hello, back again

Hello guys haven't been here for ages, been doing ok actually, still having palps but very few and far between. All my test show sinus tach and supraventriclar ectopic beats and normal echo. My question is , if I feel my palp as an extra beat rather than a pause is this more likly a pac or pvc?? Its just like my normal rytham but with an extra one thrown in there occasionally!! I don't have the long pause I have heard people mention, thanks rebecca

[bexarooney]

Anyone??

[is_something_wrong]

PAC.

[bexarooney]

Thanks , new I could rely on your reply!!! Can PACs still feel quite hard??

[is_something_wrong]

Sorry, a bit busy at work when I answered the first time.

Yes, it's just a myth that a PAC feels less bothersome than a PVC. In many cases, it's the opposite, because the atrial activation of a PAC may fall on the previous ventricular beat, creating the classical flip-flop sensation, first a sensation in the throat, then the classical hard next beat.

When your heart rate is high, PACs feel terrible because the pause afterwards can be long. This is caused by the so-called sinus node recovery time, in other words, the sinus node is struck by a PAC (that origin somewhere else in the atrium and hits the sinus node) which for a moment gets confused, thinking "what the hell was that" and waiting up to half a second extra to fire the next normal beat.

The "rule of thumb" is that a PAC is a double beat and a PVC is a skipped beat. But PACs can also be skipped beats and PVCs may in some cases be sensed as double beats. It's not that easy to tell the difference. The exercise itself is pointless because you can't get an answer, it only helps increasing the unhealthy awareness of your heart.

You had supraventricular ectopy at your Holter test. Just like me. I would try to think "my premature beats are PACs". And you had a normal echo just like me. That can help you think "even if they are PVCs, which they most likely aren't, it doesn't matter".

Good luck :)

[bexarooney]

Cool thanks again!! It helps that I have never had 1 single PVC on a monitor ever,, 4 24hr , a week, and a 2 week monitor all say PAC and sinus tachy!! Do you still get palps regular?

[is_something_wrong]

You can forget PVCs you don't have them ;)

I don't have palps during activity anymore just at rest when my heart rate is slow (below 60). It can be quite bad before sleep and in the morning if I'm stressing, too late for work, heavy traffic, etc.

They are annoying double beats followed by a pause and I think they are PACs. Sometimes the PACs squeeze in between the normal beats, causing a nasty sensation of short runs.

[bexarooney]

Do they scare you or have u exepted them??

[bexarooney]

I have had lately beatbeat normal , sounds like PAC I think, it has been quite hard with a nervous feeling acconpanying it , hard to explain .

[is_something_wrong]

Of course I hate them. And I don't understand them completely, sometimes it seems like the PAC itself is a hard beat when I check the pulse. I have no rational explaination for this, what so ever..

I'm not afraid of the PACs but I keep being afraid of getting a lot of them. It causes some trouble getting sleep sometimes but I try to live with them.

[Mom2four85]

my pac's sometimes feel like someone is trying to blow a grape through a straw (at the bottom of my throat area down past where that little dip about 2 fingertips below where the hollow is) vs pvc's which just feel like my heart stops a beat...anyone else like this?

what my dr described as "palpitations" back in 2004 I believe were pac's; since I've had that feeling since then but not caught on ekg's until after my ablation.

[bexarooney]

Do I need anymore tests?? Or do u think it is just a case of acceptance now?? Thankyou

[Mom2four85]

I've just accepted my heart is always going to act up. I can't fret over it and I can't keep hoping that doctors will ever find what's wrong with me because I've gone through so many doctors hoping for answers...sometimes there are no answers and we just have to accept it, move on and do the best we can coping with what we're feeling and just live life and expect a few bumps here and there.

[bexarooney]

Do I need anymore tests or do u think it is a case of acceptence??