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My PVCs are ruining my life
I have been having PVCs on and off for about 10 years or so. I have been to the doctor(s) multiple times for EKG, blood tests, chest X-rays and holter monitors. So far are they have ever said is I am having PVCs with some cases of bigeminy. My last holter said I had about 12,000 or so over the 3 days I wore the monitor. My doctor arranged an echocardiogram which kept getting put off because I live in a small area and the waiting list is long for non-critical cases. My blood pressure is slightly elevated at 140/80 and my colesterol is somewhere around 5.5? Slightly up but not terrible. I'm male, 41 and there is a family history of high blood pressure but that is about it.
They have gotten much worse in the past few months. Almost anything I do seems to cause them. Sitting, walking, mild exercise of any kind. Exercise causes them to happen much more frequently and makes me feel strange and light headed. I just finished another EKG, round of blood tests and he has trying to get me set up to see a cardiologist and I am waiting for the call back from their office. Still waiting on the Echo which is supposed to be in JULY this time. He put me on Atenolol 25mg a day, plus Ativan for my extreme anxiety over this, plus Remeron which is the only anti-depressant/anti-anxiety I can handle based on previous experiences with various meds.
There is no doubt a lot of of my PVCs are anxiety related. Sometimes just thinking about them starts them. The Ativan does a great job of calming me down and getting rid of them in the short term, but does nothing for exercise induced ones. I can't go popping Ativan all the time because I don't want to be addicted, this is why I requested my doc put me on the antidepressant. I only started it and the Atenolol less than a week ago. So far its not really doing anything far as I can tell.
All I know is this is ruining my life. I was a healthy 41 year old man now I can't even go for a walk without feeling weird, short of breath and having my heart jumping around in my chest. I've been a hard worker and go getter all my life and now I just feel like giving up on everything because everything I do makes my heart act weird. Waiting for these doctors to get moving on this is intolerable and worrying about what is wrong with me is making me sick. I'm supposed to go on vacation in 4 days and all I want to do is stay in bed because I don't want to have a heart attack or something.
They have gotten much worse in the past few months. Almost anything I do seems to cause them. Sitting, walking, mild exercise of any kind. Exercise causes them to happen much more frequently and makes me feel strange and light headed. I just finished another EKG, round of blood tests and he has trying to get me set up to see a cardiologist and I am waiting for the call back from their office. Still waiting on the Echo which is supposed to be in JULY this time. He put me on Atenolol 25mg a day, plus Ativan for my extreme anxiety over this, plus Remeron which is the only anti-depressant/anti-anxiety I can handle based on previous experiences with various meds.
There is no doubt a lot of of my PVCs are anxiety related. Sometimes just thinking about them starts them. The Ativan does a great job of calming me down and getting rid of them in the short term, but does nothing for exercise induced ones. I can't go popping Ativan all the time because I don't want to be addicted, this is why I requested my doc put me on the antidepressant. I only started it and the Atenolol less than a week ago. So far its not really doing anything far as I can tell.
All I know is this is ruining my life. I was a healthy 41 year old man now I can't even go for a walk without feeling weird, short of breath and having my heart jumping around in my chest. I've been a hard worker and go getter all my life and now I just feel like giving up on everything because everything I do makes my heart act weird. Waiting for these doctors to get moving on this is intolerable and worrying about what is wrong with me is making me sick. I'm supposed to go on vacation in 4 days and all I want to do is stay in bed because I don't want to have a heart attack or something.
Thanks again for your reply. You may be on to something with your idea that my PVCs are adrenaline related. They occur much less frequently or subside when I take Ativan. I did an experiment yesterday where I took an Ativan prior to any symptoms and then went for a walk. Hardly any PVCs and the ones I did have didn't cause me any distress. Does Ativan suppress the effects of adrenaline as well?
On the bad side of things today I ended up in the emergency room because of sudden intestinal problems. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis which does not please me at all. It also required another dose of Ativan to rid my of the subsequent anxiety related PVCs.
On the bad side of things today I ended up in the emergency room because of sudden intestinal problems. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis which does not please me at all. It also required another dose of Ativan to rid my of the subsequent anxiety related PVCs.
Hi!
First thing first, I think my reply was a bit unclear. We have long lists in Norway too, which actually is a big topic for discussion here. Being a wealthy country, which I would assume Canada is, too, this is unacceptable. The $750 I mentioned was if you asked for this in a private hospital. We don't need to get referred from our primary care physician or cardiologist to do that, and waiting time is 1-2 days.
Seems adrenaline is a major trigger for your PVCs. What you could do, is asking your cardiologist or primary care physician for another beta blocker or a higher dosage (never change dosage yourself!). In my case, a so-called non selective beta blocker (which blocks adrenaline effect not only on the heart) is more effective towards my anxiety and rapid heart rate. Feels like it also prevents adrenaline levels from rising, not only slows the heart a little. On Propranolol, I don't get panic attacks and premature beats with high heart rate. On Metoprolol (similar to atenolol) I get the panic, but a slightly lower heart rate.
You mention all the classic triggers for premature beats (PACs and PVCs) though some of them are more likely to trigger PACs and it may be that some of the flips in your chest are PACs, not PVCs. The only somewhat worrisome here is your PVCs during exercise. It may, of course, be a result of high adrenaline levels during exercise (you expect the PVCs and you get them), but this phenomenon should be investigated by a cardiologist.
First thing first, I think my reply was a bit unclear. We have long lists in Norway too, which actually is a big topic for discussion here. Being a wealthy country, which I would assume Canada is, too, this is unacceptable. The $750 I mentioned was if you asked for this in a private hospital. We don't need to get referred from our primary care physician or cardiologist to do that, and waiting time is 1-2 days.
Seems adrenaline is a major trigger for your PVCs. What you could do, is asking your cardiologist or primary care physician for another beta blocker or a higher dosage (never change dosage yourself!). In my case, a so-called non selective beta blocker (which blocks adrenaline effect not only on the heart) is more effective towards my anxiety and rapid heart rate. Feels like it also prevents adrenaline levels from rising, not only slows the heart a little. On Propranolol, I don't get panic attacks and premature beats with high heart rate. On Metoprolol (similar to atenolol) I get the panic, but a slightly lower heart rate.
You mention all the classic triggers for premature beats (PACs and PVCs) though some of them are more likely to trigger PACs and it may be that some of the flips in your chest are PACs, not PVCs. The only somewhat worrisome here is your PVCs during exercise. It may, of course, be a result of high adrenaline levels during exercise (you expect the PVCs and you get them), but this phenomenon should be investigated by a cardiologist.
I live in NS, Canada so anything like this is absolutely free. The first barrier is that my regular doctor is only allowed to order certain procedures and tests. The next tier of tests beyond the ones already done can only be ordered by a Cardiologist and there is a waiting list to see one. It is unbelievable we have to wait this long to get help in this province. It is a chronic issue affecting everyone. Even our emergency room waits are intolerable and in rural areas they are often shut down because there isn't a doctor to staff it.
I have been in the emergency room 3 or 4 times over this over the years. Mostly because the PVCs are happening with such frequency, like every few heartbeats, for hours on end. I go in, they do the usual tests and send me on my way saying that nothing is wrong, they are normal. I was most recently in the emergency because ,y heart rate went up for no reason and stayed there, around 130 BPM. Got to the hospital, they did the tests, said the same thing and sent me on my way. Tests were 12 lead EKG, one with less leads, blood tests, chest xray.
My PVCs start as soon as I start any exercise, continue for the duration of the exercise and usually stop or return to its normal frequency as soon as the exercise is over. Because I am so uncomfortable with this, I am rarely doing any exercise that gets my heart rate really going.
Caffeine causes them, nicotine causes them although I quite smoking over a year ago because of the PVCs, but sometime I use a patch or gum if I still get a craving. Indigestion sometimes makes them worse, and sometimes certain lying in positions makes them worse or better. Stress is a big problem with them and makes them the worst. A few weeks ago I had a nasty stomach flu and through the worst of the vomiting the PVCs were horrid. Exercise of course cause them and if I am scared or suddenly get angry and get an adrenaline dump I get them pretty bad, Like when you have a close call car accident.
Thanks for replying. I have been exploring this place and it gives me a bit of a lift knowing I am not alone in this.
I have been in the emergency room 3 or 4 times over this over the years. Mostly because the PVCs are happening with such frequency, like every few heartbeats, for hours on end. I go in, they do the usual tests and send me on my way saying that nothing is wrong, they are normal. I was most recently in the emergency because ,y heart rate went up for no reason and stayed there, around 130 BPM. Got to the hospital, they did the tests, said the same thing and sent me on my way. Tests were 12 lead EKG, one with less leads, blood tests, chest xray.
My PVCs start as soon as I start any exercise, continue for the duration of the exercise and usually stop or return to its normal frequency as soon as the exercise is over. Because I am so uncomfortable with this, I am rarely doing any exercise that gets my heart rate really going.
Caffeine causes them, nicotine causes them although I quite smoking over a year ago because of the PVCs, but sometime I use a patch or gum if I still get a craving. Indigestion sometimes makes them worse, and sometimes certain lying in positions makes them worse or better. Stress is a big problem with them and makes them the worst. A few weeks ago I had a nasty stomach flu and through the worst of the vomiting the PVCs were horrid. Exercise of course cause them and if I am scared or suddenly get angry and get an adrenaline dump I get them pretty bad, Like when you have a close call car accident.
Thanks for replying. I have been exploring this place and it gives me a bit of a lift knowing I am not alone in this.
Hello.
First, I'm not impressed about how your doctors did treat you. At 4000 PVCs pr day, along with PVCs that increase during exercise, you should get an ultrasound of the heart. I don't know the prices where you live, but here a full cardiac workup, including EKG, stress EKG, echo or stress echo costs about NOK 4000 (or $750). If you can afford that, then do it.
It may be that your PVCs are related to adrenaline but I think a cardiologist should verify that. When you get it verified, it will be easier to relax and accept them for benign phenomena. But I can really understand how you feel, this can't be easy.
PVCs can't give you a heart attack so you don't need to worry about that. Try to note down what's triggering them. When during exercise do they occur? How frequent? PVCs that occur in the beginning of exercise are more likely to be benign.
First, I'm not impressed about how your doctors did treat you. At 4000 PVCs pr day, along with PVCs that increase during exercise, you should get an ultrasound of the heart. I don't know the prices where you live, but here a full cardiac workup, including EKG, stress EKG, echo or stress echo costs about NOK 4000 (or $750). If you can afford that, then do it.
It may be that your PVCs are related to adrenaline but I think a cardiologist should verify that. When you get it verified, it will be easier to relax and accept them for benign phenomena. But I can really understand how you feel, this can't be easy.
PVCs can't give you a heart attack so you don't need to worry about that. Try to note down what's triggering them. When during exercise do they occur? How frequent? PVCs that occur in the beginning of exercise are more likely to be benign.
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