PVCs are really bugging me right now. Feel like going mad. Anger. Rage. Annoyed.

James, I've been ready the replies to your post. I feel for you as I know what your are going through. I have the same symptoms you talk about - pretty much exactly. They cause me a lot of anxiety. There are days that go by and I have no palpitations at all... and life is good. Then there are the days where they happen often and all day. Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night with the hard pounding and skipped beats. My palms and the bottoms of my feet will feel sweaty. I try to calm myself and take slow deep breaths until I can finally go back to sleep. I have read a lot about the causes and remedies of these things. As some of the others in this post have said - magnesium has been recommended and I have started taking it. I still get the irregular beats though. I sometimes take a small dose of Xanax that I was prescribed a couple of years ago when I was going though a difficult time. I didn't take many back then, but I still have them. I told my regular physician that I had them and he said it would not do any harm to take one on occasion for the palpitations. He also found nothing wrong with me regarding the palpitations when I went for my annual physical.  I have also noticed if I drink wine or a couple of mixed drinks, I will most likely have the irregular beats. Also I've read about the correlation with the vagus nerve and eating later at night, or eating more than usual, or eating  especially spicy foods. I had one episode recently where my good friend and neighbor made a very good tasting birthday cake - it was later in the evening and she served rather large pieces of the cake. It was very sweet - but also very good. I knew this was not going to be a good thing. And sure enough, several hours later while I was fast sleeping, I was awakened with the hard pounding skipped beats. I also think certain foods that may contain MSG might be a factor. I will have the episodes sometimes when I have gone out for dinner at a restaurant... that may use MSG. I am just trying to consider all things that might contribute to these episodes. I see a cardiologist annually and I have talked about these things with him. I had a stress test last year that came out good. It showed no problems. I have mentioned the palpitations several times during my regular visits... he looks at my ECG's and says they are nothing to worry about. EKG's and ECG;s normal.  After my stress test, I brought up the sometimes frequent irregular heart beats. So he set me up with a Holter monitor to wear for a month. This would monitor my heart beats 24 hours a day. It was all during the month of December, so you know how much fun that was during the holiday season. I could take the thing off to take a shower, then put it back on...  I even had to sleep with it.  A box hanging around my neck attached to 5 electrodes. If I had episodes of the irregular beats, I could push a button that would flag that time frame to be looked at more carefully. The way I understood how this thing worked, is that it transmitted data to a medical company they used. Each day that data was sent to the cardologists office for review. He told me that if anything bad showed up, they would call me to come in. After the month, I went back in for the results. He told me that everything was fine. He said he saw the irregular beats and they were nothing to worry about. But the fact is that they cause me lots of anxiety. I will see him again next week and want to talk about more about these episodes. I also understand your statement where you get afraid to leave the house for fear of these things happening. I just came back from a trip to Dallas - a relative having surgery (which came out fine), but one night while I was there, I had a bad night at a hotel with the irregular beats occurring for several hours. Then I worried about the trip driving back home which was about a 4 hour drive. Fortunately I didn't have any on the trip home. It makes you afraid to plan future outings due to the fear of having these things come on to you. There is a doctor online that I searched and found. Search for Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He is a cardiologist in the U.K. He has many utube videos where he talks about these episodes - the causes and some potential things to help. I've watched several of his videos and they help with the anxiety. Do a search on him. Also, he discussed a thing called the Valsalva Maneuver. You can do a search on that too. It can sometime help a little... it is sort of a breathing technique.

James, just know that others experience the same things you are going through. We can all share our experiences and perhaps give support and compassion to each other. And hopefully, we can find some kind of a solution that will work.

So please keep your spirits up - and know that there are many others that understand your feelings. At least we can all talk together.

Wishing you the best,

Charles

Hi james 

I do understand everything you are going through. I am going through the same thing. Since I was 17(now 19) i had pvcs/PACS and it was all pushed off as anxiety or stress. However july of 2017 I had a wild episode of SVT and was admited to the hospital, 2 weeks later I was going for my first cardiac ablation. It has been 5 weeks since my ablations and I only feel like I am getting worse. That being said I do have a lot of Anxiety. I have continuous palpitations and flutters that are off and on throughout the whole day and are driving me insane as I am terrifed to have another SVT attack. 

However, i would

1) reccomened seeing a cardiologist and being hooked up to a 48hr monitor- thats your first step. This will see over a span of 48 hours if you are expierencing anything other then the normal PVS/PACS. 

2) do a stress test which is basically you running on a tredmill attached to an ECG machine

3)get an ultrasound of your heart- detailed ultrasound. This will show any structural defects relating to any etopics beats being triggered

4)Then - quit the alcohol and smokes. It triggers palpitations and etopic beats 110%. 

5)Catch up on some sleep, lack of sleep can cause a heart to have etopic beats and even trigger an unwanted episodes. 

6)HYDRATE!! I have been to many hospitals multiple times, due to this and multiple doctors believed it was dehydration as being low on electrolytes and sodium can deffinetly trigger etopic beats. 

7)HANDLE THAT ANXIETY. Now its easier to say this then do it HOWEVER i have to be the MOST anxious person on this planet as multiple doctors have given me pills to try and reduce them(never did it) because It is a personal preference. I prefer natural remedies to aid in relaxtion/yoga/meditation. Anxiety is another leading trigger to etopic beats and palpitations as they frequently told me that - thats all i was expierencing. Now im a special case so do not believe because you have etopics, you have a heart arrhythmia. Thats not how it works

8) NO CAFFEINE. At all. Any amount of caffeine for people who are very sensitive to heart palpitations or etopics, can cause a long run of etopics that can become draining and can encourage dizzy spells even possibly passing out. 

9) last thing, easiest thing. Check your Thyroid. Under/over active thyroid can deffinetly cause etopic beats, and is EASILY treated with a simple thyroid pill to regulate it. 

Now I am here if you have any questions, i have gone down the EXACT path you are going down and do not let this depression get you down. You are learning the IMPORTANCE of living your life. This is your body, your life. Take charge. Listen to your body. Take care of it and It will become your best friend. 

Stop the carcinogens that are creating toxins in your body. Eat a well balanced diet, exercise to keep your cardiovascular system in shape. 

Start with your mind, it is a poweful weapon that we tend to use against ourself.

Megan 

Hello again James and everyone on this post... I just got back from my cardiologist appointment. This was a 6 month follow up after a stress test. The stress test showed nothing abnormal. My concern then and still is the irregular heart beat - palpitations. After the stress test,  I wore the heart monitor for 30 days. And during that time I did record several episodes of the palpitations. At the end of the 30 days, it was determined that they were PVC's and nothing to be concerned about. For today's visit, they did an EKG and took my blood pressure. My blood pressure was 120 over 80 and my EKG was fine... I talked to my cardiologist about the palpitations that I have been having which are sometimes worse than other times. He told me again they were PVC's and nothing serious. I did tell him that they cause me lots of anxiety when they happen. He told me that salt, MSG and some food additives can cause these things. Of course alcohol, caffeine and certain prescription drugs can cause them too.  Also dehydration can add to them and make them worse. His recommendation to me was - reduce salt intake, drink more water, and add more exercise to my daily routine. I told him that I sometimes take a small Xanax on the days that the palpitations happen frequently and he said that was fine... and if they help, they will do no harm. He also suggested Magnesium supplements which I already take. I really like my cardiologist - he is a really nice and personable guy. So at the end, he jokingly told me I was boring, nothing wrong with me and I'll see you again in a year. And that was it.

For James, if you don't already have a cardiologist, you should get one... and one you like and trust. If these things are the PVC's, at least you can get some reassurance from a doctor - and perhaps some suggestions for you on a personal level. I have read about meditation that can help. I found an app for my phone called Calm. There are many meditation sessions that are free. They are only about 10 minutes, but the soothing voice and calming background talk you into a very relaxed state with controlled breathing. There are other sessions that you can pay for, but that is a choice for those. So far, I use the free ones.

The best to you and everyone else.

Hi James. I am 34 years old and have been dealing with this same thing last 2 years. It came out of nowhere and lasted a week. Then a month later it came back and lasted a week. Almost 1 year of not having them, this August, they hit with a vengeance. They lasted a month and left as quick as they came. In that month I had an EKG and blood test. My GP blamed it on anxiety and of course the event didn't happen while I was hooked up to the EKG. Now in October, they came back and have lasted over a month. They seem to last longer each time they pop up. The frequency this stretch, is no where near when they first started. I'm talking maybe 20 -50 a day but it drives me nuts. Feels like I'm going to die. I do not have any dizziness or pain, and I work on my feet all day walking 10k-20k steps during my shift. It's just annoying and I can relate to the depression it causes. Some days I just want to sleep all day in hopes of not feeling one. I just want answers and I'm thinking about calling a cardiologist this week, I am just scared as I am currently uninsured. Reading about others helps but at the same time makes my mind race. I have the same fear as you that mine will turn in to AFib. Thanks so much for your words!

I just want to say... I hear you. I've had PSVTs, PVC and PACs since I was 17, 50 now. The PVCs have been really bad the last 2 years, The SVTs less so. They scare the heck out of me, give me horrible panic attacks and cause me to stop doing things I love because I'm afraid it will bring them on. I'm frustrated, anxious, agitated, depressed, hopeless at times, because they totally mess with my quality of life.

I am scheduled for an EP study and ablation this Thursday. I'm nervous as heck . I hope it works, for the SVTs any way. I'd really love it if they stopped the PVCs too, but I doubt it.

Even if they are fairly benign, if someone has never experienced it, they have no idea how much it starts to rule your life.

Things that work for me... Electrolyte drinks all day, oxylent, 150mg of magnesium citrate when an attack comes, diltiazem and synthroid.

I just wanted you to know you are not alone.

No great words of wisdom. I’ve had this for over 30 years now. Am 65 years old and they feel as though there is a frog leaping in my chest. Kinda sucks. I have all the same blasted “what if” thoughts like what if the electrical impulse messes up so bad that the blasted thing just quits and then it hits me.. what am I going to do about it? It’s out of my control much like the weather. When my time comes that is it but then that is true with all of us, PVCs or no PVCs. I don’t like it either. You can’t run from yourself. It’s the same with anxiety and panic disorder. You just want to run from it all. I try to think of all the poor people with terminal diseases. Sometimes it helps but mostly not. Bottom line, it is surely a cross to bear and some days the weight seems unbearable. Just know you are far from alone. Hang tough. Who knows maybe someday they will come up with something to cure it. 

Hello everyone!  I've been suffering from intermittent PVCs for the past two years and I've been browsing several forums to try to make sense of what is happening to me.  It's ruined my life, almost ruined my marriage, and I've been given the standard "oh well, it's not going to kill you" response from my doctors.  Their complacency annoys me so much - I wish I could give them about a day's worth of my palpitations and see how complacent they remain.

Anyway, I'm lucky because my wife is a doctor (radiologist) and she's been my staunch ally in trying to help me figure this thing out.  She does research (as do I) all of the time to try to help me mitigate my symptoms if not cure my condition.  And today, we found something I've never heard of before, but which seems to fit my symptom profile to a T:  Roemheld Syndrome, or Cardi-Gastric Syndrome.  It's not been studied at all in the states but has in Germany.

The theory with Roemheld is that gastric upset disturbs the heart function, due to pressure being placed on the heart via gas or bloating.  That would explain why so many people with pvcs also feel that there is gastric involvement.  In my case, I have noticed that immediately preceding an attack of these things, I belch a lot, yet don't seem to be able to empty my stomach.  There are other symptoms that seem to fit the syndrome almost perfectly.

The bad news is, there's really no cure.  The good news is, the symptoms can be mitigated by a lot of strategies that many of us already employ (magnesium supplementation, etc.) and some that we probably wouldn't consider for PVCs (pepto, antacids, etc.)  I will include the Wikipedia article at the bottom of this post for reference.  I will also be updating here regularly.  It makes me both sad and horrified that so many of us are experiencing these symptoms and being told to "just live with it" and are left to our own devices for symptom treatment.  But it also gives me comfort that there are others in the same boat as me and can actually understand what I'm going through.

Peace, continued good health, and less pvcs to all;

Daniel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roemheld_syndrome

This discussion thread has been so enlightening and helpful for me. Again, just to know I'm not the only one having their life so severely affected by ectopics. I wanted to share an update since the cardio ablation. They found the psvt pretty easily and "zapped" it. Only time will tell if it worked... And to be clear, that procedure does not help with ectopics. If anyone wants details let me know and I can post.. but more importantly, and the reason I'm posting today, is that I was just diagnosed with a pretty significant hiatal hernia. It put a lot of stuff in perspective for me. My ectopics have gotten really bad over the past 2 years, and I didn't know why. Some days fine, some weeks fine, and then days and weeks of ectopic runs that put me into a constant state of fear, trying desperately to find triggers and avoid them. It feels like agoraphobia sometimes, my life closing in as I avoid anything that seems to trigger the ectopics. Anyway, back to the hiatal hernia. I had a "lap band" put in in 2008, which has caused me more pain and suffering than weight loss... They don't even put them in anymore because they are ineffective and people have tons of complications. So the last 18 months or so, it's gotten harder and harder to eat without things getting "stuck" to the point where even fluids are hard to get down sometimes. Had an upper GI last week, and discovered i have a serious hiatal hernia. The worsening of the hiatal hernia and worsening of the ectopics parallels very closely. Hiatal hernias can push your stomach right up next to the heart and "irritate" the vegas nerve. I'm getting my band removed next week, which should lessen the pressure and maybe improve, but not cure, the hiatal hernia. So I have that surgery in my future as well. I've had ectopics and PSVTs since I was in my teens, so this isn't the only trigger, but I think it's made things much much worse. The medical literature only hints at this being a trigger, and I think a lot of evidence is anecdotal.... So I am adding some more anecdotal evidence here, I do think hiatal hernias can worsen ectopics.

James: I have not been around for quite some time however I sincerely hope you are managing and hanging tough. These are terrible to live with and I've done it all my life. Don't give up hoping...things will get better.