PVC's and PAC's

[stardust1961]

How many skips and flutters are a normal amount in a normal heart?   I have been thru every test imaginable and they cannot find anything wrong with my heart.  They have seen PVC's and PAC's on my previous holters and say I am just ultra sensitive to them.  I usually get around 20 times a day where I feel my heart flutter or skip and then do a huge thump.  Sometimes it will happen every couple of beats for a minute or so and then go back to normal.  Does this sound normal?  I ask all sorts of people if they feel their heart skip and they don't so I don't know why I feel everything.  It is very unnerving.

[ireneo]

Having a couple a minute is "normal" for me. I've had arrhythmias for as long as I can remember so I'm quite used to them. It's no different than a hiccup. I feel many of them but not all. If I'm active, I may not feel them. Some hit really hard like a thump with a fairly long pause (2 seconds) and I get a bit of pressure in my throat. But it goes away quickly.

Yes, I've been to cardiologists, had 3 ablations to manage my tachycardia problems. The PVC's and PAC's are not so important. They just happen and I know my heart will keep beating. What really feels icky is when my heart slows way down, like half speed. Haven't figured that one out yet because I hate going to the doctor. When it slows down I feel very light headed. But my motto is if I don't pass out then I'm doing fine.  LOL

[achillea]

Some years ago, the famous Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov danced a routine choreographed just to his own heartbeat.  Towards the end of this article

http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/01/entertainment/ca-14173

he notes that he and many other dancers have arrhythmias, and it's necessary to take the skips into account when you're trying to dance in time to your heartbeat.

[MichelleP_3811]

I have actually heard that it becomes worrisome only after having 20% or 20,000 a day though any number in my opinion can be distracting.  I don't know that I buy the theory that everyone has them everyday though I am sure everyone gets them at some point in their life so personally I would not say you are normal in that respect but your heart is healthy and working well despite what is going on and will continue to do so.  The bottom line being they are only a danger if your heart is not in good health which it sounds like it is.  So now it is just a matter of trying to figure out what triggers them and work to eliminate those triggers from your life.  Stress is a big one and digestive issues, especially acid reflux, can bring them on.  So try to track when you get them if there is some pattern unfortunately though for some they do have to simply learn to live with them.  Eventually most will stop noticing them.   Search the forum for pvcs, pacs and ectopics and I am sure a lot of posts will come up and you will see you are not alone.  Take care and keep us posted on how you are.

[stardust1961]

You have a couple of extra beats every minute or so???  OMG!!!!!!  Do you feel every one of them?  Does it feel like a skip and then a hard thump?  I couldn't deal with having them every minute of the day.  They feel so horrible.  I would imagine you have been to a cardiologist?  What does he say about it?

[ireneo]

I think there's a certain percentage of total heart beats in a day to consider. I may be wrong but I think if 10% of your heart beats in a day are ectopics, then it's considered too many.If your heart rate is 70, you would have 100,800 beats a day. Too many PVC's/PAC's would be over 10,000. Imagine having 7 PVC's a minute every minute of the day. Ick! But I'm not sure I have the percentage right.

My own experience is generally I have a couple a minute and do fine. The other day I was having 8-10 a minute and felt tired but I was fine the next day. And I've been having arrhythmias for as long as I can remember, at least 50+ years. I guess it's not killing me.  Thank goodness.