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Palpitations
I suffer sensely with my obsessing about my palpitations. My question is:
1. If you were to take 100 people off the street and put holter monitors on them how many of them would have PVC's and PAC's? Why do I feel every little thing my heart does and others can't feel a darn thing?
2. I had a holter last week and I got no palpitations but I did get palpitations three days later. I think the doctors think I am nuts worring about these things because they didn't see anything on the holter. I haven't been back to the doctor for my results but I am sure it will show nothing.
3. Doc says that if I had a serious arrythmia that is would not be coming and going as mine does. She says a serious arrythmia is there all the time?
3. I have been for two EP studies (one in 1996 and one in 2000) because they caught something on the Holter (hospital said it was v-tach and the EP doc says it was probably just salvos). Would they have seen anything while they were doing the EP study if there was something wrong??
4. I think about my heart 24/7 and feel sort of high anxiety state waiting for the next palpitation to hit. It is all I think about. It is a vicious cycle, I get a palpitation and get really stressed and get really stressed thinking I am going to get another one. Doc says I have anticipatory anxiety.
I know the doctor is sick of seeing me about the same thing. What should a person do?? She already told me there is nothing wrong with my heart and every get palpitations but I can't accept that answer especially after getting the v-tach results years ago (1996).
1. If you were to take 100 people off the street and put holter monitors on them how many of them would have PVC's and PAC's? Why do I feel every little thing my heart does and others can't feel a darn thing?
2. I had a holter last week and I got no palpitations but I did get palpitations three days later. I think the doctors think I am nuts worring about these things because they didn't see anything on the holter. I haven't been back to the doctor for my results but I am sure it will show nothing.
3. Doc says that if I had a serious arrythmia that is would not be coming and going as mine does. She says a serious arrythmia is there all the time?
3. I have been for two EP studies (one in 1996 and one in 2000) because they caught something on the Holter (hospital said it was v-tach and the EP doc says it was probably just salvos). Would they have seen anything while they were doing the EP study if there was something wrong??
4. I think about my heart 24/7 and feel sort of high anxiety state waiting for the next palpitation to hit. It is all I think about. It is a vicious cycle, I get a palpitation and get really stressed and get really stressed thinking I am going to get another one. Doc says I have anticipatory anxiety.
I know the doctor is sick of seeing me about the same thing. What should a person do?? She already told me there is nothing wrong with my heart and every get palpitations but I can't accept that answer especially after getting the v-tach results years ago (1996).
I just wanted to tell you that I have been suffering from PVC's since I was 17 years old. I am now 42. I have lived so many years with this "vicious cycle" that you describe. I also went to the doctor constantly and had numerous EKG's and echo tests. It was very hard for me to accept their reassurance because I felt these darn PVC's constantly and I also felt every single one. Sometimes I would get like 8 to 10 per minutes for hours. Especially when trying to fall asleep. I started having anxiety attacks because of the palpitations and really stopped living my life. However, one day about 6 years ago I decided that enough was enough and I started really LISTENING to the doctors and just not worry about them. I mean when I would get a bad run of them, instead of stopping in my tracks and putting my finger to my pulse to see how often they were coming, I would just keep on doing whatever it was that I was doing. If it happened at night, I would get out of bed, run a nice warm bath and sit there and read a book or just practice some deep breathing exercises. SOmetimes it helped and sometime not, but the main thing is that I was losing my fear of them, slowly but surely. Once you lose that fear and just start accepting them and living your life, no matter how bad they get, you will start to relax and that vicious cycle we lose its grip on you. Still to this day I get the occasional skipped beat and heart fluttering and yes sometimes I pause for a second and get a little scared, but I have learned to not pause for to long and to just keep doing whatever it was I was doing. If im in my car and I feel a few palpitations I turn up the radio and start to sing along to a song..lol..seriously it does help. YOU MUST stop worrying and start living. Doctors have reassured you. Go with this reassurance and start gaining back your life. Take care and God Bless..
Hi Carrie,
I am sorry to hear this is effecting your life so much.
1. If you were to take 100 people off the street and put holter monitors on them how many of them would have PVC's and PAC's? Why do I feel every little thing my heart does and others can't feel a darn thing?
Just about everyone would have PVC,PACs, or both. We do not know why some people feel them and other do not.
2. I had a holter last week and I got no palpitations but I did get palpitations three days later. I think the doctors think I am nuts worring about these things because they didn't see anything on the holter. I haven't been back to the doctor for my results but I am sure it will show nothing.
I assume you have previous holters showing PVC/PACs. If you are having the same sensation and they haven't changed, I am not sure that it matters if the capture one now on holter.
3. Doc says that if I had a serious arrythmia that is would not be coming and going as mine does. She says a serious arrythmia is there all the time?
This isn't always true. It is always important to try and capture on holter or event monitor symptomatic events to diagnose the arrhythmia.
4. I have been for two EP studies (one in 1996 and one in 2000) because they caught something on the Holter (hospital said it was v-tach and the EP doc says it was probably just salvos). Would they have seen anything while they were doing the EP study if there was something wrong??
The most important thing is that you have a structurally normal heart, normal EKG, and no family history of sudden cardiac death. It is unlikely for you to have anything dangerous if these are all normal. EP studies are very useful for narrow complex tachycardias, not as much for PVCs or assessing the risk of sudden death. There are much better predictors for the risk of sudden death, EP studies only add incremental information.
5. I think about my heart 24/7 and feel sort of high anxiety state waiting for the next palpitation to hit. It is all I think about. It is a vicious cycle, I get a palpitation and get really stressed and get really stressed thinking I am going to get another one. Doc says I have anticipatory anxiety.
This sounds like the anxiety disorder and not your heart is the primary problem. Have you tried any medications for anxiety?
I know the doctor is sick of seeing me about the same thing. What should a person do?? She already told me there is nothing wrong with my heart and every get palpitations but I can't accept that answer especially after getting the v-tach results years ago (1996).
I would prescribe a beta blocker to try and decrease the sensation of pvc's. I also think an SSRI or other anxiety medication might be helpful. Consider seeing an anxiety specialist. They will probably more informed current treatment options for anxiety disorders.
I hope this helps and hope you feel better soon.
I am sorry to hear this is effecting your life so much.
1. If you were to take 100 people off the street and put holter monitors on them how many of them would have PVC's and PAC's? Why do I feel every little thing my heart does and others can't feel a darn thing?
Just about everyone would have PVC,PACs, or both. We do not know why some people feel them and other do not.
2. I had a holter last week and I got no palpitations but I did get palpitations three days later. I think the doctors think I am nuts worring about these things because they didn't see anything on the holter. I haven't been back to the doctor for my results but I am sure it will show nothing.
I assume you have previous holters showing PVC/PACs. If you are having the same sensation and they haven't changed, I am not sure that it matters if the capture one now on holter.
3. Doc says that if I had a serious arrythmia that is would not be coming and going as mine does. She says a serious arrythmia is there all the time?
This isn't always true. It is always important to try and capture on holter or event monitor symptomatic events to diagnose the arrhythmia.
4. I have been for two EP studies (one in 1996 and one in 2000) because they caught something on the Holter (hospital said it was v-tach and the EP doc says it was probably just salvos). Would they have seen anything while they were doing the EP study if there was something wrong??
The most important thing is that you have a structurally normal heart, normal EKG, and no family history of sudden cardiac death. It is unlikely for you to have anything dangerous if these are all normal. EP studies are very useful for narrow complex tachycardias, not as much for PVCs or assessing the risk of sudden death. There are much better predictors for the risk of sudden death, EP studies only add incremental information.
5. I think about my heart 24/7 and feel sort of high anxiety state waiting for the next palpitation to hit. It is all I think about. It is a vicious cycle, I get a palpitation and get really stressed and get really stressed thinking I am going to get another one. Doc says I have anticipatory anxiety.
This sounds like the anxiety disorder and not your heart is the primary problem. Have you tried any medications for anxiety?
I know the doctor is sick of seeing me about the same thing. What should a person do?? She already told me there is nothing wrong with my heart and every get palpitations but I can't accept that answer especially after getting the v-tach results years ago (1996).
I would prescribe a beta blocker to try and decrease the sensation of pvc's. I also think an SSRI or other anxiety medication might be helpful. Consider seeing an anxiety specialist. They will probably more informed current treatment options for anxiety disorders.
I hope this helps and hope you feel better soon.
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