Aa
Today I've had the most PACs/PVCs I've had in a long time. WTF?!
I've had enough of PAC's, PVC's or whatever other strange arrhythmia is going on with my heart. I feel like literally banging my head off a brick wall until I either pass out or never wake up.
Had these for 12 years. Had tests. Diagnosed with anxiety.
I haven't had many issues for a while, but today out of the blue I've had multiple "thud" type skips. The ones where you can feel the pause. I'm talking probably 100. Sometimes forceful, sometimes enough to feel the harder beat, the pause, and the harder beat again.
I'm not buying "it's in your head". I'm also not buying anxiety is the root cause. It can't be. I just don't understand why doctors say this to me. These are impossible to ignore. When they happen they're enough to make you jump up, stop what you're doing, and wonder whether you're about to drop down dead. The people who tell me "You're just more conscious of your heartbeat" have never felt these.
Today they happened when I was singing at home in my home studio. Nobody was around. I was writing lyrics and singing out loud practicing before I record. And then one strikes. Very forceful. 30 seconds later another. Then another. They appeared to happen every couple of minutes ... hard beat, pause, hard beat.
Why?! I can't understand it. And then they lasted all day.
I got so annoyed I got up and done some exercise. I jumped rope 1000 times, done 60 push ups, 60 pullups and some dumbell work. Like magic they went away. I had 5 or so hours PAC/PVC free. And now at 2am they hit again. I was lying in bed and I felt the hard beat, pause, hard beat.
Instant stress. I got angry. And they kept on coming every couple of minutes. They seem to have stopped for the moment, but it's so unpredictable lying here waiting for it to happen again.
I have my doctors appointment Thursday, I'm going to stress that they look into this more. I don't like how these suddenly came on worse today for no reason.
Only thing I can think of it being is alcohol related as I drank a good few beers at an engagement party the day before. But, I didn't expect this to happen today as it doesn't usually.
This crap has ruined my life and it continues to do so.
Had these for 12 years. Had tests. Diagnosed with anxiety.
I haven't had many issues for a while, but today out of the blue I've had multiple "thud" type skips. The ones where you can feel the pause. I'm talking probably 100. Sometimes forceful, sometimes enough to feel the harder beat, the pause, and the harder beat again.
I'm not buying "it's in your head". I'm also not buying anxiety is the root cause. It can't be. I just don't understand why doctors say this to me. These are impossible to ignore. When they happen they're enough to make you jump up, stop what you're doing, and wonder whether you're about to drop down dead. The people who tell me "You're just more conscious of your heartbeat" have never felt these.
Today they happened when I was singing at home in my home studio. Nobody was around. I was writing lyrics and singing out loud practicing before I record. And then one strikes. Very forceful. 30 seconds later another. Then another. They appeared to happen every couple of minutes ... hard beat, pause, hard beat.
Why?! I can't understand it. And then they lasted all day.
I got so annoyed I got up and done some exercise. I jumped rope 1000 times, done 60 push ups, 60 pullups and some dumbell work. Like magic they went away. I had 5 or so hours PAC/PVC free. And now at 2am they hit again. I was lying in bed and I felt the hard beat, pause, hard beat.
Instant stress. I got angry. And they kept on coming every couple of minutes. They seem to have stopped for the moment, but it's so unpredictable lying here waiting for it to happen again.
I have my doctors appointment Thursday, I'm going to stress that they look into this more. I don't like how these suddenly came on worse today for no reason.
Only thing I can think of it being is alcohol related as I drank a good few beers at an engagement party the day before. But, I didn't expect this to happen today as it doesn't usually.
This crap has ruined my life and it continues to do so.
I also spoke to my mother last night about my recent episode and she explained in detail how she has suffered with them. She explained what they felt like to her and they seem exactly the same! She said hers was stress related.
I was over the moon to hear this is in the family, and someone could actually relate to how I feel.
Her response was "I lie on my stomach when they happen, it makes them feel less noticeable". Funny, because that's what I do ... although it doesn't always work.
Exercise and getting up and moving about stops them for me.
I was over the moon to hear this is in the family, and someone could actually relate to how I feel.
Her response was "I lie on my stomach when they happen, it makes them feel less noticeable". Funny, because that's what I do ... although it doesn't always work.
Exercise and getting up and moving about stops them for me.
It's interesting that everyone has irregular beats--but most people simply don't feel them. We sensitive types do.
Perhaps you've read what actually happens during an ectopic beat? If not, here's a simplified rundown:
The 'Pacemaker' in the upper right atrium normally sets the heart rate, but it's important to know that every cardiac cell in the heart is naturally rhythmic and contractile. They all sort of agree to abide by the timing of the pacemaker, but every now and then, there's an independent or rebel heart cell, or a cluster of rebels somewhere. If you have been diagnosed with PVCs, your rebels are in one of your ventricles.
When you have a PVC, the rebel cells cause the ventricle to contract earlier than usual. Because of the way the heart fills, this means the ventricle has not had the opportunity to get as full as usual, and as a result, this particular contraction is weak, as in *really tiny.* People don't usually feel it at all.
However, there are rules about the next scheduled beat in a normal heart: It cannot contract until certain electrical things happen (called repolarization), so there's a delay. That's the pause you feel. Since the chambers of the heart are elastic, this delay gives the ventricle a chance to fill a bit fuller than normal. Now, the 'Law of the heart' is that it is obliged to try to pump out all the blood that enters it with each cycle, and to do that, the slightly fuller ventricle has to give a big push on this contraction. *THAT* big (but healthy) contaction is the big thump you (we) feel.
When you are at rest, the Pacemaker slows down the heartbeat, and if you have what I've been calling 'rebel' cells somewhere, that's the perfect opportunity for them to do a little firing on their own, which is why you get more PVCs at rest. When you're active, the Pacemaker speeds things up, giving the rebels less opportunity to act up. Jumping rope or doing pushups gets rid of your ectopics--until your heart slows down again at rest.
For some reason, PVC sufferers have a particularly irritable bunch of little cells in the ventricle. No one really knows why this happens, although there are bunches of theories. Anxiety per se is *not* the cause of these beats--but the flood of adrenaline that comes with hyperawareness and fear certainly CAN make them worse.
Still, if your heart has been checked out thoroughly, and if you can perform all your normal activities, then the biggest problem is dealing with the emotions associated with hyper-awareness of your erratic heartbeats. In my experience, the best way to go at this is with the help of a therapist, plus the anti-anxiety medication that is found to be right for you--and it is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Often, it requires a month-long trial of three or four to find the best one.
Perhaps you've read what actually happens during an ectopic beat? If not, here's a simplified rundown:
The 'Pacemaker' in the upper right atrium normally sets the heart rate, but it's important to know that every cardiac cell in the heart is naturally rhythmic and contractile. They all sort of agree to abide by the timing of the pacemaker, but every now and then, there's an independent or rebel heart cell, or a cluster of rebels somewhere. If you have been diagnosed with PVCs, your rebels are in one of your ventricles.
When you have a PVC, the rebel cells cause the ventricle to contract earlier than usual. Because of the way the heart fills, this means the ventricle has not had the opportunity to get as full as usual, and as a result, this particular contraction is weak, as in *really tiny.* People don't usually feel it at all.
However, there are rules about the next scheduled beat in a normal heart: It cannot contract until certain electrical things happen (called repolarization), so there's a delay. That's the pause you feel. Since the chambers of the heart are elastic, this delay gives the ventricle a chance to fill a bit fuller than normal. Now, the 'Law of the heart' is that it is obliged to try to pump out all the blood that enters it with each cycle, and to do that, the slightly fuller ventricle has to give a big push on this contraction. *THAT* big (but healthy) contaction is the big thump you (we) feel.
When you are at rest, the Pacemaker slows down the heartbeat, and if you have what I've been calling 'rebel' cells somewhere, that's the perfect opportunity for them to do a little firing on their own, which is why you get more PVCs at rest. When you're active, the Pacemaker speeds things up, giving the rebels less opportunity to act up. Jumping rope or doing pushups gets rid of your ectopics--until your heart slows down again at rest.
For some reason, PVC sufferers have a particularly irritable bunch of little cells in the ventricle. No one really knows why this happens, although there are bunches of theories. Anxiety per se is *not* the cause of these beats--but the flood of adrenaline that comes with hyperawareness and fear certainly CAN make them worse.
Still, if your heart has been checked out thoroughly, and if you can perform all your normal activities, then the biggest problem is dealing with the emotions associated with hyper-awareness of your erratic heartbeats. In my experience, the best way to go at this is with the help of a therapist, plus the anti-anxiety medication that is found to be right for you--and it is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Often, it requires a month-long trial of three or four to find the best one.
I agree with you in that I don't buy that anxiety argument either. To me anxiety by definition is caused by an external event that results in a "fight or flight" response due to Adrenaline increase in your system. But what if you have a "chronic" oversupply of Adrenaline that has nothing to do with such an event - at least that's what I think is taking place in my case and I have some proof of that. However, stating it that way doesn't help either you or me.
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