Chances of it turning into something more?

[dolphin8808]

So my EP tells me the chances of my PVCs (which on the average I have probably 25 a day I feel) turning into anything more are very very very low (I specifically asked if it could turn into VT).  

But that is my biggest concern. I am wondering what the chances are that it will.  I keep reading where people get them worse as time goes on, I never seem to read where they have just "gone away."  So if they continue to get worse with time, wouldn't then there be a good chance of them turning into something more serious like VT?  

Also, if you start with PVCs/PACs, are you more likely to develop other types of arrhythmia as time goes on (not only VT but NSVT, A-Fib etc). Or do you think your chances of getting those are the same as any other person in our general population?

Just curious what you all have read and/or experienced.  Thank you!

[bbxx]

vt is 3 or more pvcs in a row...

[dolphin8808]

Silly question but I thought VT was basically PVCs on steroids so to say. That it is just consecutive PVCs in a row. So I have unifocal PVCs, if they got crazy and kept coming, all in a row, that would then be VT. Isnt' that correct.

I really am not dwelling on this, I am just curious about it is all :) Thank you!

[DeltaDawn23]

I think Merileegal has it right -- we need to live our lives, and not focus on what might happen.  Do what you can to take care of yourself and let it go.  Another way to think about it:  If you're going to imagine an outcome -- and that is what you're doing -- you may as well imagine a good one.  It makes no difference in the actual outcome, but should help your mood and state of mind.  There is freedom in putting this in the professional's hands and moving forward with your life.  I do relate -- sometimes it is extremely hard not to be afraid, but I constantly strive for a "normal" life.  Good luck to you.

[bbxx]

goodness....dont say that!

[justanumber]

i really do not believe in the age analogy. i am just 30 yrs. old and my heart health is really deteriorating by the weeks it seems. i have high blood pressure,i have atrial fibrillation and just recently when i got my last 2 ekg's done..one had a QTC of 603 and the other showed an incomplete LBBB. i don't think that i will be living that much longer. if you can,take care of the small problems like pvc's cause age does not matter.

[saimon282]

Hi everyone i have a lots of PVC or extra heart beats, and i asked my cardiologist last week if they can damage my heart and she said no, but it is hard to believe, because you can feel the pause and she keeps saying that my heat will not stop, im always fear that is gonna kill me some day and  very unhappy, because of this issue

[is_something_wrong]

A more important question is: Why are you so afraid of VT?

But before I explain that; For a PVC to trigger VT you need scar tissue in the heart, to create a reentry circuit. Such tissue usually only occur with heart attacks or cardiomyopathies. Short runs of VT like in "PVCs in a row" is not dangerous in young healthy people. That may happen, but then it's not the PVC that's causing the VT, but the VT starts with one (and more follows). Supraventricular tachycardias may move around for example the AV node so this is easier triggered.

Anyway, the only danger with tachycardias is if they are so rapid that the heart can't fill over a long period. That will cause V-fib as the heart don't get any blood supply and no nutrition.

In an old person with coronary artery disease who get lack of blood to the heart at, say rate 120, a ventricular tachycardia (or supraventricular for that matter, but beta blockers often slow them down) at rate say 200 will be really dangerous if it is sustained because the heart simply doesn't get any blood supply. Young people without CAD have no problem with rapid rhythms at all.

The only problem is if we get polymorphic VT at rates far above 200. As you probably can see on EKG, there is no "flatline" between one beat and the next; so no diastolic phase, the heart can't fill and you get no cardiac output. Such arrhythmias can degrade to VF in young people. However, you don't get that arrhythmia if you don't have a genetic heart disease (LQTS or similar).

Conclusion: Stop worrying ;)

[RVVq]

If you have 25 PVCs a day, as recorded by holter monitor, than you are at no greater risk of developing VT than the 50% of general population that has PVCs on a daily basis.
You just happen to be extremely sensitive to them, as only a fraction of a percent of people who experience infrequent PVCs can feel them.

Sources:  "Arrhythmias documented by 24 hour continuous electrocardiographic monitoring in 50 male medical students without apparent heart disease*

50 male medical students without cardiovascular disease, as defined by normal clinical and noninvasive cardiovascular examination underwent 24  h holter monitor study.  50% of them had at least one PVC, but only 2% had more than 50 PVCs per 24 hours.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002914977800945

Therefore, infrequent and isolated PVCs (under 50 a day) occur in about half of all young adults and can be considered a variant of the norm.  More frequent or complex ectopy does carry an increased risk of developing more serious arrhythmias in the future and increases your risk of sudden cardiac death.  

Infrequent PVCs are only become problematic when they concur with  anxiety or panic disorders,  as the hypersensitive and hypochondriac patient becomes aware of every skipped beat and consequently, his/her mind becomes engulfed with the fear of death.  

People who do not have a hypersensitive nervous system are blissfully unaware of their ectopic beats.  Only a small percentage of people who have thousands of PVCs per day actually complain of palpitations.  

  

[Jerry_NJ]

The bad news is: our body wears out (the biological clock) and everything causes more problems as we age.  The good news is at age 32 you should have at least 30 more years before you really start to notice the deterioration.  In my case I developed atrial fibrillation (or noticed it and asked a doctor) at about the age of 58.  If I had PVC/PAC... I didn't notice.   Lucky me.  

My only point is:  stop worrying and emphasize the good things in your life.  You are young and need to enjoy it while you have it. Maybe by 2040, or sooner, a cure for your heart problems will have been discovered.

[merileegal]

I've read that PVSs/PACs can turn into something more serious like afib. I have PACs every day, some more than other days. It's just my physiology I guess and I've decided not to let them rule my life anymore. They are what they are and I'm going to go about my life as if I didn't have them. You can think on this so much I think it makes it worse because of the anxiety it causes which for sure isn't good for the heart.  If it turns into something more, I'll address it then. Until then, I'm trying to eat healthy, take my supplements, and trying to get back to exercising. Life is just too darn short to let these interfer with your quality of life.
Best wishes.