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Should I be worried pvcs.HELP!!!!!
1.I have a normal heart structure. But have read things of people who have a normal heart but drop dead from idiopathic polymorphic vtach and idiopathic vfib and the Cause was r on t phenomenon also the study said the patients had normal qt intervals but the timing of the pvc caused the rhythm. I’m scared bc I get pvcs and pacs oscaionaly but also sometimes I can go into 15 pacs and pvcs a min for a day and than won’t have a pvc at all. Thing to note I have had all cardio work up all normal and had an ep study that couldn’t induce my psvt. 2. Why does laughing , deep breathing , and coughing sometimes Cause a pvc?
MATTO! Stop worrying! Listen, you can look up any symptom and find out it will kill you. You can read that hair dye will give you lepresy. Pretty much any fear you may have will be confirmed if you look for a negative response on the internet. Before you panic too much more, try and treat the anxiety part of it. Anxiety plays a huge role in many people's pvcs. Try exercise, stretching, think about your diet. If you are getting them some days and others not then it could be related to many different things. As rando as they I, I feel that they are triggered by something, and everyone is different. What may work for one may not for another. But the last thing that will help you is flipping out. And overdiagnosing yourself. DO you need to lose weight? Do you have any other healthfacotrs? Are you sedentary? Main thing, keep your head together, as hard as it is! I know, I have been there, and still get anxious. But it never helps me. I hope some of this helped. Feel free to message me any time at all! I suffer from these too, and I hate it.
I hate to post this but i also suffer from pvcs. I also went to a cardiologist who said they are benign after holters, ekgs, echos, stress tests, mri.... anything you can think of. Everything was normal. 7 years of trying to believe it's not life threatening, i had a cardiac arrest. V fib for 18 minutes. Shocked 8 times by the time i arrived at the er. I went into code ice to lower my body temp and preserve brain function. I wasn't expected to make it thru the night. I am one of the 6% of people that survive cardiac arrest with no brain damage. I am now on beta blockers that help but no reason was ever found. I event hadan admissionat johns hopkins. I don't want to enhance the fear you already have, but sometimes they are wrong. 6% survival is long odds and i now suffer panic attacks and have PTSD to deal with.
14 Comments
That's scary
Do you have any family history of sudden death? Have you tried genetic testing to see if perhaps you have something genetic??
Why didn't they fit you with an internal defibrillator? I thought any time someone has v fib they get one.
Unfortunately, if doctors tell us that the ectopics are benign, that's what we have to go by. We all have the proper testing that comes to this conclusion and I am not sure there is anything we can do beyond that. I dont think there is a way for them to predict who will and who will not have trouble.
Most of us still live in fear of the possibility and yes even though we are told they are benign there is a small chance that any one of us can suffer the same fate but what else can we do?
I am sorry to hear that you have had to go through this. I can only imagine what kind of stress and fear you must face on a daily basis... God bless you
Why didn't they fit you with an internal defibrillator? I thought any time someone has v fib they get one.
Unfortunately, if doctors tell us that the ectopics are benign, that's what we have to go by. We all have the proper testing that comes to this conclusion and I am not sure there is anything we can do beyond that. I dont think there is a way for them to predict who will and who will not have trouble.
Most of us still live in fear of the possibility and yes even though we are told they are benign there is a small chance that any one of us can suffer the same fate but what else can we do?
I am sorry to hear that you have had to go through this. I can only imagine what kind of stress and fear you must face on a daily basis... God bless you
Thanks for your concern. No family history of sudden death. The 7 years of pvcs were uneventful until the cardiac arrest. Once i moved out of icu an aicd was installed. The ablation at Hopkins was 4 months later, but i was on 400mg of metoprolol. No pvcs to see. I'm now on 250mg. Resting heart rate of 45. I also take 100mg of amiodarone which is destroying my thyroid. I may be 1 in a million but it happens. I feel that this kind of situation should be "test everything" not "everybody has them, you're ok". My life has changed forever and i thought nothing could be scarier than enduring pvcs with an EP telling me I'm fine. This side of the cardiac arrest is much worse.
I'm sorry to hear about your SCA, but this is probably not the best place to post about it. OP was clearly feeling anxious and scared. Now I am as well.
I searched this site for the 7 years i dealt with my pvcs and the stories were all just like I'm reading now. The reason i posted is because i was told they're benign just like everyone here. I read how people don't want to be on medication... just like i said. I just think trying different but medications and different doses could have drastically lower the number of pvcs and also my risk. I took a beta blocker at the beginning and it did nothing... over a year it was increased from 12.5mg to 25mg to 50mg. No results so i stopped taking them. Now i know that mine were treated with 250mg. I'm just sharing my unique experience in hopes that pushing your cardiologist may prevent something worse. I wish i had.
Ps. If you have pvcs and a mechanically sound heart with no blockages, you have to see and ep (electrophesiologist).
Ps. If you have pvcs and a mechanically sound heart with no blockages, you have to see and ep (electrophesiologist).
Anxiousalways, it's understandable that your feeling anxious after reading this post, I to got a little anxiety after reading but in reality this is a "heart rhythm forum" not an anxiety forum and so why shouldn't he/she be able to comment their story here? Person was just honestly speaking and technically as much as we dont want to hear it or for it to be true, it is. Unfortunately even though we are told these rhythms are benign, there is a very small chance that the timing of the PVC causes outcomes such as this...
How old are you GT? If I'm not being too nosey.
I guess I should have maybe said THIS post, not this forum. I feel bad for OP because they were clearly anxious and upset, and deaths from PVCs are really really rare. From my understanding, you have to have some sort of structural/electrical issue for them to cause Vtach/Vfib. So for OP to reach out on a public forum looking for reassurance, only to be told about this unfortunate event, I can only imagine the anxiety it may have set off. You are right, this is not an anxiety forum. But I have been in the same shoes as OP, and I know I would have been horrified to read this. I do not mean to upset anyone, and I truly am sorry about GT's SCA from their PVCs.
If you not normally a very anxious person I would advise you to research the subject and if you are normally anxious then probably best to leave it alone...
I've done enough research on this subject for it to keep me up at night lol. I used to spend almost my entire day on MedHelp or Google, but I'm trying to leave it alone. I'm seeking therapy. I know my pacs/pvcs won't hurt me, but still, when I read these kind of things I will be anxious for awhile lol.
"Careful" i am 40. Pvcs started when i was 33. No mechanical, plumbing or structural problems. Just the pvcs.
"Anxious" again my intention for sharing is just to try to get people to press harder for testing and medication to suppress the pvcs. The fear you have the lower the risk. I found that magnesium supplements help a lot but mag oxide causes bowel issues. You can switch to a lower dose of mag chloride and have no problems. I've been thru every beta blocker brand, every anti arrhythmic, electrolyte supplements, quit caffeine alcohol, never smoked, never did any kindof drugs. Unfortunately I've done all this after the sca. I'm just trying to put out the all the work it took me to be relatively pvc free and help with the people with them now that can't stand having them.
"Anxious" again my intention for sharing is just to try to get people to press harder for testing and medication to suppress the pvcs. The fear you have the lower the risk. I found that magnesium supplements help a lot but mag oxide causes bowel issues. You can switch to a lower dose of mag chloride and have no problems. I've been thru every beta blocker brand, every anti arrhythmic, electrolyte supplements, quit caffeine alcohol, never smoked, never did any kindof drugs. Unfortunately I've done all this after the sca. I'm just trying to put out the all the work it took me to be relatively pvc free and help with the people with them now that can't stand having them.
GT- I'm so sorry if I came off rude. I just know how it is to be anxious and looking for assurance from these things. They've made my life a living nightmare! I only maybe have 100 max per day. But there were times when I was having a lot more, but I don't think I was ever in the thousands range thank god. You say medications to suppress the pvcs, is there a chance that maybe you could have been having a lot per day that caused your heart to weaken, therefore the SCA? I'm not a doctor whatsoever! But I've read that if you have upwards of 20,000 a day that could lead to cardiomyopathy over time, but even then it's still rare. I know that anyone could drop from a badly timed pvc, but I guess what makes me feel better is knowing that that is very rare. I'm young (24) healthy, no family history of anything, but they still scare me and I'm so afraid that I won't be here for my 3 kids, and my oldest who just started Kindergarten.
A couple of points here:
1.@GT I am glad that you made it through. I wish you all the best for your physical and mental health
2. He didnt mention what the findings of his reports were. Just saying that he had PVCs (how many? which morphology? etc) isnt enough. PVCs themselves dont define a disease!
3. Did he have any check ups in the 7 years? Having had a cardio check up 7 years ago wont rule out that you can have certain pathological changes within your body in this time frame. Theoretically you can always develop a myocarditis to name an example.
So what which examinations were made after the event?
4. and most importantly: Having PVCs is NORMAL. Depending on where you ask, at least 1 in 2 will show them on a 24hrs holter. So having them alone isnt enough to distribute antiarrhythmic drugs left and right, which would kill more people due to side effects than PVCs ever could.
Remember: Even if you had 0 PVCs, you can still drop dead because of cardiac arrest. And if you search on the Internet, you WILL find that case. The important thing is, that you have a similar prognosis as someone who has NO PVCs at all (which would be unusual). That DOES NOT MEAN that you cannot drop dead for 100% though.
5. Since OP was obviously suffering from anxiety, I doubt that it was a sensible thing to post that here as an anwer.
1.@GT I am glad that you made it through. I wish you all the best for your physical and mental health
2. He didnt mention what the findings of his reports were. Just saying that he had PVCs (how many? which morphology? etc) isnt enough. PVCs themselves dont define a disease!
3. Did he have any check ups in the 7 years? Having had a cardio check up 7 years ago wont rule out that you can have certain pathological changes within your body in this time frame. Theoretically you can always develop a myocarditis to name an example.
So what which examinations were made after the event?
4. and most importantly: Having PVCs is NORMAL. Depending on where you ask, at least 1 in 2 will show them on a 24hrs holter. So having them alone isnt enough to distribute antiarrhythmic drugs left and right, which would kill more people due to side effects than PVCs ever could.
Remember: Even if you had 0 PVCs, you can still drop dead because of cardiac arrest. And if you search on the Internet, you WILL find that case. The important thing is, that you have a similar prognosis as someone who has NO PVCs at all (which would be unusual). That DOES NOT MEAN that you cannot drop dead for 100% though.
5. Since OP was obviously suffering from anxiety, I doubt that it was a sensible thing to post that here as an anwer.
Rest assured that i will not be posting my story again. Last time i will say it, most ofthe time they are annoying and benign but one in million they aren't. Thought my story may help someone to dig a little deeper before accepting that answer. Goodbye.
No, do not be scared. You have had a work up and were told your heart is structurally normal and free if disease and so the PVCS and PACS are benign. I know it's hard not to worry but worry will only make them worse.
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