Question about risk of developing sudden death

[Carey01]

I have been reading these posts for years and a lot of wonderfulp people on this site have 100's if not thousands of PVCS/PACS per day and somehow manage.  MY hats off to all of you!  My question is this:  How does one KNOW  that their PVC/PACS exisiting in a structurally normal heart with no past heart failure will not go into to a run of PVC/PACS leading to V Tach or some other deadly arrythmia.  The fear of this happening has left me almost unable to travel because im worried that my bnign skips will suddenly change face and all come together.  I have to go out of town this weekend and am thinkingof cancelling.  Any information would be so helpful.

Thanks-
Carey

[BLM_56]

Carey,
  Do you actually HAVE an arrhythmia or are you just worried about it?  If you do, have you seen a cardiologist?  I have had an atrial arrhythmia for over a decade.  I'm still here.

Once upon a time, on a Friday during final exams in the 2nd semester of my freshman (1st for you folks not in the U.S.) year of college I went with a couple of friends to fly.  One of my friends had a pilot's license and we wanted to get away from school for a bit.  We ended up losing power on takeoff and flying into the side of a culvert 5 ft (say a meter and 1.2) from a 15 meter drop into a box canyon.  All were hurt but I was treated in the emergency room and released.  On the following Monday Lubbock Texas, where I was going to school got hit with the 4th worst tornado ever to hit the U.S.  It did $1.4 Billion (in today's money) damage, killed 26 people outright and injured another 500 more.  It devastated 25 square miles (thats 61/2 THOUSAND hectares) of the heart of the city.  the initial touchdown for the storm was less than a mile from where I was going to school.  Six weeks later I had a blowout in the rain on the freeway during rush hour and came within a meter of dropping 40 feet into a storm drain channel.  I had two of my 3 siblings in the vehicle with me. Six weeks after THAT I turned 19.  

I had 3 perfect chances to cash in my chips in 6 weeks.  I'M STILL HERE!  Apparently it wasn't my time.  My Dad had heart failure, 3 stents put in and a quintuple bypass but died of a stroke from eating too much salad and not getting his INR checked often enough.  He coulda died from the heart failure.  He coulda had a major heart attack before the stents were put in or before he had the bypass.  He coulda but he didn't.  Why?  I think it just wasn't yet his time.  I could have died the summer of 1970 (and a couple of other times like when the thrust revers on a C-141 deployed IN FLIGHT while the plane was on final approach to land) but I didn't .  I think my number has yet to come up.  When it does - which could be in less than 12 hours as I write this - I'll go BUT NOT BEFORE.

You cannot live your life in fear of what MIGHT happen.  Do what you are planning, be prudent and go on.  Remember, courage is not the absence of fear.  Courage is the refusal to let fear rule your life.

At this moment my heart feels like it wants to do it's version of that scene in the galley in "Alien".  Tomorrow morning it might just up and quit.  But I am NOT going to live in fear of it.

Old saying: Don't sweat the small stuff.  2nd part to that is that it is ALL small stuff.

Bill

[Momto3]

So glad everything checked out great!  You're gonna be just fine : )   Yep, those flip-flops and crazy beats are unnearving for sure.  Your new mantra, "They're benign and I'm fine."

[Carey01]

OH and yes I have had all the tests --- and my heart is structurally fine.  i keep reminding myself of that but in a bout of hard bangs and reading about somebody who was told they were fine and they weren't, well, I seem to forget very quickly.  

[Carey01]

Thanks everyone -- you are all right.  Life is so fragile and I know down deep your time is your time and you cant just stop living due to a big what if -- but sometimes, many times, it gets to me.  Thanks so much for the support.

[Sammie4258]

My brother died of a sudden heart attack at 42 years old.  From that point on, 6 members of my immediate family began having panick attacks and irregular heart beats.  It's the "what if's" that will kill us.  Aren't humans funky.  I wonder if animals ever have this sort of stuff or do they just take life as it comes.
sammie

[Artaud]

Hi,

There are no guarantees in life. You can be leaving the Cardiologist, with a clean Bill of Health, only to be killed in a car crash on the way home. Life is like this.

Not only do I have periodic and fairly aggressive bouts with arrhythmias, experiencing more than 600 PVCs per day, episodes of Bigeminy and Trigeminy, PSVT, and the like, but I have also suffered (separate incidents) through loss of vision in one eye, (returned within 5 minutes), and a ludicrous episode of double vision, with dizziness that I can't describe, holding onto the walls and looking for a place to fall so that I would not strike anything, only to be told after many tests that it was:

1. Vascular Constriction for the loss of vision, and: 2. Basilar Migraine for the double vision and dizziness.

I have been tested to the max, CAT Scan without contrast, MRI, MRA, CAT Scan with contrast, Ultrasound Studies on my Carotids, etc. I am sure my chart at the Doctor's office has been split many times (it gets too big). What guarantee do I have that I am not going to have a stroke? None. But, what reassurance do I have that I am not a candidate for an pending stroke, see the above studies.

Same with your heart. Testing and experience is the reassurance that you and the rest of us on this forum have.

You may or may not be surprised to know that some people, without any PVCs or other overt arrhythmias, have heart rhythms that can decay into a dangerous arrhythmia without any advanced warning. Yet these people do not seek testing, as they are unaware of their condition.

Also, there are a many people walking around in life that have, just as many of us do, benign arrhythmias, often worse than many people on this forum, yet cannot feel them at all. Yet during a pre-employment physical or a routine physical at their Doctor's office, the arrhythmia is found. If the arrhythmia is discovered to be benign, the patient does not even need to be fully informed about the arrhythmia, as some people may obsess about it.

Now us, some members of this forum, with concerns about the often relatively mild symptoms we feel. Due to our concerns, we seek medical advice. As a result of this, we are tested (reassurance that the heart is not having valvular or circulatory problems), and examined (the skill and experience of qualified Doctors, offering more reassurance). We have gained, sometimes quite often, something that the other two groups above did not do of their own volition, testing and counseling by qualified Doctors.

And, the presence of many forms of arrhythmias does not signify an increased chance of mortality. Hard to believe? Not really. My 4 year old Dog lies on my lap periodically, he weighs 100 lbs. Ever since he was younger, I noticed that as his chest presses on my leg, his heart paused often. Eventually doing research due to my own problems, I discovered that mammals have what is referred to as Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia. The heart speeds up as we inhale air and slows down as we exhale air. His actually pauses every time he breathes out. I asked the vet about it, she said that his heart actually does it less than many other dog's hearts do. Wow, you should feel it. But think about it, where did that precise, clock like pacing of the his heart go? It’s not essential that the heart is a precision machine, it must move blood reliably to keep us conscious and to keep the muscles supplied with oxygen. But does it need to be perfect in rhythm to do that? No.

When I went to school to be a Pharmacy Technician (I did not complete the course), they discussed the Autonomic Nervous System, the Vagal Nerve, and the Sino Atrial Node on the Heart. When we are afraid, adrenaline makes the heart rate quicken, so that we may Fight or take Flight. But, when the fear is over, the Vagal Nerve, acting on the SA Node, slows the heart down. But what happens if the Vagal Nerve response was too aggressive, would the heart stop? No, the Atrio Ventricular Node (AV) is next in line. If the SA Node fails to discharge, the AV Node does, maintaining the heart rate. But it maintains it at a slower pace. These are great fail safe mechanisms. The heart is designed to beat, not to stop. Mankind would not have made it this far if the heart was a frail muscle, waiting for the slightest mistake in rhythm to take it to disaster.

Lastly, in the 1980s, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) was performed to see what the difference was between people (Post MI I believe) with arrhythmias if they were treated for the arrhythmia or untreated (by the use of placebos). Incredibly, they discovered that the survival rate for the placebo group was higher than the group receiving treatment for the arrhythmia, and the study was stopped.

Hope this helps.