Sudden PVC's

[alchemist2008]

I am a 37 y.o. healthy adult male.  I have had 1 - 2 PVCs per _year_ (that I was able to feel at least) for as long as I can remember.  Two weeks ago, this rapidly intensified to ~ 10-30 per _hour_ on bad days, although there have also been days with only 1 or 2 total.  Last night, the PVCs woke me up for the first time ever.  I have been to a cardiologist and had a stress test, all perfectly normal.  I have an echocardiogram scheduled for two days from now.  No changes in diet or exercise routines.

Question (1):  Why the very sudden change in frequency?  I am having a run of 3-4 right now, ugh.

(2) What can I do to make this stop?  Not being able to sleep will not cut it.

Thanks,
JC.

[jc404]

Hi,
I just wanted to say that what you said should not scare anyone.  I have so many PVC's a day that I can't count them.  I am now getting this really weird feeling in my chest like my heart is swelling up and shaking.  Some times I think I'm going to die any moment.  We all have a problem and different doctors are going to tell us different things.  No disrepect to Barberella but it sounds as though stress could be playing a big part in her palipitations since she got so upset over your email.

jc404

[Allen262]

Ha ha ha.... 0-30 PVC's per hour could be serious ... oh then I've been the walking dead for at least a year. To the original poster... I'm in the same boat as you, only had a few at rest but recently have seen a huge increase. I've got an appt. to check it out. But I haven't let them stop me, just got done moving twenty four 40lbs bags of wood pellets from my shed to my house, had at least 10 PVCs a minute (600 per hour) - no problems, no symptoms other than the annoying skips.

Thanks Barbarella for setting the mis-informers straight.

-Allen
http://nevermissabeat.blogspot.com

[Barbarella]

I did NOT freak out because I know better but others might who read what you posted that 10-30 PVC's per hour could be serious.

I always say "to get it checked out by a Cardiologist" but I would NEVER come on a messag board and tell people who are already very afraid of these PVC's this nonsense that 10-30 per hour could be serious even if that was the truth, its up to their doctors to tell them how serious NOT these PVC's are.

FYI, not only the Cardiologist told me that PVC's in a HEALTHY heart are a nuisance but numerous doctors, but I pay attention what a Cardiologist tells me since he is the Specialist in that field.

[Corky99]

Apparently you didn't read my other post and perhaps originally I misspoke in my choice of words. What I meant was - maybe rather than totally disregarding the PVC's JC should lay off smoking, caffeine, Coca-Cola etc. I would bet that 99.9% of the time the PVC's will almost totally go away.

HOWEVER, JC was already concerned or he/she wouldn't have written asking for advice.

You saw a couple things I wrote and freaked out without taking the whole thing into consideration especially regarding my second post to Momto3.

If you would have read that you would have noticed that I said JC did exactly the right thing in going to the cardiologist and having the usual tests.

The number of PVC's that are considered to need a second look vary all around the country and region. Depends on where you went to school and did your residency.

If I cut out all the nuisance reasons for PVC's and still had them to the point they were noticeable to me I would go a get them checked out, that's all. PVC's are one of the most benign irregularities you can have.

FINALLY, I happened to read JC's post and spent some 20 minutes offering up my opinion which is what was asked in this open forum. BUT, Barbarella, you're not going to get to know "who I worked for"' (making the assumption that I worked for someone else) but I will say that, up until 2 yeasr ago, I was involved with this for over 20 years, 7 days a week. You said in you post you'd "seen" a Cardiologist - good for you. I've been in consult with more Cardiologists then I could even list.

I'm sorry I didn't examine microscopically every word I wrote (this was my first time) and you know what? Thanks? But I really don't need your aggravation.

Geno

PS: Connie: Thanks for your lesson on couplets and salvos etc. Like I said, it mst be a regional thing because in 20 years I never heard some refer to NSVT. Anyway, thanks.

[Barbarella]

STOP SCARING people with "10-30" PVC an hour are "pretty serious".  And what do you mean by "Our cut off is 10"  What the hell is that suppose to mean??.  "Our" who do you work for who told you that????

This nonsense is going around medical boards for yrs.  It scared the hell out of me yrs back.  A very well known Cardiologist in our city who works in the top 10 Cardiac/Lung hospital and who I had an appointment with told me MORE THAN 10 PVC'S an hour WILL NOT KILL PEOPLE AND I SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM THE INTERNET BECAUSE ALL THE INTERNET DOES IT IS SCARING PEOPLE.  I would have died 45 yrs ago because off and on I have way more than 10 PVC's per hour for weeks and months to no end,  I would welcome at times only 30.   But it doesn't scare me anymore because I TRUST this Cardiologist, I TRUST that with all the yrs in medical school that he KNOWS what he is talking about and I don't have to listen to people like you who come on here scaring people.

I stayed off this board for awhile but I am back to tell people like you to STOP SCARING PEOPLE.  Let a Cardiologist give them a throughly exam and let HIM/HER tell the patient about his/her PVC's.  If there is heart disease then the PVC's could be of concern, if there is no heart disease then they are a very uncomfortable "nuisense" .

But telling people that more than 10 PVC's are "serious" so people who have more than 10 PVC's sit there counting their PVC's and if more than 10 will freak out is uncalled for.

[Momto3]

Hi Geno,

NSVT is non-sustained ventricular tachycardia.  It generally refers to runs that last under 30 seconds, most being a few seconds.  A couplet is 2 pvcs in a row (no normal beats in between), a triplet is 3 beats in a row.  Some doctors/patients refer to 3 or more as a run, or NSVT.  The term salvo is also used.

Thanks for the clarification : )

connie

[Corky99]

You are probably 99% right. I didn't explain very well. Those are just cases that might indicate a further "look" (and JC did that by getting the stress EKG and I'm sure he had a 12 lead right off).  But also it depends whether there are runs of PVC's and how frequently, a little concern about whether the PVC's a unifocal or multifocal etc. I don't know if JC has ever had these "PVC's" captured on a 12-lead or even a 3-lead for that matter.

Of course, a few PVC's all the time aren't anything (I mentioned stress, caffeine, smoking)
at all - kind of a minor irritation caused by a minor irritation.

Also, of course, it asn't surprising at all that JC's 12 lead was perfectly normal and the stress was normal and I'll bet the echo doesn't show a thing.

Now I have a question for you. It may be a regional thing but I'm familiar with NSR, VT, VF, SVT/PSVT (another regional one) etc., etc.- but I'm not familiar with NSVT you mentioned. I'm assuming it means Normal Sinus Ventricular Tach...??? Is that right?

Geno

[Momto3]

I was wondering where you heard that 10 to 30 PVCs/hour was pretty serious.  There was a time when I was getting approx. 1000 PVC's per hour, and it was not "serious." Where is the "cut-off" number for PVC's 10/hour?  That seems like a pretty low number of ectopics to be considered serious.  Or, is that just the cases that are referred for further evaluation?

I've always been told that in someone with a structurally normal heart, even NSVT isn't serious.  Have you been told otherwise?

connie

[Corky99]

Hi JC,

Of course no one can diagnose you through the internet based upon just your symptoms without more tests.

What about a Holter Monitor? You would wear it for 24 hours and its would capture all your heart rhythms.

I might say though, that if you are having 10 to 30 PVCs/hour, that's pretty serious. Our cut-off number for PVC's was 10/hour. And it also, simply, it depends on a couple of other issues. If you have PVC's all in a row ("run") - like 5 in a row, that's not gso good. Also it depends upon whether the same part of the heart is initiating the irregular beats. Are they coming from the same place in the heart or are they coming from different locations.

ALSO, some of the things that cause PVC's are (1) smoking, (2) caffeine and (3) stress.

Seriously, if you don't have a serious heart trouble, which I certainly can't tell you at this time - STOP SMOKING AND CUT OUT AS MUCH CAFFEINE AS POSSIBLE! Really, you will notice a difference in probably a little over 24 hours.

I had troublesome PVC's (I had stopped smoking some years before) - so I cut out the caffeine (Coffee, Coke etc) and basically, they all went away.

I don't know if that will work totally in your situation but it will at least help.

Geno
(here's my email if you want it)
***@****

[Momto3]

Hi JC,

Not sure if you've looked around the forums, but if you search around the Heart Rhythm (see vienna13's link above), you'll find lots of folks with the same questions.  For whatever reason, the PVC's come and go, sometimes for months or years at a time.  I've read several times that PVC's are so common in the general population that if a sample group were tested, many of their EKG's would show PVC's.  It's just that some people don't feel them.  For those of us who feel them, that really baffles us : )

Have you ever worn a holter or event monitor?  Those are really helpful in that you wear them and can record what's going on when you feel the weird beats.  I see that your scheduled for an echo, that's great.  Your doctor will be able to assess your heart's overall function and pumping efficiency.  Hopefully, the test results will be glowing and will provide the reassurance you need to move forward.

I'm not sure that there is anything you can do to make the PVC's stop. Sometimes, doctors will prescribe beta blockers, generally the first line of medications used, for symptomatic relief.  Some people find that the reassurance is enough, but others are more comfortable with taking the medications.  Sometimes, neither works well and the patient may be given another type of medication or decide to try and go it alone.

The most important thing to know is that in a structurally normal heart, the PVC's will not hurt you.

Good luck with the test.  Let us know how you make out.

connie

[vienna13]

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/show/92