Palpatations

[Joanie]

I am female and 44. I have been having palpatations for the past 7 years. I was placed on a Holter Monitor when they first began, My MD confirmed PVC's. They lasted about a year and went away. They were rare 2-3/day. In the past 8 months they have returned with a vengance. They last anywhere from 3-5 hours with as many as 10/minute. They seem to last for around 3 days and then taper off to a tolerable amount. I had an EKG which again confirmed PVC's. My MD told me they were normal in a healthly heart and to avoid any caffeine. She informed me to come back if they did not get better. I stopped all caffeine and sugar as well and this helped for about 4 months. I found this website just today and find comfort in reading all this information. My PVC's do not cause me any SOB or chest pain and usually occur when my heart is at a resting rate. Do you think I should see my MD again for an ECHO due to the frequency of the PVC's? How do you feel about hormones/menapause/pms and PVC's.
Thanks

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

It is unlikely that you are having any heart spasm.

PVCs do not damage the heart.

The variation with breathing is normal.

[brandi]

I have gotten pvcs that were back to back so it felt like my heart was having some kind of spasm. Can having many pvcs with only a few normal beats in between be harmful? I also get a weak beat at times and then when I am relaxed, my heart seems to pound and speed up. I also noticed that as I check my pulse sometimes, the beats will speed up when I inhale and slow down when I exhale. Is this normal? (Three questions and I appreciate your answers.)

[jennifer]

Joanie,

I am 19 years old and started experiencing PVCs about a month and a half ago.  I had about a week of very frequent PVCs and then they kind of tapered off.  The doctors in the emergency room seemed to think they were from medicine I was on for migranes.  I was told the EKG was normal and was immediately taken off the medication and told to eliminate caffine from my diet.  I have done both of these things, but the frequency of my PVCs are back.  The only relation I can find between these two episodes are my menstrual cycle.  I have a appointment with a cardiologist, but not until next month.  I am hoping to get some answers.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

As I indicated initially, there is a lot of internet-based non-scientific evidence of all sorts of connections between PVCs and hormones, chemicals, diet etc. Caffeine, in particular, definitely does aggravate PVCs in some people, and in a large enough quantity can provoke PVCs in many people. Unlike hormones, caffeine is not naturally found in our bodies. Thus, elimination of caffeine seems reasonable. If there were a hormonal connection, which there is no real evidence that there is, the treatment would be pharmacological manipulation of hormone levels. This would be a bad idea for a condition (PVCs) that is benign to begin with. Lack of hormonal/PVC research, despite what you imply, is not due to any sex bias in research or medicine. It is due to the fact that there is essentially no PVC research at all, because it has been shown that medicines that most effectively suppress PVCs can increase the risk of death.

[martie]

Saying that if hormones caused pvc's there would be an epidemic of them is like saying if caffeine or alcohol caused them there would be an epidemic of them. So many people drink coffee every day and don't have numerous pvc's. It seems to me that if a person is "prone" to pvc's, then hormones could effect the number of them. So many women have said that they get more pvc's during ovulation or a few days before their periods that it seems too much of a coincidence to not be the hormones. It is also known that women suffer from more "palpitations" during menapause. I have been having menapausal symptoms for the passed several weeks and my pvc's are terrible for the same several weeks. Boy, if I could just put a guy on this hormonal roalercoaster for a couple of months. Then maybe some research would take place. Just my opinion.

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

I think it would be worthwhile to see your doctor again for a general check-up. It is unlikely that your PVCs, though more frequent, represent heart disease now when they did not 7 years ago. However, your doctor can provide reassurance and medication, if needed to control your symptoms. A connection between PVCs and hormonal fluctuations is intriguing, though there is no good scientific evidence that such a connection exists. IF there was a strong connection, I would expect an epidemic of PVCs, which there is not (despite the impression that surfing the net might give you).