times up to 400 a day. Very depressing..So I figured if I was never going to get rid of this I was at least going to be in great shape. I went and bought some Whey protein and made me a drink. Two hours later the pvcs stopped. Wow I was thinking is that all it was that I needed protein. Well after thirty days they came back again. So I drank more protein and added more bananas and even a little magnesium. That helped but they continued to get worse. So I researched what whey protein was made up of and of course it was all kinds of amino acids. So by some dumb luck I tried l-arginine and it worked great but didn't completely stop the pvcs and within a month they worse again. So I researched what does l-arginine do for you. It enters the body and turns into nitric oxide in the bloodstream. Nitric oxide is essential for a good cardiovascular system. So I researched what depletes nitric oxide and the answer was uric acid. So I researched what creates uric acid in the bloodstream and the answer was fructose and sugar. Well immediately I quit all fruit and within thirty days the pvcs went down to one or two a day then stopped after two months. Well I figured problem solved. So I started back the sweet tea, sodas and two cups of coffee and ice cream a day. I mean everyday and I also created a 8 pieces a day life saver habit. Well after two months a few of the pvcs came back and I ignored them pretty much knowing it was the sugar. Well after another year here they come again. I knew this time all sugar had to go. So I quit the sodas, sweet tea, life savers and the ice cream. That was four months ago and I am pvc free. I still drink coffee two cups in the am and one in the pm. No problems with this and I work out very hard three times a week with weights. So from all my research what I understand is that sugar turns into uric acid and this depletes nitric oxide and causes our cardiovascular system to go haywire. This makes sense and must be true, In America our biggest problems come from heart disease, cancer and diabetes. All of these problems stem from too much sugar. And yes more than one fruit a day is not good for you. Ask a diabetic! Good luck to all and drop the sugar and fruit for a month. I assure you  this will not kill you to give this up for a month. If it did I wouldn't be typing this story. It might just change your life just like it did mine! Remember this was free information and I didn't have to take time out of my day to type this. I did this because I know the fear pvcs create. Sleeplessness, anxiety etc..Merry Christmas and Happy new year to all and may god bless everyone! Drop me a comment and let me know how it goes. One last thing. I have a friend I played softball with. I didn't know it but after a conversation I found out he had the same problem. I told him what I did and after 42 years of pvcs, medications and numerous dr visits his are now gone. He had to give up the fruit and sugar just like I did. He is a very happy man now!

[ACTMC]

wow, that's very interesting. Thank you!

[LCLIBERTY]

all these comments are great  hope to stop or cut down by taking these tips....BUT  I'm different with regards to PAC's.not only do I have them....I HEAR them....I have Tennitus and guess what I hear all day long....PAC's beats   Great Huh ?   also to boot, I've had 2 by-pass, 6 stints years ago   have Afib every so often, and daily PAC's     Anybody want to top this ???

[walker742]

Was watching Dr. Oz the other night, he said if we didn't intake sugar, you would never have a heart attack. Also try a scoop of whey protein a day. This also helps with pvc's. I have another friend I recommended this to and his pvc's and heart problems went away almost immediately. He said he had been battling heart problems for 20 years and worked out 5 days a week. He also was in great shape. He has been taking the Whey protein scoop for 7 months now and is doing great. He even said his cardiologist is baffled. He was having 2,000 pvc's a day. Now they're gone since he started taking the Whey and lowering his sugar intake. Good luck to all.

[walker742]

I have a story to tell and really need everyone with pvcs to read it.

[Jenn1302]

I've had PVC's, PAC's for the past couple of years and sometimes I get short runs of PVCs or PACs. Gas tends to trigger my palpitations, so any food that makes me gassy can trigger them. Also, certain types of cheese also seem to (mainly hard or semi-hard cheese) give me palpitations, so no more pizza or mac & cheese for me :(. I tried eating GMO-free, gluten-free mac & cheese but I still got them :(. I suspect that moderate quantities of corn can trigger my palpitations too.

My magnesium level is borderline low and several doctors have told me to try taking magnesium supplements. I recently started taking magnesium citrate 200mg and I really hope it makes these annoying heart palpitations go away and never come back!

[Northernstar143]

You might want to research GMO free food.  Your sensitivity could be to the Genetically Modified corn, soy bean and wheat seed  used for growing grains for foods. Many other countries ban GMOs for health reasons, but the USA does not even label what products they are in, and considers them equal to regular grain seeds. Target carries a section for food products grown without GMO seeds I have heard. That might help you.