Bigeminy PVCS ?

[hopenprayers]

Hello & thank u very much for this forum & your time.

I am 53 yr old Female with over a 30 yr history of PVCs. (all tests ekgs echos stress thalium & angiograms have been normal) I have used alcohol to medicate myself over the years for this problem. Lately the pvcs worsened slightly, so my cardio changed my meds from 30 mil. diltiazem twice daily to metroporpolo(sp) & magnesium oxide. Well after FIRST dose my heart went into the worse rythm I had ever had over the last 30 years. I ended up in ER (bigimeny) And my heart has continued to do this worsened rythm periodiaclly ever since...
Could the medication have caused this? I was scared to take another dose so cardio put me on Diltiazem ER 120mg. & told me to go home & not worry. I am now using a hand held event monitor. I called in a recording yesterday, & the docs PA called back telling me it showed bigeminy. I can feel when these beats accur ( very frightening). He said to go ER if I got other symptoms such as light headed, pain etc. I have read on this board MANY time that pvcs no matter how frequent are nothing to be concerned about if one has otherwise sturcturally sound heart. Then yesterday I looked up PVCS in the dictionary here on this site. It said "Frequent pvcs have the potentional to cause more serious rythmns and cardiac arrest.  Well that certainly doesnt sound like nothing to worry about to me, in fact it scared the pants off me. So which is it, something not to worry about or something that COULD lead to cardiac arrest?
Also when having these bigeminy which sometimees can last for hours, as many as 8 hrs at a time so far, I have found that drinking beer is the ONLY thing that will make them quit. I have also noticed that when I quit drinking that in about 3 days these bigeminy pvcs get realy bad until I drink again.
It is a vicious circle and i am so very tired of it. Please help explain why the difference between your dictionary definittion of pvcs and what you & my doc have said. Also could the one dose of metropropolo have made my pvcs worse? and What can i do about not being able to quit drinking without having these awlful bouts of pvcs? ( I dont have any other alcohol withdrawal symtoms)

Again, Thank you for your time, and this great site.

[I'mallheart]

hello all..here is something thats helping me as we speak..despite what the docs tell us there is someting wrong with our hearts..we need to first get the palps and pvcs undercontrol and then exersise..this is whats helping me..GREEN TEA..keep an open mind to find a cure..lots of research on this and looka at countries using this they out live us and dont have these troubles..well the first like 3-5 days drink alot of it.like 4 pots a day..get the good green tea and pot with a strainer..not the prebage stuff and drink it its awesome..then we need to walk run..walk like 4 miles a day..we need to get to the root of the probelm
thanks
DAVE

[Squimsy]

You say that something IS wrong with our hearts.  Can you tell me what?

You must be able to see how much anxiety these PVCs cause, so I assume you wouldn't just come on here and make a statement like that without some fact to back it up.

Rgds

[michi]

hi,

i also have those pvc/pacs and i guess svts. i was very worried last fall to beginning this year. i had days aking my husband will i be still alive tomorrow? i read every day in this forum to find answers. since end of january 04 i decided to try to ignore them and went to a psychologist for support aswell. it helped me a lot yes i still get them frequently but they dont bother me so much any more. i still get scared when i have the svt runs and if they are longer than a couple secs. i cough and i am back to normal beat. i also get sinus tach out of the blue if i leave them without the beta blocker they are gone after max. 5 hours. they show up mostly after eating pasta or having a reg. coke. i have limit those foods and caffine drinks and those attacks are a lot better. i do ultrasound modeling and once a year i get a 3 hour cardio done by doctors and techs. that reasures me too. special since the ultrasound showed a perfect healthy heart every time i went. i do see a cardio doc aswell and i had all the works done.

good luck

[as1723]

i need to get on here more often than i do. I was traveling and out of town tonight. I hadn't eaten anything substantial since 12:30 pm. I ate barbeque rotiserrie chicken, mashed potatoes and corn at a resturant. As I was getting full i could feel my heartrate going up and feeling slightly weak. If i eat alot after not eating for awhile this seems to always happen. sure enuf as I was finished a few PVC hit in a row. I stood up in panic and they continued. They stopped after I went to the bathroom and urinated. Of course anxiety has set in for me tonite especially as I sit here in the hotel room by myself. Doesnt help that just last night I found an article on COUPLETS--two PVC's in a row. is that what bigeminy is?? Well the article said that COUPLETS, bigeminy, or more than 6 PVC's in a minute need treatment. Then why does my cardiologist and electrophysiologist say not to worry about them, and go with the flow?? I too drink 2-4 beers per night as a self medication. but as one person wrote, when I drink 8+ or more at a festivity, the next day is brutal for PVC's. I take atenolol 50mg per day and a half one if I need it at night or have an episode like tonight. I hate these PVC's. I am 30yrs and ex-college pro athlete with a structurally normal heart except for slight MVP, so after all the tests in the book they tell me not to worry. The EP doctor I saw said she would do an EP exam just to rule everything out and ease my mind. This seems like I need to do this as my last step to save my sanity. Anyone recommend an anti-anxiety like XANAX?? Thanks to reading these posts tonight I do feel a ton better. Thanks everyone for sharing their stories.

[as1723]

I also had no idea you could get alcohol induced cardiomypathy. No idea. Even though I have had sigle pvc's or pac's since I was 14, and yes even when I was in peak condition as a high school college and pro athlete. They were just few and far between, sometimes once a month. Not since I quit playing, and exactly 3 years ago did I start to get these long episodes. Well that is when I started to drink alot more. I am glad I read the alcohol post and will take a little more caution when I get into spurts of drinking 4-6 beers a night.

[I'mallheart]

there is something wrong.think of it other people we know dont suffer from this but others do..the reason why its like this is because of lack of exersise and not proper nutrition..we arent atenolol or other medication deprived..i think we need to get to the square root of the problem and fix it or atleast leson the symptoms...ause the meds we are taking is not good for the liver .. remeber i claim not to be a doc..this is working for me and just wanted to pass it along
dave