PVC’s are common. Some people are troubled by just a few PVC’s where as others may have a PVC heart beat almost every other beat and not even notice it. Apart from being annoying to some (symptoms are sometimes described as heart flutter), are they of long-term significance? In this article we will look at some of the studies that examine this question. It appears that the significance of PVC’s depends on the underlying heart. In abnormal hearts such as those with coronary artery disease or heart muscle dysfunction PVC’s are known to be associated with poor outcomes. Whereas in apparently normal hearts, the significance of PVC’s is less well known and certainly thought to be of less concern.
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PVC Heart Beats – In Those With Otherwise ‘Normal’ Hearts
In those with underlying heart disease the association between PVC heart beats and poor outcomes is well documented. What about those people that have PVC’s and apparently ‘normal’ hearts otherwise?
In the 1980’s, studies followed relatively small numbers of apparently healthy individuals with frequent PVC’s (around 500/hour) and concluded that they were at no greater risk than the general population. Findings were similar in those who had PVC’s that only appeared following exercise. So it would appear that PVC heart beats were relatively benign in those with otherwise healthy hearts.
Many further studies were done over the years and more recently studies have looked at the combined results of all of these studies that looked at PVC’s in individuals without a history of heart disease. It’s noted that those with PVC’s detected on monitoring had a worse outcome compared to those without PVC’s. However a closer look showed that these worse outcomes were related not necessarily to the PVC’s but may in part be explained by the presence of cardiovascular risk factors such as age, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Also it must be noted that although these studies included individuals without a history of heart disease, the participants did not necessarily have tests to rule it out. Therefore it may well be that those that did worse simply had the presence of undiagnosed heart disease.
Finally, studies have demonstrated that in patients with a particularly high burden of PVC’s (around 25%, 1 in 4 beats) may have subtle heart muscle dysfunction that can be reversed by treatments to ablate the PVC’s. This has led some to advocate treatments for PVC heart beats when the frequency of them is particularly high.
PVC Heart Beats – In Those With Underlying Heart Disease
In patients with underlying heart disease, such as after a heart attack or in those with heart failure, it is well established that those with PVC heart beats do worse than those without. That does not necessarily mean that the PVC ’s are responsible for the poor outcomes but rather a reflection of the underlying heart disease. For example we know that those people that have had a heart attack or heart muscle dysfunction are likely to do worse than those that haven’t, whether or not the PVC’s are present.
So are the PVC’s to blame for the poor outcomes in these patients with underlying heart disease? There is some evidence from studies looking at these populations that PVC’s may lead to heart failure and potentially fatal and non-fatal arrhythmias such as inappropriate sinus tachycardia. One study looking at patients that had a heart attack and also had severely reduced heart function found that the majority of dangerous arrhythmias were started by a PVC heart beat. Its important to note however, use of antiarrhythmic medications to suppress PVC’s in these patients with a heart attack and reduced heart muscle function led to worse outcomes so that strategy was abandoned. Treatment with beta-blockers and in select cases use of implantable defibrillators has been shown to improve outcomes in this population.
In another study, a PVC burden of 25%, basically 1 PVC in every 4th heart beat was associated with heart muscle dysfunction. It was also noted that this dysfunction could be reversed by a procedure to get rid of the PVC’s called an ablation. Numerous studies of patients with reduced heart function but without other structural heart disease have shown that in those with a very high burden of PVC heart beats (typically >20,000 a day) an ablation procedure may be of benefit in improving heart function. Despite this, due to the nature of the studies that were not designed to specifically look at this, it is still difficult to know for sure which came first, the PVC’s or the reduced heart function.
PVC Heart Beats – Summary
Occasional PVC heart beats are common and in general not of concern. The studies in this article are generally concerning those with more frequent PVC’s. In those with underlying heart disease such as coronary disease or heart muscle dysfunction, PVC heart beats are associated with worse outcomes, partly due to the fact that the heart is more diseased to begin with. In these patients treatments are not directed toward the PVC’s, but rather toward the diseased heart and include medications such as beta-blockers and in suitable cases the use of implantable defibrillators. These are measures known to improve outcomes. The exception being those with high PVC burden (i.e. >20%) and muscle dysfunction where treatment of the PVC’s with a procedure may result in improvement of the heart muscle function.
In those without a history of heart disease the relationship between PVC’s and outcomes is less clear and outcomes may be related to the presence of undiagnosed heart disease. In these patients work up may include studies to rule out underlying heart disease such as echocardiography and stress testing. Also important is the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. In very symptomatic patients or those with high PVC burden, i.e. greater than 20% referral should certainly be made to an electrophysiologist to discuss treatment options. In general even those with fairly frequent PVC’s who have had underlying heart disease ruled out can be reassured and likely have a good prognosis.
I am 21 years old. 2 years ago I saw a cardiologist and had a sonogram of my heart, as well as multiple EKGs and a stress test, and my doctor diagnosed me with benign PVC’s.
one week ago I visited the local ER, experiencing many more PVC’s than I am accustomed to within a 24 hour period. I also was feeling dizzy, breathless, and my chest felt uncomfortable. The doctors performed an EKG, x-ray, and gave me fluids through an IV. Then they sent me home, saying it was nothing to worry about. 7 days later I am still feeling exactly the same as when I visited the ER. I followed up with my cardiologist within the week and he told me I was fine, only prescribing magnesium tablets. I am still experiencing tons of skipped heart beats/fluttering inside my chest every hour. Dizziness, breathlessness, and chest discomfort.
I want to trust my doctors but I fear that these symptoms are serious. I fear that my heart is going through too much stress, having multiple PVC’s for too long and will become weak. Are my fears well-grounded? What should I do?
Hi Kathryn – Not sure if this will help, but I also have PVCs as well (about 4% of total heartbeats). I have had EKGs as well as a sonogram, and although the doctors see the PVCs, they say that since there is no underlying heart condition, that they are benign. I also get the occasional ‘floating’ feeling and a little tightness in my chest from time to time. I’m not convinced that these symptoms are all heart related, but one thing to remember is that anxiety can be a big factor with the way you feel, including the PVCs. If left unchecked, it can be an endless cycle. You feel the PVCs, and your anxiety goes up…You get more anxiety, and the PVCs increase…on and on.
I was told that as long as the PVCs are not happening in a row with no regular heartbeats in-between, then doctors are not concerned, but I know that they can still be bothersome mentally. I suspect that I’ve always had these PVCs, as many have them but pay them no attention. Unfortunately, once you dial into them, then you are constantly aware.
Set a goal to put these in the back of your mind and focus on life in general, whether that be hobbies, family, work, etc. Hopefully, you’ll get back to a point where you pay them no mind. Good luck!
My name is jeff and I’m 51 I’m getting pvc more often recently. Before when I got them I thought I was having a heart attack when I went to the doctor they went away before test were done and of course nothing was monitored and ekg showed my heart was normal. I’ve had them many times for two years now but recently I had an attack of very frequent skips n starts in the heart and got dizzy as well I went to er but they saw them on the monitor and ekg and told me that there benign and the dizziness was caused by anxiety due to the skiping . I have an appointment in the future with cardiologist to get a monitor but the dizziness is real because of the skipped beats and don’t let them tell you different. This may be common for them in the medical industry but it’s not with me. It’s debilitating and hard to function at work when these attacks happen. Believe it or not I hope they find a real problem because I can’t stand this benign one.
Hey Jeff, have you found a solution yet? Mine are so bad, I can handle a couple an hour but when it’s one a minute they get scary and I feel like going to the ER. Mine seem to be related to my stomach and possible vagal nerve.
I would do anything to stop them.
I agree. It has to do with the stomache and vagus nerve. I often feel like belching a lot when I feel the PVCS going on.
I feel like mine are stomach related as well when my heart pauses and catches up it sends air to my stomach causing immediate belching.
Omg yeah i have the same thing, usually when i eat, anywhere between 15-30 minutes later i burp a lot and have palps like crazy. They also seem to get worse, or better with position. If i have my knees up pushing against my stomach, they start, if i lay flat on my back i usually get them, on my right side a bit as well. On my left side though it stops them, if i sit up it usually stops them when reclining.
But 100% positive it has something to do with my stomach and the vagus nerve, DRs WILL NOT acknowledge this though. They say there is no correlation. Nonsense. I have acid reflux and gerd, antacids help but only prescription ones. Sadly the only one that REALLY works well is Omeprazole and it’s known to cause genuine REAL heart problems.
Hi I’m 33 years old, I started getting severe pvc’s after I got food poisoning, it was very odd. After ER and cardiologist visits there was nothing they could do besides put me on medicine. I was already taking a ton. I lived with them for about a year then I decided to change my diet and that took them away completely. The diet I did was the Whole30. Only for 30 days a couple times a year and I’ve had no problems at all. I hope this helps some. The diet is extreme but it’s only 30 days.
Yes the Vagus Nerve and the stomach can create these non stop PVC’s- my doctor said so. It is so scary. I have never had them so bad as I have now for 6 days straight just did a monitor so I will see what is says.
Hey guys I get PVC’s as well and lots of them. There is something they can do it is call an Ablation which will stop them but if they are not that bad. I would wait till they worsen. What they do is they take you in for a procedure that is somewhat like a heart cath and they look at where the PVCs are coming from and then they cauterize that area to stop them there is a map they follow of your heart up on the screen so they can see exactly where they’re coming from. Hope that helps!!
Hi Jason,
I’m 50 and discovered yesterday after a trip to my primary physician of 30 years that the strange feelings I’ve had to the last 2 days are PVC’s. They’re very scary for me as well because I’m pretty healthy and have never had any serious issues or health problems at all. My primary physician is very thorough, a Duke and UNC grad so he graduated from top med schools but still it makes you paranoid when one comes on as I do NOT like the feeling that accompanies a PVC at all! My doc told me that anxiety, caffeine and even the spicy jalepenos I know to stay away from didn’t 2 days ago at lunch could have triggered an episode. So to get to the point, anxiety, caffeine and even spicy food which he said affects the vagus nerve in the stomach can be contributing factors ………….oh and he mentioned my age at 50 was also a factor. He indicated (and everything I’ve read thus far confirms it) that PVC’s increase with age. I’m scheduled to take a heart stress test next week so hopefully it looks ok and these PVC’s are truly benign. Hope your test results from the monitor came back negative for any serious complications. I know this isn’t fun : /
I know this post is so so old but I have had PVCs almost off and on all my life and I agree that stomach and vagal feel like they are attached. I’m in a bit of a flare right now if I lost my father last week. For some reason I feel like they’re driving me extra crazy just time. Just checking to see if anybody has any changes since it’s been so many years. Sending you well wishes and God bless, Jason. Thanks, Jenny Jenny
Any relief on the PVCs? I am having problems. [email protected]
Do you get them when straining? I find even sometimes when I’m on the toilet for a poo, they skip, beat, skip, skip skip skip, until I take a breath! Grrr so annoying!
I have gerd as well and just started getting pvc’s a fee weeks ago. You need to ask your Dr. About Gastric cardia syndrome. It’s a real thing and is a link between Gerd and pvc’s. Hope this helps.
Can they be related to stomach problems
Hi. I am a 45 year old male. I have experienced PVC’s since I was 15 years old. Mine are extremely bad at times. I can go for a few months and not have any, and then I will go for a few months and I will have over 20,000 in a day. My cardiologists (I have seen several over the years) have all told me the same thing. They’re not dangerous, and will not hurt me. I started taking Metoprolol about 20 years ago, and it takes care of the majority of them, but sometimes, they’re a bitch, and they scare the crap out of me still! I hate them! They have changed my life. I have seriously considered having ablation in hopes of getting rid of them all together. I feel your pain!
i had an ablation in march now i have pvc and they are nerve racking i hate them my doctors say they are benign too but the feeling is alarming to me and the prescribed me valium to ease the scare but im still scared to death! i wish there was a way to make them stop i am also on a beta blocker. Mine come and go i may have them for a few days in a row and then nothing for a few days but when they are here i debate everytime on going to the er just so they can yell at me there is nothing to be afraid of and to go home! I give up and im 32 btw.
I’m 49 and like Jillian, I had an ablation almost two years ago to correct AFib. However, since then, I have been experiencing PVC’s regularly and it is really worrying. I’ve been told that I’m fine and that they are not a concern. Unfortunately, they are a concern to me. I sometime feel mild pressure in my chest and mild pain in my left arm. I’m wondering if that is heart-related or just my mind making things worse. My blood pressure averages 120/80 and my resting heart rate is usually about 68-72. I exercise and try to eat right now and I have been losing weight. I just can’t get past the worry with these PVCs. Sometimes I can go days without feeling them, but there are other days that it’s almost few minutes. Typically they seem more frequent at night and after I eat.
Change of diet, adding Sesame Seed Oil, fixed my PVCs
If you are healthy, and you are having PVCs > check what you eat, you may be missing minerals.
last year, I changed my diet, and it seems I messed up the minerals in my body, and started to have PVCs.
I was having ~ 20% of my heart beats where PVCs – which was diagnosed by my doctor during the yearly checkup, where he mentioned this can be caused by lack of minerals in the body.
To make long story short, I changed my diet again, and I was able to get rid of my PVCs.
what worked for me was a diet that included sesame seed, Chic peas, and other grain and vegetables rich in minerals.
It has been a month so far: when I take my daily tablespoon of Sesame oil, my PVCs seems to disappear. If I stop taking the sesame Seed oil, the PVCs come back.
Hope this info can help you.
Sorry to say but your doctor is wrong, my brother was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy as a result of having too manu pvcs (43,000/day) so talk to your cardiologist or switch to another cardiologist please listen to me because arrhythmia induced cardiomyopathy is reversible but you have to stay in control.
hi there i 2 suffer from pvcs since 2015 they got worst in 2018, then they went away now there back since xmas 2021, since jan 22 they gotten baddd i get multiple skips soem times 5 in a row! more often 3! it sucks i knw. i went to the er 3 weeks ago took a ecg test looked fine… hang in there i get them every day! some days r better then others…. oliver
Can they be related to stomach problems
I had an ablation about 8 years ago and now having skipping heart beats pretty bad. I’ve been offered to have another ablation to correct it and am seriously thinking of doing it again for the comfort of a regular heart beats since it does bring on panic attacks. Has yours gotten better?
Hope you’re better. I have the same problem and it’s driving me crazy.
How are you doing. My PVCs are driving me insane. I am crying right now writing this. I just don’t know where to turn. The EP wants to start me on Beta blocker but I am scared. I am going to try the taurine and l-arginine and hope that works if it doesn’t I will try the beta blocker. It is just a horrible thing to cope with. Please let me know how you are getting along.
hi there im oliver been having pvcs since 2015 they suck. i get bad espisodes like 3 in a row as much as 5 or 6! scary hd ecg done 3.5 weeks ago blood work ALL GOOD! getting \ a holter soon i get bad a days decent days! i get them in middle of the night for 2 hours 3 in a row 2 sucks, im still alive lol feb 2 2022 tc good luck to all of u
Just because something is caused by anxiety does not make it not real. Anxiety can 100% cause dizziness and new, unknown to us, phenomenon in our bodies can 100% cause anxiety.
I agree. I’ve lived a long time with PVCs and during times of high stress and anxiety they are far worse – more frequent and more ‘thuddy’. Ask if you can exercise. That helped me to be in better shape, do something you enjoy and find a way to express some of the feelings you may be keeping inside. Meditation, eating well, staying hydrated and calm all help.
I only get them during any type of exercise. I’m not convinced I don’t have heart disease but the doctors say no. These are over taking my life. I’m short of breath and afraid to do anything since they get so bad doing very minimal things!!
Claudette, I am the exact same when it comes to PVCs and exercise. It has gotten to the point where I literally will stay motionless in bed everyday I’m off work because any type of exertion sets it off. I feel so bad for my family and friends bc I’ve become such a hermit since these PVCs started a year ago. The episodes are so scary idk what to do anymore. Multiple doctors say it’s nothing to be concerned with but it sure is concerning in the moment! Would love some advice on how to calm down in the moment. I’m fully aware that anxiety only makes it worse but my brain won’t let me chill. I will say I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s stories, it makes me feel a little less alone. I hope all of you are doing well!
Hi Claudette and Emma,
I’m 37 and have had the same PVC symptoms for 2 years now. I have been healthy and physically active all my life and since having these PVCs I have almost stopped all excercise as it’s terrifying and debilitating when they they happen. I have 2 children who want to play tag and run around with me and it makes me so angry that my body is responding like this. I have been to the ER, had a holter, EKG, echocardiogram, MRI etc. I have even seen a naturopath to help advise supplements. I take iron, B12, vitamin D, magnesium and Vega plus greens which seems to somewhat calm and help my symptoms. Do you ladies also get them from the colder weather? Mine seem worse in the fall/winter and less frequent in the summer. I have also been diagnosed with severe acute tinnitus. Have you tried meditation, yoga? If so, does it help?
Did you ever get these resolved?
I get them during exercise too. Even just walking. It’s been that way 2 years and now over the last few weeks I’m getting them at rest too. I find the ones at rest far more annoying.
Although sometimes the ones on exercise make me so breathless and sweaty i have to stop. It’s horrible
How are you doing now? Please share the outcome. I am 22weeks pregnant and I also cant move otherwise they get so bad so I am bed ridden
Hi there, I have had PVCs for awhile now and recently it’s been at least 10 times every 60 seconds for months now. I’m going to go back to the doc but what helped was when they first started I panicked,cause let’s be honest, the heart runs the body. The cardiologist told me he himself had one ever other beat for two years straight and he’s ok. He also said the more you dwell on them the more you notice them, so he told me if I start to feel them get up and do something to take your mind off of it.
Will say when the cardiologist says he experienced them and said he wasn’t too worried that really helped my anxiety. Also if they are followed with dizziness or racing heartbeat I would get it checked out
Hope that helps
I was wondering when you said your doctors say no regular heartbeats and between do you mean just the pause then thud pause then thud a pause thud and so on like that? Please these are unbearable….
It’s 2 or more PVC’s in a row. One PVC then a regular beat then another PVC is something the doctors are not concerned with. It’s the multiple PVC’s in a row that can cause a fatal rhythm. Although one is scary enough. Especially when you are sensitive to feeling them.
My sentiments exactly as I’ve never noticed them if I’ve had them before now but after getting confirmation that what I was feeling is indeed my heart, it becomes very concerning even if and when most cardiologist dismiss it to benign. They can dismiss it all they want but at the end of the day it’s not normal heart activity.
Actually this is not correct. You can have couplets or multiple ectopics and this also can be normal.
Please watch the cardiologist on the video below. He is amazing
https://drsanjayguptacardiologist.com/vlog/how-common-are-pvcs-pacs-nsvt-and-bigeminy-in-otherwise-completely-healthy-normal-people/
two pvc’s in a row cant cause fatal rhythm if u are healthy and in any condition.it not so easy to say,it can cause serious disturbance.pvc/s are dangerous when they are more than 2000 in a day.ablation is required. pvs’s are more dangerous when they develop after MI.increases risk of fatal arhythmias u was talking above.
Hey I know this is a old spot you may not see it, but I have PVCs I think it’s like it fluttering then a big thud and back to normal or sometimes I’ll have a flutter and then a thud and another flutter then and then it will thud and go back to normal, I had an ablation for SVT in 2017 and apparently have a structural normal heart, for me they come and go when they want, sometimes months before apart, just when I get them it’s terrifying and get them many in a hour
Thank you for this read. I needed to hear this.
I needed to hear this whole thread. I am in absolute misery with this. I hate that people go through this but I’m, selfishly?, glad I’m not the only one. Best wishes to all of you. And if anyone else has a good resource/forum please share.
Thank you. That is exactly how I feel. After reading all the threads, it’s comforting knowing I’m not the only one. It does mess with your mind and really has you think about the end of life cycle. They all say, your fine your ok it’s benign. But man does it mess with your head! Stay strong all and thanks for posting up. It did help reading the comments
These comments actually calmed me down ! I go through PVC flare ups . Even went to the ER had CT scans and everything is normal ! This feeling is not normal !!!!
Thank you. That is exactly how I feel. After reading all the threads, it’s comforting knowing I’m not the only one. It does mess with your mind and really has you think about the end of life cycle. They all say, your fine your ok it’s benign. But man does it mess with your head! Stay strong all and thanks for posting up. It did help reading the comments
Such a helpful comment for us anxiety ridden PVCers out here! Thank you.
I have been having these pvc’s for a long time. Back in my 20’s I would feel one every now and then, but I always thought the twitch inside my chest was caused by a diaphragm muscle (never panicked)
I started experiencing pvc’s more often during my 30’s after I changed my 5 day per week weight lifting routine to 3 additional days of cardio. One day While wearing a cardio monitor I realized that the twitch inside my chest was a pvc.
I saw a cardiologist and I was told not to worry about it, to try to practice some yoga or meditation and to cut back on the caffeine. I slowed down the intensity of the cardio work outs and the pvc episodes went away for a while.
I’m in my early 40’s and started feeling these things more frequently than ever. I can relate to the anxiety described in some of the comments posted. I find interesting the comments regarding the vagus nerve and the gerd. I have been battling with recurring heartburn and I have to take omeprazole to control it. On the days I take higher doses of omeprazole, or days my stomach feels upset, I tend to have a higher number of pvc episodes.
I saw a cardiologist 5 months ago and was told not to worry about it (for a 2nd time)
I believe it is completely normal to freak out and to feel frustrated. That twitch in the chest could turn in to something really annoying the more you think about it.
Don’t let it take your mental peace away. Know that you are not alone.
Get checked at least once a year and see a doctor if you experience additional symptoms.
God Bless
Same case with me! I have about 4% PVCs for about 6 months now. Echo, Holter, EKG all checked out. Cardiologist says everything is fine and the PVCs may go away on their own and come back from time to time. Cardiologist asked me to come back in a year any way to keep a check. I have no dizziness, no chest discomfort or pain but I being an anxious person relate any and everything with heart nowadays. E.g., pain due to excess stretching in yoga — I relate it with heart. I agree it is this cycle of anxiety–palpitations—anxiety and I really want to break this.
My PVCs did go away for a week once and for two days on another instance but they came back. Also, I have figured that I have food sensitivities and certain foods trigger PVCs for me
This is super similar to me! So sorry to everyone experiencing this but so happy we have each other. Stay strong! We’ve got this.
Tried checking out your caffeine content. I noticed mine get worse after a cup of coffee or with the soda with extra caffeine they seem to diminish with no caffeine just a thought.
Well that’s easier said than done of course .I’m in constant fear of going into full blown afib
Hi Kathryn–I’m male, 20, college student. I get times where I’ll get PVCs — sometimes during or after exercise. I’m getting them now. They called mine benign too, but it doesn’t help my anxiety about them. They scare me & then they seem to get worse during these periods–maybe 50/hr. I finally went to doctor a month ago. They did echocardiogram (sonogram?) ECG, blood tests & said I just had a panic disorder. He also said I hyperventilate a lot–which is where you breath in too much oxygen (02) in relation to carbon dioxide (CO2). That causes the EXACT same symptoms you described. I get chest tightness, clammy hands, feel like I’m gonna die. The cardiologist said I was also “moderately dehydrated” but otherwise my heart was good. He said I have to calm down bc anxiety causes the release of adrenaline when I worry about a skipped beat, & that this then makes more PVCs. (I get a couple weeks of them, then they go away for months but come back.) Drives me bats. The ER doc gave me some xanax but it just makes me tired so I quit them. I NEVER trust anything a doctor tells me; it’s just the way I am. But they’re mostly good at their job so I guess I have no choice. Anyway, I know this probably doesn’t help, because this stuff terrifies ME. But from what you said, it looks like you’ve taken good steps and have reassurance that you’re ok. I really hope this helps you. Darius Mcsean
That exact thing happens to me too! Gone for months then I’ll feel them for a month… Then gone again.
I do use the Xanax too but by quarters and halves. A whole pill would put me to sleep. And I have the .25 lowest dose available.
I have PVC’s also, I take half of .25 alprazolam and makes me sleepy, the whole pill would knock me out also.
1.look after your teeth, it’s a major source of irritability for the heart through systemic infection and bacterial gateway
2.reduce red meat intake
3.rhythmically exercise-walk,run,cycle and swim avoiding going above 80% bpm capacity
4.excercise everyday
5.theobromine in chocolate,alcohol,caffeine, cigarettes and bad people cause the heart to stress, be strict with this
6.again you must excercise esp cycling, walking or swimming
7. If you do one thing food wise-eat one avocado a day
8.food- less red meat, nothing from a can, Whole Foods, organic if possible, good oily fish- mackerel Tuna, salmon at least twice a week, an apple a day.
9.eliminate processed sugar reduce all sugar
10.MSG make palpitations more pronounced and frequent, learn where it hides in foods such as naturally in mushrooms and it’s numbers 620 e624 etc, no Parmesan cheese
11.reduce salt intake to1000mg per day, read every label and where salt is hidden
12.eat one banana a day for potassium
13.stop eating bread,the three sss’s
it’s full of salt, sugar and shit.if your going to eat bread, don’t complain to anyone about your palps, pvcs, ectopics, funny heart again
14. Supplements may work for some people, ask your doctor first as E.G, something simple as too many fish oil tablets and certain types of blood thinners can result in intestinal bleeding and serious problems
15. Magnesium, try a highly absorbable type, it comes in many forms, and play with amount that’s suits, magnesium can make you shit your pants
16. Me-10,000-20,000 palps a day, exercising happy happy happy maybe dead soon maybe dead later
You- palpitations, no excercise, sad, worry worry worry, stress maybe dead soon maybe dead later!
You’re an idiot.
That is AWESOME!!!! LOL
Great read Finn
Interesting said, bravo!
Honestly, thanks for this.
Too funny! But true
You can be happy and be well by a good duet and exercise or be miserable and fearful and what ties it change NOTHING! Still have the Palos either way! Be happy is more fun!!!
Before you start taking all the supplements please make sure you check with your doctor. Some of the things he says it’s fine and some are not. Not everyone has the same ability / body / make up as this person, but I do agree with many parts of it! As far as magnesium goes please check your magnesium first with a doctor. I was doing magnesium thinking it would help me and I went too high which can cause dangerous arrhythmias. Always check with your doctor before you add a supplement like this…., and get bloodwork. Even potassium.
I have had pvcs on and off for at least 12 years that I can remember, but 2 weeks ago I started getting them in the morning for 5 days in a row with lots of fluttering. I went to see a cardiologist and had a holter for 24 hours and then did an echocardiogram with stress. The holter showed the doc I was having them and the echo with stress was normal. He diagnosed them as benign, which I thank God, and just asked me to take my blood pressure pill betablocker, soon as I get up and eat ASAP after that. So fine.
But here is the thing I was so astonished and happy when I started eating canned
Sardines. They stopped immediately, it’s been a week and none. It was just a fluke I was looking to drop my triglycerides and lo and behold they disappeared.
my thought is if u haven’t tried them, try may be it will work. Fish oil mega 3s prevents arrhythmias which I wasn’t aware of but great. I eat a can a day morning and afternoon half and half.
God Bless
Mike
Mike,
How often were you having PVCs
Prior to eating the sardines daily?
Also, have you had a return of PVCs?
Thanks for the discussion,
Dan
Hi Mike,
I was recently diagnosed with PVCs as a result of going into the ER after 3 days of suffering from fluttering feeling from the heart, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Initially the ER doc wanted to send me home after diagnosing me with an irregular heartbeat but I insisted on further testing due to getting no relief from the symptoms…so they kept me overnight and hooked me up to a heart monitor at which time revealed irregular beats every 2-3 seconds! It drove the doctors and nurses crazy that night, hooking me up to a defibrillator and administering heart meds until the cardiologist saw me the next morning! He ran a number of tests and determined it to be benign pvcs…because they were occurring so often he instructed me to see an electrophysiologist immediately. I did the following week and he scheduled me for an ablation. Unfortunately they weren’t able to detect the pvcs during the ablation procedure due to the fact that they had me on flecanide which was too strong to alllow the pvcs to surface. Now I’m scheduled for another ablation next week and have been instructed to stop the meds at least 5 days before. I’ve now stopped and last night I had such an awful pvc attack I contemplated going to the ER again but instead I googled natural products to treat pvcs and it suggested fish oils and coq10. I been taking vitamins and herbs for the last 15 yrs and fortunately I had these products handy! I took one pill of each and within 45 min I was relieved from the pvcs! You are def right about the benefits of sardines because of the fish oil contents! Thanks for sharing your story because it confirmed to me the benefits of vitamins and herbs!
I know that this post is old, but how was your ablation? it helped?
I am a 45 year old woman. I’ve been having PVCs for about 8 months. At first I thought that I was having a heart attack. They were scary. When some of them would come they would cut my breath off, I literally could not breath. But after 3 ER visits I felt that they were missing something or just blowing me off. I wore a heart monitor for 2 weeks and he said that there were many PVCs but that they were not life threating or dangerous. I still have them and yes they are still scary and they keep me second guessing my doctor. After reading all of your stories I feel a bit of relief because we all are basically living the same terror. I have them daily most of the day. I hope that you all feel better and that someone will find a fix to this disturbing nuisance.
I would ask to have your thyroid checked, too. I know my thryroid has gone “hyper” when my PVCs return.
An overactive thyroid definitely causes irregular heartbeats! I have had benign pvc’ s for years with a bout of Afib & Vtacs.. I also have mild coronary artery disease. I’m 50 in July and I have not been in Afib or V-tachs for years & now I’m back in Vtach… many pvc’ s with couplet & triplet pvc’ s (2 -3 beats at a time would be pvc). I am now on metoprolol and my symptoms had gone away for 12 days… then suddenly pvc’ s again…. no Vtach this time… thank God! My family Dr is not concerned but I am as Vtach can cause sudden cardiac arrest. I’m making my own appt with a cardiologist. We are in charge of our own health and we need to be reassured & comfortable with diagnosis & treatment! I’ve been a nurse for 30 years so I’m not medically ignorant! We will see what happens… awaiting results from a 14 day holter monitor (Zio Patch).
I’m 22 and same stuff started happening to me. Turns out my palpitations and PVCs as well as occasional tacychardia isn’t as benign as my first cardiologist thought and didn’t bother testing further.
I have dysautonomia (POTS and OH), LGL Syndrome, and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (type iii but they’re currently testing for type v)…..they think most likely the pvcs and palpitations are all tied in with these. My stress test, echo, and everything else are all normal.
I’m so sorry you have these but thank you for bringing it to everyone’s attention I think some people on these comments well actually just one particular one can be a little harsh and expect everyone to be able to exercise exercise and do all these certain things but what they don’t take into consideration is that’s not always anxiety. My daughter has mild pots and EDS also, and I have some autonomic (can’t spell it ha) issues myself. So thank you again for your input. I understand people are just trying to help telling everyone just to get over the anxiety but sometimes you have to take a little bit deeper. God bless and be well.
Try eliminating pineapple. I had PVC’s for years and finally through the process of elimination found out it was pineapple. Apparently there is an acid in pineapple that compromises the electro chemical process that controls heart rate.
It’s been three years since I’ve felt those suckers and hopefully, never again.
Do you know what is so crazy… I can hardly eat anything sometimes without having them… But pineapple doesn’t bother me! That’s why I always try to stress on these posts, not yours, but when some people push people to exercise and do magnesium which can be dangerous, things that they should always ask the doctor first. I wish mine was just pineapple LOL. I’m so happy you’re feeling better! I will agree with an exercise thing for me… That helps so so much and also learning to handle toxic relationships. That is a big one!
Caffeine, chocolate and diet coke caused my PVCs, especially the diet coke which triggered rapid heartbeats resulting at times, panic attacks. Gave the stuff up and happy to report no more PVC episodes!
diet coke in general or is caffiene free diet coke ok??
No caffeine my doc said
I think it’s from caffeine toxicity and I am reducing my iodine supplementing too for now. Seems to be reduced by small amount of Valium, and hoping reducing my caffeine will make them go away again. The just started again a few months ago and hadn’t had them for a long time. Not sure but alcohol might trigger them too, like red wine, but I don’t drink.
It was the aspartame in the diet coke that did it. I found the same thing with diet coke. Avoid all foods with it in them.
I’ve had infrequent PVC’s all my life however two years ago ended up in the ER 4x as they were so bad and disturbing. Every third beat lasting all day. I had multiple magnesium drip IV which initially did help however eventually no longer was effective. . Finally had appointment with cardiologist which ordered propranolol which I had terrible side effects, as soon as I walked quicker or moved quicker I would feel dizzy and have horrendous pressure on my chest, same thing happened with Metropolol. Finally referred to EP and Flecainide was prescribed, horrible dizziness and blurriness lasting first week however did stop the PVC’s however has caused large amounts of swelling in hands, feet, legs, abdomen causing me to gain over 15 lbs in water retention. So I have stopped the Flecainide for 24 hours now so hoping the PVC’s don’t return too badly until I can reach my EP. I find it very frustrating that each specialist keeps saying they are not dangerous and not too worry, this is BS as it completely affects one’s quality of life, I’m not a complainer and my pain tolerance is high however when I have these darn PVC’s is enough to put anyone over the edge. I am hoping due to being so medication sensitive that ablation can be offered. Fingers crossed and I wish each of you well
I fully understand your situation, as I have had these pvc seen in my ekg while in the ED. Yet when I saw a cardiologist he had me wear a monitor at home for a month. Ask them to fit you with an EKG event monitor. The problem is that when I would have these issues you described it would be at home or school. But you have to know if it was something serious, like very very bad, you , unfortunately, would enter be with us.
But I understand your concern, as my doc says its nothing that can hurt me. Also when I pressed the issue he said he doesnt know what the issue is. Soooo, yeah it’s just not too comforting, and I understand. I hope you get your symptoms under control.
You are suffering from anxiety my friend thise symptoms are from anxiety believe it or not not from the pvcs
Batuhan: In many of these cases, I believe you are absolutely correct. I have had PVCs since I was a teenager and am 50 now. They came and went, and I always wanted to have a diagnosis and treatment to solve the problem. After multiple acute episodes and proper cardiologist screening, I have long come to the conclusion that they are, for me, anxiety driven. Acknowledging that and recognizing the triggers in life have greatly reduced then to almost none. More importantly, when I do have them flair up, annual heart checkups, exercise, and diet, provide me with the confidence to have little to know amplified anxiety and pass through them knowing they will abate post the trigger.
That being said, I think without a proper approach that includes a positive heart evaluation from a cardiologist, individuals could indeed be suffering from something other. The conclusion that PVCs are anxiety induced (which I think is largely the cause in most individuals) should be prefaced by “after you have been cleared by a cardiologist to rule out any heart related issues”…
Excellent comment!
hi sir i hv pacs at times i get 3 in a row several times a day, should i be concerned?
Too funny! But true
You can be happy and be well by a good duet and exercise or be miserable and fearful and what ties it change NOTHING! Still have the Palos either way! Be happy is more fun!!!
Love this!! It’s not always anxiety. Thanks for posting!!!
Kathryn, I have the same problem. I have managed to relieve a majority of the PVCs by taking an electrolyte supplement. One precaution, be aware of your potassium intake as too much is very bad for you. The one I use is Vega Sport Hydrator. I recommend the Lemon-Lime, because the Berry flavor sucks. I hope this is helpful for you.
-Bill
I’m a 54 year old female. I’ve been to the ER more times than I can count with having skipped or racing heart in the last 20 years with nothing ever showing anything wrong as my symptoms seem to go away by the time I get there. A few times for sure I thought I was “checking out”. Thursday I called 911 as it was the first time I had palpations and they weren’t going away. The EKG finally saw I was having PVC’s which the paramedics said was nothing to worry about even though I thought I was dying. I immediately went to my cardiologist and I was still having the non stop PVC’s. He gave me two injections of a beta blocker and the palpations stopped-for the moment. As soon as I started doing anything physical…just walking…they came back. The doctor put me on a prescription for beta blockers…12.5 milligrams once in the morning and once and night. It’s been great..I’ve not had any major PVC’s since. I’m wearing a monitor for 3 weeks to see if they find a cause. The downside is my low heart rate. It seems to stay in the low 40s all the time which doesn’t seem right. Even when I exercise it only gets in the 90’s. Anyone else have any input on beta blockers and low heart rate?
I have recently undergone an aortic heart valve replacement (TAVR or Trans Aortic Valve Replacement) and an endarterectomy or a “clean out” of my right carotid artery. In the Cardiac Rehab program I am enrolled in, PVC’s began showing up every other heart beat on the monitor being watched by the nurses as I was exercising. I, too, was told that it wa nothing to worry about. One nurse said that she had PVC’s and no history of cardiac problems. The issue you raise as to heart beat count was answered by the nurse. Apparently, the PVC interferes with the monitoring equipment/software and cuts the rate in half. My home blood pressure meter (brand new) Microlife (purchased at Costco for $39.95) also showed not only a lower (by one half) heart rate, but also exhibited the symbol designating an “irregular heartbeat”.
I have a very similar situation as Claudette Sosnoski. In my case it looks like a magnesium supplement (200 mg per day in 3 doses, 100mg chelate, 2 x 50mg chloride) fixed situation very well (no PVCs). Many people warn against using beta blockers (BB). You might have a tough time stopping BB, because of the adrenaline which will be stronger after stopping BB. I am not sure if you can take Mg and BB together. A good question is why it is so difficult to store enough magnesium for a decent training. I supplemented for 4 months at 600mg daily (400mg citrate, 100 mg Chloride, 100mg chelate) and I still have to eat this 200mg daily to prevent PVC attacks. For me it all started in 2013 and just doesn’t want to go away:-(
What happened in 2013? Did you start to have panic attacks? Anxiety disorder?
I have a feeling that many of us developed these PVCs/PACs because of panic and anxiety disorders that started at certain time in our life.
I did take a beta blocker with magnesium. No one ever had an issue with it Dr wise until we realized too much magnesium. And I will tell you for sure it is crazy getting off a beta blocker. Your doctor may act like it’s not a big deal and to just taper quickly… Do not do this. Taper slowly slowly slowly. Your adrenaline has to figure out how to regulate itself again. Symptoms will include flushed face, getting quick heart rate easier when you get upset, and different things like this but it does eventually go away. Thought that might help in case anybody’s getting off of a BB. Also make sure the doctor checks your magnesium, I was taking the magnesium and it made mine too high which can also be very dangerous. Xo
I am prescribed the same BB as you same strength. I am so afraid to start taking them. Have you had any bad side effects? My heart rate tends to be on the low side and I know BBs decrease your heart rate. I have terrible pvcs for the last 3 weeks everyday. I am out of my mind right now. Please let me know how you are getting along.
Hi, I am a 35 year old female with pvcs/pacs since being a teenager. I also have a severe anxiety disorder and I think it is probably due to the irregular beats and always thinking I’m dying. I was on a beta blocker (metoprolol 25mg, 1/2 in am & 1/2 in pm)for five years. I had no negative side effects from it at all and really helped with the extra beats. I have been off it for over a year and experience the irregular beats maybe once a week on average. but in the past week my extra beats have increased so much and I have never experienced anything like this before. I started the keto diet and a few days later started getting PVCs/PACs every minute or two. It has been constant for the last nine days. Went off the diet, and started up the beta blocker again. Still having them. This is just a nightmare.
I hear you completely! I go through bad heart PHASES, full of pvcs, pacs, couplets, tachy, flip flops, it is awful! Beta blockers will help. I have used them every day for 9 years
Have you been to an E.P. for possible ablation? Do you have any heart issues that cause these beats?
Which beta blocker?
Taking a low-dose iron and copper supplement seems to help immensely.
Does any one clamly or sweaty with your pvcs
hi i hd pvcs since 2015 now they bother me off and on from 2015 til 17 at the time not to bad at all, since 2018 got a bit worst since late last year more severe i get 3 pvcs in a row some times more scary i wen to er 3 weeks ago hd ecg blood work done results fine but i requested heart molter hand in there kathryn oliver
Hey how are you doing? I am massively struggling with my skipped beats and svt. It has completely taken over my life. I am up most of the night because of the sensation. Drs aren’t doing anything about it just keep throwing tablets at me. I had an echo back in 2015 but that is no good now. They are getting increasingly worse by the month
I had a heart attack and quintuple bypass in 2006 at age 50. The only damage to the heart was the development of Right Bundle Branch Block. I was told it was benign and to forget about it. So, in November 2022, I began feeling dizzy with flutter in my chest. Since I regularly check BP and pulse, I discovered the PVCs. I got in to see the Cardiologist after to ER trips where I was told not to be concerned. The Cardiologist did monitoring for 14 days and concluded I had around 8k to 9k PVCs daily, about 8.5% of my total heartbeats. I had a treadmill stress test which showed no new blockages and my beta blocker Metoprolol was changed to Carvedilol. I’m still having flutter and palpations. It’s very annoying. I’m in that phase we’re the PVCs raise anxiety, and in turn anxiety brings in more PVCs. My Cardiologist is seeing me every three months because I have a dilated thoracic Aorta to monitor it. I only hope it doesn’t become an aneurysm. Just wanted to share. Good luck everyone.
I to suffer from this pvc type arrhythmia, since I was 20 I’m now 61 I had all manners of skipped beats, waxing, and waning over the years, sometimes I have several skip beats in a row I type of SVT. I’ve never had a heart attack or any other type of heart element just PVCs over the years and working in the medical field myself I have a better understanding of this and as scary and uncomfortable as these arrhythmias can be, cardiologist know suppressing them in a normal heart with drugs, such as antiarrhythmics can cause sudden death in studies done in the 90s , I drink no caffeine whatsoever. I quit smoking, and use no illegal drugs, but they still persist but I have had great year’s, during times when they are bad I take it easy, in times when there better I hit it hard and enjoy life. Stay away from caffeine smoking, otherwise try to live a normal life as you can, I know well the fear and how uncomfortable these type of arrhythmias can be they can control your life and be debilitating, but over the years I have learned to live my life with them, and they are a part of me, you may be able to find a Doctor Who would be willing to prescribe you an anti-arrhythmic I personally would not recommend it, considering how studies have shown up to be detrimental to people with the otherwise normal hearts, I take beta blocker can be of some help, if appropriate get the best out of each day, we all know that tomorrow’s not promised this is an element like any other difficult to live with, but manageable all my best
Good Morning Everyone,
I have been experiencing skipped heart beats for years I am 38 now and two weeks ago It was bad. It gets to the point where I almost feel like the wind gets knocked out of me and I have to cough to restart my heart (if that makes any sense) I have had many ekg’s and of course at the time they weren’t happening. Now my Dr. put me on a Body-Guardian monitor for a month to see if they can pick up anything when the Cardiologist reads my results, but of course the thumps haven’t really been happening since I’ve had this on and so far its been a week. Mine come and go sometimes lying down sometimes just sitting all depends and I had also cut out my caffeine intake over a year ago and still happening. I will keep you all updated on my results. So glad I found this site, I thought i was the only one.
Definitely not the only one. I have a severe anxiety disorder and notice them more which makes my anxiety worse, then everything gets worse… I have not had coffee in almost a week thinking that would help. Had it worked for you? I only drank one cup a day. But these pvc’s are just annoying. I also thought I was they only one
Hi
I have pvc. Now constantly have fatigue, palpitation, dizzy and all the bad feelings in the world. I also have high qtc reading. Talked to my cardiologist, he said he wouldnt worry about qtc reading cause i am also already assessed as high risk, my pvc burden over 32% and interpolated pvcw are near a normal beats. And from what I understand, it can potentially cause “short circuit” chaotic beats and will eventually make my heart stop!. And now I am constantly worried i have another 3 more month to decide whether to do cartherer ablation( that seems to be the only option) the ablation itself a high risk procedure and might trigger pvc and worse case scenario.. death
I just completed a PVC ablation. I was having thousands a day and on one day with a holter monitor they caught 19,000 plus. Horrible side effects , anxiety etc. I would highly recommend the ablation procedure. I had an AFIB ablation in 2008 and again in 2009 and it cured me of the AFIB. the procedure has gotten much safer and the technology much more refined. I have 5 days out from the ablation and felt a small faint one PVC in 5 days 🙂
Don’t suffer with meds that don’t work. Go to a major center that has done hundreds or thousands each year.
Best of luck
I also am having thousands a day. They put me on sotalol which makes me feel worse….blah! I am scheduled for the ablation in September. I cancelled it 3 times cause I am scared to death. But yes, these side affects are worse then having the procedure. You’ve made me feel better knowing you have done it and feel better.
THANKS
How did the ablation go??
I would definitely get a second and third opinion on the long QT. A lot of times that is misdiagnosed and it is actually a magnesium deficiency or such.
I have had these for there years now. I’ve went to the Er and have had several ekgs. They are more annoying then anything. Mine will come and go through out the day every day. If I’m really stressed they happen a lot more. My doctor even said that I might have a bad heart one day but it won’t be from this. I’m 34. I’m gonna try the figh oil and see if that works
I am a 50 yr old male in good health. I started experiencing SVT last year and went to an EP who performed an ablation. Four months later I started having these PVC. One in every four beats. Should I go back to them for another ablation? I can’t live and work like this. Is there any vitamins or anything I can take to help. Please someone help me. Thank you In advance.
I would go back to the same Dr first, and seek an opinion. What kind of PVC are they, where are they arising from, what is the mechanism etc. A monitor to characterize would also be advised. Once these are answered a treatment plan can be made. Ablation os typically reserved for symptomatic and high volume PVC’s with an appropriate mechanism. You may well be having PAC’s and not PVC’s with the history of SVT ablation.
Thank you so much for your reply Dr. Mustafa Ahmed. My Doctor told me it was PAC and PVC after he did the Holter monitor. I have found that Magnesium helps especially when I get into my work and forget to eat or drink. I am so scared I will die from this. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, I am so scared of dying.
are you still having them?
I am seriously considering ablation. I have recurring SVT and lately have had multiple PVC episodes. I am 70 years old. I’ve had PVC for many years. It was a common occurrence in my 20s, usually about a week before my period, I would have a day with several PVCs. The SVT started about 30 years ago. My cardiologist is one of the best in my area and keeps telling me it’s not a concern. My ECG shows a healthy functioning heart, but it sure doesn’t feel that way sometimes. I’ve had 3 SVT episodes in the last 6 weeks. Normally I have 1-2 a year.
Hi,
I literally just left the cardiologist due to my skipped beats! Started years ago, I’m 38 now and they happen with more frequency, still just a couple of times a week but enough to scare me since I’m supposed to have surgery and they wanted to make sure my heart is healthy. According to the doctor I have benign PVC since after EKG, sonogram etc. nothing else is wrong. Occasionally I do get slightly light-headed when my heart “pauses” but it’s so brief. Nothing short of scary for sure but I really think Kathryn should find another cardiologist because everything I’m reading so far says you shouldn’t be feeling as bad as you do… Hope everything turns out well for you, keep us posted.
Hello, I know this is an old post, I hope you’re doing well. I’ve recently been getting PAC and PVCs. How did you handle the “pauses”? I seem to be getting lightheaded from frequently getting them and it’s getting reaaaaally bothersome.
Its funny, but I have constant PVCs and never feel them. I had a heart attack about 4 months ago and it was pointed out to me then. I am in cardio rehab and they see them about every 3-4 beats while I’m monitored. I had a stress test 2 months ago and at about 140 beats per min. they completely went away and then returned as I rested. I had very little damage (thank god) from my LAD heart attack. I’m getting about 48-50 ejection. After reading this I feel a bit better since the damage was minimal and most issues arise with people who had much greater damage. I did wear a Life vest for 2 months after the heart attack in case the PVCs caused a cardiac arrest. I have no idea when these started and just assume I have had them all my life. Stress and anxiety is never good for the heart so if you have a healthy heart with no underlying conditions then I wouldn’t worry. My heart attack had nothing to do with PVCs. It was strictly hereditary.
Tell me more about your condition. I have almost the same but i have no enough information abt it.
Would be great to see ongoing comments as folks progress.
Wow. Until this site I thought I was alone. My PVC’s actually started with another problem…heart murmurs. My doc describes it as a leaky valve. I was diagnosed with it in ”93. The very first time I noticed them was when I was laying on the couch talking on the phone. My heart just starting racing with extra beats for no apparent reason. It lasted for about 2 mins then stopped but that scared the hell out of me. It’s 2017 now and, of course, I’m feeling PVC’s as we speak. I don’t have the shortness of breath or chest pains yet and pray that never happens. The heart doc put me on Metoprolol ER 50mg. Half in the morning and at night. That work for awhile but I feel the way more frequently now even after talking the medicine. I feel it’s getting worse. They happen at the oddest times- walking, sleeping, working, ect. I feel for everyone on here for I understand what your going through. We just wish we could make it go away. It feels as if it Henders your life in a way.
Oh and P.S. My PVC’s see to be very strong at times, as if my heart wants to jump out of my chest.
You are not alone in this, it’s remarkably common. I see patients every day with PVC’s and in general people can be reassured if the work up has ruled out underlying causes.
Hello i have had pvc for over 15 years i just went did blood the holter monitor eko all that got 24000 was told im ok
Hello Dr I have suffered with these things since I was 23 they go away for awhile maybe months then all of sudden return has a holter monitor about a year ago said the beats were pvc pac and were benign had a stress echo about three months ago before these started up again they seem to be more frequent called my cardiologist and her nurse stated because I had the stress echo that these are probably the same thing I was having when I wore the holter monitor my stress echo was normal thought about trying 250 mg of magnesium . I also have took benadryl for a very very long time I quit 2 days ago thinking maybe that was the cause but still having them any advice I would appreciate it thank you .
The normal echo, structure and function of the heart is reassuring. Often basic lab checks are done to see levels of minerals and electrolytes or hormones such as thyroid. In most cases extra beats are benign in this setting. If associated passing out it may be different, but if no real symptoms, in general reassurance is treatment. If bothersome or a large burden on the monitor, the next step is to seek opinion from an electrophysiologist.
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Disclaimer: The comment response is opinion and in no way affiliated with my employer. It is a vague response that is not to be used as direct medical advice and in no way should replace the opinion of a medical provider.
Hi I have pvcs daily from 4 months and I am very scaredy-cat don’t know how to come out of it plz help me
Glad to have found this dialogue. I’m 47 and one year ago was preparing for a half marathon and in excellent condition. I would have a few PVC beats in a day but not bothersome. I ran a 3.6 mile race last October and overdid it. Got nauseated and after the run couldn’t cool down well. Ever since, my heart feels like it is in ruins. I have several noticeable PVC beats every minute. My resting rate is about 10 bpm higher. Can’t run for more than about 5 minutes and the rate is uncomfortably high. I am quite anxious about this. I’ve had the same tests. I’m told it’s not a big concern. Trying to live without thinking about it but easier said than done. I’m going to seek some anti anxiety meds to see how that might reduce PVC.
I had aortic stenosis for as long as I can remember, they didn’t know if it was congenital or from some sickness. I had surgery 3 years ago, I afibed after surgery. They put me on metaprolo for about a year and was able to go off of it. I have Pvcs and I went back on metaprolo, that made it worse, it slows the heart rate and that seems to make it worse. I take nothing but warfarin because of the artificial valve. The cardiologist says nothing to worry about. Mine seem to affect me more so when resting, but I never noticed them before my surgery. I can relate to what they feel like. The first tme I had them it scared me, I went to the ER! I sympathize with you all.
How are you doing now?
I only seem to have PVCs when I lie down. Why is being prone a factor?
Jim, my doctor says you feel them more when you’re prone, because you are still. When I’m prone, they are awful; when I’m going at a face pace on the elliptical, I don’t feel a thing. I do hate them so! Trying to get in to see a electrophysiologist here in Myrtle Beach, where everyone is retired, is near impossible.
in case you have not found a electrophysiologist. i go in Raleigh nc. they are really wonderful and have helped me a lot with my own pvc and also my svt.
I too have been plagued with what I thought were heart issues. 4cardiologist later I was put on atenalol for my rapid heart beat. It could run 130-140 beats a minute leaving me to feel like a wet dish rag. The meds helped for a while, then last year I ended up in bed. 22 hours a day, weak, unstable and unable to sit up for even short periods of time. I scheduled an appointment with the Mayo clinic in Florida but was told later by a friend that I should see his neurologist. (I thought I had MS). After several tests one of which was a trans esophageal echo I found out I had a huge hole in my heart that I was born with. I asked my new cardiologist why the other four never found it. He said they just were not interested enough to look!!!! My brother who has had two heart attacks and five stints had congenital defects that caused his first attack. His cardiologist taught my cardiologist how to repair the hole. My brother asked his cardiologist if he had a hole in the back of his heart and his cardiologist admitted he has never looked and does not know!!!!!!
I am now throwing more PVCs then ever before and it gets worse the more tired I feel. I am wearing a 30 day heart monitor but I hope I get some answers soon!! Trying to ignore them has not helped and the more I push myself the more that familiar pain between my shoulder blades get in my back. I have not had too much of that since my occluder was placed in February.
Hi make sure our check you Vitamin D, b12, potassium, magnisuim and Iron levels. Also check thyroid and hormones.
If anything is out of wacky it can cause these symptoms.
Also your gut, like constipation can cause PVC’S as well.
Also vitamin k
Hi make sure our check you Vitamin D, b12, potassium, magnisuim and Iron levels. Also check thyroid and hormones.
If anything is out of wack it can cause these symptoms.
Also your gut, like constipation can cause PVC’S as well.
I am 66 and have had chest pressure and even numbness in left arm for the last couple of years….I even went to the ER a couple of times, thinking I was having the “big one.” Finally, one of my doctors suggested a Holter monitor and with that they found that have have about 14000 PVCs in a 24 hour period…..They did a Nuclear stress test and an echocardiogram and both show normal heart function with no blockage and no valve issues….They put me on Metoprolol …12.5 mg (low dose) but it made me feel like I was drunk and did NOTHING for the light-headedness/dizziness I was experiencing….They did another EKG and estimated that my PVCs are now in the 20-25 K range….and put me on 180 mg Verapamil…..I tolerate that better, but still having the same light headedness/dizziness, and fatigue…..(I hate taking ANY drugs, but guess I am stuck with them for awhile to see if the drug can bring down my PVC level….Also, my resting heart rate is only between 40-45 BPM……(probably explains why i feel like a wet dishrag!) Anyone having issues with THIS many PVCs? They TELL me it isn’t life-threatening; that I should exercise and do my normal walking, etc., but frankly, it makes me really nervous and I get very short of breath…..Anyone having success with Verapamil or Metoprolol……If it doesn’t get controlled with meds, they indicate that ablation (burning the heart in the area they THINK the PVCs are originating from……?? Yikes….Anyone have any experience or advice on THIS?
Thanks….I appreciate any thoughts you might have
I will assume you have been evaluated by an electrophysiologist if not thats where you need to go next. PVC ablation is well described and depending on the origin can be a very effective treatment. You clearly have symptoms and so some form of treatment is worrying. A trial of an anti arrhythmic drug may be worthwhile. If that fails then ablation certainly is an option and in specialist hands there is a good experience with it.
How do you find a good ablation doctor? Also, what is the overall success rate for pvc ablation?
Same case here… my EP told me that he is more concern about ectopic(premature) ventricular beat that fire at near my normal heartbeat with high possibility will “short circuit” the current and finally stop my heart
I am experiencing the exact same issues and concerns as you! How can one excercise when you feel so crappy and out of breath all the time? I am awaiting the results for wearing a heart monitor for two weeks. I’ll keep you posted on my results and treatment. Good luck.
I’m 43 and have had PVCs for about 6 years. When I first noticed them I was having around 11,000 in a 24 hour period. I recently did a 48 hour halter and had 53,000 PVC beats, which I was told is about 25% of my total beats. Physically I feel fine most of the time and don’t even notice them, though rarely I get light headed either when hungry or right after eating.
I saw an electrophysiologist, who told me that people with more than 10 to 20% PVCs have a chance of developing a weak heart over time and he recommended I take a low dose of Verapamil for the rest of my life. I’m not sure that’s the best idea since the side effects for that drug look scary and Verapamil lowers the heart rate and blood pressure and my heart rate is already low (blood pressure is borderline normal).
I was told ablation likely would not be an option because the PVC source is likely near the heart’s electrical tissue, but he couldn’t be sure without actually doing an exploratory catheter.
I was told the alternative is to medicine or ablation is to have an Echo Cardiagram every 6 months for the rest of my life. The electrophysiologist didn’t have a definitive answer as to what would be best, but said if it was him, he’d take the Verapamil.
Hey Michael. I’m 45 and basically the same as you. I’ve experienced these since I was 15. I’m having them now as we speak. I was wondering if you went on the Verapamil? If so, has it helped? I have taken Metoprolol 50 mg for about 20 years, and it helps me a lot. But I still have episodes where they are out of control. But at least the Metoprolol has stopped them from happening every day. I was like you, having 20,000 or more a day. When I have those crazy episodes with them, I can have anywhere from 20-40,000 a day. I hope you have gotten better with them. Thanks!
Hey Brian, I went on Verapamil for about a week, but it didn’t seem to help at all and made my existing tinnitus worse (I’ve read it can cause hearing loss) so I stopped taking it. I was later put on Lisinopril for high blood pressure, but that has no effect on the PVCs either.
That was over 2 years ago. My electrophysiologist has told me to get an ECG yearly to check for weakening of the heart muscle. So far I’ve been told there’s no evidence of that.
Other than that I haven’t done anything. I don’t normally notice the PVCs unless I take my pulse. If I do I normally have 3 normal beats for every PVC, with a one to one happening every now and then. The PVCs are almost always constant (around 900 an hour).
I had three strokes age 34 due to undiagnosed hole in my heart and undiagnosed clotting disorder. Open heart surgery to fix the hole (and found anyerism) at 35. When I started feeling my heart flipping around I panicked. I was diagnosed with PVC and PAC. Because I was already on a beta blocker for a high pulse and I had a very low blood pressure my doctor recommended BIOFEEDBACK. It was a Godsend! Once I was convinced that I wasn’t going to die from it, I just wanted to not feel it. The therapy was great. I highly recommend it for anyone who is suffering with the floppy heart feeling. Also any type of meditation will help as well.
I had my first PVC 15 years ago, after I got the Depo-Prevera injection. I started having bouts of temporary paralysis in my legs, numbness in my arms and face, and started to have anxiety attacks, piercing back pain, weird cooling sensations, like water running down my brain, balance problems, temporary blindness, etc. Over the years, it’s all gotten worse! I’ve been to the emergency room so many times, they don’t even have to ask my name! I’ve been seen by a doctor who gave me the Holter monitor. Everything came back fine. Just this week, though, it’s been constant, and I have a stabbing pain in my back whenever it happens. I have blurred vision and dizziness all of the time, feeling like I’m losing consciousness, but I never do. It brings on anxiety worse than I already have, to the point of hyperventilating. I feel debilitated. It causes me to stay home, because it happens a lot around others, and it’s embarrassing and scary. I haven’t worked in 8 years because of this! No one can tell me what’s going on. I went to see a neurologist for 2 years, who diagnosed me with scoliosis, acute vertigo, and chronic sinusitis, among other things. I’m wondering if the Depo-Prevera injection started these problems, because I had anxiety and GERD before I got it, but that’s it. No heart problems at all until I got the injection. Idk. Anyone experience this?
I too started experiencing PVC’s and panic attacks after hormonal birth control. Haven’t been the same since. The awareness of the ability my body has to panic and create symptoms has been dreadful and my anxiety is super high. BUT most of my symptoms, and I share many of yours, are caused by anxiety,
Hi, i know what every body is going through. I had tachycardia when I was pregnant 2 years ago.. than the beginning of this year I got the Depo shot and i started having extra heart beats. Than it went away.. now 10 months later i have tachycardia again the doctor said it’s not life threatening.. but the extra heart beats came back. My heart is normal my test came back good, i just don’t know what to do any more ??????
Well, I almost happy have to hear that other people are having this terrible palpitations. Because now I know this is not a disease that is going to kill me, but I can’t take it anymore every morning is the same pvcs that make me fell so sick, I am 68 and have diabetes 2 for 25 years and the pvcs started about 5 months ego after starting a new med. for my diabetes, I stopped the med. 2 months ego but still have this palpitation that’s making me crasy does any one know of a med that I can take? My Dr. Say my heart is in good condition .
I got a open heart surgery and after that I started with PVC nothing helps find out magnesium help me 100% big difference feel much better now
I am 66 and went to ER a few weeks ago with chest pain and was admitted for overnight observation. Wore a heart monitor for two weeks and only felt some PVCs ( never heard of them before!). But apparently the doctor found the frequent enough to put me on low dose of metropolol which I am not fond of taking. I rarely take drugs as am so sensitive to them. The PVCs occur most often when I lie down at night. The drug helps a bit but I do think emotions have a lot to do with it. Had chemical stress test and will have another EKG this week. Everything normal in tests had so far. I’d like to know if I should go with biofeedback therapy and not take medication for this. Lots of sadness happening this past year but with age you never know best course health wise. Good luck to everyone.
Started having noticeable PVC’s 5 days ago. Came on all of a sudden I thought it was something I ate, gas etc… went to the ER when my wife listened to my heart and heard it stopping. They took blood and EKG etc.. Said I have to live with it, no cure no evidence of heart damage. So, if anyone finds natural things that work please post them.
Fish oils and coq10
I am a 53 year old male who has never smoked a second in his life, has never drank heavily, never experimented with drugs of any kind, worked out most of my life since I was 14 tried to eat the correct foods and stayed away from places like Mc D’s, I have been doing P 90X, Body Beast, Use a Heavy Bag and a Total Gym
5 Years ago I went into the Hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack, They did every test on me ECG, woke me up every 2 hours to take blood, I had an Echocardiogram Stress test but they could not get my heart beat over 170 like they wanted to, my usual heart rate is 58 RHR, I Think they did a cat scan on me and found I had Genetic Hypertension so they put me on HZTZ .20 Lucinipril .25, they said my heart was strong and healthy, My cholesterol level was below normal taken 3 years ago
In August I noticed during my workout I get PVC’s or right after and lately they have been getting more frequent when I exert myself so I went to my Dr.s office because my heart was racing faster ( I have anxiety sometimes as I focus on things) and saw the Nurse Practioner who did an ECG and took some blood the ECG came back Good so did the blood test (whatever they check for)
I get my insurance in January or February 2017 but I pay out of pocket now so she said we could do a holter monitor but she did not think it was necessary but they would do it if I wanted it
That is not good enough for me so I did some research and found that not enough Potassium or Magnesium could make PVC’s as this is a side effect of a water pill and I think that I have not been getting enough
I am going to start drinking a smoothy that will give me 750-1000 mg’s of Potassium each glass 2 times a day and will start this Monday 12/5/2016
I stopped my workouts on the second week of Nov 2016 and do not feel like myself but until I figure this out, well
can anyone help me figure this out, my health has been priority #1
Thanks for listening
Has the magnesium and potassium helped?
I have emphysema. Can PVCs also have a negative effect on my breathing?
I’m 65 years old and have been having PVC’s since 1974. I was born with a heart murmur, not sure if there is any connection, but the frequency of the pvc’s have gotten worse over the years, was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia 2 years ago, had all the tests like the nuclear stress test, sonogram, blood work and doctors say the pvc’s are all benign, doesn’t stop from scaring the living daylights out of me, so I know what all of you are feeling, I’m pretty sure mine are caused from physical activities like working ( I do home remodeling) certain things like lifting heavy objects seem to get them going and they go on for days. they say as you get older you start losing muscle mass and I wonder if that is not part of the reason I’m experiencing more of them. Anxiety definitely plays a part, and staying calm is a lot easier said, then done. My heart doctor says ‘Try to Manage ” its the best thing I can do, so that’s what I try and do, I also take supplements to help like magnesium. potassium, Vit C, its not an easy life, but hang in there. Will listen to anything anybody else has tried to make them go away, I also take 25mg of Metoprolol twice, not sure if that really makes any difference.
Hi Mike, its a long time since you posted, i hope you can read read this, i also have PVC since my early 20s i am 65 now and like you i particularly get more of them or trigger them when i lift heavy stuff, wonder why the connection. When they start i have to rest as they physically make me tired.
I read both of your posts… And I swear that there’s something that goes on with a vagal nerve like when we squat down especially to lift or raise our arms up or have gas in our belly that makes these worse. That’s just my opinion. My doctor seems to agree that doesn’t discuss it very much. Even flipping over to quickly on the wrong side can cause it.
100% Yes Jenny. I had them for several weeks now and they only start whenever I lie down. I hated sleeping time because of them.
Interesting stuff!! I’m 77 year old male who was just diagnosed with PVC’s while pre-op testing for a knee operation. Never knew I had them – no sensation. They showed me on the cardiograph where occasionally an extra heartbeat shows up among the normal rhythm of beats, maybe one every 5-30 seconds. Doctor said there was nothing to worry about and especially since they decreased while on the treadmill stress test.
But reading through here, I have another concern. Many of you are talking about a fluttering in your chest lasting many seconds? Is that another version of the same thing? I’ve had some of those too, but did not know what to make of them. Appreciate any feedback on the issue.
Well I found my tribe…never heard such consistency in complaints. I find that very interesting and supportive we are not just neurotics. Though I suspect PTSD plays a role 4 me. Chronic pvcs certainly are not “Benign” that is asinine! Most especially if you’re cardiac output is bad as that effects your whole body …particularly the nervous system . So chronic pain is another issue…parasympathetic /sympathetic derangement…and weird brain issues like temporal lobe seizures which now has emerged for me following dual lead pacemaker device implantation for sick sinus syndrome this July. Never really noticed pvc per se when I was busy being in a- fib/flutter or pulse was 40ish. But felt it big time after the pm was implanted…strangely on the right side only?! Anyone else have that? Was in ER this week to get my device “interrogated “??? Blacked out a wee bit after PVC was out of control for months. ECG showed pvc doubles…triples…bad stuff but the tech says “hey at least the device is working within specs”. Great! Thanks…third time I have heard that since July…doc says get over it and take some very scary pills…makes me operate worse. Felt better before the intervention”! No echocardiogram like I asked for last month (demanding one now, should not have to) just a stupid cell phone for my pacemaker which maybe someone’s checking. There is a thing called pacemaker syndrome… bad long story but look into it if pacemaker is your path as it is very real and some doctors are in denial… hope my data helps as yours helps me…Education plus medication is the WAY…Anyway…needed to vent and I will update …take a breath and yes biofeedback, Tai chi /chi gong does help and cal mag and potassium, vitamin d , co q 10 b12 supplements and check for sleep apnea as well…many good days to all you all. Ren Clark 59 years so far…and thanks 2 dr Ahmed
I have had every test under the sun and no underlying cause has been found. My Holter monitor’s show 20,000 to 30,000 times per day. My Doc has tried several beta blockers and ablation. None of the treatments have worked so far.
I am 56 year old female and have had PVC’s PACs since I was 18 and Tachycardia since 1996. Have been on Atenolol, Metoprol and now back to Atenolol 100mg per day since before Christmas. I would have few problems and flair ups every few years bad enough to switch meds. But most the time it was under control. I could lead a normal life. This as always helped until this late fall when things really picked up in the PVC department. I have never had so many before and they will not stop even with increase in meds. Had to make trip to ER because I had so many a minute I could not sleep. Was told Just PVCS and to go home and they gave me something to sleep. Now I am having NSVT and PVCS. Every night after I have been home resting for a few hours my heart starts going off like crazy. This has been going on now for weeks. I am back to Doctor on Friday to see if there is something else to try. I live alone and this is so very scary. I am afraid to do things and tell my friends how bad I feel as they will think I’m crazy. I try to be brave but I am so sick of this. I just want to get them back under control. At least I know I am not alone and there are others going through this too. I pray this will pass with time. But so far after several months I am losing hope. I just want to sit alone and cry.
Stay strong, you’re not alone!
Exactly how I feel like and I’m a male. They’re ridiculous.
i cry often im 32 and shouldnt have to live my life in fear im gonna die!
hi my name is Karla I’m 36 I feel the same way I’m sorry. But seek God he will cured you if you believe and put your trust in him.
I know the feeling im 43 and i get them too..no meds are helping and doctors are saying its normal ..how can extra heart beats be normal! Im very scared…i take propranol 40 mgs and xananx to stop them but that dosent help i even changed my diet and exercise nothn helps..ive tried everythinggggg….its literally driving me crazey and runining my life ive bn having them since new yrs i was poisoned and litetally died…since then ive bn having these pvcs or whatever they are ive had every Test bn to doctors all over in ny…they all keep saying the same thing…that there benign…smh ok what about my chest pain agina its called and my swollen eyelids which are black all around my eyes as well but yet they say its benign….!!!! Im literally goin insane over these extra beats
Hi, I’m a 30 yr old male with debilitating PVCs that began two years ago.
I wanted to let you know that I cry too sometimes. I hope you and all my other brothers and sisters in this thread can find peace.
I cry to over them. I am 58 year old female….
Very strange; I’m 61 years old; have had pvcs my whole life. I’ve had all the tests 10 times over. Nothing wrong; good ejection fraction. I’ve been taking atenolol 25 mg for 30 years and am a walker. I find if I put on a heating pad when they’re bad, it makes them go away and relaxes me also. Worth a try.
I got these a year ago and they went away. Almost exactly a year later, I started getting the kick feeling in my chest. Went to the er last night. Doc says it’s probably stress. All my other vitals and blood work looked fine. I have a doctor visit on friday with my gp. If it is anxiety, I’ll know shortly as I’m going to ask for some meds to chill them out. 37 years old.
Very familiar stories here. I’m a 54 year old male, I cycle 150 miles a week, mostly 25 a day and walk 5-10 miles a day when I don’t cycle. I eat healthy, drink a small amount of wine, don’t smoke, not overweight. I have sub clinical hypothyroidism but not treated and some cervical stenosis otherwise I’m not so bad. I mean I can cycle 100 miles at 17/18mph and get off feeling ok. BP is usually 110/70.
My RHR is 60 and I can still peak out at 185 and recover to 120 in a minute. I had a CT Calcium score privately as my dad died at 62 from CVD and that scored 1. Best is 0 so I’m reasonably sure my heart is clear of blockages.
But I get between 5,000 and 10,000 PVC’s a day with some salvo’s and occasional NSVT of 6 beats. I know this as I bought a handheld ECG monitor to check the morphology of the arrythmia.
They drive me nuts. They seem to vanish with exercise but return within minutes of finishing.
I’m now insisting on a work up as the Dr. has always said benign but when I found that many and after researching on the web I need to make sure all is ok.
I’ve always had them, I remember as a kid asking what they were but I never realised the amount until a few months ago.
Nice to find an active thread with some fellow sufferers!
Hi Chris, i also have been diagnosed with PVC and PAC, i had them all my life. There is definitely a connection between too much sport and PVC google it and you will find interesting articles, maybe try and reduce the amount of work out it might improve the PVC, other things that can decrease PVC are, no alcohol, no caffeine, sleep well, moderate to low exercise.
Dr. Ahmed and the group,
I am 49yo female, and started having PVCs september of 2016 -scared me really badly. After the first episode which lasted about 6 hours, and came out of nowhere, I have been having these on a fairly regular basis. I noticed that the flare ups happened around the beginning of my cycle. Is it possible that there is correlation between PVS and some hormonal stuff? Once I noticed this pattern, it calmed me down a bit, although I still feel scared when the episodes happen. However, in December 2016 I had another strong episode and it was not following the hormonal pattern at all. SInce that day, I am having PVcs – stronger and more frequent than in previous months. I do not want to panic but they are frightening. Any thoughts on correlations with hormones?
In terms of research, little exists on the subject. I have heard form many patients however that there can be hormonal accentuation in symptoms.
I was going to ask about hormone/Menstrual cycle correlation. I’m 41. At 19, I was under a lot of stress, and for the first time had racing/stopping of my heart, shortness of breath & dizziness. Diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse. Had occasional heart flutters, but no big deal. Fast forward to 4 years ago (another time of increased stress, but not major. Had certainly had much more stress at times before this), I started having a ton of big heart flutters. Cardiologist diagnosed PVCs. Said I don’t have Mitral valve prolapse, and was probably misdiagnosed. Said PVS no big deal, rest of heart looks healthy. Come back if you start passing out. Not good enough for me. Had thyroid checked and was fine. Over the past few years, I’ve really paid attention to when they are happening. For a while I was only having them when I was on my period. Now, for the past few years, I seem to get them for a couple of days before ovulation…and again about 4 days before my period (lasts for 2 days, so two days without many, then I start my period). This time though, they started about a week before I started my period and haven’t stopped (first days were the worst). It’s been about 10 days now, with big ones happening at least once every minute. Cardiologist dismissed my cycle/hormone theory. I really want to look into this (if I can afford it). I mean, I’m thinking, maybe my progesterone is low, and I need some cream. The challenge may be finding a cardiologist who will work with my GP or Gyno to sort this out. Right now, I’m hoping menopause brings less PVSc (hopefully something to look forward to).
Hang in there… look into fractal aspects of heart rate variability that you can use somehow…there is much out there for you to use to cope with syncope,etc. placebo is no joke it is the only real power sometimes and knowledge powers placebo in some really weird valid ways?Echocardiogram I just had today said that I was right… power to the informed people is the way?Thanks again doc great site….
Thanks everyone. I’m awake now at 4 am because of these darned things. They scare the crap out of me.
I went pretty much all summer without having many and this month they started back and I’ve been having them for 2-3 weeks now. I take metoprolol as well as lisinopril, and celexa for anxiety. I can’t decide if my anxiety causes the PVCs or if the PVCs cause anxiety. I’ve had several tests including an echo. I also have GERD symptoms too right now. This flares up for me as well. I am going to try the fish oil and get back to eating healthier.
Thanks again.
Caffeine, chocolate and diet coke caused my PVCs, especially the diet coke which triggered rapid heartbeats resulting at times, panic attacks. Gave the stuff up and happy to report no more PVC episodes!
You’re very lucky! I take none of those things and can find no triggers at all in my diet, lifestyle or exercise levels.
One day I may not get any and yet the next 5 or 10,000. The days with none are very rare.
I just turned 52….I’ve had 2 minor heart attacks..heart still strong at 72%..I am not having I think..PVC that i can very noticeably feel…freaks me out..I have heart disease but not sure of the extent..as far as I know..Rca..stent is clear Lca is at 40% has been there for years…should I be concerned about these PVC turning into something more life threatening….
Gene,
Did you ever get an answer to your question? How are you doing now?
58 years old, fit, healthy, if anything underweight, but with constant PVCs (bigeminy). I don’t feel any symptoms at all and have had echo and cardiac MRI which were normal. Cardiologist didn’t recommend any treatment but will get follow up echo in one year. I do worry about the PVC load since they are pretty much constant. I wonder if this is my “normal” heart rhythm and worry about long term effect on heart with this constant irregular pattern. At this point I will try not to worry as my cardiologist seems unconcerned. I will see how my next echo looks and go from there. I remember having some heart rhythm issues check out in the past with no conclusive results so suspect I may have had PVCs for decades even. Anyone else have experience with long term high frequency PVCs?
Sounds very similar to mine, although mine are symptomatic, I feel every skip, bump, flutter. Had for decades but are just getting worse. I have tens of 1000’s a day. At this time Bigeminy almost constant, changes to trigeminy, I would say 80% of my day my heart skips, with 20%, normal, every day! Often unable to sleep at all for nights on end, which just adds to the stress. Been on Bisoprolol for many years, slows heart but doesn’t stop PSVC and PVC’s. Also recently prescribed Flecainide, which eliminated about 80% of them (heaven) for about 2 weeks, but sadly they creeped back, seem even worse now, if that’s possible. Waiting a follow up Cardio appointment. I really can’t put into words how debilitating and soul destroying these ectopics are, only people who experience them could understand. There certainly is no clear explanation why they happen,(medical profession have no answers) you just have to put up with them, what other option do you have ?
Just try and have faith, love to everyone.
HAVE YOUR IRON (FERRITIN) LEVELS CHECKED
My whole life I’d been aware of PVCs/PACs but they were few and far between and never worried me. This past year though, I’d been experiencing dozens a day, sometimes every few minutes, all day long, every day. I finally went to the Dr. to investigate. This past month I’ve felt only 2 PACs/PVCs (during the week of my period, which is normal for me). Here’s what I learned in the process.
1) A visit to your Dr. (to do blood test, EKG, and holter monitor if necessary; I wore one for 48 hours) will help determine whether your PACs/PVCs are a diagnosis or a symptom. If they’re your diagnosis, then something is off with the electrical patterns in your heart, and even for this, there are relatively easy fixes (e.g., medications or ablation). But if they’re a symptom of something else going on in your body, here are some ideas. [in my case, there was nothing wrong with my heart; cardiologist saw a few PVCs/PACs and said they were nothing to worry about.]
2) Most forums suggest that avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and taking a multi-vitamin can help alleviate PVCs/PACs. I’d done all of that, in addition to trying Taurine (a heart-healthy amino acid), drinking more coconut water (for potassium), taking CALM magnesium supplements, and exercising more and exercising less. Nothing seemed to lessen my symptoms.
3) My blood work revealed low Ferritin levels. Mine were 32 (on a scale from 15 to 150). 32 is not critically low, so they only mentioned it when I pressed for more info, asking was anything even slightly off, I need to figure this out. They said they like to see these levels at 40-50 and I read on the internet that for women, optimal levels are 80-90, and even higher for athletes. I am not an athlete, but I do exercise every day and live at 5,000 feet, where your body needs more oxygen anyway.
4) My Dr’s assistant recommended prenatal vitamins which have high iron and folate content. I’ve also reintroduced a tiny bit of red meat into my diet. I am drinking hibiscus tea everyday, which is high in (plant-based) iron. My symptoms are gone, other than the two I felt this month during my period week.
5) A lot of doctors, I’ve read, write these symptoms off as anxiety and stress. If you do not believe this is the cause, then dig deeper. Low iron levels in your body can mimic anxiety because your body is not getting enough oxygen, which puts it into a low-grade panic mode. In this state, caffeine or alcohol or regular stress might be too much for the body that is already working overtime to get enough oxygen to all its cells.
6) Doctors will tell you these symptoms are “normal” if they don’t think they are life-threatening, but for sufferers, the fact that they are normal is not comforting, and doesn’t make them go away, which is probably what you want. I don’t know why there isn’t more written about the connection between low-iron and PVCs/PACs. The link is known about. I hope this is helpful to even one person out there suffering with these. Good luck.
I had the exact same thing happen to me. All along it was my ferritin levels. So many pvcs. Hospital said I was fine. They checked my blood but since my hemoglobin was fine and I wasn’t anemic they said it wasn’t that. Finally got a different doctor. Tested my ferritin levels and they were low. They away next day after taking iron.
Im 23 and have had them since I was 19.
I had massive panic attack when I was 19 and somehow they found that I had myocarditis… It took a while for them to find out what was wrong with me. I survived with a ton of panic attacks left behind. I managed to get rid of them just after taking antidepressants for 1 week. I had stress test when I felt better.. And started working out as I was told my heart were small and weak. So after a year of work… I was able to run again. No panic no palpilations, nothing.
A year went by and I started to get strange fluttering and strange sensations all over the place. Finally My heart rate wouldnt go down from 90s and I felt sick… I had to call ambulance because I couldnt walk to hospidal because I was panicing I guess. They told me my blood sugar was quite low but I just had had a meal.. with tons of sugar in it. But what ive found is that blood sugar spikes give me bad PVCs really bad ones sometimes. I managed to organise my life in a pattern.. I started to work out but still felt like crap. Went back to my doc and had blood tests done. I was very low in vitamin D and she told me to go and buy some pills. Now If I dont take them I get sick. EAT FISH! Fish and omage 3 fats help a lot with heart problems. Also with panic and high adrenaline levels. Those are main cause of panic attacks. My heart is still quite weak but I can do things I love and feel great even after many hours of aerobic excercise. 5 hours straight cycling no problem. Just eat well and organise your life better. It helps. Sleep and eat. Hell with stress and work…
My ECGs and everything else were good. Might go and check for more as I might have POTs or leaking valves
Un-Diagnosed PVC but was told I had MVP at 18 yrs old. due to 1 in 4 beats (felt like double beats later year flutters) for 3 yrs. it was so debilitating I did not think I would make it to age 20. At 17 yrs old a man tried to harm me early morning I ran terrified without stopping, because he yelled for other men to catch me. Later I realized I had ran for more than a mile. I was so scared I was not tired. I felt no illness just trusty, 3 days later my started to have PVC symptoms. Cardiologist placed me on Valium and sonogram results were MVP, 6 months later I had panic attacks with double beats. I stayed on Valium for 4 yrs. then the symptoms disappeared, then 40 yrs later, March 2, 2017 now age 62, I started to have mild flutters with double beats, about 5-7 a day only when I move, bend or walk. I visited new Cardio Dr, who kindly explained and illustrated on a chart with heart “plus should be x , but its down here, wait for the result of Holter monitor, you need to sleep like a baby, be happy, find get a boyfriend, relax … Sonogram result Heart muscle good, blood pressure good, no diabetes, cholesterol 90, height & weigh normal …” I did not tell Dr of experience 40 yrs ago, also did not tell that a week before I had escaped a man who kept me captive for 5 yrs, during those times no symptoms, every plot to escape failed, finally on March 1st 2017 scared he would return home soon, I hurriedly lugged my stuff 500ft to my vehicle back and forth 4 times and escaped. Its been a month of freedom and happiness with PVC? symptoms.
My question: Has there been any meds to help control these symptoms in healthy heart. why did the double beats and flutter return? Is there any hope of relief, will ever go away, considering my age? what modern technology exist to help us, its scary have that organ jump skip and flutter. Do you thing going back on Valium may help again? or is there something better? Let me say I am so glad to find this website, its is such a weight-lifter, I thought I was alone with these symptoms, but sharing is caring, I feel better much better after reading the comments here. God bless you all, I will pray for healing.
I’m 32 year old male I have had 3 svt trips to the er heart rate 300 . Er was able to get it under control but the last trip left me with pvc an let me tell u I hate the way they feel I think of them ever min of the day. Scared to death I am I’m so happy I found u guys know that I no I’m not going to die from them maybe I can fix them.
Hi I’m 30 years old, a few years that I have panic attacks without medication and with it came PVC, but sometimes I pour my heart
Is there a relationship between panic and PVC?
The relationship is described although its generally thought that the PVC is the cause of anxiety / panic rather than the other way round.
Is there a way I can at least do PVC؟ ترجمه
And the PVC in the future will be problematic؟ ترجمه
thank you very much
I been having them for 54 years, I’m one of the unlucky ones that can feel them, I seriously can not take it. I think that doctors don’t know what to tell you. They ruined my whole life since I been 13, always afraid to do something in fear they would start up, always wanted to be near home, I keep thinking for 54 years that they will keep skipping, why don’t they have more doctor’s that specialize in PVCS!
Wow, glad to find this thread. I am 57 and had SVT with successful ablation 7 years ago. For about a year I was having pain between my shoulder blades with pain in my left lower jaw. I had an abnormal stress test followed by a very clean angiography. I have lost 3 family members from heart attacks in the last 2 years ages 38 to 72 so I am a bit weary of the reality of sudden death. A few months ago I noticed the fluttering, dizzy, thumping, and skipping that is common in this threat and I video taped the pulse in my neck and scheduled yet another appointment. By this time I am feeling like a bit of a hypochondriac with all the negative tests. I just finished a 30 day monitor and received a very short call from an associate at the doctor’s office stating my results were back, I have normal sinus rhythm with PVC non life threatening no follow up necessary. I have a million questions so scheduled another appointment to spit the “no follow up necessary” conversation. This thread has given me lots to ask about other deficiencies. I have gained 15 lbs in a yr with no change in habits, I have night sweats and hot flashes to spite being well past menopause. I have also had a genetic dna run and I have a significant increase in the possibility of heart disease. I am really feeling like I have been written off by my cardiologist and maybe need a second opinion or at least a better explanation what appears to be a non issue for a cardiologist. Again glad I found the feed now I need to find a proper coping skill. Thanks Dr. Mustafa Ahmed for taking your time to be a resource and providing some education on the topic.
Thanks so much for this conversation, Dr. Ahmed. I feel tons better hearing from so many people in the same boat as me. I have the worst trouble with fixating on the skips and panicking myself. Thanks everyone, for sharing your experiences.
Given the large amount of people we have been able to help here, we are starting a twitter to help keep heart patients up to date with advances and relevant information. Mine can be followed at @MustafaAhmedMD
I’m having these pvcs everyday now and I have had the ct scan stress test and the monitor I wore for three days can u please help me
Besides my Pvc’s my heart rate drops to the low 40’s . I feel like s—, exhausted all the time, have to stop several times waking up a hill.
Dr. Doesn’t think it is any serious matter, just wait and see. They did increase my thyroid medicine. My THS was high.
Would appreciate any input.
Thank you,
Barbara
A heart rate in the 40’s is not necessarily bad, it is important however that your heart rate is able to mount a response to exercise or activity. A treadmill test may be useful in demonstrating that. The high TSH may well have implied a hypothyroid state (although not always) which could also contribute to a low heart rate and fatigue. Hopefully that improves with correction of the thyroid issue.
Given the large amount of people we have been able to help here, we are starting a twitter to help keep heart patients up to date with advances and relevant information. Mine can be followed at @MustafaAhmedMD
I’m 71, a bit overweight, now largely sedentary, though once quite active, even athletic. I have a background in the field, was the manager of a cardiopulmonary lab in Seattle for decades. Three years ago I started having chest pressure after activity. Living in Montana in a place without good cardiology care I waited for one of my frequent trips to Seattle. I saw a cardiologist, had normal EKG, blood work, stress test. It took 6 visits before he said “You’ve talked yourself in a cath”….they expected to find nothing. Turns out they put in two stents in my LAD, right was fine. My ejection fraction was fine, 67%.
Since then the chest pressure has been unresolved, in fact the day after the stents I had the same symptoms. In the past 2 years I’ve had multiple ER visits with the same results, negative EKG, normal blood enzymes. Also had two nuc exercise scans that were largely negative, some vague thing around the apex. During this time I’ve started having lots of PVC’s. Had 3 holters, one showed over 5K pvc’s and some pac’s. The last one was done during a wonderful 2 month period when I was having few if any arrhythmia, showed 250 pvc’s and 100 pac’s.
Then, around two weeks ago, the PVC’s started again, the worse I’ve had. I now have hours (up to 5 at a time) of bi and tri gemini, normal beats for a few minutes, then back again. I’m guessing I have at least 10-15K per day. I have some sob with them, and mild chest pressure. They are brought on by anything or nothing. One bothersome thing is they are waking me during the night and lasting hours. I’m taking xanax for the anxiety.
Also on low dose beta blocker, also calcium channel and ACE inhibitor, as well as HCT. Taking magnesium taurate, potassium (because of the HCT), and ambien for sleep.
I don’t know what category I fall into, have heart disease but never an MI, had hypertension but under control now, had slight high LDL but now controlled with statins (in fact my HDL is twice my LDL, and total is 130).
I can indentify with those here who say the arrhythmia is debilitating. They have pretty much taken over my life for the last weeks. I try to tell myself they are benign, doesn’t help much. The xanax somewhat helps the anxiety, but am reluctant to take more than I currently am (total 1mg/day).
I’m on MyChart, but my cardiologist rarely returns my questions. I did see an EP, who thought I might have micro-circulatory coronary disease, and recommended a switch to a different type of magnesium, and possibly Renexate. Alas, that drug is out of my price range.
Sorry about the length of the message, but wondered if my pvc’s would be considered ‘benign’, given that i haven’t had a MI, though did have two stents. Also, is there any connection between meds like xanax and ambien to pvc’s?
Thanks for your time, appreciate it.
The PVC may be benign in that they haven’t affected the function of the heart muscle however your symptoms are clearly disabling to you. The PVC per se are not going to lead to further artery blockages, the processes are likely separate. If your PVC burden is as high as you think, i would seek a second opinion from an electrophysiologist that specializes in this and discuss treatment options.
If you are interested in cutting edge information and therapy for heart disease then follow twitter at @MustafaAhmedMD
Hi Dr. Mustafa
My name is Leontyne Jones, you can call me Lynn. I was diagnosed with PVC about a moth ago. When I first started getting them Flutters in my chest I thought that I was having an heart attack I went to my medical doctor and she had me go for an EKG, Stress Test, and Sonagram done, everything came back Normal but I was still feeling the Flutters so she had me put on an Heart Monitor and that’s when she found out what I was having. She put me on this Medication called Metoprolol Succinate ER 24hr 50 Mg Tab. I still have the Flutters sometimes and I get scared that I’m going to have an Heart Attack. I really get them when I eat something. Is this Medication helpful with PVC’s. What do you suggest that I do when I start getting them. Should I see an Heart Doctor.
How frequently were the PVC occuring?
Hi Dr. Mustufa
Thank You for getting back to me. I get them maybe once or twice a day. I take my medicine once a day. Is this Medication helpful I mostly feel the Flutters when I eat and I get acid on my stomach.
So I am 32 At first I was diagnosed with POTS they put me on a few beta blockers they would work but it was getting to the point where i would have to take extra’s during the day then my tachycardia died down and i was off betablockers for a few months and the tachycardia started again out of nowhere i called the ambo and when they got here my heart rate was 178 they took me to the er it went back down and a few days later i went back on propranolol then twomonths later they did an ablation which went good about two weeks after the ablation i noticed it picking up again after eating so they put me on nadolol now my heart rate when resting is usually around 60 but lots of times in the 50-65 range now three months after the ablation i am now having pvc’s june 31st made three months now i am having pvc’s and they are begining to get bad some days worse than others some days i dont notice hardly any somedays its like my life is ending! I am on a life watch monitor and I am absolutely scared to death i am gonna die I hate my life I hate who I am now! I cant go places with out living in the fear that i am gonna have an attack and need to go to the er i stay right by a hospital and this has since become my security blanket! I have two kids age 4 and 8 and I fear everyday they will have to grow up witout a mom soon and I am being torn apart I just wanna live again and not feel like this! I really wish someone could help me to get better! The results they have gotten so far they say are not life threatening just benign but they feel so crappy its like i feel like i have to cough and I really am going nuts! I had the ablation done in indianappolis at a fairly large hospital called IU HEALTH. I dont eat chocolate i dont drink pop for years now i quit smoking 6years ago I live by the book and just wanna feel better! I have people around constantly cause im scared to be alone I have Valium perscribed to me for the anxiety and they work but I hate the feeling after words tired and poopy! I have indiana state health plan and i believe they may accept it in certain places if anyone has any suggestions please let me know I will be going to get fish oil tomorrow! Thanks and Good Luck people
Hi everyone , I’m a female of 75 years…I know what you all have been going through…It’s terrible to have this horrendous commotion going on in your chest only to be told its BENIGN , I hate that word…How can something so upsetting and disruptive be benign….I had all the test twice and wore a 30 day monitor.. I was told I have PAC’s , I’m guessing from the way you all describe your symptoms from pvc’s that they feel the same as pac’s also assuming its the same misfire, only pac’s are atrial and pvc’s are ventricular. I can commiserate with you all . I did the ER at first and then to cardiologist and they on to an EP all with out success.. My pac’s only started about 8 months ago, after I decided to paint my bed room, I guess the work was to strenuous for me, but of course I wonder after I stopped painting why didn’t the pac’s stop as well…. so I don’t know what my next step will be….I believe there is a doctor or someone out there that maybe did a study or is in the process of getting one together on these extra beats or misfires , and I hope sooner rather then later we will all have an answer.
I know how difficult it is to stay positive and not be frighten when your heart is doing a tap dance…but I did learn 1 thing the more you stress or have anxiety over it the worst the dancing gets . Calmness and Hugs to all…
Did your symptoms get better? Has the fish oil helped?
Hi everyone , I’m a female of 75 years…I know what you all have been going through…It’s terrible to have this horrendous commotion going on in your chest only to be told its BENIGN , I hate that word…How can something so upsetting and disruptive be benign….I had all the test twice and wore a 30 day monitor.. I was told I have PAC’s , I’m guessing from the way you all describe your symptoms from pvc’s that they feel the same as pac’s also assuming its the same misfire, only pac’s are atrial and pvc’s are ventricular. I can commiserate with you all . I did the ER at first and then to cardiologist and they on to an EP all with out success.. My pac’s only started about 8 months ago, after I decided to paint my bed room, I guess the work was to strenuous for me, but of course I wonder after I stopped painting why didn’t the pac’s stop as well…. so I don’t know what my next step will be….I believe there is a doctor or someone out there that maybe did a study or is in the process of getting one together on these extra beats or misfires , and I hope sooner rather then later we will all have an answer.
I know how difficult it is to stay positive and not be frighten when your heart is doing a tap dance…but I did learn 1 thing the more you stress or have anxiety over it the worst the dancing gets . Calmness and Hugs to all…
I was diagnosed with PVC’s about 10 years ago. Wore a holter monitor for 24 hours, showed more than 7,000 PVC’s in that 24 hour time period. Cardiologist prescribed metropolol 150 mg daily. That brought down the # of pvc’s to less than 2,000 in 24 hours. When I retired and had to get another doctor, the new doc cut the dossage to 100 mg a day. Now I’ve moved to a new state and have a different doc, who seems unconcerned with the pvc’s which I feel more frequently and stronger again.
I’m 26 I had a. Episode last year where I had 4 of them in a row randomly at work, then after that I get one or two of them (not in a row) once every 3-5days it feels like a hiccup in the center of my chest usually accompanied with a dropped stomach feeling and a little bit of light headedness, is that what a pvc feels like? I used to have really bad panic attacks so I went to the er and a cardiologist and they told me my heart was in good shape, but these are not panic attacks at all cause I could be doing something totally stress free and it will happen randomly just wanting to see if this is possibly what I’m experiencing
Hi Oscar,
These sound exactly like my symptoms.
Are you still having them?
As have many have repeated, it is good to hear that I’m not alone. My PVCs started about 2 years ago. I’ve had the tests and was told they were benign. That doesn’t stop the terror when swarms of them hit me. I’ve found two things which help me. One is something that seems to contribute to the factor, blood pressure. I find that if my Systolic get below 120 the PVCs become more frequent. Worse, if my Diastolic get below 80 the swarms hit. So when I start to feel the frequency go up, I check my blood pressure and react accordingly. Another thing I’ve found is that I can reduce the PVCs by taking an Electrolyte supplement. Big caution here…be mindful of your potassium intake, too much or too little can hurt you. So look for a supplement with a low potassium content. All in all, learn to know what helps and what triggers and life can be a hold lot more pleasant.
Hi dr,
I have mild MVP with mild regurgitation. I get pvc’s everyday. Have had a holter, echo and stress echo. Cardiologist said the pvc’s are not that frequent and heart function is well preserved and to have an echo every 1-2 years. I’m still worried though. Are pvcs with MVP bad? And more serious than if I didn’t have MVP?
It depends on the character and nature of the PVC’s in MVP, i would recommend seeing an electrophysiologist if you are concerned and for reassurance purposes. If MVP mild then usually not much association, in severe MVP forms PVC’s can be more concerning.
you can follow my twitter at @MustafaAhmedMD
I have had PvCs for about 10 years now. I’m a 39 year old male and first started feeling bad while getting a tattoo. Almost passed out felt like my heart was racing. This continued over the next few days off an on, I just felt off. I had my wife check my pulse and she noticed that my heart was “stopping” for a split second every few beats. I felt it for myself and instantly had a panic attack.
Ever since that moment I have struggled with anxiety and panic over my heart and health. I never had an issue prior. I’ve been told that my PvCs are benign, even though I am frequently in bigeminy and can have more than 20k PvCs in a day I’ve had them all but disappear on a few occasions for almost a year at a time only to come back with a bang and set me back to square one all over again.
Recently I’ve noticed that my usually low heart rate in the 50s or 60s will spike up to the 100s to 120s for no reason. Simply by walking or standing. This again immedielty causes panic attacks to come from nowhere.
I’ve worked very hard on trying to control the anxiety which I feel is far worse than the actual PvCs. I use meditation regularly and have had moments where I thought I was winning the fight, only to get knocked back down when my brain and body react horribly to an episode out of nowhere. I think I’m starting to worry more now because of the change in PvCs and heart rate increase.
I do my best to avoid any and all caffeine, I take magnesium supplements nightly and I also practice breathing and muscle relaxation techniques to help keep tension and stress levels low, in hopes avoiding flare ups. I just wonder where these things come from and why. Most of the flare ups seem to come out of nowhere and are for no particular reason. But the anxiety they cause is almost unbearable at times. It’s hard beating anxiety when it is caused by a physical reason that doesn’t go away.
I feel for everyone here, and I can say that I’ve been there.. I’ve had ups and downs and the one thing that I do know and that I remind myself every day.. Is that it hasn’t killed me yet. After 10 years I’m still alive and kicking, but it can be very difficult some days just getting out of bed.
If anyone ever finds a way to get rid of these things, I’d sure like to get in on that discussion. I can’t take beta blockers due to an already low heart rate. I don’t have high blood pressure either. I’m afraid to exercise because when my heart rate gets elevated it causes panic being able to feel every beat. I feel trapped and have become sedentary for quite awhile. Which I know isn’t good. I used to be very active. Former military, former athlete and now, while I walk for work, I don’t do the things I want to out of fear of setting off my heart and/or anxiety.
I know this is an old thread so you probably won’t see this, but your symptoms are exactly the same as mine. My resting heart is low 50-60 but keep having episodes that can last days where it is 80-90 and goes up to 120-130 just standing. I always feel PVCs occasionally but when my heart rate is high I can feel so many it’s scary. Which sets off a vicious cycle of anxiety and panic making it so much worse. I do have bigeminy also but but cardiologist doesn’t seem concerned with any of it. Me on the other hand is scared to death. I don’t understand how o can feel fine for weeks and then bam it hits me and lasts for days. Have you gotten any answers or relief from this awful feeling?
Paul how are you doing now?
How are you? I know it’s a while but what yog wrote is me. Verbatim. Word for word.
Hi ,
Im a 17 years old boy and i have this problem since 3 4 days ago.
Ive got like 65 heartbeats/s and i feel like i dont breathe as much as i need . This is causing me real stress. Doctor told me that i had nothing. What should i do?
If you are symptomatic and concerned, and not reassured by your initial evaluation seek another opinion and evaluation.
you can follow my twitter at @MustafaAhmedMD
I feel so bad a lot of you are going through this… I’m 32 years old and first started feeling PVCs 15 days ago and since then it’s been like clockwork every night when I lay down and every morning when I wake up it seems to go away during the day.. but at night when I’m trying to rest I feel then any time between one every few minutes or up to 15 a minute. It is so terrifying I’ve had blood tests a 24-hour Holter monitor a chest x-ray and everything came back okay just showing that I had PVC I’m waiting for a echocardiogram and a stress test but it’s pushed back for 3 weeks and I am terrified!
Relax my friend.. You sound exactly like I felt when I first felt them and once you trust your dr and Holter results they will go away as fast as they show up.. Good luck. See my post as well..
I am a forty five year old female and healthy till 3months ago when I started having PVCs.i went to er and doc put me on beta blocker and it dropped my heart rate so now I’m on flecaninde and it was working great till I took a blood test and my blood platelets dropped major,so now he wants me to see a electrophysiology and see what he says but kinda sound medicine or ablation but I know I’m tired PVCs but I know God will protect me cause the devil is trying bring me down but,I can’t let him win!!!!!!
How are you now?
I was diagnosed with PVC’s which seemed like constantly. The Dr asked about stress even and after looking at some things, studying for exams, playing poker and some other things I could see I was stressed more than I thought. That said, I did a halter monitor test for a night and it came back that I was less than 1% of heart beats which is way below the average for everyone.
I will tell you what I found that works, it may sound too easy, but it works for me and I work in the highest stress industry there is. When you feel a PVC , use your finger tips and tap on your sternum above where you feel them. This is meant to take your mind off of them, which it does. Like I said, it sounds too easy, but it works for me.
Thanks to all for encouraging comments. I’m also finding supposedly “benign” PVC/PACs terrifying to live with. I’m 74. A few weeks ago they started occurring at bedtime; now for the past week it’s all day and night with one every few minutes to as often as 3 or 4 per minute, but from what I read, I’m not as bad off as some. I’ve had a couple monitor tests and heart Dr is not concerned, but that doesn’t keep me from panicking when my heart starts jumping around!
One extra problem I have is that I “hear” every heartbeat as a ringing in my ear, so at night or when relaxing, it’s hard to get distracted from “listening”, and that just makes me more anxious and probably makes it worse.
Being driven to madness. Inexplicably vanishes for months, only to return worse than before. I am relatively young and my quality of life is in the toilet. Scared to even leave the house. tests so far normal. I don’t want to take beta blockers. This is ridiculous and it’s destroying my life quite frankly. I am slim, normal to low blood pressure, never smoked, eat okay and drink very rarely. I may as well be obese and smoke. very unfair to have to put up with this.
Some websites tell me these sh*t pvc’s do not damage the heart at all, and others tell me it can lead to cardiomyopathy down the road!!! Which is the truth???
I feel for you bro. Driving to the hospital now has ruined my life.
I am( 25 year old) having frequent heart palpitations which feel like the heart beat is stop for a second and start with hard beat. In day time I am not able to feel any symptoms. But during night time when I am drifting to sleep if palpitations occurs i feel like I am fainting ,blood rushes in brain, stop breath for a second and making me to wake up. Beacuse of that i become scary to sleep. What is the issue with my heart? I took ECG , Echo, TMT and electrolyte blood test which comes normal
Did you wear a monitor to characterize the palpitations?
you can follow our twitter at @MustafaAhmedMD
I’ve been getting pvc’s on and off for over a few years now. In the past I would only get a few a day and some days none at all. About 2 months ago I had a terrible experience with trying to pass a kidney stone. The pain was horrible. After a week of hell I finally passed it. Not even a week after this experience I was rushed to emergency with irregular heartbeat. ER Dr. Said pvc’s every 6 seconds. 2 months after this, I have the pvcs constantly. I’m wondering if the stress of trying to pass the stone along with the horrendous pain, is part of the reason for the constant pvcs? I take Valium for panic attacks for past 15 yrs but I only go through 30 pills (5 mg) in a year. I’m now on 1/2 of 25 mg of atenolol for the pvcs. I had the 24 hr monitor and he advised that they were indeed pvcs. Seems if I add a quarter of the 5mg of Valium during the day it helps a bit. I definitely notice a increase when I’m just doing nothing and sitting around. When I’m busy I don’t notice them as much. I’ve come to the conclusion that worrying about them won’t change a thing and at worse makes them increase in number. Going to start meditation and Tai chi.
New to this whole PVC as well as PAC. The PVC’s wake me up out of sleep. The PVC’s was considered moderate and the PAC mild. I have panic and anxiety too. Take Klonopin nightly. My regular doctors says it should be increase to help with the PVC’s episodes. I typing this at 1 am because just getting over an episode.
Hi everyone, I also feel better after reading all comments here cuz I have been expiriencing skipping heart beat last two years but I always thought it was my stomach till yesterday night I checked my pulse while my heart was beating irregular. And i felt skipping heart beat it was happening once in 10 heart beats i got scared and went to cardioligist, I had clean ekg and doctor told me not to worry about it but I didnt feel comfortable with dr’s opinion and went to see another doctor he also said the same thing. After reading all comments here now I have little expirience about this crazy shit and trying to not pay attention even it makes me cough. In my situation my anxiety playing the big role. Anyways i am not planning to stop here cuz heart is a heart
I am curious to know if any of you suffering from these Arrhythmia’s also suffer from migraines/ migraines with aura?
Yes migraines and sinus problems
My mother is 62 years old.She has PAC and PVC hearth beats. She also have migraine with aura. She thinks They have a connection. Currently, PAC and PVC have become more frequent. He is using meteprolol 25mg (Betabloker) and Xanax. Meteprolol doesn’t work very well. What drugs are you using?
Hi Meghan, I used to get ocular migraine… aura but no real pain, and have just stated getting PVC’s– a year now– som edays really bad other days not noticeable at all.
I just spent a good hour reading these and god did I need to see these! I’m a 36 year old female..had thyroid cancer 4 years ago. I’ve always had issues with palpitations due to my ptsd and anxiety. I’ve always been relatively healthy and recently lost 50lbs. Except a month and half ago it went all down hill! I started having pvcs I thought it was anxiety- except they were not going away. I ended up in the ER twice. The second time i went into vtach for over a minute straight (all irregular heartbeats no normal beat) I thought I was going to die. I was admitted into critical care unit and put on verapamil which slowed them down but went into vtach again so they added flecanide. Heart disease was ruled out and I was told it was begnin. I’ve been doing well on the combination but do sometimes still feel the pvcs and they terrify me. I went on a trip across country and had one it scared me so bad I flew home early just Incase. I’m terrified to leave my house, I’m constantly checking my pulse, I sleep with a medicine syringe (use it for vasal vagal that stopped my vtach in the hospital) I’m living in fear 24/7. I feel hopeless. I’ve been put on new anti anxiety medication to help me stay calm. I know these can’t kill me but that fear is still there. Reading these comments have helped me tremendously! Thank you for sharing your stories
Are you sure it was a v-tach?
What rate (heart rate) did doctors definitely confirm it?
Probably it was not a sustained v tach, but non-sustained v tach?
I’m a 13 year old female, and I’m literally here for information as I’m too scared to ask my parents to get me checked up 🙂 I know the internet isn’t a good source for information, but I’m just looking for some clarification. About three years ago, my mother informed me on my family’s genetic PVCs. Recently, I’ve been having extremely strong heart palpitations. I can feel them throuh my chest and throat, they immediately cut off my breathing. The first time this happened, I had seven to eight PVCs in a row. Now, they come through when I switch positions or when I’ve sat for too long. They go three to four in a row when I stand up too fast and get a head rush. The cause may be because of my deteriorating sleep, as I’m getting five to two hours instead of the recommended eight to ten.
I recommend a simple check up and for you to discuss this with your parents straight away. Don’t be scared, the evaluation for this is likely a simple ekg and echo test only.
You can follow our twitter at @MustafaAhmedMD
Disclaimer: The comment response is opinion and in no way affiliated with my employer. It is a vague response that is not to be used as direct medical advice and in no way should replace the opinion of a medical provider.
Im a 32YO F. 2 years ago, in the hot summer heat, I had palpations and pain. Went to Cardiologist.. he ran EKG, Event continuous monitor, labs, echo, stress test… all normal. Said I was dehydrated, have POTS and anxiety. I have been fine until 3 weeks ago now having Palpitations, again its very hot here. Had labs, Ekg, monitor done and all normal. The cardiologist said I am throwing rare PVCs like 10/hr. Im freaking out thinking I’m dying… what can I do?!
Im a 32YO F. 2 years ago, in the hot Alabama summer heat, I had palpations and pain. Went to Cardiologist.. he ran EKG, Event continuous monitor, labs, echo, stress test… all normal. Said I was dehydrated, have POTS and anxiety. I have been fine until 3 weeks ago now having Palpitations, again its very hot here. Had labs, Ekg, monitor done and all normal. The cardiologist said I am throwing rare PVCs like 10/hr. Im freaking out thinking I’m dying… what can I do?!
Im a 32 year old Female preschool teacher. 2 years ago in the July Alabama heat, I had palpations, pain and blacked out. Had EKG, ECHO, labs, Stress test and event/holter monitor. All results were normal. They said I have POTS, severe anxiety, and was dehydrated. Now I am having the same symptoms. Palpations (like 15 per hour), if i put my fingers on my wrist, i can feel my heart pause. Went to cardiologist and the put me on another monitor. They said they can see the PVCs but they are so rare that they arent concerned, said no other concerns in the 2 days I have had it on. I don’t feel like eating, just want to sleep, at night is worse, my body goes numb if i think about any of this. I don’t want to be near my kids or family because I’m freaking out thinking I’m dying. What can I do?
I have them too. They actually woke me up tonight. And they cause me severe anxiety. You can ask to be put on a low dose beta blocker to help minimize them. Also avoid anything that might aggravate them like caffeine, chocolate etc and try to eat super healthy. All these things do seem to help mine. Above someone said fish oil too. I’m gonna try that. Good luck!
Hi, I’m a 23 years old female and I’ve been experiencing PVCs regularly for the past few months… I think it was bigeminy PVC? (not sure)… And I was also recently diagnosed with bileaflet MVP with Mitral Annular Disjunction and moderate regurgitation…
I was wondering if there is any correction between what I was diagnosed with and PVC?
There may be a correlation. Its worth wearing a monitor and having your situation reviewed by an electrophysiologist to provide reassurance.
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Disclaimer: The comment response is opinion and in no way affiliated with my employer. It is a vague response that is not to be used as direct medical advice and in no way should replace the opinion of a medical provider.
Hi Brenda- I was recently diagnosed with Mitral Annular Disjunction too. I also have MVP and some irregular beats. I know you posted this over a year ago but if you check back I would love to talk with someone who has MAD as well.
I’m 36 I started feeling weird fluttering in mg chest after I had a d and c and the dr said my ekg was abnormal and referred me to the cardiologist.. I had a ekg echocardiogram stress test holster monitor all of it came back normal with like 1 skipped beat .. I’m having these premature beats like everyday now I’ve seen the cardiologist like 10 times I keep going to the emergency room and nothing like say it’s fine but it’s not I cant stand it its causing my anxiety to go through the roof .. help I cant deal with these
Hi All–
Not sure if this thread is still active. 31 year old female diagnosed with these (PVCs, or an SVT) about two to three years ago now. I get the fairly constant kind. I won’t have them for weeks, then I’ll get them for an hour a few days in one week. Then they’d disappear again. The strange thing is, and my electrocardiologist dismissed this like I was crazy, I only notice it after I’ve eaten. It’s always a different type of meal, so I’m left scratching my head. I’ve read articles connecting the sensation to the vagus nerve. Does anyone else experience this? If so, do you find it more anxiety driven or have you noticed certain foods that do it? I do need to work on my diet. It’s not junk, but it does need some tweaking. I don’t overload on coffee, I haven’t got that much of a sweet tooth. The doctor sort of blew it off. Considering finding a different one, but not sure where to start. It freaks me out, because I’m fairly certain I inherited these from my father, who also has dilated cardiomyopathy! So scared of these continuing into my later life and leading to this!
For me, it has been both anxiety and diet related. Still figuring out what can help. Going for counseling sessions from tomorrow. Let’s see what sticks.
This has helped me a lot reading all of these people going through the same thing i am.Thanks for sharing.
Hope this thread us still going. I recently started having palpitations with skipped beats. When it starts, it’s last for hours. Is that normal? Went to ER both times but of course they stopped. Had holter monitor for 48 hours and waiting on results. I do have mitral regurgitation and see cardiologist yearly. I guess I want to know if these palpitations can last hours then go away.
Any update?
What were your results? How are you doing now?
I just found this thread and I am crying because I am not alone, I am not sure if it’s still active but I have battled these since my son was born last year and they are so hard to handle I have had 2 holter tests over 24 hours, stayed overnight in the hospital and had numerous ekgs and also had an ultrasound on my heart all to say everything is fine. All I can say is when I get them I don’t feel fine! I can handle the odd ones during the day but I get times where they are just back to back and it scares me mind you it doesn’t last long like less than an hour but i scares me i dont want to anything! This morning I am having so many and I just want them to stop I thought I was alone until I saw this thread! I hope we can all find ways of coping with these
I understand exactly where you are and you’re not alone! Mine seem to come and go, right now I’m approaching a week long thing. They are always seem to happen more frequently (maybe 2-5) every thirty seconds when I lay down to go to bed or wake up in the morning. So frustrating.
Are you still getting the pvcs?
How are you doing now? Have you had your thyroid tested? Or tried any magnesium supplements? I hope you’re feeling better!
Hey no one here is alone. I am almost 20 years old and when I was 17 I went into cardiac arrest. And had an ablation. I was fine for 2 years and when I became pregnant the chest pain started. I just gave birth 3 months ago and since then I was told I have PVC’s and mitral valve prolapse. It’s all very minor but it causes severe anxiety and fatigue everyday. I have gone to the hospital numerous times for thinking I was gonna die.
Hi was wondering have you found anything to cope with these
Hi not sure if this page still active I am 41 I’ve been getting bad pvcs for about 4 months now and I agree they stop you doing everyday stuff because of them I have been to er 5 times and the first 4 said was my body reacting to bad anxiety but on the 5th time I visited I actually rung an ambulance so they could catch them on their monitors sure enough they finally caught them I’ve been told they are not doing any harm but it is hard to believe that pvcs or skipped beats as frequent as I have them are not doing damage my gp thinks I might of had a virus early in the year that has caused some swelling arnd the heart and lungs I have cardiolisgt appoint on 9th of next month but sometimes when they happening I feel like I’m not going to make it that long if anyone has any advice would be much appreciated
I have pvcs for 10 years. It goes and comes. I feel 1000s of them daily with flutter in chest. I stay sometimes for months no pvcs. I did all test they are normal. Stress make them worse.
Hey. How are you coping now? Mine started in April just out of nowhere. They are the most horrible debilitating thing to deal with mentally. There is a subreddit /r/pvcs that you can join.
I hear you and totally understand! It was so good to know I’m not alone. How are you doing now?
Luke O.
I have been suffering from PVC’s and PACs since I can remember, probably around the age of 14. It’s not a good feeling when they happen and really the only thing keeping you from dropping dead and not is chance. I’m on a beta blocker but doesn’t seem to be working to well, it’s been a month, seeing electrophysiologist in a month again. Thanks for listening.
90% of PVCs are coming from stomach gas. I had this experince for over 20 years. I fixed my stomach gas and all the PVCs have disappeared for ever.
I have struggled with pvcs for the past 3 years. I have structural heart problems, so I’m not sure if my story will aply to many others, but I’ll share in hope it will help someone.
I was having upwards of 30,000 extra beats per day. It was beyond unbearable. I had countless holter monitors done, stress tests, echos…. Nothibg conclusive cane up. The problem was just chalked up to my structural problems.
Desperately I went to a chiropractor, naturopath, took meditation courses and even went to cardiac rehabilitation. Nothing worked.
Finally after journaling for 3 years, I made some conclusions myself. I always have the most pvcs after periods of calm, relaxing times. My pvcs dissappear after stressful and physically demanding times. Pretty much the opposite of everything I’ve been told by doctors.
To keep my palpitations under control, I have to get a good amount of vigorous exercise, and ideally get adrenaline pumping. Do something exciting every day. I also drink lots of lemon water with salt, and coffee seems fine for me.
It was very scary to make these changes to my life, as at first these activities sent my pvcs into overdrive, but they always subsided quickly after, and then stayed away for the rest of the day.
I have made a self conclusion, that for myself, my adrenaline and stress hormones accumulate unless I rid my body of them daily. This is why for me, palpitations get worse and worse if I sit around thinking about them. The stress builds, and there’s no outlet for it.
I know this sounds counterintuitive, but if I don’t have time to exercise and my pvcs start creeping back, I will do pretty much anything to get adrenaline pumping and this usually does the trick. I will sometimes crank my music up, drink coffee, and dance around like a crazy person. Even an ice cold shower helps.
I know everyone is unique, and this might not help others, but I hope it does help someone. I know all too well how disabling palpitations are.
Hey John, I get a lot of pvc’s too and just like you exercise helps. Just wonder what your structural heart defect is exactly?
Thanks!!!!!
The heart rate changes throughout a person’s life, according to their age,Thank you for taking the time to write a great post!
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I’m experiencing PVC too, I started feeling it November 2021, I found out my PVC can be stopped if I take potassium. You can find potassium in fruits like banana or just supplement tablets. Since then, I always make sure I take enough potassium everyday. I take Magnesium too just to add my nutrition, but I feel that potassium gives an immediate affect – while honestly I don’t really feel the effects of Magnesium. I mean, when I feel the PVC is started, once I take potassium it stopped within several minutes. I’m still observing what’s the trigger of my PVC, I suspect it is caffeine, because I feel the PVC always come after I drank either coffee or chocolate.
This thread has been so helpful to read . I’m left wondering though why it is that some feel them and some don’t . I would love to not feel them. Does it have anything to do with the location in the heart causing them, or some other factor ? Also wondering whether there are good quality research studies supporting magnesium or omega fatty acids or any of the other suggestions on here ? Finally while I’m glad they are benign, obviously something causes them to suddenly begin happening and I’m not seeing any scientific explanation for that . Thanks !
This article and your shares have helped me so much.I have felt so alone since my diagnosis of pvcs and they scare the shit out of me everytime I have one…or ten.
Thanks to you I went and bought gayoraide and bananas and went for a walk. Plus I did not have an anxiety attack. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Here’s my experience with PVCs.
I’m 31. I started having them around 2017. I didn’t know what they were at the time. I only knew that it felt weird and uncomfortable whenever it happened. It was very infrequent, maybe once every few months.
Unfortunately, I also had an underlying electrical issue with my heart. I learned later from the doctor that I have extra electrical pathways in my heart. It’s normally not an issue, but PVCs can trigger an electrical loop and cause SVT. I had 2 of these SVT episodes with a heart rate of 200. The first time it happened was probably the scariest thing I ever experienced. I thought my heart was going to explode. I didn’t want a third one so I opted for a radiofrequency ablation to get rid of the extra pathways. I haven’t had another SVT since.
I still get PVCs today. It seems so random. Sometimes once a month, sometimes a few in an hour. I do occasional have prolonged PVCs, ones that last for a couple of hours where I get a PVC every 3 to 10 beats. Doctor recommends taking a 25mg Metoprolol or two to help make them go away. But it’s been a few years of PVCs now, and I think as long as I’m not getting 20,000 PVCs a day (which can develop into cardiomyopathy), I’ve finally learned to not worry about it. Instead, whenever I get a PVC now, it kind of pisses me off.
Hey all, I am 40 and I started having PVCs when I was 37. I get the dizziness too and sometimes warmth around my entire body. They are annoying as hell and it’s hard to get to sleep which makes them worse because of lack of rest. I had managed to get them under control but recently had some neck issues bells palsy and bow my vagus nerve is flaring up which is making my heart do all types of crazy stuff and my pvcs are starting to get annoying again…I have all the same fears …that my heart may be weakening etc…
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I am so glad I’ve come across this forum. I’ve been having PVCs my whole life and only just found out what they were as I had a pretty bad episode of them that sent me to emergency and to a cardiologist for further assessment. I’ve been told that they’re benign. But experiencing something this terrifying doesn’t feel benign. When it happens to me, I feel a thud or an electric surge followed by a thud that kinda knocks me for a split second with the most extreme fear I’ve experienced. Then the come down is a disgusting adrenal feeling. If I get multiple of them, there’s no time in between to recover from the disgusting feeling. I absolutely hate it. It sets me off into a deep dark depression. Sometimes they happen when I’m having the best day/time of my life and it makes me feel instantly depressed, like I shouldn’t be enjoying myself. As a result, I’ve started to stay home a lot more. My entire life is ruled and affected by these.
I was wondering if anyone is experiencing PAC’s and PVC’s? I recently yawned and dislocated my jaw to where it locked into place and when the ER doc put me on an EKG the a fib alarm sounded off. They thought it was shock from me dislocating my jaw but for the 3 1/2 hours I was in the ER the a fib alarm stayed on. The doc said I had frequent PAC’s and some PVC’s going on but just like you all I was told it was benign and sent home (they did blood work and my monocytes were high, everything else was in normal range but elevated (top of normal range). Since that ER visit the palpitations have been constant and I mean all day. I am short of breath and getting dizzy from time to time. Has anyone had a similar experience? I’m due to go to the cardiologist soon but I feel what we all feel all the time and it scares me. Hope everyone is doing well and I am happy to have found a sort of community of people experiencing the same heart palpitations.
I have had PVCs for over 25 years now. And I believe I found what’s causing them.
I take magnesium but in recent years it wasn’t enough to control the PVCs.
The most effective near immediate fix is to take magnesium taurate or plain taurine, 1-2 grams. That works miracles.
However I now believe the real underlying cause of PVCs is a subclinical deficiency of vitamin B6 and B12. Those are also involved in electrolyte balance and sodium potassium pumps.
I found it’s best to take a super b50 pill along with magnesium.
The reason why stress and alcohol and coffee make PVCs worse is because they are all causing stress which depletes b vitamins very quickly. Unfortunately blood tests are not accurate in telling us how bad things really are in terms of imbalances so I don’t bother anymore to pay for expensive tests. Taking the b50 and the magnesium for a few days takes care of them.
For really bad days the magnesium taurate is very important so I keep that always with me
I hope this helps someone find inner peace