PVCs while on a Beta Blocker

[Paige00413]

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum, thank you for being here.  I have had PVCs for about a year now, but recently they seem to be getting worse.  I'm taking Coreg cr 80 mg once a day.  I had a stress test about 90 days ago which was a little ambiguous.  The pictures of my heart were very good, but the EKG showed some abnormalities.  The cardiologist I saw wasn't the most approachable guy I've ever met.  He said here are your options, you make the choice.  So, my choice was to try to treat with meds.  That is when I went on Coreg cr.  Shortly after going on Coreg I felt much better.  The ache in my chest subsided and the frequency of PVCs decreased.  However, slowly over the last three weeks the PVCs are increasing and the ache is returning.  I called the cardiologist's office yesterday and told them what I have just told you.  The nurse practitioner called me yesterday evening and said that the doctor has me on the best medicine he has to offer.  She said I should consider having a heart catheterization.

Call me a chicken, I don't care, but I don't think I'm in a hurry for this procedure.  Isn't there other meds that can control PVCs so I won't have to undergo such a drastic procedure?  Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Paige

[EFT56]

well it was lisa .. my bad --- eyes are going bad on me.. lol . sorry folks.. big typo..
anyways I ment well... lol ..

[EFT56]

I understand well - iv taken toprol xl for a few years ,and hated it !! the stuff never worked
right with me and caused about 68 side effects to happen , most being adverse !  
it sounds somewhat like they were kind of guessing when giving you toprol  a beta blocker medication.  you also could have had a allergic reaction to the medication -
I wonder myself sometimes, just how smart some of these so called Doctors really are ?
they might have givin you a too high a dose of toprol beta blocker medication.  it is used
for h.b.p and also slows the heart rate down - however on me it took 200mg to slow me down - anything below that ,didnt work at all.  

I hope you can find some peace and confort soon and find a good DOctor you trust
and who  has the know how to treat you right ,without guessing or messing about

yes Aug most doctors take vacations then !!   I never trust the stand in doctors they use as most are young interns or RN's  that know beans about me or my condition.
so I dont see them.  

dont blame you for being scared and hope you can hang in there.. and will feel better
and calmer.   lets hope and pray - you get the right Doctor and care soon !!

Ed

[Mom2four85]

Believe me, you're not alone - I'm chicken as well and am scared to death to have ablation but I'm more afraid of leaving my heart the way it is and going into pvc induced cardiomyopathy.

I had a 2nd opinion for my peace of mind.  I felt extremely comfortable with this clinic because it is in a large local university.  I decided after 2 1/2 hours of being there that this was the dr to do my ablation.  She told me a BB would help and I may not even need surgery (opposed to my first opinion that I needed surgery ASAP)

She prescribed 25mg Toprol.  30-45 min after taking my first dose; my BP "tanked", I started getting sick, dizzy, heartrate went up; my PVC's went through the roof - if that's even possible with me - I have 54,000 extra beats every day - I felt like my head was weighted by bricks and had to lay down, I was so out of breath, my throat was sore for 7 or 8 hours.

They took me to the ER and got me through in 3 min with triage due to my symptoms & ekg.  Gave me something through iv - but my BP stayed at 70/40 until I went home.  I had tons of tests that thankfully came back normal except the EKG/monitor they kept on.  They said it was due to the beta blocker and told me not to take it again until I saw my cardiologist, but they don't know what happened with my bp - they aren't sure it's due to the BB,  think I have something else going on and the BB made it worse.

I am scared to death now to have the ablation done with my bp staying low even after the BB has washed out of my system.  My original EP is going out of the country for 2 weeks, so I can't have surgery until he gets back into town and there's no way I'm going with the 2nd EP now.

I questioned why they gave me meds when they haven't even done surgery to know what's causing this problem, and was told they won't know until surgery but BB's are supposed to clear up the majority of pvc's.

[EFT56]

p.s  your not a chicken ....  and your not alone !

[EFT56]

Interesting reading you posted - well yes there are other medications to try, but only with your doctors help . alot of beta blockers will cause chest pains ,even though they tell you -it will stop the angina.  as well most beta blockers will stop palpations .  but
some of us have to take a rather large dose to stop the palps.  ok - cal channel blockers also work in stopping chest pains and palpations.  - but they have a few nasty side effects that can happen , like swollen ankles  bloating belly conditions-  cramping
and headaches.  in some cases a dieuretic is taken to stop the bloating and swelling.
but then you have to deal with side effects from the dieuretic med.  

I had found that a lot of cardiologests iv seen over the years,  (not all mind you)
do what is called a routine check up - treadmill -ekg -maybe blood work - and look you over ,never ask any import questions at all.  and hand you a buch of pills to take.
or like you , put you on a beta blocker ..

if your cardiologest seems rude or full of himself.  would try to find another maybe go to heart clinic -  and ask to talk to cardiologest first.. so he listens to you and understands whats going on .. that way you would get a 2nd opin on the results.

when haveing a operation of any type its always good to get a 2nd opinion . then go from there.  

hope that shed some light on the subject.   take care and good luck  Ed