Frequent Irregular heartbeat that get worse with exercise ?

[Kadam96]

Hello first of all I'm new to this forum and thank you in advance to take time to read my post.
Im 19 and i have played sport since i am 14, mostly swimming , biking and lifting weight 4 to 5 times a week without any problem.
My problems with irregular heartbeat started 4 months ago where one night i was doing cocaine and all of a sudden i felt an electric shock through my body and my heart started racing at 250 bpm if not more, it was beating so fast i could barely count my pulse but i could feel flutter in my chest which i believe were PVCs, i took a walk outside with my friend and my heart rhythm dropped to 120 within a minute and then to 90 within the next 30 mins. I really thought i was going to die.
Since that day i have a phobia about my heart which lead to panic attacks and trips to the ER, i have seen 3 different doctor including one cardiologist that told me my heart is in perfect health and that there is nothing to worry about, however since that day i have sometimes irregular beats in my chest, sometimes they are isolated sometimes they last a few seconds which doctors told me are PVCs and are not a concern in a healthy heart but i never had them before and they get worse when i go to the gym to lift weight which makes me very scared to exercise. They are also worse when i get a panic attack or feel anxious but my main concern is to know if the cocaine could have caused an arrhythmia that is permanent or damage my heart? i regret that night and I'm no longer taking any types of drug, including alcohol and caffein.
For me its quite obvious something happened that night because i never had problem like these before but doctor still say I'm fine. I have also read that PVCs that get worse with exercise are a concern.
The tests i did are ECG blood test and urine test ,they all came back normal, Doctors keep saying theres nothing to worry about but i find it hard to believe them :(
Any help and support is welcomed and thank you for taking time to read my post.

[Kadam96]

Hello guys, as promised i would post updates, i got the result of the holter and it showed pvcs and 3 isolated pvcs during exercice, the doctor said they dont even need to be treated because they are minimal and nothing to worry about  but she told me to stay away from triggers and avoid exercising if im too  tired. Does it mean something is wrong and she didnt tell me directly ?

[Kadam96]

I also did my echo and the heart is healthy, i have started taking magnesium and sometimes essential oils for stress and my pvcs have lowered, i can sometimes go two-three days without feeling any ! But my main concern is that i still get them when i exercise, mostly when i squat, maybe its has something to do with body position and pressure, i hope its not dangerous Tho..

[Kadam96]

So i did my stress test and during the test i got two supraventricular extra beat in a row and during the recovery period i got 2 isolated PVC. I have my echo next wednesday and the cardiologist said i shouldnt worry. Are supraventricular extra beat PVCS btw ? Thank you

[researcher09]

SVT is typically right atrium in origin and would be easy to fix by ablation if it becomes an issue.  They are not PVCs that are lower chamber ectopics.  2 extra SVT beats (aka PACs) is nothing to worry about.  Everybody has PACs on occasion and they are part of living.  If you have continuous runs of PACs and SVT, then you would want to have it treated via ablation at a center that do a high volume of ablaions.  

[Kadam96]

Yes i stopped and won't ever touch it again but i find it strange that "anxiety " can create all sorts of irregular beat, PVCs and multiples PVCs, that get alot worse especialy with exercise. Anyway i will be seeing a cardiologist again on tuesday for a stress test and holter. I will keep you updated and thank you !

[researcher09]

Cocaine is a powerful sodium channel blocker so it can really mess with your heart beat.  Now that you stopped fooling around with it, you are only experiencing anxiety and panic attacks and not real heart issues.  Go back to your exercises and add other things that help you relieve stress and anxiety is my suggestion.

[MichelleP_3811]

Odds are if the racing heart was induced by the cocaine, it likely was but no one can say for sure, but if it was odds are it won't occur again so long as you stay away from cocaine.  If by some chance the racing heart does come back it could be something else not related to cocaine.  Something similar to what I had, an svt called avnrt where i had episodes of racing heart in the 200s.  I had them all my life and my heart is still going so it is something that would need to be watched or corrected but it isn't going to kill you.  At this point I would assume it was the drugs.  That said, those extra skipping beats may not go away but a lot of people have them and they really are not harmful in an otherwise healthy heart so just try to remain heart healthy and try to not over do your exercise without proper hydration and nutrition.  Take care.  

[Kadam96]

Are cocaine induced arrhythmia permanent even Tho it is out of the body and ecg show nothing ?

[researcher09]

The coroner reported that he died from arrhythmia so although he was using cocaine at the time, it was cocaine induced arrhythmia that did him in.

[researcher09]

Your question reminds me sadly of a gifted basketball player by the name of Len Bias.  Drafted by legendary Red Auerbach of the Celtics.  He could have been as good as Jordan.  Cocaine did him in.

[Kadam96]

Yes but he died of an overdose ,which is not m'y case and i no longer do drugs since that day

[MichelleP_3811]

Hello Kadam96.  Welcome to the community.  The pvcs are of no significance, even in relation to exercise if the heart is healthy.  Yours appears to be though an echo is really the gold standard for determining heart health but a lot can be seen with an ekg. I am not sure if your racing heart episode was simply from the drugs or an anxiety attack or some other type of arrhythmia. It is hard to say and it very well was a combination that is a one off you need not worry about if you continue to abstain from drugs and caffeine.  Unfortunately once a spot in the heart gets triggered into firing off extra beats it is always prone to it moving forward so you may continue to feel the random skips.  Straining and over exertion can trigger them so try to not over do it when you exercise. As well make sure you have eaten properly before hand and stay well hydrated.  Stay away from caffeine and sugary foods or foods high in carbohydrates and take steps now to get on top of the anxiety.  Anxiety is a big trigger and the sooner you deal with it the better.  In general though in an otherwise healthy heart if you do not continue to have episodes of rates in the 200s then odds are you need not worry but do go back to the doctor if your symptoms get worse or you have more episodes with your heart racing.  It can be hard to catch those kinds of episodes and sometimes we need to keep trying until we do but at this point it very well was drug induced and may not come back.  But do try to make peace with the extra skipping beats.  Continue to live a heart healthy life and work on your anxiety and you should be fine.  Take care.

[Kadam96]

Thank you very much for your answer and advices :)