Aa
Palpitations
History: Fourty-five year old female with no health problem except PVC's/PAC's/nsvt.
1. Can you tell me what is considered "frequent" and what is considered "occassional" palpitations. I get probably between four and ten feelings of dropped or skipped beats a day. They freak me out to no end. I think it seems like a lot but I have read that "frequent" means more than 30 an hour? Could you please clarify for my peace of mind?
2. I have been for two EP studies because a holter caught a short non-sustained run on v-tach. I have been told not to worry because I have a normal heart? True? Would they have been able to make my heart to go into v-tach if it could in the EP study?
3. If it is true that "everyone" gets palpitations then how come when I ask my sister or my friends if they feel anything weird in their hearts like skipping or fluttering they always say no?
4. I am on 20 mg celexa because of my anxiety about my heart. I think about it 24/7. I avoid social situations because I am afraid of having a panic attack about these things. The celexa just does not seem to take my obsessing about these things away. What would you suggest a person do about my constant anxiety/obsession about my heart. I have been told by numerous doctors and cardiologists that I am not going to drop dead but I am so sure these things are going to kill me. I obsess after having a bad bought of them and just can't stop thinking about them.
"I don't know that I want therapy."
Why would you be reluctant about therapy? Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of using the right medications for anxiety, but people who have therapy along with meds often do better than people who use only one or the other.
" I mean you would think that after 20 years of having them I would get over it, but I don't.
That IS the point of therapy. The PVCs will probably recur throughout your life, and therapy helps you deal with them so that if they show up when you don't have your meds on hand, you will not freak so badly. The idea is to learn, deep inside yourself, that these odd beats are not going to kill you. Learning takes practice.
Don't let the notion get to you that having therapy means you're some kind of nuts. You just need help for a specific problem here.
Why would you be reluctant about therapy? Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of using the right medications for anxiety, but people who have therapy along with meds often do better than people who use only one or the other.
" I mean you would think that after 20 years of having them I would get over it, but I don't.
That IS the point of therapy. The PVCs will probably recur throughout your life, and therapy helps you deal with them so that if they show up when you don't have your meds on hand, you will not freak so badly. The idea is to learn, deep inside yourself, that these odd beats are not going to kill you. Learning takes practice.
Don't let the notion get to you that having therapy means you're some kind of nuts. You just need help for a specific problem here.
Carrie, truthfully, between 4 and 10 a day would be considered *rare*. Remember that anxiety fuels them also, the more you get anxious the more you will have! Perhaps try telling yourelf that you won't drop dead until God wants you to. I would caution you to not take any addictive drugs like Zanax for this either, but that is just my opinion!
Get outta here! Is it really considered "rare" to have four to ten a day? I feel like it is a lot. You know you read so much about "occasional" or "frequent" but it doesn't tell you how many that would mean. I guess I just look for a number (must be OCD or something)!
I can't believe it when I read this board and see that people have 40,000 of them. Do they actually feel the skips all day long? I would be a darn basket case if I had 40,000 of them. I have only had two today and feel strung out just thinking when the next one is coming. I don't know, maybe I will go the therapy route. I know that I will probably have them the rest of my life and have to find some way to deal with them. I envy people who have found out how to do it!
wow 40,000 a day? omg, i should stop complaining...wow. Do you feel them all? how do you cope with that ??? wow i think you are super strong.
Oh...this is definitely a battle...I have had several runs of them today and I am sitting here crying with two 3 year olds in the bathtub.....I have had these things for 14 years and it never gets easier to deal with them....I KNOW I need to seek out professional help (counselor) but I keep putting it off for some reason...I think I am scared that it won't help and then where do I go...I feel like such a freak because nobody understands...I mean, that is why I come to this forum and I am so grateful for it...but I am so upset right now because this scares me so much and I don't know how to get a handle on it. I just want to be happy and enjoy my family. I just don't know how to do that when I am woken up with them out of my sleep..and don't know why...usually I can pinpoint a trigger...that time of the month..had a couple of beers...caffeine..that type of thing...but when it happens and I feel like there is no reason...it sends me over the edge...Anyway..I'm sorry for venting so vigorously...I am just really upset right now because I started the day off with them and I have been panicky all day...and of course I wanted Carrie41 to know that she not alone in this....thanks for listening....
Just curious? Are you a nurse? Just wondered with the name.
Anyways about the 40,000 skips, I don't have that. I have just read that some people do. And you are right - I think they are super strong as well to be able to put up with that. I couldn't stand it.
Myself, I get around maybe 5 - 10 skips or weird sensations a day which is more than enough for me!
I am still convinced that I am going to die from that amount!
Anyways about the 40,000 skips, I don't have that. I have just read that some people do. And you are right - I think they are super strong as well to be able to put up with that. I couldn't stand it.
Myself, I get around maybe 5 - 10 skips or weird sensations a day which is more than enough for me!
I am still convinced that I am going to die from that amount!
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Forum
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
