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
cassandra32509 michelle1015
Edited
i know this is an old post and i hope things have gotten better for you!!!! i deal with the same things you do. i just had one happen ans it was the longest one ive ever had.scared the crap out of me! ive seem 3 cardiologists and they all say pvc's and not to worry. im sorry but my heart is doing something that i feel should cause me to fall smooth out! ugh they say its normal and everything is ok. just hard to get your anxiety and panic to believe that!
margaret07629 michelle1015
Edited
Believe me... they are more terrifying to feel than dangerous! That's what I've been told by many cardiologists! I can't understand how such an irregular heartbeat for years won't kill me but not one of the cardiologists I've seen (and I've seen a lot for 2nd & 3rd opinions!) say it's to be a concern. So here I sit reading about others as my PVCs roll on! It's very common!
misty75776 michelle1015
Posted
Wow, you are the first person I've seen mention getting these when you are excited or emotional. I get what feels like a rush of adrenaline with sometimes a skipped beat at work when someone walks in my office. Or even if I watch a sad commercial on tv. So weird. My Doc says its all anxiety related.So frustrating. I've only had the echocardiogram and it was normal. Just got referred to a diff cardiologist so hopefully do the halter. I'm currently waiting on my blood work and checking all my hormones ect..My Doc says it can be premenopausal symptoms as well. I pray it is, and not my heart. I just turned ed 49 and its Exhausting wondering if f you are going to die of a heart attack some day. l. Hope all is well. Im glad i found this forum.
jonny29172 michelle1015
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Hi 31 year old male here, been having chest/heart pains for over 6 months, started getting the flutter sensation very 2 week's ago, around around 10+ times an hour. After doing a bit of googling and buying an apple watch to check my heart rate i'm pretty certain it's PVCs. And having read the wiki on PVCs i got a bit of a shock thinking i had heart disease, anyway's went to the doctors and was told if it happens again to go straight to a&e.
I've just been in Dubai the last week and felt them every so often but nothing like i did the first time, im now home and tested positive for covid, and just had another epiosde, 10 times in an hour and i can physically feel my pulse double beat and then almost skip a beat, and the feeling of a big one makes you want to cough, there is no way this is normal?
tony52050 jonny29172
Posted
jonny
sounds like you need a proper examination to determine the nature of the problem. Did the doctor give you an ECG, provide you with a 24 hour monitor or refer you for further testing?
Don't know if you live in Dubai or the UK but at the least you need to get on some sort of waiting list for a proper hospital examination.
Circumstances can exacerbate a problem, for instance, heat, cold, change of diet or drink, but googling and an apple watch are no substitute for a real live examination as the first two methods are likely to make you more-not less-anxious, and anxiety is a big factor in episodes.
Iroh michelle1015
Posted
I'm more grateful for this thread than you could possibly imagine. I've lived with 1,000 to 10,000 of these a day for the past 3 months. I'm 28. My anxiety stems from my previously undiagnosed/untreated diabetes, but it's so, so good to see there are non-diabetics who have the same fears. I'm pretty much convinced I'm going to die any day now. Fingers crossed I'm wrong.
Trust_no1 michelle1015
Edited
Hi! I'm a 33-year-old female and have suffered from PVCs since age 19. My PVCs happen throughout the day, everyday for over 14 years! I feel your anxiety and can relate. I was reading all the responses on this discussion and felt relieved that I'm not alone. From about age 19 through 23 I had a lot of cardiac testing, like heart monitors, treadmill stress tests, ECGs, and echocardiograms. The diagnosis I received was mitral valve prolapse with regurgitation and was told I have nothing to worry about. It just seems like my heart is on its best behavior during these tests, and my worst episodes have never been witnessed or recorded. I might feel better if the doctors saw my worst symptoms and still told me I'm fine. I just worry and think "what if it is bad and they didn't get to see it?"
For several years I carried on and didn't let my palpitations bother me too much, but for some reason my anxiety the last couple years has really intensified. I guess over a decade of unending palpitations is wearing me out psychologically and emotionally. I have other symptoms too; If I lay on my left side the PVCs are worse, I'm exercise intolerant, anything that raises my heart rate also triggers more palpitations, sometimes I lose my normal heart rhythm altogether and I have continuous PVCs which makes me feel light headed and out of breath, and I get sudden spikes in my heart rate by doing simple things like walking from one room to another or raising my arm above my head to change a lightbulb. In a matter of seconds my heart rate will go from 80bpm to 140bpm+ but as soon as I sit down my heart rate returns back to normal in a matter of seconds. It's crazy! My doctor brushed me off and said it sounded like something called POTS, which stands for some sort of positional tachycardia condition, but these bouts of racing heartbeats don't always happen, they are fairly unpredictable.
About 6 months ago I started taking Metoprolol, and it helped because my resting heart rate is pretty high, usually around 100bpm. Metoprolol lowered my heart rate which freaked me out at first but I learned to really enjoy it. I started having to take small doses of Metoprolol all throughout the day otherwise the effects wore off so about 3 months ago I switched to Atenolol and I like it better. It decreases the amount of POTS symptoms and PVCs because I experience less of these things when my heart rate is lower. But it does not cure the symptoms because I still have PVCs throughout the day- just less of them. Lately I drastically modified my diet which also helps the palpitations happen less frequently. I stopped drinking any and all caffeine, so no soda, tea, coffee, or anything else. I pretty much only drink water. I also stopped eating things with chocolate because I learned chocolate has caffeine. I stopped eating fast food because fast food seems to make it worse... maybe the MSG? I really try to eat incredibly healthy, lots of vegetables and some fruit every day. It's a boring diet but it does seem to help, so it has been worth the sacrifice. I just feel discouraged because with the medication, and the massive diet change my palpitations still exist. Frequently I have a sense of impending doom because I'm horribly afraid of sudden cardiac death even though my doctors tell me I'm fine. Some days I feel like I can't live like this anymore because it's miserable living in constant fear (real or imagined) and I even feel afraid to leave the house and do things because I think "what if I die?" So I've been reading this discussion and finding other people that can relate to how I feel, and trying to come to terms with my borderline cardiophobia because apparently the doctors are right and I can live a long healthy life with these PVCs and palpitations? Ugh. I feel for all of you on here!
lauren77398 Trust_no1
Edited
thanks for your post!
do you get a bloated feeling with yours? I get a horrible feeling where i feel like i need to burp but i cant get it out.
Mine are really frequent today and theres nothing i can do about it, which is really bugging me. i've taken my apple watch off because i feel i need to keep doing ECG's to catch it.
People keep suggesting that i cough to try and stop it but it makes no differance. Does anyone have any techniques to stop PVC episodes? i know too well its not as simple at that, however.
It feels like im about to drop down dead and ive explained this several times to my husband who says he understands but i dont think he does.
tony52050 lauren77398
Edited
Lauren
The problem commonly (but not always) relates to anxiety and digestive problems.
I suggest you google the 'Vagus nerve' which is at the root of many digestive concerns. Also 'tonal stimulation' as this is a a means of correcting the problems of the vagus nerve.
You may find that as part of this, humming or singing for 4 or 5 minutes at a time helps. If you have an internal bathroom with a fan this will not only disguise what you are doing but will provide the perfect pitch for humming. Certainly worth trying.
As regards burping, this is certainly worth trying as well, but is helped by drinking a carbonated drink-preferably non caffeinated. A warm carbonated drink will be fizzier than a cold one.
Controlled breathing helps, as does clenching buttocks-the latter again related to the vagus nerve.
I think one of the tricks is to recognise when it is not just a sporadic episode, as its better to try to control it before it becomes established for however long it decides to last -and these things can came out of the blue and disappear as mysteriously.
Please let us know how you get on.
Trust_no1 lauren77398
Edited
I don't get a bloated feeling, but I do get a building pressure feeling in my chest and neck. Do you ever feel like you have a string of continuous PVCs with no normal heartbeat in between? Sometimes I feel like I have 5-6 PVCs in a row with no heartbeat in between, and I read online that more than 3 PVCs in a row is ventricular tachycardia!!! I actually cried all day Sunday after I read that because I was so scared. Now I'm trying to tell myself I am not a cardiologist and maybe it's not as bad as I'm worrying it is. But still... wondering if anyone else ever feels like they have more than 3 PVCs in a row
Tonique123 Trust_no1
Edited
Sounds awful, not many people will ever understand how it feels. I'm not saying it's the cause but have you tried not using make up and fake tan for a few weeks? As you prob know it all gets absorbed into our bodies and all those chemicals and oils can disrupt our natural system, be it Endocrine, Circulatory etc.
Trust_no1 Tonique123
Posted
That is such an interesting observation!! i dont ever use fake tanner but i am an every day makeup wearer!
Tonique123 Trust_no1
Posted
Ya give it a go, nothing to lose. It could be all the oils in the products. What you describe reminds me of my own. The fast food is bad, i think it's all the salt. The fear is the worst though, thinking what if my heart stops when I'm driving my car, daft i know lol
allana210792 lauren77398
Posted
i get the bloated burping feeling too!
gina18787 Trust_no1
Posted
Hi there, my dad has had a significant irregular heartbeat for about 35 years. He is just used to it, no changes to his diet but he does take some supplements and tries to stay hydrated. He has MVP and I have trace regurgitation. Do you know what your PVC burden is? I am called in to see an electrophysiologist due to frequency despite a normal echo and 2 normal EKGs. They put the monitor on on a bad day, unusual lack of sleep and very stressed. It's hard to distract yourself enough and tell yourself it's ok some days...