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Definations of frequent and occasion palpitations
Can anyone define what frequent palpitations and occasional palpitations are?
Has anyone who has asked their cardiologist how many are considered occasional?
I do so much reading that occasional palpitations are fine but does occational palpitations mean palpitations every day? I palpitations every day around 10 times a day and I think that is frequent but does anyone really know???
I know! :) But still, it freaks me out to hear about anyone with heart probs. My grandma who is 70 had a heart attack and quadruple bypass in Dec. and I was terrified for her but also freaked out for me. Thankfully, she came through just fine and is now feeling better than she did before the heart attack.
So Fearfactor do you get around 10 a day as well or more or less? I still can't wrap my head around this these are benign! I hate them so much!!!
Some days I don't get any - some days I get 3 to 5. Some days, like during ovulation or PMS, I get probably 50 a day which I consider to be a lot. I have PACs and very, very rarely have had what think is a "run of PACs." It felt like a bubbling feeling in my chest - very scary! I live in fear of that happening again but it is mercifully rare. I didn't get it for over a year and then had an occurrence in Dec. 2006 and one in Jan. 2006 but it has never been caught on a monitor. I know, I would do just about anything to get totally rid of them even though they are only occasional for me!
Yeah I get that bubbly or zapping feeling every so often as well. I hate it.
The days are few and far between than I actually get no PVC's. Today I have had one flip so far. I don't even like it when I get one!!
My usual is between 5 and 10 and I feel every single one of them.
So you didn't get any PVC's or PAC's in 2006 or do you mean the runs of them?
The days are few and far between than I actually get no PVC's. Today I have had one flip so far. I don't even like it when I get one!!
My usual is between 5 and 10 and I feel every single one of them.
So you didn't get any PVC's or PAC's in 2006 or do you mean the runs of them?
I meant the runs. I did get PACs but just not that horrible bubbling feeling. Today, I have gotten ONE PAC and it happened about 20 mins. ago. I have had 3 cups of coffee today and am stressed out, so I am amazed it hasn't been more!
So how can you tell the difference between PAC's and PVC's? I think the PVC's are the really hard ones that almost wind me? I don't really know though.
Just out of curiousity do you live in Canada or US?
Just out of curiousity do you live in Canada or US?
I live in the U.S., Texas to be exact! The reason I think most of my palps are PACs is because on every monitor I've ever had, I have had many more PACs than PVCs. On some, I have no PVCs, but always have at least a few PACs. To me, PVCs feel like a really hard heartbeat that takes your breath away, it almost feels like a rubber band snapping in your chest. A PAC is much lighter - it still has that up and down roller-coaster feel, but is much more fluttery, if that makes sense. I hate them all! ;)
Yeah I agree that I think the PVC's are the hard bangs.
At least you have probably been to a great Heart place if you are in Houston. They don't really have heart speciality places in Calgary, Alberta so you just have to go thru a regular hospital and I swear they don't really care because they just figure you have PVC's. I would love to get to a place like the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo to really see if they could find out what is wrong with my ol' ticker.
At least you have probably been to a great Heart place if you are in Houston. They don't really have heart speciality places in Calgary, Alberta so you just have to go thru a regular hospital and I swear they don't really care because they just figure you have PVC's. I would love to get to a place like the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo to really see if they could find out what is wrong with my ol' ticker.
Dear fearfactor,
my experience with the pvcs is just the opposite. they are the ones that feel light and fluttery. my pacs knock the wind out of me every time. i actually can't tell them apart, but i am assuming most of mine are pacs b/c the monitor showed more pacs than pvcs.
Carrie41,
Hello Dear. I always try to define what is frequent, rare, etc. I think we are basically in the same boat. 5-30 per day. I was doing really good for the last two months. Only 3 or 4 hard ones per day, but in the last 4 days, mine have picked up noticably. I went back to work, am separated, and am dealing with juggling daycare for three kids under age 5, all by myself, so I am hoping it is just stress and lack of sleep. I used to sleep until 9 or 10 every day, but now that I am working, I am up by 6. I've even been having some little strings of them together which feels horrible. I used to only have singles, but now I am feeling little spurts of something weird, maybe SVT for 2 seconds or so and sometimes 2 or 3 pacs right in a row. Strange how our bodies behave. I have gotten so much control over the fear of them. I basically convinced myself that if they are gonna kill me, they are gonna kill me regardless of whether I am worrying about them or not. So, I just don't worry about it. But you wanna know something weird? I get really upset when I hear about someone close to my age that dies. Especially if it is heart related. I am dying to know what killed Anna Nicole Smith. I hope it wasn't her heart b/c that would make me PANIC again. Good luck to you!
my experience with the pvcs is just the opposite. they are the ones that feel light and fluttery. my pacs knock the wind out of me every time. i actually can't tell them apart, but i am assuming most of mine are pacs b/c the monitor showed more pacs than pvcs.
Carrie41,
Hello Dear. I always try to define what is frequent, rare, etc. I think we are basically in the same boat. 5-30 per day. I was doing really good for the last two months. Only 3 or 4 hard ones per day, but in the last 4 days, mine have picked up noticably. I went back to work, am separated, and am dealing with juggling daycare for three kids under age 5, all by myself, so I am hoping it is just stress and lack of sleep. I used to sleep until 9 or 10 every day, but now that I am working, I am up by 6. I've even been having some little strings of them together which feels horrible. I used to only have singles, but now I am feeling little spurts of something weird, maybe SVT for 2 seconds or so and sometimes 2 or 3 pacs right in a row. Strange how our bodies behave. I have gotten so much control over the fear of them. I basically convinced myself that if they are gonna kill me, they are gonna kill me regardless of whether I am worrying about them or not. So, I just don't worry about it. But you wanna know something weird? I get really upset when I hear about someone close to my age that dies. Especially if it is heart related. I am dying to know what killed Anna Nicole Smith. I hope it wasn't her heart b/c that would make me PANIC again. Good luck to you!
Hey, Carrie - I know, my husband thinks I am nuts, too. He says he does sometimes have palpitations but it doesn't even bother him. He tells me "just ignore it because it is not going to kill you!" Easier said than done, huh? I have occasional palps too and am so glad. There are so many people here who have lots more so I guess it could a lot worse!
I'm certain the death of my fellow Texan Anna Nicole did have something to do with her heart...but it was probably induced by drugs, unfortunately. But, I too freak out when I hear of someone dying young from heart problems, like young people collapsing while exercising or something like that. I also freaked when Bill Clinton had his heart attack because I had just started with the palp fears when that happened and I was driving on my way to get a holter monitor when I heard about it on the radio!
Bill Clinton had blocked arteries from all those short jogs to MC Donald's, and he's not all that young.
I look at it this way (and my cardiologist concurs): If your heart beats an average of 70 bpm for 24 hours, that's ~ 100,800 beats. Even if you had 1000 PVCs/palps every day, that would still be less than 1% of your total daily beats. If you have 10 per day, that's only 0.01% of your total heart beats which is exceedingly rare - in other words, your heart is just about perfect.
This was part of an article on premature ventricular contractions on emedicine.
"PVCs usually are described in terms of the Lown grading system for premature beats. The higher the grade, the more serious the ectopy.
Grade 0 = No premature beats
Grade 1 = Occasional (<30/h)
Grade 2 = Frequent (>30/h)
Grade 3 = Multiform
Grade 4 = Repetitive (A=Couplets, B=Salvos of = or > 3)
Grade 5 = R-on-T pattern"
I agree with va_tony and the others, even at high frequencies, pvcs are almost always harmless. Ten occurences in a day is probably very "normal" and would likely be true for the general population. The anxiety over the pvcs is much worse than the pvcs themselves
Take care.
connie
"PVCs usually are described in terms of the Lown grading system for premature beats. The higher the grade, the more serious the ectopy.
Grade 0 = No premature beats
Grade 1 = Occasional (<30/h)
Grade 2 = Frequent (>30/h)
Grade 3 = Multiform
Grade 4 = Repetitive (A=Couplets, B=Salvos of = or > 3)
Grade 5 = R-on-T pattern"
I agree with va_tony and the others, even at high frequencies, pvcs are almost always harmless. Ten occurences in a day is probably very "normal" and would likely be true for the general population. The anxiety over the pvcs is much worse than the pvcs themselves
Take care.
connie
You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. I have done searching over and over again to find out what occasional and frequent means.
I just don't get it why everyone I ask if they get palpitations they always say no they don't ever feel a thing. My husband thinks I am nuts and it is all in my head but I know I feel it skipping and flipping around at least 10 times a day.
I just don't get it why everyone I ask if they get palpitations they always say no they don't ever feel a thing. My husband thinks I am nuts and it is all in my head but I know I feel it skipping and flipping around at least 10 times a day.
I really had a good chuckle when you said the bit about Anna Nicole Smith. That is exactly what I thought about her dying. I thought oh my god it was probably ventricular tachacardia that did it. I think her son died from an irregular heartbeat brought on by methodone and Lexapro (and I am now taking Ciprilex becauase of my flippin' anxiety about my heart!!!)
Yeah no doubt you have PVC's having three little ones like that and being separated! I can't even imagine how hard that would be. I remember those days as well. My kids are older now. One is 11 and one is 16 so they are a little easier to deal with (sometimes).
How in the world did you get over your fear of these Finetillthree??? I am still waiting to get over mine. I saw a therapist last Friday thinking that would be my answer to my anxiety. Well I was a blubering fool in there and really I don't think accomplished anything other than paying $130.00 for an hour session. She had never even heard of PVC's so I think she thought I was nuts as well. I have come to the conclusion I am just going to have to find a way to deal with these god forsaken things. How I am not sure yet..........
Yeah no doubt you have PVC's having three little ones like that and being separated! I can't even imagine how hard that would be. I remember those days as well. My kids are older now. One is 11 and one is 16 so they are a little easier to deal with (sometimes).
How in the world did you get over your fear of these Finetillthree??? I am still waiting to get over mine. I saw a therapist last Friday thinking that would be my answer to my anxiety. Well I was a blubering fool in there and really I don't think accomplished anything other than paying $130.00 for an hour session. She had never even heard of PVC's so I think she thought I was nuts as well. I have come to the conclusion I am just going to have to find a way to deal with these god forsaken things. How I am not sure yet..........
Tony, you've heard this story before but I'll mention it here as well. Last winter (05-06) my heart decided to change overnight. Instead of my usual occasional premature beats of 1 or 2 a minute or even less it jumped up to 15-25 per minute for hours at a time. I was annoyed because I couldn't figure out what caused the change and lost a lot of sleep because they were hitting with more force than normal. After a couple weeks of this I checked in with my doctor. Wore an event monitor. Final word: just PAC's and PVC's. No problem. It took about 5 months but they gradually settled back into my usual routine. Annoying for sure but I'm still around. Then again, I don't have heart disease of any kind.
Carrie
Your concept of frequent palpitation is likely different that that of medical doctors. In some studies (e.g.,http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/348/9/781), medical researchers define frequent as 7 or more PVCs a minute. Even at that frequency, PVCs are harmless in a structurally normal heart.
If you have ten episodes a day of a few PVCs each occurance... that's nothing to be concerned about.
Tony
Your concept of frequent palpitation is likely different that that of medical doctors. In some studies (e.g.,http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/348/9/781), medical researchers define frequent as 7 or more PVCs a minute. Even at that frequency, PVCs are harmless in a structurally normal heart.
If you have ten episodes a day of a few PVCs each occurance... that's nothing to be concerned about.
Tony
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