v-tach

[Cindy]

What a wonderful forum!!!!

I am a 40 year old female with a history of PVC's, PAC's and short runs of non-sustained v-tach (which was documented on a holter monitor 8 years ago).  

I have since had every cardiac workup imaginable including an EP study which they could not make my heart go into any funky rhythm.

After my most recent visit to the EP doctor, he told me that since I have a normal heart that it is no big deal to have short runs of PVC's together and what was abnormal was my reaction to these.  (I have read enough things in medical books and looked at a lot of things on the internet to know that v-tach is a big deal though).  I am terrified!!!!!  He also stated that if they were to put holters on everyone out there that 10% of these people would return their monitors with short runs of v-tach, but most people would not even feel it????  I find that hard to believe.

1.  Is it possible that when the short run of v-tach was caught on my holter that it could have been something else (maybe atrial fib or something - since they have not caught anything else except a short run of 4 PVC's on a previous king of hearts monitor)?  How bad are runs of 4 PVC's????

2.  Is this true that short runs of PVC's are not dangerous in a normal heart?  

3.  I have suffered from anxiety for years because of this diagnose of v-tach and I am so scared everytime I feel my heart skip that it is going to stop.  What sort of med would your recommend for a person that is completely obsessed with these things now?  I have tried beta blockers but I do not do well on them.  Should I be on anxiety meds instead?  As I say, this is ALL I think about now (my heart).

5.  I have read that 300,000 Americans die each year from some form of irregular heart beat.  Do these people suffer from arrythmia or some form of heart disease?

I really appreciate your forum.  Any light you could shed on this issue for me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!!!!

[Carly]

I too have pvc's and they are really getting me down.  Of course some days are better than others.  I have been wearing an event monitor for 5 days and just sent it in today, so will see soon what they say. My drs. just say that they are benign PVC's and not to worry.  Yeah, that is hard.  Does anyone have pain with them.  I just get sore at the top of my shoulder by my neck.  It could also be stress, but would love a reply from somebody.  Thanks and lets all try to not worry.  The dr. said he might try medication too.  Anyone out there helped by it????  Let's all have a good day now.

[Bree]

To all of you with pvc problems I understand how it feels Very terrible. I have had 6 years of pacs and pvcs mostly pacs sometimes thousands a day. They are are the most miserable thing for me It sometimes almost seems impossible to do anything. I have also had short runs of v tach and a bout with atrial fib. which was no fun at all.I am only 29 and have to little children. They claim they dont see anything structuraly wrong with my heart but my holters have seen thousands. Truly scary when they go on for months without end. Im just wondering if anyone out there has had they beats to this degree. Feel like the only one .

[patrica]

Thank you so much for your reply.  You have no idea how much you have eased my mind.  I am really going to try to put these things behind me.  I suppose I just have to believe what the doctors say and not doubt them so much.

Thank you so much CCF.

[Ben]

I just went through my 4th ablation to try and get rid of of short runs of VT and PVC's.  It again failed.  I have idiopathic VT in the right outflow track of my heart.  They can't fix it because it is too close to the right bundle branch.  So now I need to accept this stuff.  I've had Non-sustained VT and PVC's for 3 years.  They tell me it won't kill me.  I sure hope not. I also have anxiety.  I've found that clonzepan is a good drug that doesn't effect the heart, but gives some releif.  It's easy to say not to worry to somebody else, but in reality, most of us should just quit worrying.  In most of our cases, time should have taught us by now, that this isn't going to kill us.  But I know all about worry.  I hope you can realize that this isn't going to kill you.

Ben \]
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[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

1. It could have been a short run of afib, but is much more likely to be what your doctor said - just PVCs. Asymptomatic short runs of PVCs in a structurally normal heart without coronary artery disease pose no real risk.
2. Yes, they will not damage your heart.
3. I would have recommended beta blockers. Anxiety medication may be appropriate, not for the PVCs but rather for your level of anxiety. I don't know you, but from your letter would tend to agree with your doctor. It is very abnormal to worry all the time about your heart - I would say this even for people who really do have serious heart disease. You are scared of dying from these PVCs, but keep in mind that you have had this condition for years  and even without treatment nothing bad has happened to you yet. Usually, a serious condition if left untreated leads to problems - this is not the case with you.
4. Most of these people die from arrhythmias due to severe, undiagnosed underlying coronary artery disease.

[Jason]

No, "I" don't have medical research, but even see the post above where it says "Yes the runs of VT could be life threatening if there was a major underlying condition." When I asked my cardiologist why I had VT after living a "clean" life (eating right, exercising, etc), he said that it could be a virus, but most likely was something else like MI, CAD, etc.

Thanks.