Aa
arrhythmia
I am 55, I have multiple rhythm problems. paroxysmal atrial tach, pvc's, pacs, junctional and accelerated junctional rhythms, and once they caught wandering pace maker, also sinus arrhythmia and sinus tach. Trigeminy, bigeminy, couplets. (Sructurally normal heart.} I have had these every day for seven years to varying degree. Had a failed ablation attempt 7 years ago and had Dr. Natalie look at my records and said there isn't much they can do.Questions are:
1.Why do some irregular beats cause shortness of breath and a weak feeling and others I just feel the movemnet in my chest? Some single misbeats cause weakness where a run of pat will not.
2.I read that having more than 6 extra beats a minute you should call a doctor. Does that mean consistently more than 6 extra beats a minute because I have that happen often times but not all day long.
3.These have a big effect on my life, at times over whelming, affecting my sleep ( haven't slept through the night in 7 years) and really all aspects of my life and my family's as well, is there anything new on the horizion to help with rhythm probems with no known heart disease. I have tried most of the blockers and once in the hospital flecinide. Some made it much worse. (more arrhythmia)Atenol helps with the racing but not with all the extra beats.
4.What advice would you give to someone you are close to on living with this. As hard as I try when it gets bad it scares me. I still exercise daily and am thin and don't eat or drink any of the things that can cause problems.
1.Why do some irregular beats cause shortness of breath and a weak feeling and others I just feel the movemnet in my chest? Some single misbeats cause weakness where a run of pat will not.
2.I read that having more than 6 extra beats a minute you should call a doctor. Does that mean consistently more than 6 extra beats a minute because I have that happen often times but not all day long.
3.These have a big effect on my life, at times over whelming, affecting my sleep ( haven't slept through the night in 7 years) and really all aspects of my life and my family's as well, is there anything new on the horizion to help with rhythm probems with no known heart disease. I have tried most of the blockers and once in the hospital flecinide. Some made it much worse. (more arrhythmia)Atenol helps with the racing but not with all the extra beats.
4.What advice would you give to someone you are close to on living with this. As hard as I try when it gets bad it scares me. I still exercise daily and am thin and don't eat or drink any of the things that can cause problems.
Hi there everyone
I've just turned 50.
I had occasional pvcs and svt as a teenager but developed multi arrythmias, pvcs, pacs, svt, a-fib when I hit 42 and, very importantly, started going through peri-menopause/meonpause. Arrythmia, in some women, IS a major symptom of menopause, FACT.
During this horrendous period of time I felt weird/electric/out of balance/about to palpitate in my chest all the time, it was awful.
All non-invasive tests showed my heart to be OK but I knew something had to be wrong and so on my insistence I had an EP study where my cardiologist found scar tissue in my right atrium, my heart shot up to 220 beats per minute when they stimulated that area during the study. I did not have an ablation at the time of the EP study as the scar tissue was in a difficult place to get to and my cardiologist had not yet learned how to ablate in that area.
I went to see the leading UK cardiologist in ablation and was going to have the ablation but I found my arrythmia had sort of stopped and so I thought I would just hang on a bit and see what happened.
This is all five years ago. My arrythmia is still with me a bit, but nothing like it was, and I can only think the reason it has calmed down so much is thanks to my taking a rather whopping dose of HRT and taking a daily anti-depressant, namely paroxetine. I feel so much better .. and obviously I still have the scar tissue in my atrium. I can live with having something wrong with my heart, I just couldn't live with the palpitations.
I wasn't happy about taking an anti-depressant but I can honestly say I have had absolutely no side effects from taking it, all I know is, I feel better.
So for those of you out there going through the palpitation nightmare, whilst thinking twice about recommending anti depressants and HRT, I can only do so and say they have given me my life back. Before HRT and anti depressants I was forever in the doctor's surgery .. I think I've been twice in a year and not about my heart.
I know you fellas can't take HRT (that I know of, anyway,:-).. ) but you could try an anti depressant and see if it helps.
Best Wishes to all
Linda 123
I've just turned 50.
I had occasional pvcs and svt as a teenager but developed multi arrythmias, pvcs, pacs, svt, a-fib when I hit 42 and, very importantly, started going through peri-menopause/meonpause. Arrythmia, in some women, IS a major symptom of menopause, FACT.
During this horrendous period of time I felt weird/electric/out of balance/about to palpitate in my chest all the time, it was awful.
All non-invasive tests showed my heart to be OK but I knew something had to be wrong and so on my insistence I had an EP study where my cardiologist found scar tissue in my right atrium, my heart shot up to 220 beats per minute when they stimulated that area during the study. I did not have an ablation at the time of the EP study as the scar tissue was in a difficult place to get to and my cardiologist had not yet learned how to ablate in that area.
I went to see the leading UK cardiologist in ablation and was going to have the ablation but I found my arrythmia had sort of stopped and so I thought I would just hang on a bit and see what happened.
This is all five years ago. My arrythmia is still with me a bit, but nothing like it was, and I can only think the reason it has calmed down so much is thanks to my taking a rather whopping dose of HRT and taking a daily anti-depressant, namely paroxetine. I feel so much better .. and obviously I still have the scar tissue in my atrium. I can live with having something wrong with my heart, I just couldn't live with the palpitations.
I wasn't happy about taking an anti-depressant but I can honestly say I have had absolutely no side effects from taking it, all I know is, I feel better.
So for those of you out there going through the palpitation nightmare, whilst thinking twice about recommending anti depressants and HRT, I can only do so and say they have given me my life back. Before HRT and anti depressants I was forever in the doctor's surgery .. I think I've been twice in a year and not about my heart.
I know you fellas can't take HRT (that I know of, anyway,:-).. ) but you could try an anti depressant and see if it helps.
Best Wishes to all
Linda 123
About 1 1/2 years ago I developed AFIB. I went in for a cath and a week to the day later I developed AFIB. The Cath showed no blockage and I was sent home. I spent 10 days in the Harrisburg Hospital, seven playing with Meds until they cardioverted my heart.
They put me on 150 MG of toporal, which was later reduced to 100 MG of toporol. This seemed to keep it in rythm for about a year. The problem with Toprol was it made me tired all the time. When it went out Lewistown gave me low pressor (more toprol) and overnight I converted. My family doctor was in the ER and prescribed digoxin. My heart stayed in rythmn for about six weeks and went out again. Lewistown gave me low pressor and started cardizem 240 MG and over night I converted. The cardiologist kept me on digoxin
and cardizem. Seven weeks later my heart went out again. This time Lewistown did not administer low pressor and sent me home in AFIB. They said I would have to wait two to three weeks until the coumidin was regulated before cardioversion. I saw another doctor in harrisburg who put me on flecainide, a med which has been removed from the shelf in italy because of the high mortality rate.
He explained since my heart was basically good, (I have a slight thickening of the wall of the heart and a very slight regurgitation of one of the valves) other than that it is OK, he said it would be ok to take. I did get off the digoxin because I read a study done by a university that said it can make afib worse, and sugested anyone on it try to get off it. Yes Afib drives me nuts, you can not go anywhere, do anything for fear you may go into it. It rules your life. If that is not enough you are on all this medicine which I find hard to believe will not create bigger more untreatable problems 10-20 years down the road. Every doctor I ask about Hawthorne Has never heard of it nor are they interested in knowing about it, they flat out tell you that. Hawthorne is a natural herb, which is susposed to have properties that control arythmias. My afib only occurs when I awake in the AM, I am currently on a machine for sleep apnea, which can cause afib. I really believe in order to find a cure for afib you have to want to find a cure. In order to find a cure, not a treatment, a cure you need to find the source which is causing it. Something is causing the afib in the am if you find what is triggering it you can cure the problem. It is unbelievable to me that in this day and age of computers and sophisticated equipment one can not find the source. Until you have experienced afib you can say it is more of an inconvience than anything, but if you have had it you know better it ruins your quality of life, at least that is how I feel. I have thought about ablation but for every sucessful story there seems to be 10 non sucess stories. I don't mind rolling the dice but not with those kinds of odds. They say it is 85% effective but by comments on this website and others you have to wonder where they get their figures. Where are all of those sucess stories?
I am 40 years old and can not imagine living another 20 years with this symtom. By the way about 5 days after I started Flecainide I did convert. But I no longer get my hopes up.
So to answer your question Yes there are others who feel the way you do, and I would guess there are a lot of them. Hope you start to feel better.
They put me on 150 MG of toporal, which was later reduced to 100 MG of toporol. This seemed to keep it in rythm for about a year. The problem with Toprol was it made me tired all the time. When it went out Lewistown gave me low pressor (more toprol) and overnight I converted. My family doctor was in the ER and prescribed digoxin. My heart stayed in rythmn for about six weeks and went out again. Lewistown gave me low pressor and started cardizem 240 MG and over night I converted. The cardiologist kept me on digoxin
and cardizem. Seven weeks later my heart went out again. This time Lewistown did not administer low pressor and sent me home in AFIB. They said I would have to wait two to three weeks until the coumidin was regulated before cardioversion. I saw another doctor in harrisburg who put me on flecainide, a med which has been removed from the shelf in italy because of the high mortality rate.
He explained since my heart was basically good, (I have a slight thickening of the wall of the heart and a very slight regurgitation of one of the valves) other than that it is OK, he said it would be ok to take. I did get off the digoxin because I read a study done by a university that said it can make afib worse, and sugested anyone on it try to get off it. Yes Afib drives me nuts, you can not go anywhere, do anything for fear you may go into it. It rules your life. If that is not enough you are on all this medicine which I find hard to believe will not create bigger more untreatable problems 10-20 years down the road. Every doctor I ask about Hawthorne Has never heard of it nor are they interested in knowing about it, they flat out tell you that. Hawthorne is a natural herb, which is susposed to have properties that control arythmias. My afib only occurs when I awake in the AM, I am currently on a machine for sleep apnea, which can cause afib. I really believe in order to find a cure for afib you have to want to find a cure. In order to find a cure, not a treatment, a cure you need to find the source which is causing it. Something is causing the afib in the am if you find what is triggering it you can cure the problem. It is unbelievable to me that in this day and age of computers and sophisticated equipment one can not find the source. Until you have experienced afib you can say it is more of an inconvience than anything, but if you have had it you know better it ruins your quality of life, at least that is how I feel. I have thought about ablation but for every sucessful story there seems to be 10 non sucess stories. I don't mind rolling the dice but not with those kinds of odds. They say it is 85% effective but by comments on this website and others you have to wonder where they get their figures. Where are all of those sucess stories?
I am 40 years old and can not imagine living another 20 years with this symtom. By the way about 5 days after I started Flecainide I did convert. But I no longer get my hopes up.
So to answer your question Yes there are others who feel the way you do, and I would guess there are a lot of them. Hope you start to feel better.
I have had the myopathy since 3 years when they heard a murmur and referred me to cardiologist. I have had all sorts of tests including MRI, contrast Echo, ecg, echo, 1 day holter, 3 day holter and soon a 7 day and a cardiomemo. I have been diagnosed with PVC'S and runs of NSVT. hence the beta blocker. my cardiomyopathy is a rare one its a mixture of hypotrophic and dilated. the apex of my ventricle is hypotrophic where as the outer wall is dilated but only by a bit, I also have an anurysmic septum (division between the two sides of the heart) in this case the atria. in summary I have not experienced these palpitations until last year. I did have other symptons like performance in sport at school but thats normal. I can understand you completely they do wreck your life. I recently have learned that they are here to stay but yer at 23 I want to live my life and I have limits. but we will get through it.
I am 23 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and I get loads of pvc's pac's, NSVT (non sustained ventricular tachycardia) and it makes me panic. I was put on beta blockers and I took one and never took anymore because it made me feel ill, my heart rate slowed to 40 or so beats and I felt tired and confused and was getting chest pains from walking. I spoke to my GP who said not to take anymore till I see my cardiologist who specialises in my condition. I do intend to go to the GP and ask for an anxiolitic to help me with the anxiety because this is all new to me over the last year. one day I was fine and the next I was in A&E because my heart started racing.
I know how scary your heart doing all these weird things can be. I'm 24 yrs. old and have been bothered by PVCs, PACs,tach, and sinus arrythmia since I was about 15. These things can really wreck your life. I have days that I'm too afraid to leave the house because of my heart. I am coping and getting much better at accepting these things though.
How long have you had the myopathy? I wish you nothing, but the best, cozzy.
How long have you had the myopathy? I wish you nothing, but the best, cozzy.
The cardiologist has not given me a diagnosis per se, just that I probably have an electrical cell in my heart that is not cooperating. I also have extremely heavy monthly cycles that contribute to anemia. I am taking a beta blocker, an anti arrhythmia and an anxiety med as needed. I appreciate your note, and hope that you are finding some relief. Have you seen an electrophysiologist or cardiologist yet? I experienced these symptoms when I was your age too, and now they are worse, so please see a cardiologist and keep it in check. IT is so true, that IF and I say IF in a major way, you can get your mind off of the heartbeats and or minor aches in weird places, there are moments of peaceful feelings of normalcy and wham....for no set reason a flutter, skip or breathless feeling happens. Sometimes after I eat, my heart starts racing about 20 minutes later, then the skips make me panic....palms sweaty and all I can do is focus on my breath and try to relax. Sometimes it will pass fairly quickly and sometimes it is an hour or more that I am in a panic state with not just racing, but irregular beats....it is not something easy to deal with at all. I will be hoping to hear from you again, thinking positive is not always possible, I know, but we have to try and get through this.
Angie
Angie
Finally, I was brave enough to look on the computer for Arrhthymia again and found this forum. I am 45 and just spent 6 days in the hospital after an emergency room visit on Aug.4. Long story shortened(i hope), I have been diagnosed with PVC's and PAC's since my early 20's. I was also told I had Dysautonomia by a cardiologist, which is an imbalance of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. I've had multiple Echocardiograms, even one in the hospital. Anyway, the cardiologist also ordered an MRI of my heart to make sure I did not have something rare...some kind of Atria Dysplasia?? I was on a monitor for the whole time I was there. The MRI and Echo reports were good, but my NEW cardiologist has given me 3 meds, beta blocker, anti-arrhythmia, and diazipam. He also suggested a 24 hour iv drip of the anti arrhythima drug before I left the hospital since he said it would help me feel better quicker. He said this particular med is slow loading and I need to get my heart to behave asap. These meds are very scarey to me and I have not read ALL the side effects of the Pacerone because the few I read really made me scared, but as long as I am feeling better I will take it. I hope it will continue to make me feel better,not worse. IN the past, the beta blockers made it worse. I believe I have anxiety to the point of PTSD(post traumatic stress disorder) because the spells that I have had in the past have been terrifying and too frequent. Now even when I feel my heart still trying to beat irregularly, I feel sooooo uneasy and lethargic. I have never been one to take medications as I have always tried to control this by alternative practices. Acupuncture, Herbs, Minerals, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Reiki, Polarity Therapy etc... All to no lasting relief. This time, I went to the ER because I felt like I could no longer endure the fast irregular beat, with the panic it was bringing. It is so scary. I was breathless even when I was not on my feet. I've cried and cried recently because I have tried so hard for so long to treat this and it has only worsened. I hope the new medications will continue to help, but they only help symptoms and I pray for a cure. My Dr. said I was anaemic and my T3 thyroid hormone is extremely low, just prior to the ER visit and admit. I sure pray alot every day and try to remain calm....I haven't taken the diazapam in a few days as I am so concerned about what I am taking for the heart already. I just hope there's going to be many more posts that I can read to help me be reassured on a daily basis. If there's a link to the heart beats being so chaotic to my anaemia and low thyroid maybe I can be cured eventually. My brother is 38 and experiences the same symptoms from time to time and they are telling him just what they USED to tell me, they're benign. My 24 yo son even has symptoms sometimes when he is stressed or excited. Anxiety plays a big part I believe, but mine got way way too wacky. IF anyone is on meds and still feels uneasy sometimes, please tell me of your experience. I am eased by knowing I am not alone, but when it is happening, I feel so alone and afraid.
Bless us all for what we are enduring. I long to know why it happens. The arrhythmia feelings are so traumatic sometimes, and when it is happening, it is really hard to think of something else as a distraction. Any ideas? Where can I read about DR. Natalie? I read somewhere in a post he's great.
Bless us all for what we are enduring. I long to know why it happens. The arrhythmia feelings are so traumatic sometimes, and when it is happening, it is really hard to think of something else as a distraction. Any ideas? Where can I read about DR. Natalie? I read somewhere in a post he's great.
I forgot to post that in my EKG and monitoring, I did have non sustained SVT....and pretty often. That is such a bad feeling and I think that is why they put me on the meds rather than telling me it is benign again.
The Anxiety side is hard and difficult to overcome but as a doctor said to me once. This is happening to you now but u must decide do u want it to control your life because it will if u ponder on it. and true to his words I have found yer they are happening and they are evil and horrible but if u try to focus on something else then they subside although they dont go completely. there are specific beta blockers which block the effect of adrenaline on the heart but these come with side effects. although I have read in most cases they improve your quality of life. The force you feel is because of the pause has caused blood to collect in the ventricles so the following beat will have a higher contractile force. Therefore I dont think it could cause that much damage to the heart muscle. I find that coffee and tea and cola and certain foods also bring on these extra beats on esp pre packaged sandwiches probably due to the salt content. I am no doctor so dont take my word for it, just try experimenting with diet and other options. sometimes if I feel panicky I take herbal supplements e.g. valirium which help reduce my anxiety and inturn these extra beats.
I am 55 yr old with history of pvc's my entire adult life. My 30 yr old daughter has had pvc's and arrhythmias her whole adult life. Currently is hospitalized while they try flecinide to alleviate some of the pvc's (10 to 12 per minute). She had an ablation 4/2005, it seemed to work, but now has eveloped new symptoms.....and of course anxiety is a big issue....it is hard to focus when our heart feels out of control.
I also notice that when I rest my neck on my hand a certain way it causes pc's. Now I know why! Tickertock l have also read that Tambocoor should not be used if you have coronary artery disease.Does anyone else get weak from their arrhythmia? My father had afib which was constant and developed congestive heart failure and died so my concern is that I am on his path since his rhythm problems started out just like mine, even at the same age, but he also had lung disease which was a factor as well. I just wonder how much afib is genetic.
It is my understanding that persons with known coronary atery disease should not be on Tambocor, this is my understanding only, I'm not a doctor, follow your doctor's advice , if in doubt get a second opinion. Good luck.
I also notice that when I rest my neck on my hand a certain way it causes pc's. Now I know why! Tickertock l have also read that Tambocoor should not be used if you have coronary artery disease.Does anyone else get weak from their arrhythmia? My father had afib which was constant and developed congestive heart failure and died so my concern is that I am on his path since his rhythm problems started out just like mine, even at the same age, but he also had lung disease which was a factor as well. I just wonder how much afib is genetic.
I am a 23 y/o male with Hypotrophic Cardiomyopathy, and I find my Pvc' Pac's and NSVT's which are more than 3 pvc's in a row get worst when I get streesed and anxious about them. I have also been in emergency rooms frequently and have been told not to feel my pulse in my neck too often as there are receptors in your neck that control blood pressure. applying pressure here can reduce blood pressure and inturn cause pvc's. I find it does help to not feel your pulse when they begin to happen easier said than done but rather feel the pulse in your wrist. but rather take deep braths, or move from your enviroment prefebaly with people. I hope this helps
I want to thank everyone in this forum for putting my mind at ease. I am 51 years old, and I've never felt a PVC in my life. About 4 weeks ago, I went to bed and noticed that my heart was beating very forcefully. I was a little concerned, but not frightened. It went away in a few minutes. It happened again the next day. They kept happening infrequently until about 10 days ago. I was at work and noticed a lot of them very rapidly. I started to get very dizzy and disoriented. I checked my pulse and was startled to feel "missed" beats. It scared the heck out of me and I had my wife take me to the ER. They diagnosed PVC's, called my Cardiologist and she recommended that I be put on Atenolol. For the next two days, I only had a couple of PVC's that could be felt. Then, they started with fury. Last Tuesday, I was having 5-6 per minute for hours on end. On Wednesday, I was having 10-12 per minute. On Thursday I was up to 20 a minute, and they lasted all day. I went to the Cardiologist on Friday, and she took me off the Atenolol and put me on Tambacor. The PVC's are back to 5-6 per minute. The big problem I have is that I have existing heart disease and a horrible family history of heart attacks and sudden death. I have blockages in my Left Artery Decending, Left Circumflex, and right Coronary Artery. My little brother died at 39 from an infarction. I've also lost my Mom and all four grand parents to heart disease. In the next week or so, my doc will give me an Adensine stress test, echo test and anything else she can think of so that I don't have the "Big One".
But back to the forum. It's good to know that other people suffer through these infernal PVC's and are in relatively good health. So now I'm not so fearful that these things are going to kill me...
But back to the forum. It's good to know that other people suffer through these infernal PVC's and are in relatively good health. So now I'm not so fearful that these things are going to kill me...
thanks for all your comments. Also thanks to the doc.
These arrhythmias can be very frightening no matter how benign they say they are and no matter how long one has been suffereing from them. I for one, can not always just see them through without worrying that it is getting worse or that I am doomed for eternity to have them. Anything can change and I think we have to hold out hope that things will get better, that newer and hopefully less invasive treaments will be available at some time in the future.
I have a clinical book on heart disease (ie it is a cardiologists reference book)- [yes I have had cardiac neurosis!], I cannot quote it word for word for copyright reasons but the gist is (re pvcs and pacs) that if treatment of ectopic beats (originating from both chambers ie pvcs/pacs) is required it is of the underlying condition and this cannot be over-emphasised. If the extra beats are not due to disease they need no treatment. The patient should be strongly reassured as to their harmlessness, and at most a sedative/tranquiliser may be given in the short term to the most distressed patients, (it then talks briefly about what to do when drugs cause the extra beats,ie digitalis) and then goes on to say that extra beats in association with a heart attack should be noted and dealt with, particular indications to treat these extra beats are in the period after/during a heart attack and are 1) the frequency of the extra beats is increasing or is already more than five a munute, 2) salvos of 2 or more are appearing, 3) they are multifocal in origin, 4) they are early in the cycle with the R on T phenomenon.
I hope this clears up the confusion with the '6 a minute' fear of pvc/pac, to recap, docs only take note of 6 or more a minute during or after a heart attack- in a normal heart it is nothing to be concerned about. As an aside, my grandfather had a massive heart attack last year, and whilst hostpitalised and hooked up to the moniter I noticed lots of pvcs, doubles, 6 a minute etc- I called a doc and he said that all was well and there was nothing to worry about, and this was after an attack that destroyed a large part of the heart muscle (granddad is still currently fit and well) Hope this helps to reassure the 'worried well', (I have been there, got the T shirt ect, but finally (at last) believe the docs that I am OK!! despite my '6 a minute pvcs)
I hope this clears up the confusion with the '6 a minute' fear of pvc/pac, to recap, docs only take note of 6 or more a minute during or after a heart attack- in a normal heart it is nothing to be concerned about. As an aside, my grandfather had a massive heart attack last year, and whilst hostpitalised and hooked up to the moniter I noticed lots of pvcs, doubles, 6 a minute etc- I called a doc and he said that all was well and there was nothing to worry about, and this was after an attack that destroyed a large part of the heart muscle (granddad is still currently fit and well) Hope this helps to reassure the 'worried well', (I have been there, got the T shirt ect, but finally (at last) believe the docs that I am OK!! despite my '6 a minute pvcs)
The Dr here whatever they can't find the answer is ANXIETY! If you collaped at the road side, they don't know why? It is Anxiety too! Too heavy bleeding, vessal gets anxiety! Heart beating like mad, heart gets anxiety. SOB that must be lungs get anxiety!
Anyone with pvc's also have a problem with edema
(water retention)in the legs etc?
(water retention)in the legs etc?
http://cvcheart.org/Arrhythmia%20%20booklet.htm check this site out.
arrhythmia's are scary, evil things arent they? im sorry u dont feel 100%.. someone recently asked a similiar question about how many pvc's in a minute, or in a row (im sorry its not fresh in my mind) are considered really dangerous, and the docs reply to that was somewhere along the lines of, if ur heart is normal no pvc's no matter how many are gonna be dangerous. i hope he can give you the same reassurance! as for beta blockers not working for you, have you ever tried a calcium channel blocker? i have no idea if it would help you or not.. just a thought!.. good luck
I'm very sorry to hear of your arrhythmias. I really sympathize with you. I have PVCs on and off. During my bad periods, 6 in a minute is fairly good...I agree with Tickertock (hi Tickertock!!) that this may be out-dated, or maybe should be interpreted differently, the doctor will clarify. Many PVC sufferers on this board have had thousands of PVCs a day at some point in their lives, which usually means that in some parts of the day the extra beats are very frequent.
As far as coping is concerned, everybody says we should learn to ignore the weird beats. I've come a long way in overcoming the fear - though sometimes it still grabs me - but the problem that remains is quality of life. During the bad periods they can really make me feel awful, so tired and without the energy to do anything. My cardio recently put me on Inderal 20 mg, once or twice daily according to symptoms, and since then my heart is behaving much better. He said that if I feel worse again we might try an antiarrhythmic. I know these drugs have important side effects and I'll try to stay away from them as long as I can, however I don't think I could bear to be in constant bigeminy or trigeminy. I had bigeminy nonstop for 10 hours or more last February, I went to the ER and was monitored. All OK, but I was finally referred to a cardio who specializes in arrhythmias, who put me on the BB daily.
I think that if I were you I would discuss other antiarrhythmic drugs with your doctor. Maybe there is one that will work for you. Have they ruled out another abblation? I perfectly understand how you feel, though so far I've only had extra beats. I wish you all the best.
Fran - 35 female
As far as coping is concerned, everybody says we should learn to ignore the weird beats. I've come a long way in overcoming the fear - though sometimes it still grabs me - but the problem that remains is quality of life. During the bad periods they can really make me feel awful, so tired and without the energy to do anything. My cardio recently put me on Inderal 20 mg, once or twice daily according to symptoms, and since then my heart is behaving much better. He said that if I feel worse again we might try an antiarrhythmic. I know these drugs have important side effects and I'll try to stay away from them as long as I can, however I don't think I could bear to be in constant bigeminy or trigeminy. I had bigeminy nonstop for 10 hours or more last February, I went to the ER and was monitored. All OK, but I was finally referred to a cardio who specializes in arrhythmias, who put me on the BB daily.
I think that if I were you I would discuss other antiarrhythmic drugs with your doctor. Maybe there is one that will work for you. Have they ruled out another abblation? I perfectly understand how you feel, though so far I've only had extra beats. I wish you all the best.
Fran - 35 female
I'm really sorry to hear about your multiple arrhythmias, being a PVC, PAC, sinus tach and occasional PSVT sufferer myself I can understand how frustrating and distressing these heart irregularities can be. Luckily I have rarely have them anymore , mine is controlled with atenolol and cozaar.
I could be wrong but I think this 6 or more ectopic beats a minute and you should go to the ER is outdated and usually only applys to those that experience such an episode for the first time or those that have documented heart problems or their symptoms change with the ectopics, other than I Don't think this applys to most with ectopics or most would spend most of their time in the ER. I have up 12 a minute for hours to days on end went to ER, only to be told I was okay and sent right back home and that was many years ago. THis is my experience only and might not apply to everyone with PVCs or PACs, everyone should follow their own feelings and proceed accordingly. The toughest part is accepting for the most part that nothing much can be about these ectopic beats and that coping methods, also conquering the anxiety that comes with them and learning to live with them , along with reassurance from your doctor or doctors that you will be fine is probably the best therapy in the long run. Good luck and Hope you feel better soon.
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