What could this be??

[Maya551]

In April of 2012 I had a baby.  5 weeks post partum, I started to get lots of PVCs.  Had workup-everything was deemed okay.  Fast forward to now.  Recently had another baby.  PVCs were better w/ late pregnancy.  Now that I'm not pregnant anymore, I am feeling the occasional skipped beat, but what is really alarming me is the short runs of skipped beats that I am experiencing.  Two days postpartum, I had thee runs of three quick beats in under one minute.  A few days later, I had another burst of what felt like skipped beats.  This is happening anywhere from once per day to every other day.  They go away when I cough.  I don't feel any different when they happen.  What could this be??  I have made an appointment with an EP to discuss these changes, but I'm quite nervous and have to wait three weeks to see him..  Otherwise, so far the PVCs seem few and far between.  Thanks for any insight.

[MichelleP_3811]

I will get the occasional skipped beat when exercising but usually when starting up but once I get my heart rate up I don't get many or if I do I don't feel them because my heart is beating too fast.  I will feel runs of I believe pacs at any given moment for no reason or in response to some acid reflux but I generally only get runs of pvcs when I get really stressed out other than that it is singles or couplets also not of concern but it is good you are going to see the ep just to be sure all is well though I suspect you will be told not to worry or be offered bp meds if they bother you greatly.   Try not to get too discouraged.  Our hearts can get a little annoyed but they do eventually bounce back but it can take some time.  Considering it has to keep working while also recovering it is understandable so just try to have faith that your heart will settle down with a little more distance from the strain of the pregnancy.  Take care.

[Maya551]

I tried leaving you a reply, but it didn't work.  It is the reply posted above.

[Maya551]

Thanks for your feedback!  Do you ever feel single PVCs or short runs of PVCs during excercise?  I've been feeling good lately.....minimal skipped beats.  Then I went for a hike, and I experienced what felt like a couplet.  Not sure what to think about this.  I haven't excercised rigorously in over a year b/c I've been pregnant/postpartum.  My heart rate was certainly up today when I felt the double skip.  It made me lose my confidence.  I'm feeling discouraged and nervous.  

[MichelleP_3811]

Ectopic beats, pvcs and pacs, have a mind of their own.  I can go long periods without any runs and then will have bunches of them.  So long as they are short lived and do not cause any worrisome symptoms like passing out then you will likely be told not to worry.  That can be hard to do with them being so distracting but just try to keep your stress down as much as you can with 2 little ones running around and hopefully in no time your pvcs will calm down and/or go away.  Hang in there and try not to stress.  They really are harmless in a healthy heart even runs as short as you are noticing.  They are more scary than anything else.  Take care.