What is causing my heart to skip beats?

Hello, I have an annoying issue that I was curious about.  I'm a  28 year old male, 135 lbs, I have perfect blood pressure/cholestoral/sugar levels as of 1 year ago when I was last tested. For the last 2 weeks or so, my heart has been skipping beats off and on.  It will beat fine, then it will skip with a large thud.  No chest pain really, minus the fact I go to the gym and I'm a little sore.  I get the skipping in stages, a bunch in a row, then nothing for a while, but it all has happened in the last 2 weeks and it is still happening today.  No shortness of breath really.  I'm on Buspar 15 mg 2x a day for Anxiety.  I'm going through a real stressful part of my life right now, my Dad has Stage 4 Melanoma, alot of stress at work, I have been eating out alot (steak and starchy food), I drink about 2-3 caffinated beverages a day, and do not drink much alcohol, but within the last 2 weeks I have had about 8-9 16 oz beers, about 2 each time I go out to eat.  The PVC give me a headache it seems, but it may be due to the fact I'm obsessing about it and can't get it go.  I'm wondering what is contributing to these PVC's I'm getting lately?  It is an annoying issue, but I do remember last time when I was 23 in College and was stressed out like this, I had the same symptoms and needed to be put on Buspar.  It just seems like the Buspar is not working right now too good.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

It seems like you have a pretty good grasp of the issues.  PVCs tend wax and wane, often with no particular trigger.  It sounds like stress might be a trigger for you.  The best you can do is manage your cardiovascular risk factors and it sounds like yours are pretty low.  There isn't much you can do to control the PVCs.

I hope your stress level decreases soon.

[ScottP28]

Thank you for the reply Dr.  I have tried to stop thinking about it, but it still comes in spurts.  Today I got a bunch in a row, and then they seemed to stop.  I can sometimes feel them, other times they are mild.  I really don't have any other symptoms besides anxiety now and then.  Now, I started taking a Multi-Vitamin (One a Day) 2 weeks ago every day and I noticed these palpitations started after this..is it possible I should stop taking these multi-vitamins or is that a highly unlikely cause?  I have been taking the vitamins with food, but I have noticed an increased amount of burping/stomach fullness from them too.

[bobad]

All your activities are probably harmless short term, but over time can cause health issues and even trigger PVC's. It's unusual, but PVC's can be triggered by vitamins, caffeine, alcohol, and even some food.

It might be prudent to stop the vitamins, alcohol, and caffeine. Lay off for at least 4 weeks. If your PVC's stop or are reduced, great. If not, still great because you are still healthier.

A recent study on fish oil looks promising. It was a very small study of 46 patients, but over half had fewer PVC's. If getting off the caffeine and alcohol doesn't help, try the fish oil. If it doesn't help the PVC's, you're still healthier for taking it.