PVC's After Eating

I'm a 43yo male and am having a problem with PVC's after eating. In January I saw a cardiologist and had two EKG's, a ton of bloodwork and an echocardiogram. He put me on a 30-day event monitor. Everything came back normal. I also had an echo stress test 18 months back which was normal. He stated that the only issue he could find was a slightly elevated heartrate. I do take Diovan (80mg) and Toprol-XL (25mg) for hypertension, which is under control (yesterday my BP was 118/68).  When my stomach is empty I PVC's once in a great while.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

Lots of patients mention that there PVCs are worse after eating.  We don't really know exactly why that is but imagine it has something to do with changes in autonomic nervous system tone related to digestion.  The problem is there is no real treatment for it.  You can try eating smaller meals but I am not sure if this will help.  It is hopefully reassuring that with all your tests negative, they are not dangerous but I understand they cause symptoms.

Increasing the dose of beta blockers may help but does not always help.

I hope this helps. Thanks for posting.

[djsunyc]

i first experienced skipped heartbeats about 3 months ago. they were infrequent at first, then became more frequent. some times i would get 10 in a row before going back to normal. (they are PAC's). i'm a 33 year old male. get them after eating, when lying down, and when sitting and doing nothing.

there definitely is a connection between gastro issues and the heart.

doctor told me everything was ok but of course one worries. anyway, i just wanted to share what others have said also - TRY MAGNESIUM.  (w/ approval from your doctor)

i first learned about it while googling and seeing these type of forums. then i talked to my cardio guy and he said the same thing.

i started taking 500mg (magnesium as gluconate) twice a day (1 tablet with lunch and 1 tablet with dinner so a total of 1000mg). my first day doing this was last monday. in less than 3 days, i've already noticed a MAJOR change...to the point where i hardly feel more than 3-4 a day at anytime.

do not use magnesium oxide as it doesn't absorb well and makes you go to the bathroom frequently. and could upset your gastrointestinal stuff.

the gluconate absorbs quickly (has 27mg elemental magnesium/tablet as opposed to the oxide which only has 12mg). and doesn't cause the bathroom trips.

anyway, just wanted to give some advice on what has (cross my fingers) worked very well for me.

[finetilthree]

What type of mag do you take and where can i buy it?

[finetilthree]

What type of mag do you take and where can i buy it?

[djsunyc]

the esophogus and the top of the stomach lie directly behind the heart.  since they are in such a close proximity, something that effects one organ can easily effect another.  and after eating, you are activating that entire region.

i went to my local pharmacy and bought magnesium as gluconate (500mg) from a company called windmill.  my local duane reade and gnc only had magnesium oxide.  you can find magnesium oxide everywhere but i don't suggest it.

here's the windmill supplements:

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=302135&navAction=jump&navCount=0&id=prod2194170

the liquid form is called magonate:  http://www.magonate.com/

as you can see, they are very cheap.

here's a website with info about magnesium and the heart:

http://www.afibbers.org/magnesium.html

again, talk to your cardiologist before taking it but i've read that it helped others out.  i've been taking the magnesium for 11 days.  i felt very few skipped beats the first 3 days (which was a huge improvement) but since then, i haven't felt any.

my cardiologist said if it's going to work, you will notice it within 7-10 days.  luckily for me, it did.

hope this helps.

[djsunyc]

sorry, the link for the windmill supplements didn't fit on the page but just go to walgreens.com and search for "Windmill Magnesium as Gluconate"

[finetilthree]

Why is it important to check with the cardiologist?  Is there a danger to taking the supplement?  

[djsunyc]

i don't think there's a danger...everyone needs magnesium.  but there may be a concern if you overdose on magnesium as well.  i'm not a doctor so i would just run it by your doctors just in case - just as a precautionary move.  (but imho, i think taking the supplement is just like taking a vitamin so there shouldn't be any negative effects).