PAC help!

[Elusive_Yeti]

Hello there! My name is Gregg and I have been lurking on here for a couple weeks and now it's time to come out and tell my story as it were.

I'm a 33 year old Male, weighing 240 lbs. I have high blood pressure that I'm currently treating with Metoprolol 50 MG, BID, Lisinopril QD, and Hytrin QD.

I would get PAC's every once in a while - but it was like one every year or two at most. As of November - I have had clusters of them and let me say, it has been frightening! Even more annoying is that this comes RIGHT when I started getting serious about dropping weight and fixing my crappy eating habits.

The first wave happened a month ago - I got a cluster of three when I was sitting down. I felt the familiar "flash / weakness"-kinda' thing in my chest. It's never a sharp pain and I never get dizzy or lose my balance. Went to the ER and the doc caught something mild, said it came from the upper-part of my heart, diagnosed it as a PAC and said not to worry about it.

Second cluster came on 12/21 as I was heading home from work - I have been walking lately (as I said - a new leaf on my health). As soon as I left the store, I felt the familiar sensation in my chest. I paused, thought it was over, took a step, another one! I checked my pulse, it was about 70-80 BPM. Took another step and this time physically felt the pause along with the feeling in my chest! This happened again for a total of four! Scared I walked back inside, my heart racing now! A co-worker who lived close by gave me a lift home. My ER is literally across the street where I live so I went over there.

I got diagnosed this time with anxiety / palpitations and sent home about an hour later after they did an EKG and got my BP down.

Somebody PLEASE tell me something like this has happened to you!

Anybody?

[SassyLassie]

I have worn a holter monitor twice, and both times, it said I only had PAC's. I was very surprised and I can defintely feel the compensatory pause, and I get a funny "tickle" in my throat. I also can tell when I am going to have them, my tummy drops, and I get this "weird" feeling all over. I hate them. If is had not been for the monitor, I would have sworn they were PVC's, because some feel rather strong,. I hate them they scare me silly.

I notice mine more after I have eaten or had a large glass of water, then if I happen to slouch in a chair or bend over, they come right on in. I was told that some may be due to my hiatal hernia, well, whatever, they stink big time.

My echo came back "normal" too, so, I guess they are benign, but hey, when they are really acting up, they feel anything BUT benign. UGH, they are horrible.

[itdood]

When I've gotten PACs, I can barely feel them, compared to a PVC which can knock me over.  I've gotten in the range of 5,000 pvcs/day when I'm having a bad episode.  

Are you sure they're PACs?  I don't think there's a compensatory pause with PACs but could be wrong.  PVCs have the hallmark compensatory pause.

Anyways, no worries.  You won't keel over from them.  They're just torture :-).