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Return of the PVCs
So almost exactly 1 year ago I began having PVCs every minute of every hour. This freaked me out so bad that I went to the ER. Twice. Days went by, and i had tons of tests done, EKGs and Echo's and they found out that I was a healthy 22 year old, with a great heart, who just gets PVCs. Well miraculously after 3 full weeks, they just stopped. I have been on Zoloft for nearly 10 years, and i started to get off it as soon as the PVCS started, and i can't tell if it was a coincidence that the PVCs stopped as i went down on my Zoloft. Because i've been on it so long and never had any of these problems. Plus i ended up getting back on the Zoloft a few months after the PVCs stopped. I'd get the occasional one here and there, but nothing repetitive. Well last night, the PVCs came back in full swing. It has been 11 months, and I don't know why this just started up again. It is really frustrating not knowing what causes this. Has this happened to anyone else? A long period of time without them, and then just WHAM. I am scared that it will last 3 weeks again, or even more. I have been under more stress this past week, but i don't see how stress can cause constant palpitations, i can see how it would cause a few. Thanks for listening, just trying to understand things. Are there any other factors that could be causing this revamp?
As a PVC sufferer for many, many years I recently discovered that in my case there where two primary causes for them, which were low electrolytes,specifically magnesium, and the Vegus nerve. The hearts rhythm to fire is based on complex charging and discharging of cells, magnesium, calcium, and potassium are the primary minerals needed for this function. Low magnesium will definately cause misfires. The other culprit is the Vegus nerve, which is the primary nerve that branches out of our spine through the front of our torso, connects to the heart, lungs, and controls all vital organ and muscle communications to the brain. Its also responsible for the fight or flight response. If there is pressure on the Vegus nerve all sorts of odd things can happen in our body. Getting routine chiropractic adjustments keeps our spine in line, and keeps pressure off of the Vegus nerve. Although PVC's are annoying, and cause panic, you need to try to control that anexity panic, that only causes more adrenaline
to be released, which causes more PVC's. PVC's won't stop your heart cold, but they do need addressing. Dr's and ER's only address the acute life threatening status of the heart, PVC's are just as annoying to them as it is for us, and for some reason they will never tell you about alternative therapy, or ever mention the Vegus nerve. Hope this helps someone.
to be released, which causes more PVC's. PVC's won't stop your heart cold, but they do need addressing. Dr's and ER's only address the acute life threatening status of the heart, PVC's are just as annoying to them as it is for us, and for some reason they will never tell you about alternative therapy, or ever mention the Vegus nerve. Hope this helps someone.
I have been dealing with PVC "s for at least a few years. Finally went to the ER as well. They did all kinds of tests and said they could see that I was getting PVC"s but everything looked good. They sent me to a cardiologist because I had open heart surgery as a baby. Stress Test, ECG, Heart Monitor twice. One for 48 hours another for a week. Also check my plack thru altrosound. That is what the machine looked like to me. Everything came back good.No plack. But my cholesterol was high. He did not want to put me on meds. The doctor said I had a 1 percent chance of having a stroke or heart attack from know to 60 years old. So it sounds good but those PVC"s sometimes still scare me so much. Recently went to get acupucnture and noticed a great difference. I feel so relaxed. My body feels relaxed considering I am premenopausal.
I went to the ER yesterday because of a fast heartbeat. It made me really dizzy and they kept me overnight, probably because I'm older (64), but after all kinds of tests including a stress test, they let me go the next day without a diagnosis or any medication recommendations. I'll be on Medicare in two months, and then I'll see a cardiologist and probably get a 30 day heart monitor so they can verify what's going on. Good luck.
Thank you all so much. It really helps knowing that there are others out there. Since this is now my second episode of constant PVCs i'm significantly less nervous than I was a year ago. I know it goes away eventually, and I know that it's not harmful. I really need to look into the triggers a little more, but i should also accept the fact that it may be completely random. I did take a propranolol which I had from the last episode, and it kind of helped, but mostly just slowed me down which i don't much enjoy. Thanks again my friends
I have had pvc's, pac's, short runs of tachycardia for about 40 years on and off and I'm still here, if that's any comfort. I also have afib. I think irregular heartbeats of various sorts can be helped(at least some of the time) if you know the triggers. Getting enough sleep, avoiding large meals, no caffeine, letting go of what stress I can, all help me. Still they can seem to come out of nowhere, but for me these things help. Perhaps they will help you too. Good luck to you on this -- you are not alone.
I've been dealing with PVC, PAC and SVT for decades, and unfortunately what you describe is very common. I've had months without a single crazy beat and then they come back full force.I believe it has happened to most of us on this forum. I don't think anyone knows why, its just the way it is.
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I suspect that it's a genetic abnormality with hardly any consequences, one that allows an individual to live a normal-length life and leave offspring (all Mother Nature cares about). If I had to guess, I'd suspect some error involving the cell membrane and the sodium-potassium pump, but that's just speculation.
Perhaps like you, I feel there is a link between panic/anxiety and outbursts of PVCs in some individuals. For me, it's pretty strong: One is absolutely tied to the other, and they tend to come in what I call 'swarms,' periods of time (months to a year) when PVCs and panic are likely to occur, and LONG intervals when nothing like that is going on.
Working with my cardiologist, I know my heart is basically OK, so when this happens, I take myself to my friendly local shrink, who knows a great deal about pharmacology, and he puts me on the SSRI that works best for *me* to calm panic episodes. Zoloft is my best particular best friend in this case (one size does not fit all in this business), and after a few weeks, the panic dies down, as does the frequency of arrhythmias.
Then I'm OK for anywhere from months to years.
But the irregular beats WILL happen again, regardless.