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pacs, pvcs, am i crazy?
Hey all.im a 29 yr old female with very frequent heart palpitations sometimes in runs of 3 or 4, all day every day.one dr told me after lots of testing that they are benign pvcs, and put me on a beta blocker and calcium channel blocker.Then a few months went by, they didnt let up,i got a second opinion, and another dr told me they are benign pacs and told me that i shouldnt be on the beta blocker because that can make pacs worse.i used to have crazy panic attacks but now i just obsess about the palps.i check my pulse all day and sometimes i just sit there feeling my pulse while im watching tv or whatever.i take my own blood pressure like ten times a day and its always normal.i just can't stop letting them control my life and im starting to wonder if i will be this way forever.i have even been spending hours in this forum when i should be grocery shopping or doing laundry.i can't stand my life like this.should i stay on the meds, go off, try extra magnesium, l-carnitine fumarate, I JUST DONT KNOW.i feel like a psychopath, any comments would be helpful.
Hi,
Without being a doctor, I can give you a diagnosis. You're suffering from cardiac neurosis. It's a bit like an OCD, really. I'm diagnosed with this, too (and PACs/palpitations).
Your situation is so familiar, that I'm really not sure if I should laugh or cry. I know the feeling, checking pulse all the time (usually regular, range 50-100) checking blood pressure (110/60 or 120/70), always being ready for a catastrophe.
I can't give you any advice on medications, and no one else here can. Only your doctor can do that. Some advice on beta blockers:
+ Reduces adrenaline-induced PACs at higher heart rates.
+ Slows your heart rate
+ Reduces the "force" of the palpitations, making them less noticeable.
+ or - Lowers the blood pressure. (a problem if it's a bit low, or low-normal)
+ Reduces physical manifestations of anxiety.
- Can increase PACs and PVCs at rest (explaination is somewhat complicated)
- Can have side effects, makes exercise more difficult
Calcium channel blockers can also reduce PACs, but they tend not to lower the heart rate as much as beta blockers. They are a bit useless to handle PVCs (as far as I know).
Magnesium works as a calcium channel blocker. Ask your doctor about possible interactions before trying Mg in higher dosages. A blood test for Mg levels can also be useful.
It's really hard to tell the difference between a PVC and a PAC (without an EKG), and it rarely matters. On a Holter monitor (24 hour EKG) the automatic interpretation often counts PACs as PVCs. Young people USUALLY have more PACs than PVCs. Anyway, in the absence of heart disease, both are benign. There is no need to worry (and still we do, don't we?).
I've tried to understand why. It's not easy to answer. It's possibly the sensation itself, the annoying feeling of more palpitations?
I believe we PAC/PVC sufferers just start to notice them at some point in our life. I guess we've always had them (everyone does), but if we don't pay attention to our heart activity, we rarely notice them.
Without being a doctor, I can give you a diagnosis. You're suffering from cardiac neurosis. It's a bit like an OCD, really. I'm diagnosed with this, too (and PACs/palpitations).
Your situation is so familiar, that I'm really not sure if I should laugh or cry. I know the feeling, checking pulse all the time (usually regular, range 50-100) checking blood pressure (110/60 or 120/70), always being ready for a catastrophe.
I can't give you any advice on medications, and no one else here can. Only your doctor can do that. Some advice on beta blockers:
+ Reduces adrenaline-induced PACs at higher heart rates.
+ Slows your heart rate
+ Reduces the "force" of the palpitations, making them less noticeable.
+ or - Lowers the blood pressure. (a problem if it's a bit low, or low-normal)
+ Reduces physical manifestations of anxiety.
- Can increase PACs and PVCs at rest (explaination is somewhat complicated)
- Can have side effects, makes exercise more difficult
Calcium channel blockers can also reduce PACs, but they tend not to lower the heart rate as much as beta blockers. They are a bit useless to handle PVCs (as far as I know).
Magnesium works as a calcium channel blocker. Ask your doctor about possible interactions before trying Mg in higher dosages. A blood test for Mg levels can also be useful.
It's really hard to tell the difference between a PVC and a PAC (without an EKG), and it rarely matters. On a Holter monitor (24 hour EKG) the automatic interpretation often counts PACs as PVCs. Young people USUALLY have more PACs than PVCs. Anyway, in the absence of heart disease, both are benign. There is no need to worry (and still we do, don't we?).
I've tried to understand why. It's not easy to answer. It's possibly the sensation itself, the annoying feeling of more palpitations?
I believe we PAC/PVC sufferers just start to notice them at some point in our life. I guess we've always had them (everyone does), but if we don't pay attention to our heart activity, we rarely notice them.
thank you all so much for responding with reassurances.isnt it strange that so many people suffer from these things with healthy hearts?i try to tell myself that im lucky i dont have a more serious medical problem, and should count my blessings because so many people have it worse.i know i need to get a grip though...especially when my 5yr old asks me if her heart is going to beat funny...they see everything!so ill keep on keepin on.
Hello Colleen,
I know just how you feel. I am 43 and have been dealing with PAC's/PVC's since I have been 18. Over the years they come and go. Sometimes they are gone for months at a time and then out of the blue it is just what you described in your post. I have gone to at least 10 to 15 Doctors in that time and they all have told me not to worry because it wont hurt you. The last 6 months have been very hard. I went to the Cleveland Clinic and they told me the same thing. I know for sure the worry will make them increase. I also know you can't help worrying about them. My body just reacts with anxiety before I have a change to think when it occurs. So for me.... I am taking low does of Lexapro (5mg) and a low does of Metoprolol (12.5) and it seems to have reduced them. All we can do is try different things until we can handle the fact that they are never going to be totally gone. I wish there was a pill that would fix it but for now, it doesn't exist. Also, talking about it with others that have the same problem really helps me. I'm like you, I take my blood pressure and heart rate all the time. I believe that the obsession for this condition is normal. Hang in there...
I know just how you feel. I am 43 and have been dealing with PAC's/PVC's since I have been 18. Over the years they come and go. Sometimes they are gone for months at a time and then out of the blue it is just what you described in your post. I have gone to at least 10 to 15 Doctors in that time and they all have told me not to worry because it wont hurt you. The last 6 months have been very hard. I went to the Cleveland Clinic and they told me the same thing. I know for sure the worry will make them increase. I also know you can't help worrying about them. My body just reacts with anxiety before I have a change to think when it occurs. So for me.... I am taking low does of Lexapro (5mg) and a low does of Metoprolol (12.5) and it seems to have reduced them. All we can do is try different things until we can handle the fact that they are never going to be totally gone. I wish there was a pill that would fix it but for now, it doesn't exist. Also, talking about it with others that have the same problem really helps me. I'm like you, I take my blood pressure and heart rate all the time. I believe that the obsession for this condition is normal. Hang in there...
hi Colleen...I know how you feel, too, and Im "old" to the PVC PAC world!! Ive suffered with them for about 17 years now. Im 49. Ive had so many tests, different cardiologists...they all tell me the same thing. Benign. Dont worry about them. Have less stress in your life. Ya easier said than done. As of this very moment--my heart is like a fish out of water, flopping in my chest. Youde think, after all these years, that I could just go about my day...like other people do--and ignore them. But...I cant. I cry...I get mad, I get depressed as hell, I get upset ..and all of those things just make them 10x worse. Ive been on a beta blocker for the 17 yrs. Atenolol, was on a hefty dose--50 mg in morning, 50 at night. It worked great--I had absolutly no side effects..I dont understand the fear out there that people have for Beta Blockers. Maybe because Ive never had a single problem with them? The Atenolol, finally, though, stopped doing its job..my cardio thinks maybe my body just got so adjusted to it. So in Aug of last year, I was switched to another...Metoprolol. I have high blood pressure, and this doesnt seem to keep it down as much as the aten did...
But it also doesnt really stop the palpitations either. My cardiologist..great doc..gotten give him credit for trying everything. Im on potassium, 2x a day, ( mine was normal, but very much on the low side of normal) magnesium, and now...im on what I thought was a huge dose of the Metoprolol...but others here tell me its not outrageously big...I have 100mg in the morning..and recently he told me to take 100 at night as well, but I feel thats a bit much, so I cut it in half. So I have 150 mg of a beta blocker every day. And Im fine with it. I also take xanax for anxiety...been on it long enough that my dr knows I wont abuse it, and I dont. I know what I need and how much. Nothing I take gets rid of the palps though.
I exercise at a cardiac rehab place because my husband had a heart attack almost a year ago now, and he HAS to workout there...I wanted to start, and they gave us a great discount if we both went there. But since my palps have increased ( along with the stress level in my life--its more than its ever been before) they now at the fitness ctr, want me to tell them when Im having my palps, and they will put on the portable heart monitor on ME...and watch my heart as I exercise.
well, they never have stopped me, I get done, and they tell me wow...! You sure have a LOT of palpitations...HOWEVER...(and these are cardiac technicians) They are all PVCS and PACs....and we see nothing dangerous about them, just an annoyance to you...I said yes...
they said they feel so bad for people like me, that actually FEEL every single one..and I said, oh, yes, I do...every missed beat.
So...I have their sympathy, and empathy, but they dont want me to stop exercising...they are THAT benign.
But...Im sitting here right now, with the thumping and skipping...and the very LAST thing I want to do..is go over and hop on a treadmill...!!!!!
I am a chronic pulse checker too. I know it just upsets me more, but I have to do it!!!! Its sick....but I can check my pulse and nobody will even know Im doing it.
So...I can certainly tell you anything you need to know about these things...Ive had them long enough, and had every test imaginable....
just focus on the fact that, once your Dr tells you that your heart is ok....try to believe it..and ignore the darn things the best that you can!!!!
But it also doesnt really stop the palpitations either. My cardiologist..great doc..gotten give him credit for trying everything. Im on potassium, 2x a day, ( mine was normal, but very much on the low side of normal) magnesium, and now...im on what I thought was a huge dose of the Metoprolol...but others here tell me its not outrageously big...I have 100mg in the morning..and recently he told me to take 100 at night as well, but I feel thats a bit much, so I cut it in half. So I have 150 mg of a beta blocker every day. And Im fine with it. I also take xanax for anxiety...been on it long enough that my dr knows I wont abuse it, and I dont. I know what I need and how much. Nothing I take gets rid of the palps though.
I exercise at a cardiac rehab place because my husband had a heart attack almost a year ago now, and he HAS to workout there...I wanted to start, and they gave us a great discount if we both went there. But since my palps have increased ( along with the stress level in my life--its more than its ever been before) they now at the fitness ctr, want me to tell them when Im having my palps, and they will put on the portable heart monitor on ME...and watch my heart as I exercise.
well, they never have stopped me, I get done, and they tell me wow...! You sure have a LOT of palpitations...HOWEVER...(and these are cardiac technicians) They are all PVCS and PACs....and we see nothing dangerous about them, just an annoyance to you...I said yes...
they said they feel so bad for people like me, that actually FEEL every single one..and I said, oh, yes, I do...every missed beat.
So...I have their sympathy, and empathy, but they dont want me to stop exercising...they are THAT benign.
But...Im sitting here right now, with the thumping and skipping...and the very LAST thing I want to do..is go over and hop on a treadmill...!!!!!
I am a chronic pulse checker too. I know it just upsets me more, but I have to do it!!!! Its sick....but I can check my pulse and nobody will even know Im doing it.
So...I can certainly tell you anything you need to know about these things...Ive had them long enough, and had every test imaginable....
just focus on the fact that, once your Dr tells you that your heart is ok....try to believe it..and ignore the darn things the best that you can!!!!
Colleen, hello, I know how you feel, I also am new to the premature beat world....it is not fun. Sounds like you have had everything checked out, even by two different doctors. So it sounds like there is not an underlying cause causing the palps....I have read in several places that PACS and PVCS are benign in a healthy heart, which it sounds like you have. I also know about obsessing about these things, I have been a worry wart my whole life and have tons of anxiety as well...which is also a huge trigger of premature beats. Not saying that is what is causing it, but it can't be helping. I have used xanax (very sparingly) for a quick fix when I am having a real bad time or really worrying, it really helps take the edge off, but I stress sparingly, I don't take them on a regular basis. I also just started therapy today to try and get a hold of my anxiety and worrying....my doc suggested starting a ssri which will be safer than xanax and could assist me long term with my anxiety. I was also given a beta blocker to try but I have not started it yet because my blood pressure and heart rate are normal....I want to address my anxiety and worry issues first, get that under control (since I've already been cleared by my family doc and a cardiologist about my heart)...I am even getting a second opinion thursday from another cardiologist...if he says the same thing and clears me than I know I need to focus on getting my anxiety and worry AND OBSESSION about these things under control. Just by doing that may make them go away or less of a nuisance!
Good luck, sounds like you have had things checked out and that your heart is normal, try to keep that in mind and keep reminding yourself of that and that many people have these palpitations and several don't even know or feel them.
Take care,
Grant
Good luck, sounds like you have had things checked out and that your heart is normal, try to keep that in mind and keep reminding yourself of that and that many people have these palpitations and several don't even know or feel them.
Take care,
Grant
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