PVCs - Ventricular Tachycardia/Fibrillation Feedback

[supertexas]

Hi there,
My name is Stephen and I'm new to the forum. Im a 26 year old male with a large amount of diagnosed premature ventricular contractions. The reason I am here is because of large concern I have about several episodes I have had in which my heart randomly will start beating extremely erratically for 5-30 seconds without any normal rhythm. I've had it where it seems many PVC's are happening in a row over and over and my heart is having a hard time getting back to normal and I have also had it to where I can feel one of the chambers of my heart randomly start beating extremely fast out of sync with the other and it lasts for a few seconds. I have noticed that the "many pvcs in a row" episodes are triggered more so in moments of immediate extreme anxiety/adrenaline and I have noticed that the"one chamber beats extremely fast for a few seconds" episode are triggered whenever, even while sitting alone at peace. I'm a professional touring musician/recording artist and I play shows about 200 nights of the year around the world. I have no problem playing in front of large crowds every night but Tonight I played in my band members wedding in front of many friends and family and to make a long story short, there was a very chaotic and stressful moment where things were going wrong (mic wasnt on after groomsmen missed their cue to come in) and At this point my heart started having continuous, extreme pvc's that lasted straight for about 30 seconds or more without any normal beating during. While focusing completely on trying to sing I could feel what was happening and was wondering while singing to the audience waiting for the bride if I was going to drop dead. Earlier this past summer while touring in Europe one of my closest friends started yelling at me to an extreme degree without any warning and my heart started doing the exact same thing where I had to stop the conversation for about a minute while I breathed in heavily all the while feeling my heart beat erratically trying to get back on rhythm.

A year and a half ago i went to the cardiologist, told him what I had been dealing with (before these specific episodes) and I wore a haltor monitor for several days. The test came back that I had a large amount of frequent PVCS and a few random PACS. However, during this test, i did not have an "eratic constant crazy heart" episode like what Im explaining above. I did a stress test as well as a sonogram type procedure of my heart which showed to be normal. As far as I can gather on what Ive researched, what Im explaining sounds nearly right on with Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia as well as at points Ventricular Fibrillation. If anyone could give me any feedback this would be greatly, greatly appreciated as I desperately need it.

[Zachs]

Hey Stephen. I completely understand what you've experienced with the consistent episodes of PVCs in a row. Those are very scary as the mild ones the happen every so often through the day, or once a day, or once a week are a bit easier to rationalize.  My longest episode was for about 4-5 seconds, which was about 2 weeks ago now.  All I can say from all my previous posts and experience, that stress and anxiety, poor diet, and alcohol play a huge role on the severity of them.  You've come to the right place to vent and rationalize with many others here that suffer from the same annoying reocurrences of PVCs.  I think Brooke summed up the medical consequences of these which almost always end up being benign in nature.  Zach

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

I'm sorry that this is happening to you:( You could very well be experiencing NSVT (non-sustained ventricular tachycardia) if thes episodes are lasting >30 seconds.

The good news is that your Echocardiogram determined that your heart, other than the frequent PVC's shown on the holter, is in pretty good shape.

PVCs are the most common form of ectopy in the heart. Like PAC's , PVC's occurring in a normal heart are considered innocuous.

In a diseased heart, PVC's can cause the ventricles to lapse into V-Tach which if not terminated, could lead to V-fib. This occurance in a healthy heart (which you have) is extremely rare. If you haven't already seen an electrophysiologist, this should be your next step. In cases where the symptoms of PVC's  substantialy impact quality of life, there are ablation procedures that could be done.  Based on your lifestyle and profession, I can understand how this could definitely be impacting your quality of life. I, myself just had an ablation for RVOT-VT in Aug.

I wish you the best as you journey toward a cure:) Keep us posted with the results.

[Jerry_NJ]

If you are not on any meds or have stomach problems relative to aspirin, I recommend you start taking an aspirin every day, with food, and make another appointment with our Cardiologist, or ask for a referral to a Electro Physiologist (EP) I'm sure he's connected with one or more, may even be one himself.  

I recommend the aspirin as a safe guard measure against clot formation due to fibrillation activity in your heart, not a diagnosis, just a precaution.  

[kevk]

Have you seen a EP doctor ? They specialize in the hearts electrical system. Do you take any meds ?