PVC's

[kd1980]

Hi, I am a 30 year old, very active (aerobics, jogging, weight lifting) female that has experienced pvc's for a while now.  After having my daughter however, they have become a little more frightening to me because sometimes when I have them they will last for a while and my vision starts to go dark for like a split second and I fear I will pass out if my heart rate doesn't straighten up soon.  This happens in matters of seconds.  It of course gives me a very paniky feeling, which triggers more pvc's.  Is this something to be concerned about?  I have had an ECG by my regular doctor and I have also had a past of anxiety, and I love love coffee.  He told me that my ECG was normal and that he thought I was being anxious and needed to lay off the caffine.  He said he didn't not see any reason for me to have a cardiologist check on my situation, but he would refer me if I wanted.  Do you think I need to see a cardiologist?

Thanks,
Kelly

[kd1980]

Thanks I will try experimenting with my diet.  I handle stressful situations the same way you described.  I always think the worst...  Lately, I have a lot of stress in my life.  I teach school and our principal passed away this morning..after a nine year battle with pancraetic cancer.  It is a very sad day today around our district...he was loved and respected by many people.  Also, my grandfather is struggling with lung cancer.  I am very close to him and it is extremely difficult to watch.  I do not do good with stressful situations and have already felt a few flip flops this morning...but not the really bad ones that last a few seconds and scare me to death!  
Thank you for your suggestions and I will changing my diet to see what happens.

[JrPoone]

Kd 1980, I guess we do share some commonalities.  The fact that you were given an cardiologist appointment more than 15 days from now is indicative that your doctor is not too concerned about your PVCs.  On the subject of stress and anxiety, we unfortunately do not choose our personalities, but it is possible that we foster the negatives out of habit. I often find myself imagining the worst case scenario whenever I am confronted with a stressful situations.  Ironically, that worst case never happens :)  and I always find the means and the resources to effectively deal with the situation. Shameful isn't it?  Well I am working on that.  Enough about my dilemas!

Between now and your appointment on October 18th, try to experiment with your diet.  Cut down on the caffeine, sugar and carbs and see if you get any relief.  Do let us know if you do.
As far as the anxiety meds, do your very best to stay away from them.  They do not offer a cure, they only hide the symptoms.  You can look up some info on the most popular ones and look at their clinical trial results.  You will be surprised to see their low efficacy rates.  Many are also addictive and require gradual dosage increases to produce the same effect. Why these meds are being advertised on television I will never know.  

[kd1980]

Thanks for your reply.  Everything you said sounds a lot like me!  I exercise  a lot and am in good shape.  I am thin, and only watch calories...not quality of what I eat.  I also, so not like meds and have been told several times that I need anxiety medication.  I am sort of "fireballish" and I like that!  :)  I teach, so I am stressed.  So thank you for your post....you sound a lot like me!

[JrPoone]

Go see a cardiologist to be on the safe side and if you are really concerned.  I have experienced PVCs and extrasystoles for most of my adult life.  I have been told that that they were caused by anxiety, stress and nothing more.  I was also told not to worry about them. I must admit that I do have an axious personality, but I refuse to submit to prescription medications just for that.  I exercise on a regular basis by biking 80 to 100 miles per week. I don't smoke and I only drink occasionally.  I have no medical conditions and consider myself healthy at 57 years of age. About a month ago, I started to have PVCs at a rate that I had never experienced before.  I decided to look into my diet since the PVCs were more common after eating.  I am now convinced that my PVCs were caused by the massive amout of sugar and carbohydrates that I was consuming daily.  I was under the false belief that since I was physically active and didn't have a weight problem, I could eat anything I wanted.  I have since gone to a low carb diet and I really cut down on my sugar intake.  No more soda pops, ice cream, candy bars, cookies etc... The nevermore list is quite long.   I also do not add sugar on anything that I eat or drink.  I was shocked to see how much sugar is already in everything we eat.  Carbohydrates are also converted to sugar by the body.  I have also given up coffee all together.  Was it difficult to do that? Absolutely, but we all must make choices when it comes to our health.  Within 48 hours of cutting down on sugar and carbs, my PVCs went away and I have not experienced a single occurrence since.

[kd1980]

Seeing a cardiologist Oct. 18th.  After reading several posts on mitro valve prolapse, I wondering if this is not what I'm feeling.  My reg doc did the ECG and said everything was normal...but have seen where others got a "normal" from their reg docs too.  Guess I will find out soon.  

[kd1980]

My regular doc did not catch any pvc's when he did the ecg.  My husband is paramedic and he ran an ecg on me in the ambulance one afernoon when I was feeling some flips.  He caught several pvcs.  He printed the strip and took it to my reg doc, who then ran his ecg on me and didn't catch anything.  I think both of you are right that I need to have it checked out by a cardiologist to know better.

Thanks!

[Mom2four85]

Def go see a cardiologist and ask for a full workup as debbier says

I had a pcp tell me in 2007 my ekg was "fine" even signed off on it and prescribed Phentermine to me - fast forward 2009 and I found out that ekg was NOT so fine and I had tons of pvc's that should have been addressed and shortness of breath, pain & dizziness all noted in his medical files that were a hint I had something wrong

pvc's normally are benign, but in the case of dizziness, pain, shortness of breath or fainting etc they should always be addressed

[debbier]

I personally would see the cardiologist and get a full workup and verify what type of palpitations you are having.  Has your dr captured your palpitation, you reference a pvc's type of palp so I was just curious.  Are you having multiple palp's or just one here and there?  If they have never caught your palp on ECG, I would see Cardio and wear 24-48 hour monitor.  You will feel less anxious once a cardio has diagnosed you with benign palp's.