Dry cough and PAC'S

[LA795]

I have PAC's. Normal EKG and normal echo stress. Normal Holter as well. Is it possible for the premature beats to cause me to cough? The coughing seems to occur after I feel the more pronounced beat in my chest. Is this a normal or benign occurance for someone with PAC'S?

[Douglas Bogart, MD]

APC's are perfectly benign and occur in people with a structurally normal heart.  Xs caffeine and alcohol may contribute to these irregularities.

[Nikki333]

Wow!  My husband and I were thinking of this same question today.  I have irregular beats that the doctors associate with my mitral valve prolapse.  I  also have prinzmetal disease or coronary artery spasms.  But I also have a dry cough when my heart is acting up and a cough that I seem to have after a funny beat.  Very interesting question thanks for asking it.

[LA795]

What about the cough being caused by the PAC's? Is it possible? They seem to occur one after the other? Thank You

[Barb64]

They never answer more than one question on this site.  It's too bad he ignored your question because I have the same thing. I think the coughing helps get the right rhythm back.

[Nikki333]

I agree with Barb64.  It seems to put it back in the correct rhythm.  I'll share something with you.  Our 12 year old dog has had a dry hacking cough on and off his whole life.  Just every now and again.  He did it once in front of the vet and the vet commented that it was because of his heart murmur.  I
It is too bad the doctor didn't answer your question though.  What question did he answer??

[Douglas Bogart, MD]

I am not sure if a cough can be caused by
apc's but sometimes people complain that it feels like a butterfly in the throat--a fluttering sensation.  

[Bioengineer444]

I started having APCs.about 2 weeks ago and have encountered the same cough phenomena.  To better understand the connection I looked up the cross-sectional anatomy of the chest and found the the trachea runs along the back of the heart.  It is likely that APCs cause the heart to bump against the trachea and irritate it.  The cough phenomena has also been described by people with other forms of arrhythmias - which supports the proposed connection.  Medicine and medical research is organized by organ systems.  It is not surprising that little is known about the connection between arrhythmias and coughing as this is the result of an interaction between two organ systems that are not closely related on a biochemical level.

[Bioengineer444]

CORRECTION:  The esophagus runs along the back of the heart, not the trachea.  The trachea branches into two bronchi just above the heart near the atria.  Abnormal heart rhythms are often associated with abnormal sequences of heart contraction which alters the movement of the heart within the chest.  Any effect this has on the trachea would not be due to a direct rubbing as stated above.  The lesson - don't automatically trust what you read on the web, even if the author claims some credentials.      

[ShortStuff58]

A related discussion, That cough was started.