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
raz18409 michelle1015
Edited
Hello everyone
I am new here and I am just seeking some opinions, I'd really appreciate it if you can share whether you experience same symptoms as me. I am a 24 year old male, and I have been suffering with these disturbing PVCs for maybe 8 years now. Most of them happen at rest. I usually get a very strong one every day around the same time, basically a long pause which leaves me a bit shook and then a strong thud which feels very worrying. Even though I have had them for ages and my doctors said I suffer with ectopic heart beats and they're not gonna kill me, last October after a Flu, I started developing panic attacks with fast heart rate which come and go quite quickly ( i used to get panic attacks but not as often maybe a few times a year but now they happen every day.) Anyway, my question is: does any of you get that strong PVC, followed by a few slow heart beats and then getting a fast heart rate which goes to around 160 bpm and they fade away slowly after a couple of minutes? It's really worrying me as I get really anxious about my healh thinking that I'll get Vtach and Vfib. My doctors refuse to do any further research because they discharged me after a 24h Holter saying that everything is fine, but this is eating me from the inside and it's really affecting my day to day life. I stopped going to gym, stopped running stopped playing football because I think that they will kill me or that I will set off episodes of PVCS. My girlfriend's had enough of me worrying over my health and my heart and I really don't know what to do. It feels like nothing is working and I feel like I can't get out of this. I really don't want to waste my life away neither to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest especially at this very young age.
I am more than happy to hear your stories and any advices would be more than welcome.
Thank you very much!
Trust_no1 raz18409
Posted
hi! I know how you feel, and I too have discontinued my regular daily activities out of fear. The sensation you described about a paused heartbeat followed by a big thud is exactly what I experience. I was told by my doctor it is called a PVC and is common and nothing to worry about. Sometimes I experience little episodes where I feel like I have a string of continuous PVCs (usually no more than 6 in a row) and it feels like I lose my regular heart beat. It feels like pause THUD pause THUD pause THUD. That scares me because I read online that more than 3 consecutive PVCs in a row is in fact ventricular tachycardia. Like you, I have worn short term heart monitors but I've never felt these monitors were worn long enough to record one of these really scary episodes. I once had a cardiologist tell me "don't let your primary care doctor brush you off, you need to fight for your health... and always make sure your cardiac test results are reviewed by a cardiologist." I have taken his advice and have started fighting for my heart and I would recommend you do the same. Tell your doctor you want an echocardiogram. This is a diagnostic imaging test that actually records and photographs your heart and its function. This test can diagnose structural heart problems. You should also insist on wearing a longer term monitor, like a 14 day or 30 day monitor. If you have both the echocardiogram done, and wear a longer term monitor, and both of those results come back as safe, then I would try to trust it and live life again, maybe pursue some sort of treatment for anxiety. If it makes you feel better, over 50% of the population experiences at least 1 PVC every day whether or not they even realize it. I don't know how many of these PVCs you are experiencing per day, but there are many people that have over 30,000 PVCs every single day! Could you imagine?? Yikes! I'm currently in group therapy for my anxiety about these PVCs, and the therapist said a couple things to me that helped and maybe it will help you too; he said "you are so afraid of dying that you are afraid to live." I told him I would get myself stressed out because I would look up symptoms on the internet and assume I have occasional vtach based on the strings of PVCs. He told me NOT to diagnose myself. He said "lets only focus on what we actually know is going on with your heart, and lets not worry about what we don't know to be true."
tony52050 Trust_no1
Edited
Good advice from raz. Doctors are often dismissive to anyone with this problem and it may be the doctor has dismissed you concerns due to your age.
You need to be more assertive and get to the bottom of a problem that is obviously a big concern to you. The more anxious you become the bigger the problem.
Certainly you need more than a 24 hour test because it is remarkable how often these episodes disappear when being tracked!
Having said that, does the really strong one happening at the same time have a discernible cause? Eating or drinking something. Switching on an electrical device (computer, Mobile phone etc). Cleaning?
Also can you trace the circumstances when these episodes first started 8 years ago?
Had you moved to a more polluted area. Got asthma? Put on weight? Changed your diet. Started having digestive problems?
If you are anxious, are you a habitual mask wearer as they can impact on your breathing?
nattymonkey michelle1015
Posted
I am a 30 year female and have been having these PVCs for several years. Lately they have become more frequent but they only occur in the morning. It is so strange, i am overall healthy as far as i know and workout frequently and upon exercise the PVCs dont bother me. It is only right when i get out of bed for 1-2 hours. Which makes me think it could be sleep apnea related but my fiance says i dont snore or gasp for air. Ive been to 3 cardiologists, had a few EKGs and one emergency room trip which nothing really came out of all those visits. I have an ECHO scheduled in a few weeks. My fiance and i want to start trying for a baby which seems to be a trigger for these pesky suckers. Hopefully that doesnt make it worse. Hopefully i didnt hurt my heart when i was partying in my 20s. I am trying to limit caffeine and alcohol because those are obvious triggers and make them worse. But dang i dont want to give those things up forever. Praying they go away once and for all. This group helps.
lauren77398 nattymonkey
Posted
hiya! do you find your pvcs are worse if youve been lying on your left side?
Tonique123 michelle1015
Edited
Hi, i have been getting these on and off for the last maybe 10/15 years. I know what causes mine, it's 100% hormonal. I found it out because i suffer from hair loss so when i started taking anti androgens i would get these weird pauses then an harder extra beat. I mean anything at all really that blocks a certain hormone causes them, even Nizoral shampoo which contains Ketoconazole also avocados which are estrogenic. I don't know if it's my thyroid or what because i had a bad episode after eating a really salty takeaway, which could explain hyperthyroidism. I'm caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place as DHT is one of the main causes of male hair loss and blocking it causes PVCs . One time don't ask me why but after a shower i put some jojoba oil on my armpit and i'm not joking i had the worst episode of PVCs ever, it wouldn't beat properly for about 15 minutes, awful. Sometimes i think women must get them from the amount of oils etc that's in all the make up they put on.
tony52050 Tonique123
Edited
Modern life has introduced many benefits but there are side effects to many.
Cleaning products, health care products, mobile phones, servers, traffic pollution, food stuffs, drinks.
It is useful to keep a very detailed health diary to try to identify what effects each individual. There seem to be some common ones such as caffeine and stress but others might depend on the individual. They might also relate to past problems that get triggered again perhaps by age or a general medical issue such as shingles or a food allergy.
The Vagus nerve is one of the keys to this but as yet is probably not fully understood. Many women comment here as to how the problems started when they became pregnant so certainly hormones play a part but how big a part again seems to be unknown
LucyB333 michelle1015
Posted
I have PVCs more now after my pregnancies but they are benign. Sometimes i let them bother me but Im much better about accepting that they are benign.
I do have a question though - im pregnant with my third and all of the sudden had a weird 3 second burst of a rapid beat and Im so worried it was nonsustained vtach. Ive called my doc bc I have never experienced that before. Anyone else have issues with tachycardia during pregnancies?
lauren77398 michelle1015
Edited
Hello all,
Had my Echo nearly two weeks ago, got the results on Friday. No issues found, heart appears completly normal (as suspected). Monday came along and they were as bad as theyve ever been. They're still coming frequently and yesterday caused quite a significant Anxiety attack. I think im going to give the Beta Blockers a try but im really worried about getting side effects. Has anyone had a good experience on them?
gina18787 lauren77398
Posted
I am in the same boat. I had a normal echo and 2 normal EKG's ....even an ER doc telling me frequent PVCs are not an issue, now considering beta blockers due to a 24 hour monitor catching a crazy amount of PVCs. Almost wish I wouldn't have had it.
dody16298 michelle1015
Posted
I'm 60 years old and have been dealing with chronic palpitations for 5 Years occassional ones prior to that I currently take a beta blocker and it helps some I had to retire early because of it i have severe anxiety as well my life is so limited some days I have to hurry in a store because they will start no social life because I'm afraid they'll get real bad I have a very small comfort zone
daniel67734 michelle1015
Posted
I had an ablation for atrial fibrillation on March 29 2022. Two weeks after I started getting PACS. It's progressively got worse to the point is I now have them 24/7. I wake up around 2AM feel the hard beating in my heart and it takes me 1-2 hours to get back to sleep. I meeting with my ablation team but they are telling me that PACS are benign and common during what they call the blanking period . I have a hard time believing that this pounding on your heart won't cause heart failure or some other adverse effect if it lasts a long time. I currently take Sotalol and a channel blocker for afib but they also should act to minimize my PACS which they are not doing. Any suggestions for treatment or relief? I'm told as a last resort they could do a second ablation to address the PACS. There are substantial risks with ablation. Don't know if I want to go that route.
daniel92229 michelle1015
Edited
reading all these posts is strangely somewhat reassuring that im not the only one going through this.
mine started 2 years ago constant feeling of my heart skipping a beat with a prominent heartbeat straight after, i had all the tests ECHO, ECG, 24 hour monitors and was told there was nothing wrong, i thought to myself how can that be!
fast forward 2 years and they have started again daily almost all day for the past 2 weeks, waking up feeling fine then the constant dread as to when the first skipped beat was going to happen for the day, every hour without one felt like success.
im starting the proccess again with the cardiology department, and for some strange reason wouldnt be too worried if they actually found something wrong and could be treated instead of having to live with this indefinitely.
i wish everyone all the best
gina18787 daniel92229
Posted
Mine have gotten progressively worse over the last year. I had a monitor Jan '22 and it showed very few PVCs. They are now much more consistent and I recently had 2 normal EKGs and a normal echo. Could've stopped there but also got a 24 hour monitor on what was an abnormally stressful day and now they want me to see an electrophysiologist.
Not exactly reassuring. Told no structural issues but too many PVCs.
What became of your work up?
Sorry if you posted it elsewhere. Trying to navigate this site, just got here,
KevinRF michelle1015
Edited
I know this is an old thread but it has helped me. I don't feel alone listening to your stories. I had always gotten these ectopic beats, but so rarely as they didn't ever concern me. Recently I have gotten back into bicycling to try and improve my health but it seems it has created this new problem of non stop ectopic beats. I have been getting them so frequently over the last while that in March(2 months ago) I went to an emergency ward, they told me I was fine. So I continued on as if nothing was wrong, riding about 50km every day which was about 2.5-3 hours of cycling for me. I got to the point where I felt strong and great and my heart rate slowed. Then last week I woke up one day and just heart thumping non stop no matter what I did. A few ectopic beats per minute 2 or 3 in a row, the longest I can go without them now is maybe 15 or 20 minutes but that's rare and I have to be active. I am going for a Holter Monitor this week but am in a state of constant anxiety. I pray for all of us. Be well and God bless, I wish the best for all of you. ❤️