PVCs and stomach gas/acid reflux/bowel movement!!

[sb786]

Just a quick question.........

I have read many many times about trapped stomach gas and/or acid triggering PVCs and even SVT! I have also read that the vagus nerve can be involved when this happens. I read somewhere that if the vagus nerve is stimulated a PVC can be triggered.

I was wondering if anyone can explain how the vagus nerve may be irritated by gas/acid/indigestion. Also how is it true that the vagus nerve can be stimulated when you have a bowel movement? I have heard people say that they get PVCs when they have bowel movement.
Is there anyone who believes that their PVCs are triggered by gas or acid or even a bowel movement?!!

Thanks

[anacyde]

The vagus nerve innervates both the esophaugus and heart.  When the esophagus us irritable, it can aggravate the vagus nerve, which in turn can send extra impulses to the heart, stimulating the heart to fire extra beats.  Simply.  It's really cool, we just studied this in my biobehavioral health class!  :D

I get PACs when I'm overly full or if I have digestive issues (especially heartburn) going on.  Sometimes exercising after I eat can make me more prone to SVT so I try to eat a light snack (apples and peanut butter) for the carbs/protein I need for my workout, then I eat an actual meal 30-60 minutes after.

[Lesley998]

I have always maintained that my strange heart symptoms are linked to my digestion.

Sometimes I get this odd feeling in the front of my forehead, (Of all places...its weird, but it happens) along with fluttering heart symptoms .  This is instantly followed by the sensation of gas rising and when I belch the flutter ceases.

Straining or 'pushing' like you are passing a bowel movement can definately help to stop PVC's. So does massaging the carotid pulse in the neck.

[Bri-Guy75]

truthfully, many people have this issue, but, most are unaware.

[sb786]

when you say alot of people have this issue but are unaware are you reffering to the indigestion and acid reflux? If you are then i totally agree. I never even realised that i was getting alot of acid reflux until my oesophagus was damaged!!

[freemanredneck]

For all of you who are suffering as I and have been for several years here is my story.  I actually could feel the gas rising from the stomach before I could feel the pvc.  I went to the hospital and it scared the **** out of me as I thought I was having a heart attack.  In fact several times it was like someone hit me in the chest.  When they hooked me up to the monitor my heart was normal and then I would say hey doc here it comes and sure enough a pvc showed up.  The doctor was amazed and said you can feel that?  I said yep every time.  It was determined that I have reflux and a hiatus hernia so everytime gas get into my stomach I have those pvc's.  Sometimes they do not hit me at all and other times they run for several days.  Even on protonics, I still have them.  Also eating certain foods can really bring them on.  I am trying everything I can to find something to stop the gas, but so far no success.  Stress will also bring them on.

[Blondie859111]

I too have this problem. About 20 minutes before I have a BM I am weak and the PVC's start with a vengeance. They go away within a few minutes of having a BM. I also have them if I am full or gassy, and exercise on a full stomach or over a heart rate fo about 110 beats per minute.
The docs say there is no connection between my digestion the PVC's, though and treat me as if I am an idiot when I bring it up.

[DJW72]

I wish the medical community would acknowledge this! I am having gallbladder/upper GI problems and when the pain from that started, so did the palpitations. Almost to the day. I've asked my cardiologist and my Gastro doc about them being tied together and they both deny it! I think its related to the vegal nerve. When my stomach, esophagus spasms, I get the palpitations. It is really unnerving and very frightening for me, as I have never felt anything like it before. I've been to the ER twice because I thought I was having a heart attack. I had the EKG's, Stress Test, and even an arteriogram. All showing a perfectly healthy heart. Yet whle they are trying to figure out the gastric/gallbladder issues, I continue to have the palpitations. Anyone else have anything like this? Now it is becoming an anxiety issure because it scares me so bad when they start.

[rsr2008]

I am also having upper GI problems.  I also have arrthymia but have never really been bothered by it, but I am now concerned.  Doctors don't know what to make of my  GI "attacks" but they are happening more frequently and I can't keep saying "food poisoning".   I get pain in my upper GI followed by nausea, then throwing up and the last couple of times, passing out.  I am seeing a GI specialist but all the tests I have done have been normal (except my intestines were inflamed).  It is the passing out that is getting me really concerned as I didn't know it was coming on this last time and I fell and hit my head.  I am now reading up on the vegus nerve....also what are PACs and PVCs?  This is all new to me...thanks.

[Dee211]

This is all making perfect sense to me. I just wish there was a solution. I have always had some digestive issues. I seem to get very filled with air. Several years ago, while starting menopause I had some real digestion problems and couldn't keep any food in. Also started having palpitations around the same time. Then I got pericarditis and recently am having episodes of atrial fibbrillation. I have periodic attacks of heartburn. Right now I'm on the 3rd day of what feels like heartburn and I can feel it in my throat, I'm assuming it is reflux. I've never had a doctor make this connection. I have felt for a long time, when I eat and when I am full I feel alot of heart fluttering and racing. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to eat when you have these symptoms? I feel like I need protein and am hungry but I know it will make things worse.Of course all of this is anxiety provoking. It's like a viscious cycle.

[UHCLC]

I have found that eating several small meals rather than big meals is more conducive to my digestive problems (which I cannot help but think are also associated with my pvcs). The docs say to ignore the pvcs, but they are so unnerving that they interrupt my normal functioning.

[shell1925]

I have been experiencing this since I was pregnant with my son.  It started when I was about 5 months pregnant (right at the time you start to get big).  I had sharp pains in my sternum to the point they thought I had blood clots in my lungs and they made me get a v/q scan while being pregnant.....pretty scary.  Any way after I delivered I still had the pains, it wasn't until my son was almost 1 year old that they thought maybe gastro problems.  I found out I have a hiatal hernia and I had to have my gallbladder removed.  I was in the hospital with fluctuating pulse rate and BP, only to have every single cardiac test come back negative.  My cardio says, it is GI related and my Gastro says it is cardiac.  Why can't either one give me a definitive answer.  I hope and pray it is not cardiac but can hernia symptoms really cause heart attack symptoms?  I'm just glad I have found people that actually have the same symptoms as me and with no cardiac problems.  Thank you and hopefully we can all convince out docs that we are not crazy and to get to the bottom of this for all of us!!!

Shell

[shell1925]

I have been experiencing this since I was pregnant with my son.  It started when I was about 5 months pregnant (right at the time you start to get big).  I had sharp pains in my sternum to the point they thought I had blood clots in my lungs and they made me get a v/q scan while being pregnant.....pretty scary.  Any way after I delivered I still had the pains, it wasn't until my son was almost 1 year old that they thought maybe gastro problems.  I found out I have a hiatal hernia and I had to have my gallbladder removed.  I was in the hospital with fluctuating pulse rate and BP, only to have every single cardiac test come back negative.  My cardio says, it is GI related and my Gastro says it is cardiac.  Why can't either one give me a definitive answer.  I hope and pray it is not cardiac but can hernia symptoms really cause heart attack symptoms?  I'm just glad I have found people that actually have the same symptoms as me and with no cardiac problems.  Thank you and hopefully we can all convince out docs that we are not crazy and to get to the bottom of this for all of us!!!

Shell

[shell1925]

Also, I forgot to mention...I was diagnosed in the hospital with vasovagal reflux, eventhough they couldn't figure out why.  I've read that the vagus nerve pretty much controls our whole entire body...throw that out of whack and watch out

[DJW72]

Follow up. I had my gallbladder removed after a HYDA scan revealed it was funcioning at less than 10 percent. I felt SO MUCH better the day of and day after the surgery, then the palpations continued even worse than before, with a new twist. Now I have ringing in my ears and get dizzy when I stand up or sit down. They diagnosed it as orthostatic hypotension. Will it ever end?????? I'm so tired of being "not right", I was a very healthy person before the gastro/gallbladder thing started.

[Bullwinkle2002]

I discovered a link between digestion and my cardio by accident.  Some years ago I started taking a flavonoid supplement to control my cholesterol and it stopped my chronic indigestion, reflux, and a 10 year case of Irritable Bowel diarrhea.

In some way I am glad to see my digestive/heart problems are not unique to me.

[DJW72]

It has been three weeks since I had my gallbladder removed. The blood pressure issues have gotten better (After a tilt-table-test, they confirmed I do not have orthostatic hypotension), I still have the extra heart beats, but not as often, maybe twice a week. I can feel them before they come. It feels like a gas bubble or an empty dull pain in my stomach, then the irregular heart beats start. If I eat something or get up and move around, they go away. It still blows my mind that the medical community will not look into this connection further.

[SassyLassie]

I can sure relate to everyone here. I, too, get those nasty PVC's especially when I feel bloated, usually after eating ice cream. tonight, for example, I ate a fairl small meal, but, could feel that 'bloat' feeling like air was building up, sure enough about a half hour into it, I had a nasty bout with the PVC's, they scare me so badly I get hot in the head and fear I will pass out, though I never have. For a while, I did not have any, now, they are sneaking back. I have had a bad cold and coughed my head off and I think this has activated my hiatal hernia, because when that is pulled up, my PVC act up too. But, they sure are scary. The more "full" I feel, the more apt I am to have these dang things. In fact, I can feel so bloated, I get short winded, but, when it subsides, I am fine again. Dog-gone gas and PVC's. I wish they would just leave us alone.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Susie

[dh73554]

I have had bouts with pvcs every since i found out i had Graves disease, which for those who don't know  my thyroid went bad.Two years this next Oct. i had a radiation pill administered and it killed my thyroid. Before this i lost 90lbs my hair started falling out, i thought i was having
a heart attack and at the ER they diagnosed the thyroid. Anyways,to make a long story short i didn't think i could be in any worse shape than before the thyroid was radiated but boy was i wrong! I am about at my witts end and after about ten ER visits and fifty drs. visits i think i know more than the drs. I think that everyone is on the right track with the pvcs being diet related. Ive have numerous EKGS, one echo, non stress  test, chest xrays, blood work ups on the heart so many times i can't count, two halter monitors and they have actually caught the pvcs on the EKG machine and heart monitor. Now,what i have mentioned since the beginnings of this pvc game to every dr.i see is that there is a correlation to when i eat and the pvcs start. I believe food starts to break  down anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple hours or maybe even faster depending on what you eat. For me like clock work this is when the pvcs start. The problem here is the drs. don't believe me and have actually said pvcs have nothing to do with eating. Mine are currently getting worse and i think it is one of two things. Gallbladder is my first guess because i do have some obvious symptoms and another possibility is something called a cardiac sphincter (there are other names it is known by) Its located at the top of your stomach and i think it gets irritated and can throw the heart into pvcs. Everyone keep an eye on when the pvcs start and see what you come up with. I really want answers and have quit smoking and all caffeine and am being a good girl,but my main objective is to be a live girl.
Any comments welcome,by the way i am just 38
Thanks, Mickey

[Kerry777]

hi
  anyone here think it might be mitral valve prolapse syndrome? i have huge amount of seeming unrelated symptoms : acid reflux, ibs, chest pain, heart palps, dizziness,shortness of breath ........turns out they are all caused by an abnormality in my autonomic nervous system ...did echo test - they found the valve prolapse and confirmed what my dr. already suspected ... mitral valve prolapse syndome... just thought this might help someone here ... i know it helped me to know that i wasnt going crazy or dying lol .
                                                            hope you feel better !
                                                                           Kerry

[jessey987]

I was also diagnosed with a mitral valve prolapse 30 years ago - I had lots of pvc's, dizziness.  I kept telling the docs that my symptoms were  related to gas in my stomach.  Nobody believed me.  I still have the symptoms, plus I get lots of twitches and jolts.  I still believe it's related to gas.  As for the MVP, I was retested a few years ago and they now say I don't have it!  Good thing I didn't go on the beta blockers they tried to make me take 30 years ago.  Those drugs are dangerous!  I still have found no doc that will even talk to me about gas and pvcs, dizziness, jolts, thumps and twitches.  But I KNOW they're related to gas.  One thing that's essential to me when I get all these symptoms is to EAT.  If I eat I burp a lot and when the gas starts coming up the symptoms subside.  Sometimes it takes a long time, but that's how I get rid of them - by eating something hearty like a piece of whole wheat bread with peanut butter.

[ablue123]

I agree that there is definitely a gas connection. I started having digestive issues, and a few weeks after that I started having palpitations. Not long after the pvc's started. I find that when I eat complex carbs like whole wheat, fresh green veggies, my pvc's are much worse. I told my gastro this and I was told that stomach problems don't cause heart problems and that I should meditate. Anyone with advice for us?

[tessinajune]

Its All gas Related. Try Treating with Gas Relief Medication. Works for Me Doc said it was Acid Flex. Wrong i call It Gas Flex. Burnt my Throat, Heart Accellerations Was hooked up to Ekg as Well. Nothing found wrong.And all The Terrible Anixty Attacks. Doctors Need to figure this one out! But i know its Gas, Air Gurgling in The stomach is a Sure Sign. Treat with gas X or other Relief. I even stop all the Reflex Medicine. hope it works for you all.

[peppogas]

So glad I found this site, I'm starting to go crazy with these PVC's. I started in with them a few years ago after having a Sigmoidscopy because of IBS. Dr put me on Topril XL (beta blocker) for 1 year til I read the side effects that can actually make PVC's worse, so I got off them and stayed off all caffeine. I've been great until recent when I was having a dry cough so Dr changed my usual Lisinopril (high blood pressure) back to a beta blocker. Well I also had a very bad night of IBS, worse I ever had with wanting to pass out and sweating so bad. I decided from then on to change my diet, NO more fats or dairy, seems to work. I had a scheduled apt for another Sigmoid cause Dr thought I had a polyp so I had to do the enemas and here comes my PVC's again...Yes I believe these are gas related or to the digestive system, has to be. I got sick with the flu 2 days ago so have nothing in me until last night had some soup and boy did I get bad PVC's, gas and reflux. I took a Zannax to get some sleep, woke up fine until I ate a little soup again this morning and boy here they come along with the reflux and burping. Now I'm at my wits end and don't know what to eat, trying to relax but it's so hard. I think someone mentioned peanut butter on bread so I'll try that. My husband gave me one of his pepcid ac. My poor body has been thru the ringer, anyone got a new one for me???? Thanks good luck you all!!

[GMC923]

I have suffered from skipped heartbeats and fluttering for the last several years.  I do have a mild case of mitral valve prolapse and a hiatal hernia.  So far only 2 doctors agree with me that this is caused by gas/bloating.  They are my cardiologist and my chiropractor.  My chiropractor really helps by treating my hiatal hernia.  There's nothing the cardiologist can do because she says my heart is normal.  It's so scary when I get the skips.  And I can deal with them okay when it's just one at a time, but when I have a chain of them it makes me extremely nervous.  And the fluttering doesn't happen as often as the skips, but they are really scary when I get them.  It feels as if my heart is gushing instead of beating.  I truly believe that gas pushes everything up and affects my heart. I get relief when I burp.  I just wish there was something to fix this.  My cardiologist says yoga should help with the vagus nerve.  I have been feeling like I don't want to go out of the house because I don't want an "attack" when I'm out.  I feel like lately I get it when I'm in the car.  And it's hard to fix my position in the car so I sometimes get the chain of them while driving.  At least when I'm home I can lay down or move in different positions. I definitely get them if I don't eat on time.  I get them when I'm rushing around or nervous.  I get them before my menstrual cycle and ovulation time.  And after I eat sometimes.  And I'm tired of it all!!! :(

[gortman]

I'm in the same boat here.

[GMC923]

Oh, and I have reflux....when I was on Nexium I didn't get as many attacks.  Since I've been off of it I get them more frequently...just about everyday.  And foods like tomatoes and sauce give me problems.

[Happy_Camper]

Histamine intolerance. Histamine will create heart arrythmia. Lotsa histamine receptors in the heart. Tomato is a high histamine food.