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Positional PVC's Anyone??
Hello all! Am I ever glad I found this site. I'm a newbie but definately not new to these dang pvc's. I was wondering if anyone else has what I call "positional pvc's"? By this I mean I can trigger them by lifting my right arm over my head, bending over, turning/twisting when only moving my upper chest, not turning my waist, reaching for things especially when reaching with my right arm over to the left side of my body. (Just seems to be my right arm) Even riding on a bumpy road can set them off which I think is very strange. Also with my last pregnancy, when the doc would have me lay on my back and she'd palpitate my belly it would set them off as well. Other things that trigger them are stretching while holding my breath, working on a burp that is stuck in my throat and talking without taking a breath. So basically anything can set them off! Just wondering if I'm the only weirdo here. If anyone else gets these "positional pvc's" please share.
I get every one that you just mentioned.
1 Comments
I feel mine are very positional as well. And as with some of the other commenters, the position has changed over time, but one that always seems to set it off is leaning forward in a chair. Pretty much sets it off (for a second at least) every time I lean forward in a certain way (especially at my desk at work when I do this). Like some others, I have also wondered about possible Vagus nerve issues, as it seems to all be connected with issues in abdomen/torso and stomach. So you are not alone--and yes, the doctors will look at you like you are crazy--but all of us experiencing the same thing cant be a coincidence. Hang in there--and good luck. I am just recently diagnosed and am going to try the beta blockers, but I know that does not always help.
The funny part is the doctor will look at you stupid usually when you try and explain this. It is real. I do the same thing. It doesn't always do it it seems like it is during certain periods. I can stretch and trigger it or bend over or twist. I always wonder what is different to cause this. Right now I'm having problems with burping air. If I just burp I have a palpitation. It's driving me nuts. Hopefully it will go away. I also have some stomach problems and noticed if I take prevacid to keep my stomach calm the positional pvcs diminish. Something in there has to be putting pressure on the heart ??? Who Knows?
But your not alone
But your not alone
Ohhhhh, yes, very definitely. I get them when I slouch in a chair. bend over, especially after eating or drinking water, when I lay on my left side, if I put my arms over my head, twist a certain way, you name it, all these positions can trigger them. Then, I have days when nothing does it, but, those are few, and I really enjoy those days.
I have told my doctor, but, I am not too sure she believes me, but, they ARE real, just the same.
Oh yes, I also get them when it is windy and cold, that is not fun as I live in a windy area and in winter it is really cold, brrrrrrr.
I have told my doctor, but, I am not too sure she believes me, but, they ARE real, just the same.
Oh yes, I also get them when it is windy and cold, that is not fun as I live in a windy area and in winter it is really cold, brrrrrrr.
3 Comments
I also get them when laying on my left side.
I realize this post is from 2009 but it is exactly what I needed to see. Mine occur in the exact same ways as yours SassyLassie! I have yet to have testing because of this pandemic and delayed appointments. Do you have a diagnosis for your PVC's?
No, I never did get one, they just called them benign, maybe caused by a hiatal hernia and of course stress. What ever it is, they are miserable. :-(
I have shared this before on this site, but I only get PVC's after I eat. I noticed that I would get them each day after lunch as I would put my shoes on to go back to work ( I eat at home). As I pulled my leg up to tie my shoe, they would start up. If I stand up and put my shoes on they do not come. I am controlling them by merely doing wierd things like that. When I told my Doctor about this, he still had a spaced out look on his face as I left...kindof a duuhh look. So yes, position definitely triggers them.
I've posted this before. My experiences are even more bizarre. About 4 years ago, I started noticing that I experienced strings of PAC's or PVC's when I turned onto my right side in bed. No explanation, it had not done that before. In the next year or two it reversed to when I tried to sleep on my left side and stopped doing it when I was on my right side. It has progressed now to having them no matter how I try to sleep! It has become very difficult for me to get to sleep and I have finally just learned to will myself to sleep, no easy task. I had my six month appointment with my cardiologist a few weeks ago, and, glory be, it showed up on the ECG. It looked more like PAC's than PVC's and he said as long as I was asymptomatic, just live with it and take some atenolol if it helped. The other option was to try something like amioderone, which is powerful stuff, and he preferred not to do that. I am 66 and this all started when I was 62. I have a theory that it is the result of increased, erratic vagal stimulation which could shift and increase over time.
Thank you so much for your replies. Makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one experiencing these bizarre things or that I'm only imagining them. I've mentioned a couple of them to my doc but he had no reply. I find it difficult to talk to anyone about them. I definately think there is a link to the stomach and vagal nerve as well as anxiety. Last August I was a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding and I spent the entire summer worrying about what if I had a pvc attack up in front of the church in front of everyone. Well the big day came and just before walking down the aisle, boom, my heart starts skipping and I freak. I ended up having a panic attack and took off downstairs and stayed there for the rest of the ceremony. Didn't even get to see my sister get married. One of the most embarassing moments of my life. SassyLassie, mine are worse in the winter months as well. Strange. Oh and I've become superstitious over this too. Sometimes if I'm wearing a certain pair of jeans when I'm having a bad day I will refuse to wear those jeans ever again like it is the jeans fault! The only thing my doc wanted to give me was ativan for when they made me anxious but I never did fill the prescription. I went on magnesium back in november. They (the pvc's- I don't even like saying them) went away for 6 weeks but came back so I tried liquid magnesium which never helped. Yesterday I started taking the original supplement but doubled the dose so now I'm just waiting. I've read many good things on mag and heart rhythm but know it's not a miracle pill. I've been dealing with this every day for 2 months now. I've had them for 10+ years (I'm 29) but usually they would come and go but this time they just don't want to bugger off. I'm glad I have a place to come to now for support. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.
2 Comments
Still getting them? You sound just like me!
I am exactly the same! get a run of them which give me a winded feeling and headache whenever i bend over or lay on my left side.. twisting my shoulders without moving my waist you name it. Having a hard time dealing with the anxiety that they may just cause my heart to stop oneday!
I am now almost 60, in very good health, and have had these positional arrhythmias for years now - at least 20. They are apparently harmless - if disturbing - as I have been very active physically the whole time. I also get the same blank or dismissive responses from physicians when I mention it to them.
I am pretty certain I know what causes it. I am very thin with small bone structure and have an enlarged heart from years of competitive exercise. I think there is no question that my heart is rubbing against either the rib cage or sternum to trigger such episodes. In addition the heart is in close proximity to the esophagus, so gases from burping can cause them. Lying down after eat a big meal is likely to trigger them. Leaning forward can trigger them. Even leaning forward over the handlebars during biking can cause them, such that straightening to an upright position reduces or stops them.
Mine occur most often when I first lie down to sleeping. If they do not subside I sit up more in the bed. I have had all combinations of this problem. Usually straigtening up, either in bed, or getting up and standing stops them. When they persist while standing I can stop them by suddenly jerking my chest. What better proof can you have than this that it is mechanically triggered.
There is also no doubt in my mind that stress, caffeine, extreme fatigue and many other conditions can increase their frequency of occurrence.
With my small frame and enlarged heart there is no simple way to supppress them. I do not want to take drugs because I fear they will diminish my exercise capabilities, which have keep me in excellent health and condition for years (e.g. blood pressure at levels of young people -110/70).
Art
I am pretty certain I know what causes it. I am very thin with small bone structure and have an enlarged heart from years of competitive exercise. I think there is no question that my heart is rubbing against either the rib cage or sternum to trigger such episodes. In addition the heart is in close proximity to the esophagus, so gases from burping can cause them. Lying down after eat a big meal is likely to trigger them. Leaning forward can trigger them. Even leaning forward over the handlebars during biking can cause them, such that straightening to an upright position reduces or stops them.
Mine occur most often when I first lie down to sleeping. If they do not subside I sit up more in the bed. I have had all combinations of this problem. Usually straigtening up, either in bed, or getting up and standing stops them. When they persist while standing I can stop them by suddenly jerking my chest. What better proof can you have than this that it is mechanically triggered.
There is also no doubt in my mind that stress, caffeine, extreme fatigue and many other conditions can increase their frequency of occurrence.
With my small frame and enlarged heart there is no simple way to supppress them. I do not want to take drugs because I fear they will diminish my exercise capabilities, which have keep me in excellent health and condition for years (e.g. blood pressure at levels of young people -110/70).
Art
Amen to that! totally agree with you! I blame the vagus nerve that creates all this havoc with our hearts. I hate hate hate it, but love love love being with this community. You all understand as no one else does/can.
Hi Michelle,
I have PVCs and they got so bad that I had an ablation last December. But they "missed a spot", so my electrophysiologist recommended a "touch-up" ablation,
which I haven't done yet. When you notice a run of PVCs, (bigeminy, trigeminy), try coughing hard. I can usually get mine to re-set doing this. They also say taking magnesium and/or fish oil can help. PVCs are definitely annoying - I sympathize with you! I too think there is some connection between the stomach and heart because I too had my gallbladder removed, and I've always had stomach issues.
Take care and take heart - there are apparently lots of us PVCer's out there! (Maybe we need to conduct an unofficial study!).
I have PVCs and they got so bad that I had an ablation last December. But they "missed a spot", so my electrophysiologist recommended a "touch-up" ablation,
which I haven't done yet. When you notice a run of PVCs, (bigeminy, trigeminy), try coughing hard. I can usually get mine to re-set doing this. They also say taking magnesium and/or fish oil can help. PVCs are definitely annoying - I sympathize with you! I too think there is some connection between the stomach and heart because I too had my gallbladder removed, and I've always had stomach issues.
Take care and take heart - there are apparently lots of us PVCer's out there! (Maybe we need to conduct an unofficial study!).
Cant say I get them from any particular position as I get them always for no specific triggers. They are just there to be a nuisance and probably cause me cardiomyopathy in the not so near future.
i noticed that when i bend over i get them too.. but once i figured out one thing.... the only way to resolve this was to take up exercise for me. so what i did was basically do weight lifting heavy squats with breathing pull overs...and after some week
oddly the PVC disappeared for many years!!!!!! cant explain why
oddly the PVC disappeared for many years!!!!!! cant explain why
Yes, I basically have constant PVCs, but certain things - as you mentioned - do make them worse, especially emotional stress or too much caffeine. I also notice I feel "weird" when it's a overcast/rainy day. I've always wondered if the med Pitocin, that they give you when you're in labor, affects the heart because I started having all my heart problems after giving birth to my 3rd child. Recently my EP gave me potassium as an experiment, and it does seem to help with the PVCs. You just have to be careful not to take too much as it can build up and be toxic. Has any found anything else that helps ease the PVCs?
Hi Im 68 and have hadPVCs for years just lately much worse. I find laying on my left side in bed starts them off ,sometimes they ease when I turn over sometimes not always very uncomfortable.It is so good to read of others experiences and not feel so alone.
I am currently taking a serious drug called Flecainide and it seems to have stopped my PVCs almost completely I just get a run now and then, the only trouble is I don't like taking drug and hope I will be able to get off them at some time in the future. I wish you all well and a cure for PVCs .
I am currently taking a serious drug called Flecainide and it seems to have stopped my PVCs almost completely I just get a run now and then, the only trouble is I don't like taking drug and hope I will be able to get off them at some time in the future. I wish you all well and a cure for PVCs .
I've been a member for about a month I guess. I've learned so much from so many people that I don't feel as intimidated by the palpitations and tachycardias anymore. Thank goodness for this forum.
I've tried to figure out what causes my palps and like many caffeine, stress, and fatigue seem to be triggers especially the stress. Fish oil also seems to irritate my heart which is crazy because it helps so many others. I started taking magnesium and that seems to really help.As far as positional, any laying down position seems to bother me and leaning over front ways. Good luck.
I've tried to figure out what causes my palps and like many caffeine, stress, and fatigue seem to be triggers especially the stress. Fish oil also seems to irritate my heart which is crazy because it helps so many others. I started taking magnesium and that seems to really help.As far as positional, any laying down position seems to bother me and leaning over front ways. Good luck.
That's me....always trying to straighten up in bed or while watching a movie, etc. I have tried to ignore them and be belligerent....I say, "I'm not moving, do what you want." (Yes, sometimes I simply MUST talk to them...lol) Guess what? They DO what they want. I lose. I move. hahahahahahaha
Wow, I'm 32 years old and have had this for the past 4 years. I've been dismissed by doctors and cardiologists... I'm having a flare up right now and it is terrible. I can hardly move without setting off the pvcs. I usually see an osteopath to help realign me and he helps a lot... although it feels like I'm going to die from arrythmias while he's working... Thanks for all of your comments, at least I don't feel so alone...
I have pvc's since I was 20 years old, iam male 45 years old now, I believe I got ithem from my moms side of the family.....in my 20's it started off every now and then my heart would skip a beat, now iam at the point of, some positional, over excertion, hot shower/bath, some times sleeping, I find if I eat 3 times a day, sandwich/banana for lunch etc, I do not get them while I sleep.....after 25 years of have pvc's I realize that caffeine, MSG, alcohol would trigger pvc's that would last hours to even a week depending on how much I ingested..... You have to control the triggers I have learned, I cannot stress enuff, caffeine/MSG/Alcohol do not take these stimulants , tomatoes/parmesan cheese, mushrooms are naturally high in MSG, avoid all MSG, read packages ingredients...... what I have is LAF( (Lone) Atrial Fibrillation.... it might be what all of you have, please avoid the three triggers.... a good website to read about LAF is http://www.afibbers.org/...
god bless
god bless
Hi,
I've had many PVCs for years too and even had an ablation, but they persisted. No med ever seemed to work either until my newest doc put me on Metoprolol (Lopressor) for my high blood pressure. Now my PVCs are much quieter. Just a thought! Take care.
I've had many PVCs for years too and even had an ablation, but they persisted. No med ever seemed to work either until my newest doc put me on Metoprolol (Lopressor) for my high blood pressure. Now my PVCs are much quieter. Just a thought! Take care.
I might add, like I said the pvc's started off when I was 20 every now and then, I started to take notice of my pulse, never thought much of it, never had any tests, till my late 20's I had a few fast beats in a row that made me dizzy, I still never got an test, then all of a sudden in my mid 30's I had persistant pvc's skipped every 4 or 5 beat that was lasting for days 24-7, I went to the dr he said do you drink caffeine , I said yes, so I stopped that, it took over a week to get the caffeine out of my system and return to " normal" which is every now and then a skipped beat, in my mid 30's I noticed if I exerted my self, living groceries, moving stuff, running...I would have pvc's briefly till my heart calmed back down...I had an EKG done , nothing came up.... I also find if I lay down on my back for long periods of time, say in bed or (flat in bed) for say like a 5-7 days I will have what the call a violent episode, where my heart will race real fast for 2-3 seconds and I will get dizzy or my vision will turn black... Years ago it happeded to me in a different way other then laying down for long periods, I blame it on the caffeine .... Recently I has a episode that last a week of pvc's lots of them, I found that MSG effects me just like caffeine did years ago before I quit, Like I said it takes atleast a week to flush out caffeine and msg from ur system, where it feels like ur back to normal... normal for me, is no pvc's until I exert myself.... but since I realized msg was a new trigger for me, some other things are new also, positional pvc's sometimes if i raise my arms above my head i get a skipped beat or as soon as I get in a hot bath or shower, I get multiple pvc's and could last up to an hour after I get out, then they just stop and its back to normal again for me, also as iam eating or after I eat depending I get a few... this is new for me, It may because I was still eating dairy, lots of cheddar cheese, dairy products.... which contain msg, Iam finding iam very sensitive to MSG at this point in my life just like 12 years ago I found out I was sentive to caffeine .....So right now iam eliminating dairy/sugar/msg/caffeine/ alcohol , the sugar and dairy is something new iam trying to see if some "normal for me" gets beter.... that's my story.
God bless
God bless
Several posts needed to complete the following:
They keep tellin' me this word...this EVIL word: "Benign." I swear I see red every time I see or hear the word "Benign." I have been going through weird chest pains, palpitations, exercise induced (healthy or "benign") bradycardia, and such for 14 months now...but for the last two months I have been the proud owner of PVCs, PACs, and very rarely a bout of what feels like VT or SVT (about 5 extremely fast beats)...all of it labelled "Benign" so far.
How is pain benign? I am not suicidal...but sleep loss, the anxiety, and the strain it has just put on my marriage has backed me into a position in which I would be fine with this whole gig being over with. I am sick of watching my old fulfilling life disappear in the rear-view mirror.
My heart HURTS. I am 9 doctors into this thing. I tell ya I spent the first twelve months worrying that this "benign" condition will kill me...
I have spent the last two months worrying that it WON'T kill me...
For what it is worth, I may be on to something this last week. I hope I am right, and I hope this can help you all.
Google "Athletes Heart". I am a tall and muscular 38 year old, former USMC infantryman, have always worked out, and maintain a lean healthy build. Despite all of this, I have also always had high-normal blood pressure; almost pre-hypertension territory. Therefore, about 6 months before I had any of the above symptoms I concluded that 6-7 days a week of weight-training warranted more than just 2 or 3 days of cardio to augment (the weight training). So 6-7 days of weights along with 1-3 days of cardio became 6-7 days of weight and 6-7 days of cardio. Seemed logical that more is better with exercise. As you will see if you read further: this may be a "Silly Me" situation. For the record, my chest pain, palpitations, and all other symptoms Vanish with exercise...an important fact the reader will need to remember later.
Six months later I started having the chest pains. My PC doc saw "something" on an ECG and to this day cannot really tell me what...I have a theory that it was just a mistake or a nurses mistake...but I wound up going through the cardiology route "just in case." I had an echocardiogram (heart was a "beast"-as healthy as they've seen), a calcium test (freaking ZERO...perfect score) and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Normal...which equals "benign chest pain...maybe you have pulled a muscle, or Lymes Disease, or GERD, or chostochondroitis, or Thyroid, or aliens, or government chem-trails, or holy moly mother of PETE..."
After being cleared by other doctors of, well...EVERYTHING... I ended up back with another cardiologist...you know...the whole "let's get a different doctor and make sure." He ordered a very affordable (heavy sarcasm) Chest and Abdomen CT which revealed that....TA-DA! I'm a STUD! Nothing wrong in there, buddy! You look GREAT! I know it sounds silly but I would at this point have been overjoyed if my doc(s) dropped my CT results and ran away screaming all the while making the sign of the cross so as to ward off the demons and fiends that took up residence in my chest cavity. Alas; the decision was made to put this healthy guy on the Stress-test machine. and wear another Holter Monitor.
They keep tellin' me this word...this EVIL word: "Benign." I swear I see red every time I see or hear the word "Benign." I have been going through weird chest pains, palpitations, exercise induced (healthy or "benign") bradycardia, and such for 14 months now...but for the last two months I have been the proud owner of PVCs, PACs, and very rarely a bout of what feels like VT or SVT (about 5 extremely fast beats)...all of it labelled "Benign" so far.
How is pain benign? I am not suicidal...but sleep loss, the anxiety, and the strain it has just put on my marriage has backed me into a position in which I would be fine with this whole gig being over with. I am sick of watching my old fulfilling life disappear in the rear-view mirror.
My heart HURTS. I am 9 doctors into this thing. I tell ya I spent the first twelve months worrying that this "benign" condition will kill me...
I have spent the last two months worrying that it WON'T kill me...
For what it is worth, I may be on to something this last week. I hope I am right, and I hope this can help you all.
Google "Athletes Heart". I am a tall and muscular 38 year old, former USMC infantryman, have always worked out, and maintain a lean healthy build. Despite all of this, I have also always had high-normal blood pressure; almost pre-hypertension territory. Therefore, about 6 months before I had any of the above symptoms I concluded that 6-7 days a week of weight-training warranted more than just 2 or 3 days of cardio to augment (the weight training). So 6-7 days of weights along with 1-3 days of cardio became 6-7 days of weight and 6-7 days of cardio. Seemed logical that more is better with exercise. As you will see if you read further: this may be a "Silly Me" situation. For the record, my chest pain, palpitations, and all other symptoms Vanish with exercise...an important fact the reader will need to remember later.
Six months later I started having the chest pains. My PC doc saw "something" on an ECG and to this day cannot really tell me what...I have a theory that it was just a mistake or a nurses mistake...but I wound up going through the cardiology route "just in case." I had an echocardiogram (heart was a "beast"-as healthy as they've seen), a calcium test (freaking ZERO...perfect score) and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Normal...which equals "benign chest pain...maybe you have pulled a muscle, or Lymes Disease, or GERD, or chostochondroitis, or Thyroid, or aliens, or government chem-trails, or holy moly mother of PETE..."
After being cleared by other doctors of, well...EVERYTHING... I ended up back with another cardiologist...you know...the whole "let's get a different doctor and make sure." He ordered a very affordable (heavy sarcasm) Chest and Abdomen CT which revealed that....TA-DA! I'm a STUD! Nothing wrong in there, buddy! You look GREAT! I know it sounds silly but I would at this point have been overjoyed if my doc(s) dropped my CT results and ran away screaming all the while making the sign of the cross so as to ward off the demons and fiends that took up residence in my chest cavity. Alas; the decision was made to put this healthy guy on the Stress-test machine. and wear another Holter Monitor.
1 Comments
This post was everything dude. So any new updates today ? How are you ?
Several posts needed to complete the following:
They keep tellin' me this word...this EVIL word: "Benign." I swear I see red every time I see or hear the word "Benign." I have been going through weird chest pains, palpitations, exercise induced (healthy or "benign") bradycardia, and such for 14 months now...but for the last two months I have been the proud owner of PVCs, PACs, and very rarely a bout of what feels like VT or SVT (about 5 extremely fast beats)...all of it labelled "Benign" so far.
How is pain benign? I am not suicidal...but sleep loss, the anxiety, and the strain it has just put on my marriage has backed me into a position in which I would be fine with this whole gig being over with. I am sick of watching my old fulfilling life disappear in the rear-view mirror.
My heart HURTS. I am 9 doctors into this thing. I tell ya I spent the first twelve months worrying that this "benign" condition will kill me...
I have spent the last two months worrying that it WON'T kill me...
For what it is worth, I may be on to something this last week. I hope I am right, and I hope this can help you all.
Google "Athletes Heart". I am a tall and muscular 38 year old, former USMC infantryman, have always worked out, and maintain a lean healthy build. Despite all of this, I have also always had high-normal blood pressure; almost pre-hypertension territory. Therefore, about 6 months before I had any of the above symptoms I concluded that 6-7 days a week of weight-training warranted more than just 2 or 3 days of cardio to augment (the weight training). So 6-7 days of weights along with 1-3 days of cardio became 6-7 days of weight and 6-7 days of cardio. Seemed logical that more is better with exercise. As you will see if you read further: this may be a "Silly Me" situation. For the record, my chest pain, palpitations, and all other symptoms Vanish with exercise...an important fact the reader will need to remember later.
Six months later I started having the chest pains. My PC doc saw "something" on an ECG and to this day cannot really tell me what...I have a theory that it was just a mistake or a nurses mistake...but I wound up going through the cardiology route "just in case." I had an echocardiogram (heart was a "beast"-as healthy as they've seen), a calcium test (freaking ZERO...perfect score) and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Normal...which equals "benign chest pain...maybe you have pulled a muscle, or Lymes Disease, or GERD, or chostochondroitis, or Thyroid, or aliens, or government chem-trails, or holy moly mother of PETE..."
After being cleared by other doctors of, well...EVERYTHING... I ended up back with another cardiologist...you know...the whole "let's get a different doctor and make sure." He ordered a very affordable (heavy sarcasm) Chest and Abdomen CT which revealed that....TA-DA! I'm a STUD! Nothing wrong in there, buddy! You look GREAT! I know it sounds silly but I would at this point have been overjoyed if my doc(s) dropped my CT results and ran away screaming all the while making the sign of the cross so as to ward off the demons and fiends that took up residence in my chest cavity. Alas; the decision was made to put this healthy guy on the Stress-test machine. and wear another Holter Monitor.
They keep tellin' me this word...this EVIL word: "Benign." I swear I see red every time I see or hear the word "Benign." I have been going through weird chest pains, palpitations, exercise induced (healthy or "benign") bradycardia, and such for 14 months now...but for the last two months I have been the proud owner of PVCs, PACs, and very rarely a bout of what feels like VT or SVT (about 5 extremely fast beats)...all of it labelled "Benign" so far.
How is pain benign? I am not suicidal...but sleep loss, the anxiety, and the strain it has just put on my marriage has backed me into a position in which I would be fine with this whole gig being over with. I am sick of watching my old fulfilling life disappear in the rear-view mirror.
My heart HURTS. I am 9 doctors into this thing. I tell ya I spent the first twelve months worrying that this "benign" condition will kill me...
I have spent the last two months worrying that it WON'T kill me...
For what it is worth, I may be on to something this last week. I hope I am right, and I hope this can help you all.
Google "Athletes Heart". I am a tall and muscular 38 year old, former USMC infantryman, have always worked out, and maintain a lean healthy build. Despite all of this, I have also always had high-normal blood pressure; almost pre-hypertension territory. Therefore, about 6 months before I had any of the above symptoms I concluded that 6-7 days a week of weight-training warranted more than just 2 or 3 days of cardio to augment (the weight training). So 6-7 days of weights along with 1-3 days of cardio became 6-7 days of weight and 6-7 days of cardio. Seemed logical that more is better with exercise. As you will see if you read further: this may be a "Silly Me" situation. For the record, my chest pain, palpitations, and all other symptoms Vanish with exercise...an important fact the reader will need to remember later.
Six months later I started having the chest pains. My PC doc saw "something" on an ECG and to this day cannot really tell me what...I have a theory that it was just a mistake or a nurses mistake...but I wound up going through the cardiology route "just in case." I had an echocardiogram (heart was a "beast"-as healthy as they've seen), a calcium test (freaking ZERO...perfect score) and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours. Normal...which equals "benign chest pain...maybe you have pulled a muscle, or Lymes Disease, or GERD, or chostochondroitis, or Thyroid, or aliens, or government chem-trails, or holy moly mother of PETE..."
After being cleared by other doctors of, well...EVERYTHING... I ended up back with another cardiologist...you know...the whole "let's get a different doctor and make sure." He ordered a very affordable (heavy sarcasm) Chest and Abdomen CT which revealed that....TA-DA! I'm a STUD! Nothing wrong in there, buddy! You look GREAT! I know it sounds silly but I would at this point have been overjoyed if my doc(s) dropped my CT results and ran away screaming all the while making the sign of the cross so as to ward off the demons and fiends that took up residence in my chest cavity. Alas; the decision was made to put this healthy guy on the Stress-test machine. and wear another Holter Monitor.
(Continued from above)
Prior to these tests I went to New Mexico with my wife and three kids. At altitude, I noticed that my heart felt even more strange. One night I felt THEM. 2 of THEM. After 11-months of weird chest pains and enough internet research to make me an honorary cardiologist I needed no one to tell me what THEY were: bump, BUMP.....bump, BUMP.....bumpBUMPbumpBUMP....................bump,BUMP....bump,BUMPbumpBUMP.................PACs or PVCs were on the SCENE! Over the next two weeks I noticed these things throughout the day...and I noticed that they made my "benign" chest pain worse.
Upon returning to The Lone Star State I freaking BROKE THE STRESS TEST RECORD at my cardiologists office. No joke.This is a volume-based office; 9 cardiologists work there. I broke the dang record. The technician actually stated "I've never seen a tall guy ( I'm 6'6") with as much muscle as you... with your kind of stamina...especially in your age group!" Oh, how merrily he told me that. Oh, how very close he came to needing a defibrillator himself that day...if only he knew.
My second Holter results showed 13...but I swear I feel my heart "trying" to have them far more often than that...kind of like a stumble rather than a trip and fall-flat-on-your-face...dunno if anyone else can sympathize...Anyway these things for the last two or three months have a come and go quality to them. 3 or four times I have been aware of HUNDREDS of these things. They seem VERY POSITION SPECIFIC; swallowing, lying down, looking down, clearing my throat in a "different" way,you know the drill. I have tried everything: magnesium, no caffeine, EXTRA CAFFEINE (yup, got desperate...it is worth noting that this actually seemed to help a little), folic acid, cardi-blend vitamins, kale, quinoa, eye-of-newt, boogers from a virgin muskrat, etc...
Let me assure you: you cannot eat, "vitamin", detox, meditate, or yoga your way out of this thing. I am not trying to evangelize (although I probably should) but prayer has helped some...all other treatments, techniques, talismans, and snake-oils have failed. I am a non-sleeping, unhappy, unhealthy feeling health-nut that has the musculature of a corn-fed-Iggy-Pop whose heart goes flip-flop.
And now for my discovery: I mentioned it above...Athlete's Heart. It is a Real Condition...and I simply can't help but cackle at the hilarity of the following sentence. IT'S USUALLY BENIGN! (think DAFFY DUCK'S LAUGH as he bounces off camera at the end of a looney tunes).
THINK ABOUT IT: Think back to when you were first having symptoms. Were you healthy already? Maybe you were exercising routinely? What did the doctor---doesn't matter if it was a cardiologist or an ear-wax doctor---tell you would help? EXERCISE! You probably said what I did "OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY...now I have a medical condition that I can wave in my spouse's face JUSTIFYING my healthy addiction! Then you ran, cycled, swam, lifted, boxed, Zumba'd your happy butt off.
Now I am being serious (as a heart-attack). READ about Athlete's Heart. In a shell I will tell you the symptoms:
Bradycardia, PAC's, PVC's,Chest Pain, "Non sustained ventricular tachycardia", trace mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation are commonly detected, Stage one AV block (long considered benign), and other arrhythmias. All articles seem to suggest that athletes--particularly those with bradycardia,
I am 7 days into the "cure"--proven in various scientific studies to work. No idea yet. For the record I am in a hell that I wouldn't wish on Jeffrey Dahmer...and I mean it...the "Cure"...is called "Deconditioning."
Deconditioning AKA Detraining has been proven to reduce ectopic beats and benign arrhythmia symptoms in highly trained athletes. Detraining involves 3 MONTHS of reduced or eliminated training; and in particular it aims to reduce cardiovascular exercise...YEAH, THAT THING YOUR DOC HAS BEEN PREACHING TO YOU TO DO AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.
I am not a doctor, but again...THINK ABOUT IT...you want to LIVE. Someone wearing a stethoscope tells you you "might wanna try exercising..." What do you do if YOU WANT TO LIVE? I am not kidding. I went from a pretty strong guy that could hang on a run or two per week to being a guy that at 38 years old can bench press 320 pounds after running 4-10 miles or doing 30-45 minutes on the elliptical. I even did the "TURBO-FIRE" DVDs several times per month. Hours at a time my heart-rate during execise was a sustained 130-155 bpms...you gotta be a battleship to handle that at my age.
I have trained my heart to exist in conditions far too harsh for a normal heart. It is only natural that my heart now doesn't recognize anything other than "BATTLE-STATIONS" as normal.
You see, given the above testimony it all fits, and it also explains how your respective doctors may have failed some of you. No offense to the couch-potato, but I'm speaking to other gym-rats, nurses, runners, and so on that are constantly active...how many times just on this forum have you "heard" someone "say" that a quick run around the block makes the symptoms go away?
Guys, your doctors have lead you to your own guillotine and you have deliberately laid your heads in the cradle.
Your doctor...bless his or her heart...is used to dealing with symptoms like yours in "normal" people---which means people who are chronically sedentary. When they come in it is obvious in two or three seconds that they need to skip a meal and walk a mile or two IMMEDIATELY.
Then you come in... That one in a hundred person that really does run up and down stairways all day at work all the while thinking "Man, I've gotta get to the GYM...all this lolly-gagging is making me squishy-about-the-middle..." What does he do? Tell ya to work out! Please don't think on revenge...Doc-clueless meant well...BUT---parts of your heart have been enlarging. Your pulse has (probably) been slowing down. Electrical changes have been made to maximize your hearts ability to handle punishment others couldn't possible stand up under. Chemicals have been hoarded by your body that others don't have present...and other chemicals you need dearly have been deleted daily...sweat-out somewhere between mile 4 and mile 7. You slowly did this to yourself.
And now you know it. You instinctively know it. Oh sure, the anxiety that came on as a by product contributes; so does the acid-reflux that comes and goes, as does the vagus nerve anomalies, breathing abnormalities, body positioning, caffeine, diet, etc...but at its base---you trained your heart to do this.
It can be dangerous...but rarely is what I get from the studies. It can be reversed...a good deal actually; but it will be hard to do if you (like me) are vain about your body and health.
I don't know if this is "FOR SURE" what i've got...but come on; the writings on the wall.
As I said; I am on day seven. I am in hell. It only makes since that this is a worse-before-better scenario. My slow heart rat, having not been spen up in a week, feels like it is going to STOP. My ectopic beats sneak in at every possible interval...it's like a feeding frenzy for them since I am no longer chasing them off with cardio. I am lifting weights still...but I take my time. They pounce on me even then.
I try to think of it like this. Ceasing workouts will (hopefully) cause my Bradycardia to die. These palpitations, PVCs, PACs, and all the others discussed above are like parasites. Like parasites, if you don't "fight" them they overfeed. Once the host nears "death" they feed like crazy (think zombie apocalypse). But once the host "dies", they all die.
I will let you all know how it went in three or four months.
Peace be with you all.
Prior to these tests I went to New Mexico with my wife and three kids. At altitude, I noticed that my heart felt even more strange. One night I felt THEM. 2 of THEM. After 11-months of weird chest pains and enough internet research to make me an honorary cardiologist I needed no one to tell me what THEY were: bump, BUMP.....bump, BUMP.....bumpBUMPbumpBUMP....................bump,BUMP....bump,BUMPbumpBUMP.................PACs or PVCs were on the SCENE! Over the next two weeks I noticed these things throughout the day...and I noticed that they made my "benign" chest pain worse.
Upon returning to The Lone Star State I freaking BROKE THE STRESS TEST RECORD at my cardiologists office. No joke.This is a volume-based office; 9 cardiologists work there. I broke the dang record. The technician actually stated "I've never seen a tall guy ( I'm 6'6") with as much muscle as you... with your kind of stamina...especially in your age group!" Oh, how merrily he told me that. Oh, how very close he came to needing a defibrillator himself that day...if only he knew.
My second Holter results showed 13...but I swear I feel my heart "trying" to have them far more often than that...kind of like a stumble rather than a trip and fall-flat-on-your-face...dunno if anyone else can sympathize...Anyway these things for the last two or three months have a come and go quality to them. 3 or four times I have been aware of HUNDREDS of these things. They seem VERY POSITION SPECIFIC; swallowing, lying down, looking down, clearing my throat in a "different" way,you know the drill. I have tried everything: magnesium, no caffeine, EXTRA CAFFEINE (yup, got desperate...it is worth noting that this actually seemed to help a little), folic acid, cardi-blend vitamins, kale, quinoa, eye-of-newt, boogers from a virgin muskrat, etc...
Let me assure you: you cannot eat, "vitamin", detox, meditate, or yoga your way out of this thing. I am not trying to evangelize (although I probably should) but prayer has helped some...all other treatments, techniques, talismans, and snake-oils have failed. I am a non-sleeping, unhappy, unhealthy feeling health-nut that has the musculature of a corn-fed-Iggy-Pop whose heart goes flip-flop.
And now for my discovery: I mentioned it above...Athlete's Heart. It is a Real Condition...and I simply can't help but cackle at the hilarity of the following sentence. IT'S USUALLY BENIGN! (think DAFFY DUCK'S LAUGH as he bounces off camera at the end of a looney tunes).
THINK ABOUT IT: Think back to when you were first having symptoms. Were you healthy already? Maybe you were exercising routinely? What did the doctor---doesn't matter if it was a cardiologist or an ear-wax doctor---tell you would help? EXERCISE! You probably said what I did "OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY...now I have a medical condition that I can wave in my spouse's face JUSTIFYING my healthy addiction! Then you ran, cycled, swam, lifted, boxed, Zumba'd your happy butt off.
Now I am being serious (as a heart-attack). READ about Athlete's Heart. In a shell I will tell you the symptoms:
Bradycardia, PAC's, PVC's,Chest Pain, "Non sustained ventricular tachycardia", trace mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation are commonly detected, Stage one AV block (long considered benign), and other arrhythmias. All articles seem to suggest that athletes--particularly those with bradycardia,
I am 7 days into the "cure"--proven in various scientific studies to work. No idea yet. For the record I am in a hell that I wouldn't wish on Jeffrey Dahmer...and I mean it...the "Cure"...is called "Deconditioning."
Deconditioning AKA Detraining has been proven to reduce ectopic beats and benign arrhythmia symptoms in highly trained athletes. Detraining involves 3 MONTHS of reduced or eliminated training; and in particular it aims to reduce cardiovascular exercise...YEAH, THAT THING YOUR DOC HAS BEEN PREACHING TO YOU TO DO AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.
I am not a doctor, but again...THINK ABOUT IT...you want to LIVE. Someone wearing a stethoscope tells you you "might wanna try exercising..." What do you do if YOU WANT TO LIVE? I am not kidding. I went from a pretty strong guy that could hang on a run or two per week to being a guy that at 38 years old can bench press 320 pounds after running 4-10 miles or doing 30-45 minutes on the elliptical. I even did the "TURBO-FIRE" DVDs several times per month. Hours at a time my heart-rate during execise was a sustained 130-155 bpms...you gotta be a battleship to handle that at my age.
I have trained my heart to exist in conditions far too harsh for a normal heart. It is only natural that my heart now doesn't recognize anything other than "BATTLE-STATIONS" as normal.
You see, given the above testimony it all fits, and it also explains how your respective doctors may have failed some of you. No offense to the couch-potato, but I'm speaking to other gym-rats, nurses, runners, and so on that are constantly active...how many times just on this forum have you "heard" someone "say" that a quick run around the block makes the symptoms go away?
Guys, your doctors have lead you to your own guillotine and you have deliberately laid your heads in the cradle.
Your doctor...bless his or her heart...is used to dealing with symptoms like yours in "normal" people---which means people who are chronically sedentary. When they come in it is obvious in two or three seconds that they need to skip a meal and walk a mile or two IMMEDIATELY.
Then you come in... That one in a hundred person that really does run up and down stairways all day at work all the while thinking "Man, I've gotta get to the GYM...all this lolly-gagging is making me squishy-about-the-middle..." What does he do? Tell ya to work out! Please don't think on revenge...Doc-clueless meant well...BUT---parts of your heart have been enlarging. Your pulse has (probably) been slowing down. Electrical changes have been made to maximize your hearts ability to handle punishment others couldn't possible stand up under. Chemicals have been hoarded by your body that others don't have present...and other chemicals you need dearly have been deleted daily...sweat-out somewhere between mile 4 and mile 7. You slowly did this to yourself.
And now you know it. You instinctively know it. Oh sure, the anxiety that came on as a by product contributes; so does the acid-reflux that comes and goes, as does the vagus nerve anomalies, breathing abnormalities, body positioning, caffeine, diet, etc...but at its base---you trained your heart to do this.
It can be dangerous...but rarely is what I get from the studies. It can be reversed...a good deal actually; but it will be hard to do if you (like me) are vain about your body and health.
I don't know if this is "FOR SURE" what i've got...but come on; the writings on the wall.
As I said; I am on day seven. I am in hell. It only makes since that this is a worse-before-better scenario. My slow heart rat, having not been spen up in a week, feels like it is going to STOP. My ectopic beats sneak in at every possible interval...it's like a feeding frenzy for them since I am no longer chasing them off with cardio. I am lifting weights still...but I take my time. They pounce on me even then.
I try to think of it like this. Ceasing workouts will (hopefully) cause my Bradycardia to die. These palpitations, PVCs, PACs, and all the others discussed above are like parasites. Like parasites, if you don't "fight" them they overfeed. Once the host nears "death" they feed like crazy (think zombie apocalypse). But once the host "dies", they all die.
I will let you all know how it went in three or four months.
Peace be with you all.
2 Comments
People never follow up. I am going to follow up:
Well; I've just returned to tell any that are still looking for answers that it turned out to be Lyme Disease. Regarding Lyme; the ignorance out there in the medical community is astounding. I figured it out myself, demanded the tests, and got a very RARE positive. I am in the late stages and have been treating it for about 8 months now via abx and other protocols. My PVC's and PAC's have seen improvement, but Lyme is tricky.
If you have unexplained heart issues, consider demanding a Lyme titer, ELISA, or a Western Blot...and false negatives USUALLY happen.
Well; I've just returned to tell any that are still looking for answers that it turned out to be Lyme Disease. Regarding Lyme; the ignorance out there in the medical community is astounding. I figured it out myself, demanded the tests, and got a very RARE positive. I am in the late stages and have been treating it for about 8 months now via abx and other protocols. My PVC's and PAC's have seen improvement, but Lyme is tricky.
If you have unexplained heart issues, consider demanding a Lyme titer, ELISA, or a Western Blot...and false negatives USUALLY happen.
Thank you for the update!
You need to copy, paste and put this into a blog. I would guarantee that there are many people might would be interested in reading this. I do not fit into your category of the one in 100 but the 98% that are so lovingly called "couch potato", so as much as I'd like to use this as an excuse not to exercise even more, it just doesn't fit me. That being said I really do believe your post could benefit a lot of people in your situation, so blog it! Meanwhile the rest of us couch potatoes will have to deal with PVCs PACs and PSVT some other way-and after over 30 years of dealing with it for me, I just haven't found that way yet.
3 Comments
This is absolutely funny! Lol...Whoever wrote this should think about starting a YouTube channel show
Testing
So agree plus I'm now the couch potato too BUT i think my severe kyphoscoliosis has a roll in this! I wish u the best.
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