Feel heartbeats and hear them in my right ear

I've had thousands of PVCs a day for a few years now. An echcardiogram two years ago was normal except for a little mitral and tricuspid valve floppiness (which the EP said isn't unusual for someone my age. I'm 68 and  female). The PVCs have lessened quite a bit over the last nine months which is a big relief. But now I'll have periods each day where my heart pounds and I can feel it in the back of my neck and where it meets my head. And I can also hear it in my right ear (which I guess is called pulsatile tinnitus).  The heartbeat isn't necessarily fast. When I'm at rest, it's in the sixties or seventies, which is normal for me.  When I'm active, it might be as  high as 100 or 120, as it's always been.  But at times I can feel it beating without taking my pulse, and that's strange.   This will happen for ten or fifteen minutes, several times a day. (Although I've had it last half a day at times. )  I just keep on doing what I'm doing, and try not to think about it, but I do wonder if others get this.

Two months ago, my ear doctor did an MRI (with contrast dye) of my head to rule out some things. It was normal,  so I know that hearing the pulse in my ear is nothing serious. But my doctor did say I should mention that I feel the heartbeat in the back of my neck too, when I go in for my annual checkup  (in July). I do wonder whether the blood vessels in the neck (the ones that are involved in strokes) need to be checked.

Anyone else experience this?  My pulse isn't necessarily fast, and not even all that irregular anymore.  But my heart beats hard enough for me to feel it.  So strange.

[yarrow]

Madge, if you had an MRA back in '05, that's really not too long ago, but of course it probably wouldn't hurt to have a followup in light of your symptoms.  However, the 'rush' you describe and the shakiness sound like a wee panic episode.

Still, if you have a blood pressure monitor, you might want to check your BP at the time you feel this 'pounding' sensation.  It could be a brief bout of high blood pressure, and that would be worth investigating.

[Jannie411]

I experience the pulsing in my ear too, but only occasionally.   I don't know what causes it though.

[yarrow]

When we get to around 60, it's always a good idea to have those carotid arteries in the neck checked out.  Usually, a person's regular doctor does this by just putting a stethoscope against the neck to listen for unusual noises (called bruits) in the vessels, but there are a couple more in-depth scans like MRA and Doppler that are quick and easy.  You might ask your doc for one.

[Madge270]

Jannie, do you feel the pulsing elsewhere in your body?

Yarrow,  thanks very much. I did have an MRI with MRA back 2005 (when I was 62) and the carotids were okay. But a lot of time has passed since then.  I appreciate your comment.

Another thing I just thought of.  When I get the pounding heartbeat, I often get what feels like an adrenalin rush, as though I'd had a bad dream and just woke up. Feel kind of shaky inside sometimes.

[yarrow]

Madge, if you had an MRA back in '05, that's really not too long ago, but of course it probably wouldn't hurt to have a followup in light of your symptoms.  However, the 'rush' you describe and the shakiness sound like a wee panic episode.

Still, if you have a blood pressure monitor, you might want to check your BP at the time you feel this 'pounding' sensation.  It could be a brief bout of high blood pressure, and that would be worth investigating.

[Madge270]

I did check my BP when I was feeling this pounding sensation, and it was the same as usual  116/ 68. Pulse was 72. Seems all right.

But I think I'll ask to have my carotids checked when I go in for my annual physical in a few months.