Sorry, PVC question...

[MLM]

Hi,

I am a 38 year old female, with frequent, symptomatic PVC's.  I have in the past few months lost 30 pounds and started exercising at least 30 minutes every day.  Here is the thing, the better shape I get in, the  more frequent my PVC's are getting.  They almost always happen at rest, but sometimes during exercise as well, this especially scares me.  I do get weakness with them at times.  I am sure I have had runs of them as well.

I have had in the past year, a 24 hr holter, EKG's and an echo.  All were normal.  My EF was 65% (is that high?)  

My questions are, should I be exercising this much?  Are my PVC's getting worse because my resting heart rate is getting lower (I am in much better shape now, no longer over-weight at all)?  My BP and cholesterol are also normal, I do not smoke or drink.  I am starting to fear working out, I don't want to stop.  I know you must get tired of PVC questions!!  Thank you so much for taking mine!!

Michelle

[Runman]

I am a long-time sufferer of "extra beats."  They often do not appear for weeks at a time, then reappear suddenly....I'm 59 and have had them for most of my life...I have never reached the point where I can mentally ignore them...wish I could..was interested in those with extra beats following exercise...although I get them often at rest...they do seem to appear with a vengance a day or so after extensive exercise...I'm a runner - 30-40 miles a week and run numerous marathons, 10k's, etc....have had every test known to man and cardio folks say i'm fine...don't worry about it....they did however indicate I may be more prone to them because of my slow resting heart rate - about 44 bpm...due to all the running...so kind of a double edged sword...great shape, great heart rate, extensive extra beats...seems odd to me...have tried the bananas, water, gatorade,...about everything...take very little caffine (glass of tea once in awhile), one glass of wine on occasion...but otherwise, nothing that normally causes this....still ruins my day though....thanks for all the posts...they help...any suggestions from those in the same situation?  thanks

[whelans5]

You are the first person I have ever heard mention the heartbeat that feels like sipping soda through a straw when it is at the top of the soda.  

I get that too and have always wondered what is going on.  I wondered if it had to do with the fact I have regurgitation.  I thought maybe I could feel the blood seeping back into the heart.

Has a doctor ever told you what he/she thought it might be?

Connie

[Emmaj]

Also, if you have lost weight by changing what you eat... maybe that could cause a problem? Some people, myself included, notice pvcs more after eating spicy food. I ate at an Indian restaurant recently, and if my heart didn't let me know it!!! Also, don't hate me everbody, but to be honest, although I have had as many as 3000 pvcs recorded in 24 hours, they don't really scare me or even upset me ... I can ignore tham for the most part... I don't know why. I x-country ski, rollerblade, work-out at a gym, walk, hike... I've had pvcs for at least 25 years and they haven't stopped me yet... so, I'm on the side of seeing your doc on occasion and having FUN the rest of the time!

[dquenzer]

There may be another reason your PVC's are increasing.  It could be that you are not replenishing your potassium and other electrolytes.  If you are dieting and running at the same time you need to increase electrolyte intake because you are sweating more.  May not be getting enough minerals.

I suggest eating at least a bannana a day after your exercise.  I know it's high in calories, but it's also high in potassium.  My cardio said it would be the best thing I could do.

Might be interesting to try.

[VikingColumbus]

Greetings Michelle,

    I too experience increased numbers of PVCs and PACs
when weight loss is accomplished through diet and exercise.

    I've wondered also in the past, going on almost 35 years
of 'living' with them, why this inverse phenomenon occurs. At times they've been quite maddening.  

    I've surmised, that what the Cardios sometimes refer to
as the heart optimally remodeling itself via its implied innate/genetic 'programming' responses to body physiology stimuli, that a cluster(s) of trigger-happy-heart-cells may be susceptible to becoming more electrified/charged up, not less so, when a heart benefits from prolonged 'rest periods' due to less work effort, as in when such benefit accrues from exercise/diet. In that context, the THHCs, while 'idling' for a recurrent electrical circuit green light which times their inherent contributory synchronous role as part of the overall heart muscle complex's rhythmic process, get jumpy and run the red lights from time to time. What sets these jumpy cells apart from those cells
which wait for each synchronous green light is the $ 64K  question. Perhaps nano-technology will someday venture into the cytoplasmic realm of heart cells to "fix 'em up". Till then we've
only: 1) medications which may throttle some of the THHCs some
of the time or all of the THHCs some of the time but not all of the THHCs all of the time or 2) invasive attempts to nuke THHCs en masse or 3) connecting a gizmo to the heart or 4) a recycled heart.

    Only a blend of suppositions - in a nutshell :)

Best to you,

VC

[Jeff67]

I am similar to you with symptoms.  I am 37 and I have had them now for 20 years.  Let me comment on your exercize/PVC link. I to have noticed this link.  There are two factors that lead to an increase in PVCs with exercize.  The first is that it lowers your heart rate at rest and therefore provides more opportunity for these ectopic beats to occur. The second is that exercize produces a whole heap of hormones that tend to sensitize the heart and thereby increase the probability of ectopic beats. It is common for people to get ectopics straight after excercize when these hormones have presumably peaked.  I have noticed an interested phenomena with my own ectopics.  I do not get too many ectopics straight after strenuous exercise, but I do get them exactly 2 days later.  It is strange.  I will be fine for the 2 days after the exercize and then like clock work when I hit the 2 day mark I suddenly get an increase in ectopics for a day and then I return to the status quo.  I have mentioned this to a cardiologist in the past and he said it is not possible for there to be a link and that the exercize would only affect you like that in the hours after it.  I disagree with that and have 20 years to prove it.

[SlingXShot]

Here is the story. Originally I was diagnosed with Long QT when I was like 10, from then on I drank Atenolol usually 50mg a day. In Spring 2004, my doctor asked to stop drinking atenelol, since Long QT was not detected was several years. I stoped, after 2 months, I suddently started having fast/hard heart beat and lots of palpitations. I started taking atenolol again, everything became worse. Like 20 pulpantations a day. I went to the doctor, EKG, they couldn't find anything. Over the summer I figured out how to lower my heart beats and palptations. -- I noticed that I have faster heart beats and more pulpantations when I drink something caffeine or sugar or eat sugar related or fatty foods. Over the months, pulpantations reduced a lot, heart beat slowed down and was not so hard anymore. Then in Sept i went to another doctor, he took my EKG, nothing, he told lets put a monitor, I got the monitor from a company, where they come and put this PDA monitor, and it automatically detects irregular heart beats or I can report them my self. After 2 weeks, after I had all these weird palpitations, and even when I reported manually (it used sattelite to report), the doctor said, there was nothing.

Right now I only have palpitations when I eat something sweet or caffeine. (Thought Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free causes problems, even Caffeine Free coffee causes problems) If I avoid those things and eat healthy foods like vegetables and fruits, meat I seem not to have problems.

Additional Info:
I haven't 100% confirmed from what this happens but usually this is what happens:
Caffeine: Slower, not hard beat, palpintations, rought sounding beat, not clear, like when u sip soda with a straw but the straw is on top of the water, doctors could not detect it, even when I had it.

Sweets/not natural: Faster heart beats, still lower than 100, but very hard, and sometimes palpintations.

Blood pressure: I measured my blood pressure when I have these harder beats, its normal. Usually around 120/and less than 70.


I am 22/m, no allergies.

[Gaspipe]

Hi I think if a question is important to you you'd need not apologize. All of us who have visited this site could probably almost recite word for word what the Doc's answer is going to be. But one of these days maybe, just maybe, the Doc will answer with news of a breakthrough or new treamment to the dreaded PVC demons. Good luck as always Gaspipe

[Jeff67]

If you want a doctor to answer your question you need to post it in the proper way.

[Momto3]

Just thought it worthy of mention - When I asked my physician if my pvcs were anxiety-driven, she said, "No." She explained that when they are more likely to be attributed to anxiety, they kind of come on gradually and then dissipate.  Alghough I am sure that anxiety wreacks havoc on the parasympathetic nervous system, I think it is important for people to know that many times ectopcs can not be associated with a "nervous patient," "an anxiety ridden mom," "a stressful job," etc.  I find ectopics to be much like hiccups, pretty much beyond our control.  Imagine having the hicupps for days, weeks on end - UGH!!  That would drive anybody nuts.  Have a great day everyone!

[dreamboat]

You are so right about people not understanding about pvc's.I hear why do you worry so much. I wouldn't let it bother me. I always say you wouldn't feel that way if it were you.  I have had them for years and they still scare me. I guess I always have a scarey feeling that maybe the next one will be the one that will get me!I w0ould say lol but somehow it just isn't that funny!
Dreama

[MightyLovelyMan]

I agree.  When I have PVCs/PACs/EIEIOs and all these otherwise ectopic beats they scare the fire out of me.  I almost always get a little quezy and sick at my stomach after a short burst of them.  They come and go so fast it just amazes me.  But one thing is for sure, people who haven't experienced them can not sympathize very well.   Blessings,
MLM

[tickertock]

I think this is a great question. No matter how many PVC questions are posted, I think patients and doctors alike are getting a much better understanding of these troublesome benign ectopics.

In my opinion I think the doctors are learning a lot more about PVCs, their impact on lifestyle, and also their established benign prognosis. I think the biggest baffle is still why some patients are so symptomatic and others aren't.

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hi Michelle,

PVCs and arrhythmias make up a large part of what we do -- it is certainly no trouble.

An EF of 65% is stone cold normal.  It is difficult to say why your PVCs are increasing in frequency, but do you best not to focus on them.  There is good evidence that PVCs in the setting of a structurally normal heart, normal EKG and normal holter, you should not be concerned about PVCs.  I would continue exercising and see your doctor as needed.

Good luck and stay fit!