PVC's and statins

[e.r.boy]

Has anyone gotten worsening of their PVC's from taking a statin drug? I seem to be intolerant of these drugs and have tried Crestor, Lipitor and Lescol. My PVC's go absolutely nuts when I take them. I have done my own tests by going off and on them. I consistently get worse when I'm on them. I take C0Q10 and a whole bunch of supplements including magnesium to no avail. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[PunchyPete]

I was on Crestor for a couple of years, and last year I started getting PVC's.  I was taken off Crestor because my liver function started showing up with issues, and my cholesterol was VERY low on it.  I was only on it because I am diabetic, and they want much lower cholesterol than normal.  Regardless, since I have been off the Crestor, my PVC's are now gone.  Not reduced, but gone.  They slowly tapered away as the Crestor left my system.  I have been off it for 4 months now, and haven't had even mild PVC's in over a month.  Also, my legs don't feel stiff and painful in the morning like they used to.  Hope that helps.

BTW there is also research that is showing reducing cholesterol does not extend life expectancy, just changes what kills you, i.e. from heart attacks to cancer (amongst other causes).  Just Google it.

[upbeat633]

There was another gal on this forum, maybe chelsy? who said she had good sucess with sectral. I'd say it's worth a shot. I've tried three Beta-blockers: toperal XL, more symptoms but the same number of pvcs.  I've tried Inderal, fewer symptoms from it but didn't really notice fewer pvcs, and lastly Atenolol, with really intense side effects of fatigue but no change in pvcs.

The rub is, everyone is different. I've thought about sectral too since reading it on this forum. I may ask for a prescription. Last night I had yet another new and strange rhytm, if anybody, any body at all has had this, I'd love to hear. I went from having doubles and triples of pvs with a normal beat or two inbetween to having 40 and 60 pvs in a row. Now, in the past I've had a couple of strings of 10pvcs, but always got back into bigeminy pretty quickly. Last night it was the whole night long. 40 pvcs, two regular, 15 pvcs, two regular, 40pvs and on and on. I actually woke up at midnight feeling very strange and thinking my heart had finally given up..........72 normal beats, 1 pcv, 72 normal beats, 1 pvc. Then I moved around and it was back to long strings of pvcs. I'm a wreck today.  If anybody has had something similar occur, I'd love to know how it turned out.

e.r.boy, that was a good laugh! I may have to try it if nothing else works.

[tomah]

I have had the same experience with Fish oil.  It increased my PVCs  a lot.  I haven't noticed an increase on Lipitor (of course, mine never go away).  My heart went crazy on Crestor -- it caused me huge anxiety, I couldn't sleep - it was like I drank 8 pots of coffee.  I hated it!  I have found no help from magnesium, either.  I wanted my cardio to try me on Acebutolol (Sectral) - but he refused saying it was an old drug.  Well, heck - that doesn't mean it doesn't work.  I'm currently on 50mg of Toprol - but that doesn't get rid of the PVC's/Pacs or palps.  I am thinking about asking my new family dr. to try me on the acebutol.  My cardio just doesn't seem to care.

[e.r.boy]

I noticed the same. I have been taking a lot of fish oil (6-9 grams/day) because it supposed to decrease inflammation and artery disease. It seems to be causing more issues than good. Very ironic considering a lot of data says it prevents arrhythmia. Its almost as if the more energy you give your heart, the happier it is to produce more PVC's. Like adding fuel to the fire. Maybe if I try smoking and eating McDonald's three times a day  I'll be fine. LOL

[upbeat633]

I responded in a different post where you posed the same question.

While I can't speak specifically about the statin drugs, I can tell you personally that anything that I take to make my blood "thinner", like vitamin E, fish oils, and maybe flaxseed oil too seem to exacerbate my pvcs. Fish oils cause me the most increase so I stay away from them. I think I have actually found the same with CoQ10 so it's not in my cabinet any more either.

It seems it should be just the opposite reaction, these things are supposed to be healthy. But I watch very closely for anything that might trigger an increase in pvcs. I've tried the supplements on a couple of separate times and always the same reaction. I can tell you that I've found less sensation of the pvcs with a B-complex, but still no decrease in frequency.