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Tens of thousands of PVCs per day
A nursing student friend was listening to my heart said it sounded very abnormal and asked me to check it out. I saw a cardiologist, did a holter monitor and said that I had 36,000 PVCs in a 24 hour period (yes thousand..not 100) My resting heart rate is only 44. I am 56, don't feel bad, soemtimes a little short of breath, but have never known I had any kind of a problem until my friend listen to my heart. Doc says it's nothing to worry about. Isn't 44 too low of a rate for someone my size..and would you want to know WHY there were so many PVCs..every beat sounds like 3 or 4, and often ekgs read it as 80bpm, but doc says and nurse friend, that it's in the 40's...should I get a 2nd opinion, this sounds really over the top to me. My friend also said that multiple PVCs together can be termed V-tach a very dangerous/deadly rhythm..am I at risk for V-tach..what is your opinion????? Doc said he'd never seen anyone with this before..but didn't suggest any further action. I'm maybe about 40 pounds over weight, 5'11, and feel okay doing physical things like lifting and moving PA equipment or doing other types of manual labor...my nursing friend said she is still concerned and things an electrophysiologists need to be consulted....
I would def get a 2nd opinion - that many pvc's can lead to cardiomyopathy, but doesn't always. The majority of us with very frequent pvc's that develop CM have ablations to reduce or eliminate the arrhythmia's; if that's possible then usually the CM is cured and symptoms abate.
Bradycardia (low HR) can make you feel like you're having more pvc's...someone explained this but Im not on my pc right now so I can't find the link. It can be just a natural part of the heart or for other reasons, and usually VT incidence is with higher HR;s but not always.
If you haven't, get a copy of all of your tests and dr notes and try to find a dr at a large clinic or university; preferably someone with alot of experience and who has done alot of ablations.
None of the dr's I've seen have ever heard of over 50,000 pvc's that I had; I was dismissed as being stressed, anxious and "nothing" for a few years, and it's important to figure out the origination of yours (unifocal or multifocal) if you have anything structural going on and why you're having them.
It may be helpful to start a journal and keep track of symptoms, dates, times etc - also try to eliminate any environmental or lifestyle causes that may be going on (caffeine, foods, stress, anxiety, hormones, electrolytes etc).
Bradycardia (low HR) can make you feel like you're having more pvc's...someone explained this but Im not on my pc right now so I can't find the link. It can be just a natural part of the heart or for other reasons, and usually VT incidence is with higher HR;s but not always.
If you haven't, get a copy of all of your tests and dr notes and try to find a dr at a large clinic or university; preferably someone with alot of experience and who has done alot of ablations.
None of the dr's I've seen have ever heard of over 50,000 pvc's that I had; I was dismissed as being stressed, anxious and "nothing" for a few years, and it's important to figure out the origination of yours (unifocal or multifocal) if you have anything structural going on and why you're having them.
It may be helpful to start a journal and keep track of symptoms, dates, times etc - also try to eliminate any environmental or lifestyle causes that may be going on (caffeine, foods, stress, anxiety, hormones, electrolytes etc).
Hello,
Your results are a bit strange.
It's likely your resting heart rate is way above 44, but you aren't able to count the PVCs (they often don't create a pulse wave) which may be the reason your EKG's show the heart rate to be 80 (ventricular bigeminy).
Some people have amazing numbers of PVCs and are unable to notice them. Some people, like me, have a few PVCs or PACs and we're almost going crazy.
Does the PVCs reduce with higher heart rate, like exercise?
V-tach is a rapid heart rate with only PVCs. No normal beats between. The Holter test would have revealed V-tach if it existed.
I agree with Itdood, try to ask where the PVCs did origin, one focus/more foci? 36.000 PVCs is too much and can with time damage the heart. This is highly individual, though. The only right thing to do is seeing a cardiologist, preferably one that specializes in heart rhythm (electrophysiologist).
Your results are a bit strange.
It's likely your resting heart rate is way above 44, but you aren't able to count the PVCs (they often don't create a pulse wave) which may be the reason your EKG's show the heart rate to be 80 (ventricular bigeminy).
Some people have amazing numbers of PVCs and are unable to notice them. Some people, like me, have a few PVCs or PACs and we're almost going crazy.
Does the PVCs reduce with higher heart rate, like exercise?
V-tach is a rapid heart rate with only PVCs. No normal beats between. The Holter test would have revealed V-tach if it existed.
I agree with Itdood, try to ask where the PVCs did origin, one focus/more foci? 36.000 PVCs is too much and can with time damage the heart. This is highly individual, though. The only right thing to do is seeing a cardiologist, preferably one that specializes in heart rhythm (electrophysiologist).
If you are having that many pvcs when you take your pulse it could easily be in the 40s, that has happened to me when I was in bigemey (every other beat is a pvc). When they do an EKG they are seeing electrical activity in your heart, so they are seeing the premature beats, which usually you can't feel when you are taking your pulse. Hence, the difference in the numbers. If your doctor is telling you that he has never seen anyone with that many pvcs, I would definitely find another doctor. I definitely would get a second opinion. Good luck to you.
Did the cardiologist order other tests? Like a stress test or echo?
I would seek more opinions and go to a really good EP.
Your PVC load is high. From what I've heard anything > than 10-20% of total beats over a 24 hour period being PVCs might be harmful to some. You are at about 30%+. Studies have shown that PVC loads > 20% can be associated with declining heart function over a period of years so it makes sense to bring down the count if possible.
One study found that people with PVC loads this high can show lower left ventricular ejection fractions. They've also shown that relieving the PVCs can improve the EF. This means that the PVCs themselves can cause some degradation in the heart muscle *in certain cases*.
If you've got no symptoms tread lightly into anything you do. Some of the treatment options aren't that great. Especially medications, there's no magic bullet. If your PVCs are unifocal meaning they are originating from the same spot in your heart you might be a candidate for ablation. Ablation is where they go in with a heart catheter and burn the problem cells out of there.
If the PVCs are multifocal it means the PVCs are originating in various parts of the heart. Multifocal PVCs will be a bit more tricky to treat and *might* mean there's other types of heart muscle disease processes going on.
The more I've learned about heart electrical issues the more cloudy addressing these has become for me. There's no easy straight advise / one size fits all answer. This is why I think it's best for you to seek opinions from others who have been there and also seek the second opinion and EP consult. I would find a PCP who will coordinate all this too.
It's interesting that you didn't even know this was going on until someone listened to your heart. There are some folks who get 2 or 3 PVCs a day and feel them and freak out over it. I've gone as high as 5,000 a day or so and felt every one of them.
A friend of mine is like you, he never knew anything was up until a doctor took his pulse. He was in full-time bigeminy meaning every other beat was a PVC. He hasn't gone any further with it because there's no symptoms. I think that's a mistake.
I would seek more opinions and go to a really good EP.
Your PVC load is high. From what I've heard anything > than 10-20% of total beats over a 24 hour period being PVCs might be harmful to some. You are at about 30%+. Studies have shown that PVC loads > 20% can be associated with declining heart function over a period of years so it makes sense to bring down the count if possible.
One study found that people with PVC loads this high can show lower left ventricular ejection fractions. They've also shown that relieving the PVCs can improve the EF. This means that the PVCs themselves can cause some degradation in the heart muscle *in certain cases*.
If you've got no symptoms tread lightly into anything you do. Some of the treatment options aren't that great. Especially medications, there's no magic bullet. If your PVCs are unifocal meaning they are originating from the same spot in your heart you might be a candidate for ablation. Ablation is where they go in with a heart catheter and burn the problem cells out of there.
If the PVCs are multifocal it means the PVCs are originating in various parts of the heart. Multifocal PVCs will be a bit more tricky to treat and *might* mean there's other types of heart muscle disease processes going on.
The more I've learned about heart electrical issues the more cloudy addressing these has become for me. There's no easy straight advise / one size fits all answer. This is why I think it's best for you to seek opinions from others who have been there and also seek the second opinion and EP consult. I would find a PCP who will coordinate all this too.
It's interesting that you didn't even know this was going on until someone listened to your heart. There are some folks who get 2 or 3 PVCs a day and feel them and freak out over it. I've gone as high as 5,000 a day or so and felt every one of them.
A friend of mine is like you, he never knew anything was up until a doctor took his pulse. He was in full-time bigeminy meaning every other beat was a PVC. He hasn't gone any further with it because there's no symptoms. I think that's a mistake.
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