Aa
please read
I have posted questions before.. I hope someone does respond because I am really worried. I have had PVC'S since I was 18. I am now 60.. They never seem to have side affects until 5 yrs ago when they caused a shortness of breath. But just for a second or so.. Now lately I have them, and I get very short of breath.. Along with this I suffer severe anxiety which adds to the problem, and it just continues. I also have asthma. The symptoms I am having which I was hoping someone would have some answers or a similar situation. I get a pvc, asthma attack? and I feel very short of breath which is off and on sometimes for hours.. and my anxiety kicks in and makes it all worse!!! I have had so many tests and I am out of answers as to what causes this? Please help me!!!
Thanks for all the posts! I will hopefully get some answers this week after my Dr, visits.. I just hope they can figure this out so I can breathe better.. Just so sick of being sick..
I have read through your posts here and elsewhere and it seems to me you have had repeated cardiac workups over the years that indicate your cardiovascular system is basically OK, except maybe for a little hypertension.
Still, you have symptoms that really bother you. One of these is seasonal coughing that may be asthmatic. I occasional have asthmatic symptoms, too, and have learned that several things can trigger them:
One is allergens, and it is quite possible that your coughing is being triggered by something that pollinates or grows in November (some plants and molds do this late in the year).
Another possibility is cold, dry air, which can trigger constriction of the airways. This bothers me sometimes only during winter.
Both of these conditions are diagnosed and treated by allergists. If you do not have your very own specialized allergist, I think you need one. These people know things most general practitioners do not. Though the Qvar should help, it would be prudent to have an allergist get control of the situation.
However, you are also taking Metoprolol, and like all the beta blockers, this one can make asthma worse:
"PATIENTS WITH BRONCHOSPASTIC DISEASES SHOULD, IN GENERAL, NOT RECEIVE BETA-BLOCKERS including metoprolol tartrate tablets."
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/fdaDrugInfo.cfm?archiveid=9163
You need to talk with an allergist about this, as well as mentioning it to the doc who prescribed it.
Next, your awareness of your PVCs is fueling your anxiety. You describe a sensation like a 'spasm...that feels like the air is sucked out of me.' When I'm having a bout of PVCs, I feel a dropped or hollow sensation in my chest that makes me feel a little breathless. I suspect this is actually the longish pause following the tiny PVC (usually imperceptible) that precedes the big, booming PVC. You do know that when a PVC happens, it's usually such a tiny beat that it really cannot be felt? Then, there's a brief pause until the next regular beat comes along, and during that pause, the ventricle (which is stretchy) fills with more blood than usual--and gives a BIG contraction to push all that blood out into the body. That big contraction--and the pause that precedes it--are what we sensitive flowers feel and find scary.
If I'm having a really long bout of PVCs, this breathless thing can become a problem for me, because I am prone to panic attacks. When it happens, I take myself to my shrink for assessment of my psych meds.
You mention that you are taking Zoloft and Xanax for panic/anxiety. it appears your anxiety/panic is not under control on the Zoloft you are taking. There’s a rule in prescribing medicines: “If the drug isn’t working, it’s either the wrong dose or the wrong drug.” A good psychiatrist should have his patients come in fairly often to make sure they’re doing OK, and most will do that. General practitioners who prescribe these drugs, in my experience, are more casual. They may prescribe and send you out the door without much followup, and yet followup is important precisely to check on the effectiveness of the medication.
Not all the SSRIs suit all patients. My own psychiatrist tried me on four or five before finding the right one--for me. I believe you need to go back to the person who’s giving you Zoloft for a tune-up, and if he is not a psychiatrist, it would be good idea to make an appointment with one.
So, to sum up, your heart is probably basically OK. And if you take your cough to an allergist and your panic to the right psychiatrist, I think you will wind up feeling a lot better fairly quickly.
Still, you have symptoms that really bother you. One of these is seasonal coughing that may be asthmatic. I occasional have asthmatic symptoms, too, and have learned that several things can trigger them:
One is allergens, and it is quite possible that your coughing is being triggered by something that pollinates or grows in November (some plants and molds do this late in the year).
Another possibility is cold, dry air, which can trigger constriction of the airways. This bothers me sometimes only during winter.
Both of these conditions are diagnosed and treated by allergists. If you do not have your very own specialized allergist, I think you need one. These people know things most general practitioners do not. Though the Qvar should help, it would be prudent to have an allergist get control of the situation.
However, you are also taking Metoprolol, and like all the beta blockers, this one can make asthma worse:
"PATIENTS WITH BRONCHOSPASTIC DISEASES SHOULD, IN GENERAL, NOT RECEIVE BETA-BLOCKERS including metoprolol tartrate tablets."
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/fdaDrugInfo.cfm?archiveid=9163
You need to talk with an allergist about this, as well as mentioning it to the doc who prescribed it.
Next, your awareness of your PVCs is fueling your anxiety. You describe a sensation like a 'spasm...that feels like the air is sucked out of me.' When I'm having a bout of PVCs, I feel a dropped or hollow sensation in my chest that makes me feel a little breathless. I suspect this is actually the longish pause following the tiny PVC (usually imperceptible) that precedes the big, booming PVC. You do know that when a PVC happens, it's usually such a tiny beat that it really cannot be felt? Then, there's a brief pause until the next regular beat comes along, and during that pause, the ventricle (which is stretchy) fills with more blood than usual--and gives a BIG contraction to push all that blood out into the body. That big contraction--and the pause that precedes it--are what we sensitive flowers feel and find scary.
If I'm having a really long bout of PVCs, this breathless thing can become a problem for me, because I am prone to panic attacks. When it happens, I take myself to my shrink for assessment of my psych meds.
You mention that you are taking Zoloft and Xanax for panic/anxiety. it appears your anxiety/panic is not under control on the Zoloft you are taking. There’s a rule in prescribing medicines: “If the drug isn’t working, it’s either the wrong dose or the wrong drug.” A good psychiatrist should have his patients come in fairly often to make sure they’re doing OK, and most will do that. General practitioners who prescribe these drugs, in my experience, are more casual. They may prescribe and send you out the door without much followup, and yet followup is important precisely to check on the effectiveness of the medication.
Not all the SSRIs suit all patients. My own psychiatrist tried me on four or five before finding the right one--for me. I believe you need to go back to the person who’s giving you Zoloft for a tune-up, and if he is not a psychiatrist, it would be good idea to make an appointment with one.
So, to sum up, your heart is probably basically OK. And if you take your cough to an allergist and your panic to the right psychiatrist, I think you will wind up feeling a lot better fairly quickly.
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Sorry to admit, as we get older health problems not cured get worse, or reoccur. I have permanent atrial fibrillation, it went solid permanent when I turned 67. Fortunately I have decided I am no longer middle aged and thus have to stop demanding my body perform like I were.. and my symptoms are not worse that yours, some shortness of breath and dizziness if I push too hard or suddenly change, such as stand up after sitting for 15 or more minutes...really relaxed. Some or all of these problems may be caused by my medication, but I have to take them to keep myself out of tachycardia.
Fortunately for me I do not (to my knowledge) have any asthma problems, as you do it seems reasonable to me to suspect that has a lot to do with your symptoms, maybe more than does the PVC condition.
As for anxiety, I think after all these years it is starting to creep into my life too. I am not taking any action on that matter.
Treatment of the anxiety is a worthwhile effort even if it doesn't address PVC issues, good advice I may follow myself one of these days.
Fortunately for me I do not (to my knowledge) have any asthma problems, as you do it seems reasonable to me to suspect that has a lot to do with your symptoms, maybe more than does the PVC condition.
As for anxiety, I think after all these years it is starting to creep into my life too. I am not taking any action on that matter.
Treatment of the anxiety is a worthwhile effort even if it doesn't address PVC issues, good advice I may follow myself one of these days.
I think stress can sometimes contribute to triggering an asthma attack. Are you being counseled and treated for your severe anxiety? If you are getting medicated, have you told the doctor it is not adequately helping? Have you gotten an event holter monitor recently?
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