Irregular beats

[Abeybaby]

Thanks for taking my question: I went in to the ER last week due to PVC's that have been with me for about 40 days now- I get a few hundred per day. I typically get them once every 3-4 months lasting a few days and then dissappear for another 3-6 months.  All echo's, holters, stress tests- normal. I am 40, male, non smoker, non drinker, perfect weight. Why all of a sudden do we see a change in them ie: lasting longer than typical? I have been under stress lately ie: move, career etc ... My cardiologist says that they could go on for months or dissappear tommorow for months again.  

Question: 2- I am not a diabetic but I do notice that when my blood sugar is low I start getting PVC's almost instantly. Is this some coerrelation between PVC's and low blood sugar? Note: mom is type 2 diabetic

Finally, I noticed on the blood results my cholesteral readings have come down:

Total Chol- 214 down to 155
LDL - 118 down to 80
HDL - 43 same no change
Trig - 26 up to 99
Blood sugar- 90 this after having eaten 3 hrs before blood was taken when at emerg.

Why the sudden increase in trig? It almost seems that i reduced my LDL by more than 35% but the trig went up by almost the same percentage? STrange.


Thanks for taking the questions?

[carpe diem]

Been with these buggers for 16 yrs now.  Have pinned them down to:
Caffeine   10%
alcohol    30%
ANXIETY    60%

I can almost set my watch by it...if I have an anxious moment coming up, or happening, I will get PAC's / palps after about 3-4 hours later!

With age these are increasing in frequency and it is now a race against time between my MD catching them in mid stream and me completing my career as an airline pilot. If/when he finds them...professionally I'm finished if he insists on medication.

Lately, the beats have become: "irregularly irregular"  they are almost erratic in disorder and the heart appears to be doing its own thing.  I do feel very despairing when they occur and resort to excessive bouts of exercise to try to force the heart to adopt a strong steady beat!!!!

So for 16 yrs I have avoided any form of medication, but do often wonder whether I should throw the towel in, declare them to my MD and get on with medicinally managing this annoying very depressing malady.

Final Q to any MD reading this: will they get worse with age?  Does hardening of the arteries make them more prevalent?

Many thanks....and God bless this forum.

[madgeOwens]

p.s.
Do not drink pepsi with caffeine or anything with caffeine, because they do bring the palps and ovc's on for sure! :)

[madgeOwens]

Yes I also get that lump in my throat feeling.  One of the most difficult things is for a person to have to try and describe these sensations I think.   You need to talk to your physician whenever you have unexplained symptoms.  You are the one who has to put up with feeling this way so it is only you who can make them listen to you! Insist on further testing if you are concerned. Believe me I know how you feel. There are alot of people in here that know.  I am so symptomatic that I am scared to death that they will tell me oh dont worry its not going to hurt you.  My quality of life is very low so I am trying to be hopeful that they can help me. I have yet to get my hotler monitor results.  I wish you luck.  It really is miserable when you have these pvc's and get no help.

[upbeat63]

I too have felt the gurgling feeling with some palpitations, and the sensation of a lump in my throat. I don't know what it is or why it is different than the other pvcs, but I think it's still just pvcs. I think that gurgling sensation might be small muscle twitches in your chest wall?

I've never been to the ER, but I take great comfort in knowing it's there if I need it. I think it's your own decision and your's only. Please go if you feel you need to, that's why it's there.

I understand how pvcs and the different sensations they bring can get you feeling really scared, I've been there. I've had PVCs for 22 years but when they increased this spring I thought the world (my world) was coming to an end. Still all the tests came back "normal". The diagnosis was, is, and I hope, will always be "benign PVCs". I think my anxiety and panic attacks are far more uncomfortable than the PVCs, but combined they really suck. When I'm in the middle of a full blown panic attack it's hard to tell whether it's anxiety or PVCs causing my symptoms, and since I get about 20 PVCs a minute it's pretty near impossible to tell the difference. But I have to remember I don't feel symptoms every minute of the day, but I'm still getting the PVCs every minute. I hope this helps. I hope you get some answers and some help with your symptoms and I hope you have many anxiety and PVCs free days.

[axg9504]

Ok it's not exactly gurgling, I said that because I do feel it in my throat too. It's definitely heart related because I feel the mild thump and my pulse skips a beat at the same time. BTW I am under the care of a couple of EP's and cardios for exercise induced problems for several years now. This PVC thing is fairly recent and its not really a problem. I suppose some of you must be having very pronounced symptoms. I can tell you that exercise helps. Yesterday for about 3 consecutive days I had these 'things' on and off all day. Last night I went to the gym after a 3 day break and thereafter didn't skip a beat till now 12 hours later when I am beginning to feel a few. I skipped drinking my diet Pepsi this morning,so that has nothing to do with it. I also think that sleep deprivation can bring them on.

[madgeOwens]

Thats just great.  If you don't push the holter button for every pvc they tell you you have pvc's without symptoms??? The tech told me not to push the button for every event...that it would make it to difficult for them to read it.  ugh.I ran out of room on the card to fill out. And at the bottom I said I had to many to report each of them. Hopefully they will give me something, because my symptoms are getting worse revery day. It is scaring my grand kids and that I will not have. I will be a squeaky wheel big time!

[kathyscared]

Hi:
I have been having these stupid PVC's since 1991, and they used to come and go, sometimes they were bad enough to give me full blown panic, send me to the ER or to my bed for days, sometime they would not happen for months!  Then, this Fbruary, they atrted happening every days, in groups (Which was new) and scared me half to death!  SO, back to the ER (% times this year, 2 admissions, EKG's, Thalium Stress test, Blood work, x-rays, event monitor, the whole shebang.  And the diagnosis was... the same as everyone else here.  Just Benign PVC's that have changed their Motis operandi, but still not harmful.  SO, besides taking the Klonopin for anxiety that I have been on for 7 years, I just started taking Lexapro, and have been on Toprol XL for a few months.  I still get them, but only a couple  minutes a day, instead of ALL day.  Still, I have decided, at 51 years old, that this is NEVER gonna end, and I am NEVER onna get used to them.  They say I have no heart problem, yet my heart is not beating peoperly, and I am too well aware of it to ignore it.  I have chest pain and dizzyness occasionally, and I'm also supposed to ignore that!  I have been told by my internist and my Psychiatrist NOT to go to th ER no matter what O feel, which is nuts!  But I have decided that I will just eventually drop dead of a heart attack because they think that because you jave anxiety, that you can't possibly EVER develope a real problem.  That's just dumb.  It's things like that (Saying NEVER go to the ER0 that make me not trust the Drs.  If so many of us have this "Syndrome shouldn't they have a name for it and a standard way of treating it?  

Kathy Scared to death and always will be

[axg9504]

Now that I seem to be having these skipped beats or PVC/PAC's more regularly I am paying more attention to these posts. I feel it in my throat too, like a burp clearing and a slight thump in my chest. If I'm preoccupied with something I won't notice it. I notice it more at night when I lie down to sleep. If I monitor my pulse, I see that it skips a beat when I hear the gurgling in my chest. Can someone confirm that this is a PVC? What's the difference between having PVC's and bradycardia. I recently had a low heart rate (around 40 bpm) for an extended period of time, confirmed by a Holter to be sinus rythm, but the feeling I had in my chest was the same as this PVC, except continuously. The cardio said I was feeling the beat because the rate was low. He said I should be thinking about a pacemaker. However I have not had that extended low bpm since (it was brought on by exercise, so without exercise no problems). Does a pacemaker help with PVC'S?

[madgeOwens]

Bradycardia is a slow pulse.  PVC is a preventricular contraction.  I don't know what you mean by this gurgling in your chest, but perhaps you have a digestive disorder causing some of this.  Good luck finding the answers.

[gregd1964]

Skipped beats are the worst feeling.. I've had them now for 4 plus years and they came upon me all of a sudden, Doctor said it was because I got very Ill from food poisoning and thought I was going to die, which I had to agree with him I did. I was out of work for 2 months.. anyways, the illness caused anxiety
which cause the Palps and now my body is programmed to notice skipped beats/palps .. according to him. I must admit ignoring them has lessoned them considerably and I know its hard to do but Im down to only noticing a couple a weeks sometimes it gets to the point where I can't remember the last one I had. At my peak of worry/anxiety I had alot, they made me dizzy,shaky,light headed
and feel flush.. like the end was coming but slowly by ignoring them I have gotten much better. But everybody who gets them should get checked out .. I did everything but a cath everything was fine.. according to the docs..

[upbeat63]

Your new symptoms are worth getting checked out with a cardiologist. I really hope he/she will be able to help. I do remember that when I started constant bigeminy (and a few runs of non-sustained VT)that I had the most symptoms of SOB and lightheadedness. But for me it was probably still anxiety.

It does seem maddening that the very best doctors can not provide any answers as to why the PVCs/PACs start, change in frequency or stop. Why some people feel them, and others don't. Why some people get symptoms from them, and others don't. I guess this is why, we who suffer from them, continue to question whether or not they are benign. But I see nothing to suggest otherwise.

I have to remember it's been 22 years of PVCs for me, and I'm still here. And I don't expect to leave this beautiful world for a very long time, god willing.

Let us know how your appointment goes. Hoping the very best for you.

[madgeOwens]

I had another ekg today....the doctor said I was having pvc every 2 beats...I am not to drive now......I see cardiologist on Monday.......I have terrible chest pain...I really cannot see how anyone can put up with the way I have been feeling........its a very poor quality of life

[megz21]

Hey everyone,

I have been getting these pesky PVCs/PACs for around a year now. Even though people continually worry about how these ectopics will affect our hearts, and I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, it is sooo important to remember that they are not going to harm us.

In this forum people continually suggest not to drink caffeine, alcohol, get enough sleep and things like that, but nothing about the psychological side of the PVC occurance. Those PVCs are there for a reason, I truely believe that. It's like your body telling you to slow down, sit back and just take a look at things. There must be something going on to induce the anxiety and hence palpitations. Dont runaway from them. Tackle them head on, start a heart diary, see how they differ from day to day to day, write down your feelings when you get them and try to find a pattern.

I can not tell you the importance of breathing correctly. Every moring and night before I go to bed and before I wake up I spend a good 10-15 mins breathing and relaxing.

If anyone finds them completely debiliatating it is really worth seeing a pyschologist/counsellor. There's no point trying to bottle all that anxiety in and trying to distract yourself away from them. Talk about them freely and try and understand where the're coming from.

We can get through this guys! I wish you all good health and happiness, and I thankyou so much for this forum; it really does help.

[madgeOwens]

Thank you very much.  I don't know what I will do if they say its nothing to worry about and good day.   I am to the point I cannot function without being afraid I am going to pass out. Its not that I can feel the heart beats missing , and the palpitations I have had for most of my adult life, I am use to that.  But this squeezing chest pain and light headedness is frustrating me terrible.  Im not suppose to drive! Well hello..how do you do that?  Thanks for trying to help. I suppose if its like everything else I have ever had, they will not be able to help me.

[upbeat63]

Hello Madge,
Hang in there. I hope your cardiologist will be able to give you more answers, and if you truly are having "benign" PVCs, some reassurance that you will BE OK.

I have a 22 year history of PVCs, and this year the frequency increased to 24,000+/day. I was having SOB, feeling lightheaded, infrequent and very mild chest discomfort, and was extremely fatigued. I did a 48 hr holter and recorded my symptoms in a diary. The cardiologist report came back and said, "periods of PVCs while patient recorded symptoms and periods of PVCs with no symptoms reported, suggest no correlation". Guess it was my other condition--high anxiety, sometimes panic attacks. The anxiety led me to strongly request an echo, and this came back normal.

I agree with and repeat all the advice given before me, remove as many triggers as possible and PRACTICE (because it does take practice) focusing on the times when you don't notice the PVCs so that you may remember life is enjoyable. I increased to constant bigeminy for days on end and while it was the most dreadful thing I've experienced to date, I also remember planting a garden and flowers and putting in a stone patio and going out for dinner and watching movies (and talking to a lot of other very nice people on this forum who got me through it). Hope your news on Monday is good.

[tickertock]

Some persons with PVCs are very symptomatic , lightheadeness, dizzy, skipping and thumping in the chest, even with pain , while others are completely asymptomatic, they experince no symptoms whatsoever  even though they might be having more PVCs than the symptomatic sufferer, as I understand it and I am not a medical doctor just a fellow sufferer, whether symptomatic or not with a normal cardiac evaluation the prognosis unchanged, it is a benign but very distracting life altering condition for some. The key is to try and learn coping methods, the main one though hard to accept is that this condition will not harm you physically no matter how awful you might feel, build your confidence and take one step at time from there, til then hang tight.Good luck.

[HR2]

Just a comment to those with PVCs.  I have had them since 2001, attributed to low blood Potassium, although no-one could tell me why it is low. I was put on ever increasing doses of Slow-K, which did cure the PVCs quickly. I also find that other sources of Potassium work too. (eg No-Salt).  I also have GERD, and was taking Rolaids. After checking into it I found Rolaids have a fair amount of Magnesium in them, and Magnesium supresses Potassium  in the blood.  I changed from Rolaids to Tums (Which do not have Magnesium), and have been able to stop most of the Potassium suplements.
On a different matter, I have taken beta-blockers for mild hypertension, for years, but have recently wondered if they encourage the GERD symptoms. The beta-blocker damps the sympathetic nervous system, which also controls the stomach muscles, so I do wonder about it.

[ngkk]

I hate to post under another persons question - but I have many questions that seem very closely related to the above question.  I have a history of SVT where my HR goes up to about 165-170.  I'm now 33 wks pregnant and have noticed an odd sensation with my heart - it feels like it's either skipping or flip - flopping - it only happens about every couple days and only lasts seconds but it does scare the HECK out of me!!  Well, yesterday it happened but I got extremely dizzy and/or lightheaded - I'm not sure!  Is what I'm expierencing PVC's or PAc's?  Is this something normal that could happen throughout the pregnancy?  I appreciate any help any could offer and thank you for letting me ask my question!

[madgeOwens]

ARe you experiencing chest pain, sob and light headedness? I have pvc every two heart beats, and I am having al these symptoms....its terrible and no way to ,ive

[tickertock]

PVCs are a menace to the mind, they make you feel like you are on your last, like many here I have suffered with them off and on for years though I have always had them, no prolonged attacks til about 27 though, now just a few weeks shy 41, they tend to flare up  in thousands daily from weeks to months, then disappear for years without any much rhyme or reason, its been a few years now without a prolonged attack, medications are atenolol 100mg daily, losartan 50mg twice daily( mainly for the control of mild HBP, now very controlled)Aspirin 325mg and diazepam 2mg twice daily for a CTD that I have.

I hope everyone that feels these PVCs and PACs get some relief, though they really bother me when I have them , I try my best not to let them control my every move and cripple me with fear, though I admit it is battle. I come to accept the fact they are not life threatening or alot of us would be long gone, it just too bad that we fall into super aware of them category.Good luck and many many PVC FREE years to all.

[dafan]

Ive always had a lot of stress also... very nervous type individual... I dont know if that might predispose someone to them or not but this has been the rollercoaster ride of my life with the worry... good days bad days etc. There for a while I was very badly mentally affected because I feel every single one of them that occurs. Ive had times when i thought they were really getting better just to have them come back on with a vengeance. I did have borderline hbp for maybe 5 or 6 yrs so perhaps that created an environment for them to occur. The cardio kind of blew them off so to speak, said dont worry about them that my heart was totally healthy. I know this they feel anything but ... healthy... and that is what bothers me about them.. thanks for letting me vent...Wish you the best with yours.

[pbanders]

A year ago at this time, I was having upwards of 10,000 PVC's daily. Today, I have virtually zero. Why? Beats me, I am on the exact same diet, meds, and exercise regime today as I was then.  I expect that sometime in the future, I'll have more episodes of PVC's. Until the docs come up with some new way to treat them, in general, you just have to learn to live with them. My current diet is low-fat/high fiber, daily meds are 75 mg Metoprolol/150 mg Avapro/81 mg Asprin/Multivitamin/Fish Oil, and I average about 5-7 hours weekly of high intensity aerobic exercise (road cycling).

[Abeybaby]

tks for the post. I started getting them around 31 regularily and now at 40 they seem to have gotten worse. I would go for a yr with no pvc's now its almost a daily occurrence with at least min 60 day to max 2000 a day skipped beats. No rhime or reason why other than stress, anxiety etc ... not really sure anymore but very bothersome.

[dafan]

After a lot of trial and error observation I have come to somewhat of a same conclusion. If im experiencing pvc's during the day a lot of times if i drink a soda or eat they do seem to abate somewhat... Lately ive had a lot less of them for some reason after having many during the summer. Ive been on toprol xl for them since january. Dont know if that is helping or what but just thought id share my experience. ps... all testing was normal. oh and im 51 yr old with onset of them at 49