PVCs and Anxiety

[PVCsScared]

I'm 34, healthy woman... I was diagnose w Panic Disorder about 5 years ago. I got all the symptoms: tachycardia, pvcs, sweaty palms, chest pain, etc... Ran into the ER a number of times thinking I was going to die of a heart attack...
I've done cognitive behavioral therapy and went to 3 cardiologists in 2009. Did the holter and electrocardiogram and even a stress test... I was considered normal and just 3 pvcs were caught at that time.
One put me on atelenol, it was horrible, I even felt worse.
The last one said that I should not worry about my heart and should walk 1 hr a day every day!
As soon as I left this last doc my symptoms disappeared!!! A PVC every now and then, rapid heart rate every once in a while and since I knew I was ok... the symptoms would go away...

Then about 3 months ago I startes getting pvcs again, a lot more frequent and especially when I moved around... dancing, walking, bycicle riding etc... I'm freaking out, they began to control my life. The more I think about them the more I have!!!

Before I perfome any exercise I wonder if I'm going to get them and sure enough I do and they're horrible!!!! More frequent and more intense then before... I'm horrible anxious about my heart, pvcs and falling over dead. I have 2 small children that I'm scared to leave behind.

Can this all be in my head???
Can my anxiety be contrinuting to the reocurrence of the pvcs and could its new frequency and intensity come from anxiety???

Just had blood work done and it was all normal... even lower cholestoral too!!!

Should I go back and get all the tests redone agian??

Thanks in advance for you suppport!!

[PVCsScared]

wow!!!
Thank you all for your msgs and support. It does help a lot to feel like there are more people out there just like me!!

I did go back to the doc, already had an ecg, echo and stress test and all were fine.
They did detect pvcs, but said they're benign and that I need to just exercise. The stress tests shows that I'm clear to exercise and that my heart appears to be in great shape to deal with any physical exercise.

Also he said my heart is begging for exercise. I live a stressful life and I need to burn all the adrenaline instead of letting it circulate through my body. So now I just have to stop being scared of moving, stop being scared of the pvcs and burn off excess adrenaline instead of contributing with more through stress....

He did prescribe inderal but just for 1 month until the exercise regime kicks in!
He says that I don't need medication, I'm not sick and that I need to deal with extra stress and that medication at my age can do more harm than good, so he'd rather me try and get myself out of the rut... with plenty of exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy!

Thanks for all you support!!!!!!!!!

[yarrow]

I have had bouts of PVCs for decades now.  They come around every few years--no reason that I can find--and they are always accompanied by panic attacks (or vice-versa), so I know what you are experiencing.

Because it's been a little while since your last heart checkup and since you are feeling these odd beats while you're active, it wouldn't hurt to go back to your cardio one more time just to be sure it's mostly in your head (which is mostly where mine is).  

When you get the reassurance that your heart is basically OK, then it's time to address what you say here:

"I'm freaking out, they began to control my life. The more I think about them the more I have!!!...Can my anxiety be contrinuting to the reocurrence of the pvcs and could its new frequency and intensity come from anxiety???"

And the answer is that yes, in my experience anxiety and fright make them much, much worse.  Unbelievably worse.  So the thing to do is to see a psychiatrist to talk about medications to relieve both panic and anxiety.   My shrink tried me on at least four antidepressants of the SSRI group before we found that Zoloft is the best for me.  

After no more than a month on Zoloft (sometimes only a few days), I do not feel or hear my PVCs so much, I sleep better, and as the weeks go by--amazingly--the actual frequency of these odd heartbeats diminishes greatly.  

I can get back to normal living then, and you will be able to also, though it may take a little time and experimenting to find the right medications for you.  Just a note:  While you're waiting for the antidepressant to reach its full effect, you may need a short-term anti-anxiety medication like Ativan or Xanax to help you temporarily.

  

[tom_h]

A long term monitor is very helpful in picking up transitory PVCs, tachycardia, and things of this nature.  If I hadn't used one, my doctor would still be scratching his head, because  a 24hr. Holter showed nothing.  With the 30 day monitor, you stand a better chance of catching something.  I'm predisposed to PVC and PSVT, but decaffeinating made the single largest improvement in my daily PVC tally.  My wife suffered from panic disorder for many years.  Paxil, Alprazolam. and thousands of dollars in psycologist's fee have all but cured her. She feels it only a little every once in a while now. It's a crippling illness, and although I never suffered from it, I understand where you're coming from.

[Elli126]

Chances are if all your tests were normal you probably don't need all the tests again ( always better to check w/your doc though ) I have had very similar experiences for over 20 years, ended up in the ER a million times thinking I would die, 20 years later I'm still here. Still have PVCs, PACs and now PSVT ( see my original post ) and am afraid of reoccurences all the time. I know anxiety exacerbates the condition, its a viscious circle. This site helps tremendously. Whenever I'm feeling symptoms and feeling anxious I come to this site...seeing all the people in my same situation helps so much. You CAN learn to live with this although its hard...talk to your doc, maybe some meds ( anxiety and/or for the PVCs ) would help...and keep coming here-it really does help!