what's with females having babies and heart problems

[nikgirl28]

Pretty much every single female I talked to that had kids has weird heart rhythm episodes...i'm really bothered by this because i think there should be more information on pregnancy and how it affects your heart during and after pregnancy....i started getting frequent one minute heart-pace-went faster episode after my first...and then after my second child i got SVT and PAC constant...i tired of doctors saying it's anxiety....no no no because pregnancy puts a big strain on your body and after you have the baby your body is trying to get back to normal and that unfortuntely includes your heart...but what causes this???  hormones? digestive system?  not having enough blood volume?
just tired of the lack of information that's all...  :(

[dolfnlvr]

I thought I was crazy.  The docs said that pregnancy had nothing to do with the PVC's, but I started having them about 1 month after weaning my first born.  Just so happened it was near the same time as the 9/11 attacks and I was told I was having anxiety issues (until they actually heard them with the stethoscope and said "wow, that's not normal").  Then, I got pregnant again, and had almost NO symptoms through pregnancy and nursing them BOOM two months after weaning her I had HORRIBLE bouts of PVC's.  Now they come and go, and started mixing with SVT which scares the begeeses out of me.

I'm not planning to get pregnant again to test my theory, but I've always told my docs that it had something to do with it.  Wish I knew what.

[finetilthree]

Yep, same thing happened to me, hence my screenname.  I'd love to see the docs response if this question were posted on their forum.  

[dolfnlvr]

I have to say I'd like to hear it too.  Though I'm convinced that they would say the same thing they all say.  "You won't die from PVC's and while it is very uncomfortable while it is happening, the best thing to do is relax and wait it out."  As for the pregnancy link, I don't think anyone has done the research.

I wish I could find someone who was willing to do the research.  I'd probably sign up.  I always tell my doc, I'm the healthiest sick person on the earth.  The worst part is how they keep trying to convince me that it's all in my head.  Thanks you guys....it can't be in all of your heads too.

[degrassi]

there is a difference between pvcs and PPCM.

[finetilthree]

yeah, we all realize that.  

[deedle1976]

There is research which shows that PVCs and VT are induced by pregnancy, however there is no information regarding the actual cause of this. I think it would be difficult to determine experimentally. It's a while since I read the papers but if I remember correctly the authors suggest that the arrhythmogenic effect of pregnancy is due to hormones (they don't specify which ones), increased sympathetic tone, haemodynamic strain and the increased stroke volume of the heart (required to pump all the extra blood around).

There are two papers in the medical literature I have read. The first one is
"Characteristics of new-onset ventricular arrhythmias in pregnancy" published in the journal of electrocardiology.J Electrocardiol. 2004 Jan;37(1):47-53.

People on this thread will agree with the very first line of this paper which says
"The characteristics and underlying mechanisms of new-onset ventricular arrhythmia during pregnancy have not been adequately investigated".

The other one from the american journal of cardiology is
"Incidence of arrhythmias in normal pregnancy and relation to palpitations, dizziness, and syncope".Am J Cardiol. 1997 Apr 15;79(8):1061-4.

There is another one  called "New-onset ventricular tachycardia during pregnancy."  Am Heart J. 1992 Apr;123(4 Pt 1):933-41.
I haven't read this one though, just the abstract.