Thank you all for your responses. We've decided to go ahead and call the doctor tomorrow to try to rule out any electrolyte imbalances or nutritional deficiencies that could be causing this sudden increase in pvcs/pacs. Hopefully they'll find something minor and easily fixable that will help this episode ease up somewhat. We will definately be asking about the magnesium. Thanks again for the advice.
I've been taking 500mgs of magnesium once a day for the past two months at my cardio's suggestion. She said quit a few of her patients report good results. I haven't noticed any improvement yet, but I have other problems than just PVCs. I now have some Afib. I will keep taking this because it sure can't hurt.
I beleive that a lack of magnesium causes most skipped beats, you might try natural calm and see if that helps her. I've been reading about magnesium in other places and almost no one ever mentions it here, hope this helps
Hello. I think the doctor will answer you, but they tend to answer questions in clusters. Just be patient and you will get an answer :)
Anyway, to your questions:
First, 40-50 PACs/PVCs a day is probably far less than average. If the heart is structurally normal (which I believe it is, based on all the tests) there is absolutely no need to worry. Worrying about premature beats (even if you are not completely aware of it) will make them increase. I have PACs too (and an occational PVC I think) and I recognize those symptoms completely.
They tend to appear in clusters, most likely because adrenaline levels / stress levels increase when you get one - which will trigger more. Before I learned to accept them, I could have them for hours - until a doctor reassured me they were benign.
The list of triggers for PACs and PVCs (somewhat different for PACs and PVCs) is probably a mile long. Most common are stress, slow heart rate (and sometimes high heart rate), caffeine, nicotine, alcohol (especially hangover), infections, dehydration (and salt imbalances), too much water, after meals, in some people exercise, anxiety, adrenaline in general, hyperventilation, deep breaths, bending over (the last three can especially trigger PACs), vagal reflexes, like I said, the list is long. Best cure for them is to simply ignore them and accept they are no danger to health.
It's easier said than done, of course, and no one are happy with arrhythmias, but some premature beats are really a part of normal heart activity. Everyone have them - but some people (especially if they are afraid of them) notice them more often.