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how come so many people are hospitalized if pvcs are harmless?

Been having a ton of pvcs and odd feelings, so I researched pvcs. If they are so harmless in normal healthy hearts, how come I keep seeing others with normal healthy hearts having afib, or other stuff not so harmless?
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Avatar universal
Thankyou!
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Avatar universal
If you had 15 minutes of V-Tach, you would have been in a life threatening situation as that would have developed into V-Fib and you would have had to be shocked out of it. You more that likely had some type of tachycardia that started in the upper chambers of the heart. When the heart beats too fast, the chambers do not fill properly and therefore, not enough blood gets out to the brain and that can make you feel faint.
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for the information and reassurance. I had some type of tachy last month and nearly fainted from it, so I thought perhaps the pvcs caused me to have that. Then since it was over in 15 min. and the hospital caught nothing but pvcs, I keep wondering if it was ventricular tachy, will it happen again, and so forth.
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Avatar universal
This may also help you to understand PVCs. Those premature beats fire from the main pumping chamber of the heart and are a 'back-up' system for the normal electrical system in the heart. ALL of the cells of the heart have the ability to fire off impulses. People are hospitalized for PVCs because they also have underlying heart disease such as a muscle disease called cardiomyopathy, or do to a history of heart attacks. When the heart muscle is diseased or injured in some way it becomes very irritable and these premature beats can become life threatening. The normal, healthy heart can handle premature beats, including couplets and so on. You really don't have anything to worry about, based on what you've written here. take care.
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212161 tn?1599427282
i have had recoreded over 3000 of pac a day but my cardio says dont worry about them they are harmless. that was 4 years ago had them like that for 10 straight weeks than they went away again, now i have them now and than. i woeey less about them myself have had since i was 22 now 51 they are still scarey at times buti try and go with the flow. i just had a heart chechup a nucler stress test last feb and a echo last month says heart in great shape so when the pac comes i try to remember that and go with the flow. hope all has a pap free day
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363281 tn?1643235611
I loved your post, and I also loved Brookes post. I have PAC's and once in a while PVC's even though I was told they are not serious by my physician and had most of the tests, I still do worry at times. So, for me, I need to read these two posts all day, especially when I get scared.

I used to look up PAC's and PVC's on the net, no more, they only scare a person, and most of the time, they really are not accurate anyway.
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Avatar universal
Hi there,
Firstly  - please don't worry.  I am a cardiac tech and work for a Professor of Cardiology/Electrophysiology.
Do you understand the mechanism of PVCs PAC's etc?  I get them myself and worried myself stupid for years over them (yes bigeminy and trigeminy also).  Did you know most people wearing a 24 hour Holter monitor will display both PVC's and PAC's?  The difference is that most people simply don't notice them at all.  So many people present to hospital because any strange sensation with your heart is naturally scary.  The problem begins when these people present over and over again because they refuse to accept that their hearts are totally normal.
In an otherwise healthy heart they are benign and normal.  In my case I just "let them happen" and within around 3 months I stopped feeling them - they're probably still there - I don't really know.
I did try beta blockers - for me it made them worse - my theory was it slowed my heart rate so there was extra time in between beats for the heart to fire off one of these 'extra' beats.

The hardest thing I had to do in my life was lie in bed and LET THEM HAPPEN but the more I did this the more I felt - VICTORY!!

If you want a detailed explanation of the mechanism of action I would be happy to explain - it's really quite simple.  

Atrial fibrillation is entirely different as are most other arrhythmias and if you are a PVC/PAC sufferer you are at no more risk of developing other arrhythmias than the next person.  Today's ablation techniques are fantastic for AF, SVT, AV node re-entry tachycardia, slow pathway ablations, Wolff Parkinson White syndrome etc.  It has made such a difference to the lives of many many people.

The only other thing I found that helped was to keep well hydrated and to take omega 3 fish oils which have been documented to keep the tissues of the heart less "irritable" in terms of firing off additional beats.  I also take 500 mg of magnesium every day.

Hope this helps.  Happy to explain more if you wish.
In the meantime, get victory over them drug free!!  Cheers, Susan.
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Avatar universal
Hey you guys. I am sorry for sounding so crabby. I did not mean for it to sound as it does (my last post). Thank you for your information and help
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Avatar universal
ok, excuse my ignorance, but again---everyone says single pvcs are ok. i have couplets and biginimy often. I usally have a single pvc every third beat, but my concern is as you mention---the couplets and how oftten. I would like to talk to someone that has a normal heart and also couplets and bigenimy and frequent pvcs to see what they have learned. I am still waiting for my consultation.
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1124887 tn?1313754891
I think you really should read the answer you got from Brooke - not once, not twice, but every time you get nervous about your PVCs (if they are PVCs and not PACs).

A PVC is not a PVC, and "that's it". Their "severity" depends on several factors, where they origin, if they origin from several spots or just one, if they come in couplets, runs, or singles,in what setting they appear, and when they appear after the previous beat.

PVCs and PACs less than 1000 a day are "within normal limits" in other words, a Holter test with 999 PVCs would usually be stamped "normal". That said, 10.000 PVCs a day doesn't need to be "dangerous" but should possibly be investigated further.

I had never heard the term "PVC induced cardiomyopathy" before joining this forum. My cardiologist told me if PVCs exceeded 15% of total beats, pumping capacity could be reduced, because a PVC does not pump as much blood as an ordinary heart beat. When the PVCs are reduced, pumping abilities are restored. I guess the PVC induced cardiomyopathy is a diagnosis, but it apply to EXTREME cases and you can forget all about it :)

If the heart is scarred from a previous infarction or other disease, PVCs can cause V-tach, this is correct. But you don't need to worry, if your heart is structurally normal.

People going to the ER with irregular heart rate (in my country) are hospitalized for a day or two, while doctors rule out serious (underlying) conditions. This is a "better safe than sorry" policy, and does not imply that PVCs necessarily are dangerous.

PVCs are both a symptom and a diagnosis. If you have PVCs without a cause, don't worry. If PVCs are caused by heart muscle damage, they can be dangerous. But you have ruled this out.
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Avatar universal
thank you so much for the info. I guess I am nervous as I dont have  onlysingle pvcs, but get couplets and bigeminy.
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251395 tn?1434494286
In people with normal hearts, hundreds or even thousands of PVCs can be normal. When they occur as isolated beats (one in a row) they do not cause any harm. The emphasis here is on a normal heart.

Changes in your body’s autonomic tone can affect how frequently PVC’s occur, or how prominent the sensation is when they do occur (most of the time PVC’s are asymptomatic). Sometimes, the increased vagal tone after eating  causes a slower heartbeat, which facilitates the premature beats.

I agree that having lots of PVCs is annoying, and sometimes scary, but it truly is a benign condition if you have an otherwise healthy heart.

PVC-induced cardiomyopathy is a very rare result of having thousands of PVCs/day for a long time.  While the possibility is rare, reports have shown this to occur in  people who experience PVC's in the 20,000 range (per day) for many years.

In someone with an abnormal heart (poor systolic function, heart failure, previous heart attacks) frequent PVC’s can indicate a susceptibility to more serious arrhythmias. Multiple PVCs in a row are known as ventricular tachycardia. This can be a serious or even lethal arrhythmia, but again, it is very rare in someone with a normal heart.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information from, and I caution you about reading things on the internet. This will do nothing for you but create anxiety and undue worry. The person who can best answer your question and put your fears to rest is your cardiologist. As far as people being hospitalized for PVC's, this would happen if they had underlying heart disease or have already been diagnosed with another type of arrhythmia that could be worsened by frequent PVC's.

Hope this helps to ease your mind a bit.
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Avatar universal
Its all so confusing! I read they are harmless if your heart is structurally sound, but then I have read some say they had vtachy or other bad stuff from them and their heart is healthy. I did a google search and this is where I got confused because some have a ton of pvcs couplets and more and are fine and others due to a lot of pvcs were not fine even with a healthy heart. I have had a lot more lately and the tech doing my echocardiogram says she is not allowed to give medical advice, but she thinks my heart is totally normal and healthy. She said I have almost mitral valve prolapse but a doctor may say it is minimally prolapsed or not at all depending on the dr. I was told years ago that I had it mildly and also trivial tricuspid regurgitation. Anyway, it sounds like my echo will be labeled normal. So why so many pvcs?> What = too many a day? I have had some two in a row with out a beat inbetween, and lots and lots. I was in the ER after a near fainting when my heart did some odd stuff then into tachy but of course while there I was fine for 2 hours, except my heart was throwing a ton of pvcs--in fact I not only felt them, the machine counted them up to 8 and then buzzed loudly and reset again and did it for 6 count---no one came in or seemed to care so I assumed it was ok?
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995271 tn?1463924259
PVCs are classified by your doctor, or the ER if you go to one for an episode.  Worse classifications get monitored more closely.  

There are the isolated variety that occur in a normal heart.  Then there are the type that occur due to changes in the heart muscle (MI or other changes). That's what the testing will determine.  
PVCs are not intrinsically harmful.  A lot of them can mean it needs more attention.  Its not a black and white situation. Its open to a lot of interpretation.   I've been on the boards for a while, I don't recall seeing hardly and hospitalizations for straight up PVCs, even in the 1,000s. People complain a lot that they get sent home.  
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1144520 tn?1277115601
pvc's are not harmless as far as i know.
because if u have more than a certain number of your daily heartbeats (was it 2000 or 4000, i don't remember)
you're more at risk for cardiomyopathy.

maybe there's is more risk for serious arrhythmia in people with pvc's as in those who don't, i'm not sure.
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