Palpitations (PVCs) EVERYDAY!!!
Posted , 138 users are following.
Im 32 yo female, 3 kids, happily married, with wonderful job, my life is soooo good!! Soooo Why during the pregnancy of my 3rd (there was alot if stress at this time, selling house, buying a house, time frames, changing positions at work, etc) I was having these heart flutters randomly...told my OB and she said see a cardiologist...I told her I have had a random flutter here or there usually during a panic attack. Come to find out after EKG, ECHO, and 24 hr holter monitor, that there were PVCs happening not alot, but definitely showed up......Dr. told me your fine! However I have had these flutters/palpitations/PVCs almost everyday, some a stronger than others, and some are barely noticable. The other night it last so long that my husband laid his head on my chest and could hear my heart beibg crazy. Im going to go back to Dr., Im a mess all day everyday thinking Im going to go into cardiac arrest if it happens. Please help, feed back, suggestions!!!
7 likes, 228 replies
sandra06561 michelle1015
Edited
Michelle1015, I have been getting so many I finally just stopped counting. Although I am not pregnant, but menopausal, I really think underlying stress is causing mine. I really didn't feel that I am stressed, but my eating and sleeping habits have been horrible lately and with all of the Covid19 the news keeps showing, I feel myself sinking into my chair in worry. I have lived with PVCs and SVTs which I was diagnosed in my early 30's. I have since I've been taking a beta blocker in which my doctor has upped my dosage over the past years just a bit. Exactly a month ago PVCs came on with a vengance. Every other beat for several in a row. I was counting 4-10 per minute. It seems like they lessen when I am up moving around, but I'm not sure if I am just not noticing them as much then. This goes on day and night nonstop. My doc isn't worried, but finally ordered a 30 day event monitor that I finally received late yesterday. I am trying to calm myself down and not worry about them either. Now I am only getting 1-4 a minute and that is more tolerable. I am so sorry you are experiencing them too. I have heard they can be common during pregnancy.
macada sandra06561
Posted
Hi Sandra- I was wondering how your palpitations have been since you wrote 4 weeks ago? Are you still getting them daily throughout the day? I've had mine for 4 weeks now. I'm hoping it's just stress/anxiety.
sandra06561 macada
Posted
Macada,
Yes, I am still experiencing them. Some hours are worse than others, but I am not letting it bother me anymore. I had my cardiology appt. over a week ago and he doesn't seem to care of the amount of pvcs that I am having. They are so much better when I eat better, but with the stress of going back to work I tend to eat too much chocolate and donuts that everyone brings to work. I was able to catch, on my event monitor, a couple of runs of atrial flutter/fibrillation that only lasted a few seconds. It's weird that I have experienced these for years, but I always thought it was svt episodes. The ones where you feel your heart go out of sync beating super fast for a few seconds than back to normal on it's own or if you make yourself cough and it stops. I have to take a baby aspirin daily now and he said I will have to go on blood thinners when I reach 65. I also had an echo done on my heart last week, but I have not gotten my results back yet. I guess no news is good news. I really do think it is unnoticed stress that plays a big part of pvcs along with poor diet and too much caffeine. Alcohol too. I had a tiny glass of the new hard seltzer last night and I had many pvcs each minute after. Are you still getting the same amount or are they better or worse?
molly83981 sandra06561
Posted
i will sometimes get "race aways". i always thought they were bouts of svt, perhaps it is AFib . Mine can be brought on by alcohol, heat and when i am excitably talking.
david78440 michelle1015
Posted
Add me to the list of PVCS sufferers. I was diagnosed a couple days ago after the cardiologist gave me the 24 Hr Holter and electrocardiogram Stress test. Tells me I had 22k in 24 hours. Yikes no wonder I feel like I do. Been on Norvasc to lower BP for 2 months, so not sure if it contributed to the PVCS. I do have a 20 plus year history of dealing with GAD and panic attacks. Past few years I would get dizzy driving to work in the morning. Pull over get a panic attack then would have to drive back home and call in sick. Looking back I can see how these PVCS could have been my triggers all this time. I got a healthy heart, just got high BP and PVCS now. Got me on Metoprolol now. That's supposed to help the PVCS better than Norvasc. Actually relieved though that they found a possible answer to why I feel so bad. Got the BP down to 117/80 now so just need to work on high cholesterol and calming those extra beats. All the best to everyone here.
gina18787 david78440
Posted
Hi, I know this is an old thread but I was relieved to read your post. I have had increased PVCs for the last year, had an echo and 2 EKGs, one with a cardiologist and was told everything was structurally sound. Got a 24 hour monitor that showed 20% burden, it also happened to be on an exceptionally bad day. How are you doing on the beta blocker? I am very reluctant to try one due to hypersensitivity to meds and taking care of a 4 year old. They want me to go to an electrophysiologist and I really want to avoid anything invasive.
Thanks!
david78440 gina18787
Edited
Greetings Gina. I'm still on Metoprolol and Amlodipine (Norvasc) and still doing well. Feel fine and have not had a true panic attack for years. Surprisingly to me at least the medications have kept my heart calm. Not really any side effects, Check ups show I'm fine. The heart is an amazing thing. Once they correct your PVCs you will feel much better. It can be life changing.
guy31238 michelle1015
Edited
Hello Michelle,
I have been experiencing PVCs for a year and have had two ablation procedures that have failed at resolving them. Beta-blockers did not make any difference either. In the past few months, I realized that these PVCs always started when I experienced stomach discomfort. Since my cardiologist had very little interest in hearing about a possible connection between stomach and heart, I took it upon myself to start a 1-month treatment with the over-the-counter drug Omeprazole (20 mg/day). After a week, the frequency and duration of my PVCs started going down. After a month, I saw a considerable improvement (note that products like Tums or Mylanta never helped). Based on this observation, my primary care physician arranged an appointment with a gastroenterologist who performed an endoscopy and diagnosed chronic acid reflux. He placed me on a 6-month course of pantoprazole (drug similar to omeprazole, at 40 mg/day). I have been on that medication for a week and my PVCs are, for the moment, all but gone. I realize that my case may be unusual, but it is certainly not unique, as I read many testimonials of patients on medical boards, who are stressing the link between stomach problems and PVCs (as well as the fact their cardiologists ignore that link). I am not a medical professional and I cannot make any suggestion but I would encourage you to look out for any link between the state of your stomach and your PVCs.
Eedie_V guy31238
Edited
Hi there,
I have also been suffering with heart palpitations lately. The first time a experienced them was last year April. I had just started a new job and was under a bit of stress but as soon as I started taking Purblocka 10mg once a day prescribed by my doctor they went away and after 3 weeks I stopped the medication & didn't have any palpitations for a year. The last month I have had them on and off.. the doctor prescribed Indoblock 10mg and they helped for 3 weeks and now the palpitations are back with a vengeance! The beta blockers are not working, even though I'm taking it twice a day. I had an ECG a month ago and it was normal - but I did not experience a palpitation during it. I have noticed my palpitation feels like a skipped beat and then a hard THUD. It is really terrible, it is constantly on my mind and unfortunately the more I think of it, the more I get them. I probably experience about 200 - 300 of them a day. I do agree with some of you saying it could be related to your stomach. I had just eaten a big meal and sat in an odd position when my palpitations came back the second time.. unfortunately I don't know how to get them to go away. My doctor has also prescribed me pantoprazole to take for acid reflux and we will see how that helps with the palpitations. I am so thankful for this forum! I was in an absolute state before I came across this and it has put my mind at ease slightly. Any recommendations are welcome.
gina18787 guy31238
Posted
Wow, I'm glad to see this! My cardiologist completely dismissed the link as well, which I was not surprised, but have seen numerous sources stating the link between esophageal irritation and PVCs. I have had chronic reflux for some time. Very interesting...
linda73370 michelle1015
Edited
there are great forums for support on facebook as well. I have been using them the responses are faster and lots of great information. you might want to check it out .
Eedie_V linda73370
Posted
I will definitely check it out. Thank you for the suggestion 😃
christian04559 michelle1015
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Hello, boy can I understand. I have had palpitations for years but as of lately I have days where they seem to never stop. Thumps,thuds,flutters,rolling and skipped beats. I have had yearly stress echoes, nuclear stress echoes as well as multiple event monitors, to many to mention. As well a an Kardia six lead at home device. I to have been told nothing is wrong structurally with my heart but that does not stop the concern and anxiety.
Im a 49 year old male whom suffers from anxiety.Although I would prefer not to. I also am on Beta blockers but couldn't tell you if they are working or not.
Your not alone!!!! It is truly hard to believe nothing is wrong, you simply can not understand unless you suffer from these horrible sensations!
renee17247 michelle1015
Posted
i hear you. i have been having pvc "episodes" for almost 2 years. Also 37yrs old and no history of heart problems. pvcs started mild in my first trimester of my last pregnancy. I had a few bad episodes a year ago and went to the ER, my BP would get high during these episodes and high heart rate. this was usually once or twice a month. Then beta blockers and no episodes for months. then BAM pvcs every evening between 5pm- 8pm for the past 2 months. beta blockers keep it from being bad, but flip-flopping for sometimes 2 hours, worse after big meal, stressful day, or going from sitting to standing or standing to sitting. some nights its not there. My echo was good. Holter showed PVCs and PACs. all considered benign. i will see electrophysiologist in feb. wine is a trigger i think, and big meals. i do have a stressful job too. im starting vitamins. my first bad episode i had low potassium so maybe thats a trigger.
jaime59525 michelle1015
Posted
I've developed daily "skipped beats" out of the blue. In the past I would occasionally experience palpitations when I was under stress, or around the time of my period, but nothing like this. I'm a 39 y/o who works out 3-4 times a week - my resting heart rate is usually in the mid 40's or low 50's. I called my primary care physician after experiencing skipped beats for about 2 weeks. I feel them most at night, when I try to sleep. This hard thud in my chest, so scary. I've lost many hours of sleep, and experienced increased anxiety because I'm worried that I'm going to collapse or go into cardiac arrest. My doctor ordered some labs, and everything was normal there. Did an EKG that showed sinus bradycardia, but no other abnormalities. I wore an event monitor for a couple days, and I'm waiting on those results. She suspects that I'm experiencing PVC's. I have a lot of health anxiety, but I'm worried they'll say these skipped beats are "okay," and that I have to live with them. I have young children and I need to be healthy for them (physically and mentally). Hoping that they will go away as quickly as they came on!