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How do your PACs/PVCs feel?

Posted , 56 users are following.

jesse81655
jesse81655

Hey all,

I've been having PACs and PVCs for about 5 years now, 21yo M who doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs (but I do have anxiety :p )

Anyway I wanted to talk to some people first hand about how theirs feels as I don't know anybody in real life who experiences these, so experiences would help ease my fear.

Mine kind of feel like a thump and then I get a massive anxiety rush and my heart beats faster, sometimes it will be mild and it feels more like someone presses on my heart for a second. But the big ones are like someone punches my heart and I have to recover, I'm a little worried it is Afib and not just benign PAC's/PVC's. I've had an ECG about 2 weeks ago and nothing showed, no hyper or hypothyroidism on my bloods, I have a 24 hour monitor tomorrow and I am considering having caffeine because the last time I had a monitor they barely even showed up.

Thanks in advance.

0 likes, 128 replies

128 Replies

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  • rob92356
    rob92356 jesse81655

    Posted

    Can I just ask has anyone ever had the same as what I had the other morning waking up with it flopping all over the place ( sorry for the terrible description but it's the only way I can describe it )

    • ann82027
      ann82027 rob92356

      Posted

      I would have this all day, it completely messes up your life, if I go out with the family I,m glad to get home again.  I,m on bisoprolol 1.25, it stops 75 percent of the palpitations but my blood pressure drops so low and my breathing feels fuzzy.  I used to get the big thumps and long pauses plus the feeling as if my heart was shivering.  I,m waiting for an appointment at barts hospital.
    • rob92356
      rob92356 ann82027

      Posted

      It used to be the thuds and pauses that scared me but now I wish it was just them I had I can handle them now , just these bursts of fast heart beats that get me now sad I'm terrified

    • ann82027
      ann82027 rob92356

      Posted

      Mine did progress to svt, hundreds of attacks until the big one in February.  My son has inherited the same condition, he,s young so it doesn't,t affect him so bad at the moment,he takes propranolol when he gets bad,he holds down a stressful job and doesn't,t want to get brain fog, he,s an independent computer consultant

    • aaron48775
      aaron48775 rob92356

      Posted

      Hi rob, do you still use this? Anyone there? Ive have the same exact thing you discribed .

  • rob92356
    rob92356 jesse81655

    Posted

    I think the biggest problem for me is because it feels the way it does ( deadly) it's hard to accept that nothing will happen I must admit though I do feel slightly more at ease because of the other morning, only because it has never happened for so long and I had a little time to evaluate how I felt if you understand what I mean

  • jesse81655
    jesse81655

    Posted

    Hi everyone, I'm so sorry I have not responded to anything, I didn't have email notifications turned on and I got no notification of this, my own silly move.

    Thank you for everything though, it has helped me quite a lot knowing that I am not alone. Does anyone else get the feeling that doctors don't fully understand what you're describing though? Sometimes I experience this and it is extremely frustrating telling them that it isn't just a thudding, it's like something hits your chest.

  • miriam80881
    miriam80881 jesse81655

    Posted

    Hi Jesse

    Most of the time I get the feeling that nobody has a clue how it feels!

    I'm grateful to you for starting the discussion because I feel like a freak & a drop dead waiting to happen. I think doing our own research is good and also to insist that they check as comprehensively as possible that we aren't suffering from some

    undiagnosed cause for these problems. I'm going to see a counsellor tomorrow & am worried that talking will start my symptoms. 

    Something I notice £ haven't seen mentioned is that my palpitations often start when I lie on my right side in bed. I need to be slightly propped up. Anyone else?

     

    • Jonnadune
      Jonnadune miriam80881

      Posted

      Hi Miriam, I'm new to this forum so I see your post is about

      3 months old. But in response to your comment about laying on

      your right side, I have noticed laying on my right side and even

      more so on my left side seems to contribute to a "harder"

      heartbeat. Sometimes I think mine is triggered when I sit in my

      recliner and lean far back. I tend to think that the level of your

      heart affects the way it beats. My brother gets symptoms when

      he bends down sometimes. It is very hard to figure out. My

      doctor initially thought mine was related to caffeine but I have

      not been able to correlate my episodes with caffeine.

    • miriam80881
      miriam80881 Jonnadune

      Posted

      Hi Jonnadune,

      yes, I can identify with all of that! I also have noticed that hot & cold as in drinking or eating can trigger my problems. It starts my throat jumping. Since I came on here first I have given up caffeine but also now take a magnesium supplement which has certainly helped. Sometimes it seems to come on just to give us a fright! I have a tendency to high blood pressure although I'm slim & non smoking etc & much as I don't like to think it I know that I feel a lot of stress, mostly it has to be said because I find this bumpy heart very scary. I think we all do but I find sharing with others who understand helps a lot. I hope it's the same for you! Best wishes, Miriam

    • Simpson1992
      Simpson1992 miriam80881

      Posted

      I can definitely relate to this. It's strange how lying in different positions affect the heart differently. I find if I lie on my right I get bigger thuds, and if I lie on my back it's more likely to to flutter. Yet lieing on my front can often relieve the symptoms

  • rob92356
    rob92356 jesse81655

    Posted

    Hi all I had a really bad episode yesterday I had a run of about 6-7 fast beats in a row then I was getting double beats and thuds and everything else every few minutes for the rest of the night
    • amy19390
      amy19390 rob92356

      Posted

      Hi rob!

      I actually had a scary episode last night. With my pvcs it's usually just one hard thud that makes me lose my breath for a second. Last night I felt the normal hard beat but then it felt like my heart got stuck in a irregular rhythm for like 10 seconds after almost like a fluttering but like there were two different beats happening at the same time. I've never felt that before and it was really concerning sad

    • rob92356
      rob92356 amy19390

      Posted

      Hi Amy

      I have had that before it really isn't nice , it's very hard to " just ignore it " when it happens to me the beats definitely feel different I'm not really sure how to describe them but it's like a weak bubble ? I hope you can take some comfort in knowing that it's not just you and nothing ever happens to any of us , if you want to talk or ask questions I'm always checking on here for replies so type away smile hope you feel better now though

  • Aliens05
    Aliens05 jesse81655

    Posted

    I am 30 years old active, fit and have never had heart issues until 3 years ago out of the blue. My cardiologist diagnosed me with PVCs and PACs after doing 4 holter monitors, one for a month long, a stress test, a heart ultrasound and alot of blood work. 

    One thing I will ask the others on here that do experience PVCs....The thing that happens with my PVCs when i exercise at all (or even do anything strenuous), is that I have these attacks that feel like a palptiation begins the attack and results in tachycardia, blurry vision, feeling of impending doom (like i am going to die), tingling extremeties, and sweaty and trembling hands. Now these symptoms do sound like an anxiety attack, however, when these attacks happen its CAUSED by exercise. Last time I worked out I went slow, did great with arms, did somewhat ok with legs (PVCs started coming more during legs), and then once i moved to chest it felt like something inside my chest hit my heart, or kicked my heart, and sent me into attack (definatly not anxiety), it was immediately into the attack, about 5 minutes later immediiatly out of the attack. 

    • Chalky1991
      Chalky1991 Aliens05

      Posted

      Hi Ailens05 I am exactly the same as you, Mine came on when i turned 30 (12 years ago now) like you mine are agrivated by exercise. Ive been told they are benign and not to worry, I used to enjoy the weights in the gym and used to go at it full blast. I have had a few lay offs the last after doing legs and getting stuck on a 5 min run of palps which then corrected as i stopped and went and sat outside in my car. If i go light weights and gentle i can manage arms, Chest is ok with light weights shoulders the same but some times kicks it off. Legs are harder. my layman theory is that as you lift or excert yourself so the pressue builds up internally and puts pressure on your vagus neve stimulating an irritable heart.

       How are you getting on now?

       

    • janco
      janco Chalky1991

      Posted

      Hi Chalky and Jesse

      My PAC/PVC/Ectopic heartbeats felt like my heart changed gears, but feeling like it got kicked is a niceway to explain it.

      My PAC/PVC's mostly came from an irritated vagus nerve, and there is some info on the internet about "vagal heartbeat", "ectopic heartbeats" and how your vagus nerve can influence your heartbeat.

      Chalky, what you explained with your exercise sounds like a "Vagal maneuver" that can slow down your heartbeat.

      Hope you get answers.

       

    • Chalky1991
      Chalky1991 janco

      Posted

      Hi Janco, yes generally the valsalma manoeuvre does work. When you remember to do it through the panic. However on a couple of occasions it hasn't and they have run on a little longer than usual.

       I believe it's a vagus nerve issue. I think weights aggravate it due to the build up of adrenaline and pressure. I think anxiety and adrenaline also stimulate it. The more unconditioned I get the fewer I have, unless I exert myself or move around more. I'm trying low impact exercise keeping the HR down at the moment. I also have a sliding hernia and gerd which I believe causes vagus issues along with the bloating.

       However the fear these cause when they kick in and your exercising is just crazy. It's really put me off.

    • janco
      janco Chalky1991

      Posted

      Hi Chalky

      I agree 100%

      Fear and anxiety was the stuff that got me in a spin most of the time!

      I wonder if (heart) doctors/cardiologists ever give advice that their patients should see a psycologist or any type of councilor.

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