Exercise induced PVCs

[Eric77]

I had an internal loop recorder put in almost a month ago, and today I saw my cardiologist so he could download the data for the first time.  The two people who looked at the ECG data before the cardiologist came in said that I was having PVC's when I was running (I felt symptoms when I was running and pressed the button to record them).  They seemed concerned that this was not normal.  They said people normally only have them at rest.

The cardiologist basically said it was only one PVC, so don't worry about it.  I actually felt more than one PVC before and after I pushed the button, and the fact that the ECG confirmed that what I was feeling was a PVC tells me that what I felt over the course of 2-3 laps was probably a series of PVCs.  I have also felt similar symptoms in the past while running (I don’t think it is every time), but I did not have the loop recorder to record them at the time.

Anyway, I am just wondering if anybody knows what exercise induced PVCs might suggest?  The reason I have the monitor is because of some more severe and longer lasting arrhythmias with blackout spells that I have had in the past.  My cardiologist tells me that he detected SVT, but I did not report feeling any symptoms when he detected it so we aren't sure how that ties in with the symptoms I do feel.  If anybody could help me shed some light on how this might all fit together, I would greatly appreciate it!  Thanks for taking time to read my post!

[sueinns]

I too would like to know.  Whenever I get my heart rate up from exercise I can't really tell if I am having PVC's.  It's only an assumption because I get a lumpy feeling in my throat and can't push myself like I used to be able to.  I find it difficult to get a handle on my pulse when it is at a high rate from exercise but do think that I have felt some skipped and extra beats.  I have never been told that getting PVC's while exercising is a concern and would really like to know why your doctor thought so.

SVT is different from PVC's.  One classic symptom is dizziness and, before I had my ablation, I always felt like I was going to pass out after any exertion when I was symptomatic.  Thankfully I've been symptom free since the procedure.  Have you actually passed out?

[Eric77]

I have actually passed out once.  It was several years ago.  My heart normally returns to a normal rhythm before I completely pass out.  I generally don't feel like I could pass out while exercising, unless I am just tired/dehydrated and stand up too fast or something like that.

From what little information I have been able to find, I don't think exercise induced PVCs is life threatening or anything.  It sounds like as long as you have a structurally sound heart PVCs are pretty harmless.  I'm not a doctor, so I may be missing something, but it sounds like dealing with the symptoms is probably the only real complication from exercise induced PVCs.

I understand that SVTs are different than PVCs, but I am wondering what the correlation is.  It seems like the two go hand in hand.  I guess maybe PVCs are just extremely common and the people who are able to feel their SVT symptoms also feel the PVCs that are so common in all people?

[sueinns]

I tend to agree with you about exercise induced PVC's being benign in structurally normal hearts.  I was never told to stop working out.  

I do think there is a correlation between PVC's and SVT's because there are an awful lot of us who have or had both.  The symptoms of SVT are very hard to ignore.  It was always after exercising that I would feel faint.  I say "exercising" but it was more like going through the motions because it was very difficult to do anything more than walking.  When the SVT wasn't symptomatic, I felt great and it was only after my ablation that the PVC's got worse.

My symptoms are different with PVC's.  It's really only running that is more difficult and this seems to have been fairly consistent since my ablation back in Jan.  I haven't had a break from the little beasts.  The SVT was very inconsistent from one day to the next, and I could go from having no symptoms to needing something to hold onto when I walked upstairs.  I have a lot of PVC's now but they don't interfere with my quality of life (except for running) so I can ignore them for the most part.

It's a strange and bizarre condition to say the least.