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28M, suspected PVCs, chronic

Posted , 3 users are following.

PH2021
PH2021

Hi,

  • Male age 28, have had what I believe are PVCs for 14 years, since age 14, about 1 year after I had a splenectomy due to trauma.
  • On average I have 1 or 2 a day, but some days it can be many more. Some weeks I have none whatsoever (typically when I'm on holiday).
  • They feel like a flutter in my chest, and always take my breath away. If I happen to have one while breathing in, I can continue breathing in far beyond any other human can because the PVC takes away any oxygen in my lungs.
  • Yesterday on the sofa, 2 hours after drinking 1 glass of champagne and eating a meal full of bread (gluten seems to make me bloat badly), I had about 30 PVCs, each about 1-2 mins apart, over a period of just 1 hour. This is the most I've ever had in 1 day, by far. I cannot figure out what's causing them.
  • Never any smoking nor drugs, very rarely any alcohol or caffeine and in small quantities.
  • Healthy weight (currently 75KG at a height of 6'1/184cm), and have been regularly active at the gym for the last 2 months.
  • Ruled out stress and magnesium as causes.
  • Generally quite an anxious person, but I don't have them in moments of anxiety. I used to have them when my heart rate was at its slowest, i.e. when falling asleep at night, but over the last year or so they've stopped occurring as I fall asleep, and now occur randomly throughout the day.
  • I found I have been able to bring them on on command simply by lifting weights using the overhead press machine at the gym (40kgs, challenging for me to lift). As soon as the I push the handles up high, right before I bring them back down (at the same moment I take a deep breath to help me lift), I experience one. That's why I'm posting this here, now. I don't want to stop lifting weights because I have a palpitation with every single lift, when I get to the top of the lift. I've noticed that the first set of lifting, no palps, but onto the 2nd and 3rd (final) set of 8 reps, that's when I feel a palp with every lift.
  • I've noticed that on days where my sleep is bad, I experience more palps.
  • Looking at my most recent CBC (which was a while ago), magnesium and potassium were fine. All was fine actually other than platelet count which has been high (was 560k now more around 400k) since my splenectomy in 2007 at age 13.
  • I believe I have POTS and have had it since my teen years. I know this because whenever I stand up (on most days), my heart rate changes very quickly from 60-65pm to around 100/110bpm, and my chest feels very 'full' when this happens. Not sure if this is connected to the palpitations...

At some point in my life I want these PVCs to go away. They used to bother/scare me a lot in my teen years and I always went to sleep worried with my hands on my chest. My parents don't have any heart issues.

I've never seen a doctor about them because I read online that they're typically benign when unaccompanied by shortness of breath, dizziness, etc (I don't have any other symptoms). I would rather not go and see a doctor because I would have to end up paying for a lot of checks and tests due to my profession.

My main concern right now is that I don't want to stop weight lifting at the gym because of the PVCs. I'm only just getting toned/seeing good results and I really don't want to stop. I read that transient arrhythmias can happen when the volume of blood going back to the heat is high (i.e. when lifting weights). Is this "normal"?

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • PH2021
    PH2021

    Posted

    Any chance of a reply on this?

  • tony52050
    tony52050 PH2021

    Posted

    I think the best advice I can give is that these things seem to evolve, so what is 'normal' at one stage of your life, changes at another stage and may or may not be a case for concern. That the conditions mostly disappears when you are on holiday suggests they may be related to stress or anxiety which is quite common

    Changes to your condition could also be due to age, diet, drink, high stress job, house moves, relationship changes, apparently unrelated illnesses, different types of exercise. Dr Google isn't very good at pinpointing the health concerns of an individual, as we are all different.

    I had to look at the word 'splenectomy.' That obviously places you into a different category to most people and involves complications that only a doctor can assess.

    So first step is surely to actually see a doctor to see if they are genuinely benign rather than the first stages of a condition that needs treatment.

    However, I note your reservations, but can't imagine why you would need lots of checks and tests because of your profession. If you can't see a doctor on a one off basis who could either set your mind at rest or believe you need further tests, then it is difficult to know how you can proceed

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