PVCs during and post exercise

[Alfred]

Hi

I get regular bouts of chest pain and PVCs.  I have a had a full cardiac workup including a normal angiogram as well as gastro tests etc over the past 4 years.  I have a great GP (National Health in the UK) who is still trying to figure out why a fit 33 yr old male is suffering from these symptoms.  I am not anxious or depressed but the PVCs and chest pain do make me more anxious.

The questions I have are:

1)  I get PVCs regularly but not always post exercise (e.g after a 1 hour run)- the GP tells me to continue but I read on this site that post exercise pvcs can be dangerous.  In a otherwise structurally normal heart with normal angio - should I be concerned and look for yet further cardio tests?  My cardiologist said "whatever the pain is, it's not your heart".  So is this overkill?

2) In a regular pulse at the wrist and neck I still get flutterings by my heart - can the wrist pulse, neck pulse and heart be different or are they always in sync?

3) How does anxiety related chest pain present itself?  I am exploring this as an option even though I don't feel anxious or stressed.  I get pains with every heartbeat for about ten minutes at 3am.

4) Do you have any further advice about any further discussions/tests I can request from my doctor or do I accept this and get on with life.

Sorry for the ramble but any advice will help.

Regards

Alf

[valger]

Hi Beth and everyone, and thanks again for all the help!!  I took my blood tests today, so I'm anxious to see how those come out, and then go on to the next step.  I think I should probably have an echo, because the last one I had was years ago.  Then, beyond that, I think I'll have to start trying different types of things.  I've been going for walks each day, and it's weird, I feel good on my walks now, like the PVC's almost go away, maybe just one here or there (or maybe I'm just not feeling them), but they start in again about 10 minutes or so after I'm done.  The exercise seems to calm them down for a while.  But, I'm reading on here where post exercise PVC's can be dangerous, but it seems to me like it would be good if I'm not getting them during exercise.  Who knows.  I always worry cause of what happened to my Dad about cardiomyopathy, he passed away of that at 69 years old.  He was always in excellent health, too.  He was a runner.  So, I worry that PVC's could be a sign of heart failure.  But, then I come on here, and see how common they are, and maybe I should try to stop worrying about that, I'm sure it's anxiety about my Dad, especially since he was so healthy.  And, Beth, thanks for the kind words about my Dad, I'm sure that does add to the stress of this.  It seems like it gets worse with time, kind of like the numbness of it all wears off, and then it starts to sink in.  I have had palpitations for 10 years, though, so I think I'm definitely prone to them for whatever reason.  I keep thinking maybe it's menopause related, but I'm through all of that.  I am only 43, it's kind of early, but it is all done.  My doctor did say you could have symptoms for years, though.  It's werid, when I sit and type on here, I have really hard and frequent ones, it drives me crazy!  Thanks again for all of the help!!!!!!  Val

[jaz5802]

Welcome!

Glad to hear you got yourself checked out -- now it's just waiting for the results; try to keep an open mind.  As you have read, there are others out there with more severe issues and yet they still living life!  Most problems can be treated, so try not to worry, and that's even if there is a "problem."

In regards to your concern about exercise induced PVCs/PVCs after exercise I too have read of an increased risk HOWEVER I have also read a post in this forum from one of the doctors that this "at risk" statement means that there's a possiblity. If you take all the people who experience PVCs during exercise or after (and I am one of them) and do a study, the outcome would be that there is a possiblity of being at risk -- does not mean that will definately happen.  I wish I could quote the doc because he explained it so much better.

A suggestion as you await your results: maybe make a list of all your questions for when you speak with your doctor. When I first started having tests done I would often forget questions I had and/or not have a pen handy when the doctor answered them.  It was easier for me to write and review his responses later.  My mind tends to get overwhelmed with "did he mean this?"  If it's written, I can't run with it!

Let us know how everything turns out.  It is very comforting to know we all may be different but we are all similar in some way!

Beth

[deandm]

Hello...I can't begin to tell you all how glad I was to come across this site, I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that I know that there are others of you out there who suffer along with me by having pvc's...this is my second go round with pvc's, in fact I turned in the my event monitor today. I'm looking forward to meeting with my doctor next week to discuss the results of my blood work and the event monitor and what I can do about them....My father died at the age of 42 with heart related problems (don't know whether he to experienced pvc's but I do know that he had WPW Wolff-Parkinson White) which if not treated with the proper meds can cause ones heart rate to take off 200-300bps.....I have been checked for WPW and I do not have that however I do have pvc's and because of my fathers early death, any disruption to my heart rhythm concerns me a great deal. I'm 40 years old, a father of 3 and married to the most caring and patient woman in the world who tries very hard to comfort me during my episodes of pvc's that usually always cause me to become very quiet and withdrawn when having them.

Though I wouldn't wish pvc's on anyone and from what I read there are many of you who experience them far worse than do I, I am so relieved to be able to talk with others who can relate to them...if I had a dollar for every time I was told that pvc's are harmless, forget about them and get on with your life, I'd be a rich man!! Real easy for a doctor who does not have them to say...or that family member who thinks because the doctors said they are harmless, you're now a hippocondriac every time you have an episode.

I'm currently on the Atkin's Diet (need to loose 15lbs) and have wondered if maybe that has anything to do with increase in the pvc's all of a sudden??  As I said this is my second bout with pvc's (to me that's about a dozen or so /day), up until about a month ago they hadn't been a problem for about a year and a half. Now I occasionally have a few during the day with most of them coming in the evening especially after my evening walk of 2 1/2 miles....they don't seem to last long and then they'll go away for a while and then return around bedtime and become worse when I lay down. I guess that's because your at rest and they are much more disturbing when you are relaxed and the pvc's change your relax state to an anxious state just like that.

During exercise I seem to be fine...maybe cause the hearts beating so fast that they aren't as noticeable.... but I must admit that I am very concerned after reading about post exercise pvc's and the increased risk associated with them...I am seriously considering stopping my evening walks, though I guess only my doctor can advise on that.

This web page will become my most visited now that I know you all are out there!!

Sorry for rambling on....I have so many questions and finally others to talk with about them!!

Thanks so much!!

Dean

[jaz5802]

Sorry to hear about your dad.  It sounds like you're under quite a bit of stress these days, which of course, can contribute to the frequency, intensity and quantity of PVCs.  This may be difficult but try your best to relax.

I see a chiropractor but not for the reason of PVCs (it's for overall health).  I've heard others visit acupuncturists -- I haven't.  Whatever works for you is what you should do (or try).  Just remember: there's no miracle cure or we'd all be out there getting it!

The following may sound far fetched to you (I don't know your background) but it's something I learned in a 12-Step program.  It can be applied to anything in life:

Awareness
Acceptance
Action

We are aware of our PVC condition and have taken the necessary steps to learn more about them; we fully accept our condition of PVCs realizing they exist and are there; we take action to help ourselves whether to alleviate them medically (testing, medicines, supplements/vitamins) or spiritually (turning our condition over to "a higher authority" and keeping the faith) and even helping our bodies by exercise, meditation or other calming techniques.

It took me a long time to fully accept my PVCs. I had to accept that I didn't have 100% control over them. I fought it all the way -- my body can't possibly be doing this! But guess what?  It was.  So accept it and move on.  Easier said than done, but practice letting go and doing things in your life that you like to do.  Take your focus off of them -- get busy doing something else and they just might not have the impact they have on you now.

Hope this helps.  And thanks for the compliment.  Here to offer what I know to everyone; and I too receive it back.

Beth

[jaz5802]

I don't think there is any harm in calling your doctor for reassurance about your test results and your heart.  I once called my GP 3x in one day.  By the third call I could tell he was getting a bit irritated but what he said to me at that time eventually made sense: "You're doing it to yourself."  I had gotten myself so worked up about my irregular heartbeats that I was actually creating more irregular of them!  So, give the doc a call, believe what he has to say and then get on with your life.  Helps to make a list of questions before you call.  You can scribble the answers next to each question (good for future reference -- I save everything)! If what he says still doesn't sit right with you for some reason, there's always a second opinion available.

Beth

[valger]

Thanks again for all of the help, and Beth, thanks so much for the encouragement, I really don't know how I would have done it without you!!  This board is literally a life saver!!  I am so glad I finished the test, because when I first laid down to get the first pics, I was having so many PVC's, I really thought I wouldn't make it through the whole thing, and then wonder forever if it would have shown something.  But, I kept thinking "be brave" and just tried to calm myself down.  It's weird, it's not like I have less PVC's when I try to calm down, it's just that if I don't let them bother me, they seem less demanding or something.  I really could feel them hard when I was laying there, though.  Do you ever have some times in the day when you get them, like a couple or a few a minute?  I get like that sometimes.  I am staying here in Reno right now with my Mom, cause my Dad passed away, and tonight I had to drive my older daughter over to Carson City (about an hour drive) and I was so worried about the drive, and then I just did it.  Afterwards, I felt so good that I had done it, so it seems like if I really try to not limit myself, and just do anything with these, then it's like you win over them or something like that.  I know that sounds stupid, like what's the big deal with a one hour drive, but that's a big anxiety thing for me when I'm going through a time with alot of these PVC's.  So, now that I've had the nuclear test, and a holter, does that rule out any serious thing with my heart?  From here, do I just try different things like vitamins, and maybe go to some other type doctors, like acupuncture or something?  I was thinking that I still have some blood tests to take, and beyond that, I could go get my hormone levels checked or something, and then I heard something (maybe it was on this post) about chiropractors, and the connection between your nerves in the back, and your heart.  I was just wondering if there's any other test you think I should have.  I guess it wouldn't hurt to do another echo, the one I had was years ago, and I suppose things could change.  Well, thanks again so much for all the help, I wish I could do the same!  I am such a hypochondriac, I actually thought the call from the heart doctor saying my test was normal was a crank or something.  I sat there thinking, something is not right....anyway, thanks again!!  Val