Help with my PVC's

[Gary829]

I am a 44 year old male. I run 3-5 miles 4 times per week. I lift weights and an eat reasonably healthy. I have been experiencing PVC  and an increased heart rate over the last year. EKG says I have bigeminal PVC's No chest pain during exercise. PVC's decrease during exercise and come back during recovery. These epsiodes have come more frequently about since losing about 25 lbs. Doctor tells me they could be stress related. I usually find myself experiencing these episodes while having down time at home or for no other apparent reason. I currently take flomax .4mg (3 years) and just started 60 Mg of Propanol LA to try and control them but it does not seem to help. The increase in PVC's increases my anxiety level. Zoloft as well as xanax have also been suggested but I am really not willing to take anti anxiety meds at this time. I have had bouts of anxiety but I thought I was working through them (maybe not).  Nuclear stress test was negative for any problems about 12 months ago. Any advice would be appreciated.


This discussion is related to Metoprolol and Fluoxetine HCL (Prozac).

[itdood]

Something I just learned this week, if you supp magnesium you should also be taking a calcium supp.  The ratio should be 2:1 calcium:mag.  

Do some research on this, there's a complex relationship between these two minerals.  The reason I looked into it was because of my flare up this week which seems to be improving as I've been balancing my mag intake with cal.

[Gary829]

Thanks to you and matt_s for the info. I've had some periods of time where they were non existent but for the last 3-4 weeks it has been driving me crazy. I do my best to limit stress but my job kind of dictate the stress level. I only drink Decaf and if I do drink diet soda it is alway caffiene free. I also have been taking a magnesium pill every day along with fish oil. BP was 108/68 last week. I will take your advice and keep complex carbs to a minumum. thanks!

[matt_s]

My story is amazingly similar to yours.  I am managing the palps in a similar fashion, the key is low stress, sleep, eat healthy.  I also take the magnesium and a fish oil.  I take 10mg of Lexapro a day as well.  

[itdood]

Hi Gary, we sound very similar except I do not take flomax.

Beta blockers made my PVCs worse, in particular I tried propanolol.  That's not uncommon.

I stopped drinking coffee and diet soda, no caffeine what-so-ever and I swear that made it worse!  I'm also prone to being anxious.  A friend of mine who is the most relaxed person I know also gets PVCs.  They can be baffling.

My advise is to get tested, get regular checkups.  I find it reassuring when there's been no change in my echo or EKG findings from year to year.  I haven't been able to find anything in particular that helps me 100%.   I've had to attack the problem from multiple fronts to achieve results.  Stress reduction, eating a diet very low in complex/refined sugars and wheat.  I'm also lactose intolerant and stay far away from dairy (a lot of people are lactose intolerant and don't know it).  I did this because I noticed GI symptoms with my PVCs.  I've also started to take a Magnesium Glycinate supplement which has helped me a lot.  It lowered my BP too, a lot, so bonus there. No kidding I went from 130/90 to 110/70.  My doc was about to treat me for hypertension and he's baffled by how much this improved.

It took me a while to find a mag supplement that worked OK and in turn took a few weeks before I saw my BP come down and a noted reduction in PVCs.

I still get them.  in fact after many weeks of recent bliss I had a flare up last night at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep.  They come and go, I trudge on.