I've had premature beats that interrupt normal rhythm for a long time. Every time I got it checked out in the past, I've been told it's benign.
Now I'm older, 45 yo. My internist sent me to a cardiologist because of the irregular beats. They did a complete workup. (Stress test not done yet.)
* Echo showed a murmer (nurse kind of implied it wasn't a big deal in my case) and a slightly enlarged right side (haven't gotten full details on the latter; sounds like they'll check it every few months).
* Holter monitor showed mostly normal rhythm, interrupted sometimes by supraventricular activity (beats I guess). The nurse said it was concerning because the monitor showed it happening up to 11 cycles in a row.
They put me on 25 mg metoprolol (once/day) and said they'll do another Holter to see if it's effective in getting rid of these PSVCs.
What I don't quite understand is whether the PSVCs really need treatment. I'm not uncomfortable and show no serious symptoms (no shortness of breath, no angina, no tingling in arms or fingers, etc etc etc), and my understanding is that these premature SV beats are themselves benign. Is the treatment just for symptotic relief? Or does cardiology have some idea that if they go untreated, they could progressively get worse, to a point that some more invasive treatment would be necessary?
So far the beta blocker isn't having too many side effects, but I'd rather not take drugs if I really don't have to.
TIA,
S