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Avatar universal

Irregular heartbeat PVC and how I fixed them

Hi all.

If you have PVC's, you'll know how the symptoms can begin to affect your daily life.  I experience anywhere from 100 to 800 PVC's each day and can get pretty depressed some days.

Since 2004 I've been on numerous prescribed medicines, stopped coffee, cigarettes and alcohol and sex (just kidding), all in an effort to reduce or remove the symptoms of PVC's.

I don't want to get my hopes up but 2 days ago I went to the chemist(drug store) and bought some vitamins from the health section. One of the supplements I choose was coenzyme q10  (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenzyme_Q10)

I've taken these for the past two days and my symptoms have disappeared!  I have had ZERO PVC's since Thursday.

Coenzyme Q10 is simply a vitamin supplement and readily available over the counter.  

As I am not a medical specialist I cannot recommend this as a treatment, but if anyone can ask their doctor and then try this I would be VERY interested to know if this has any affect on their symptoms.

I look forward to hearing back from fellow PVC sufferers to hear if this is cure that works for others.


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Avatar universal
Wow, I am actually glad to have found this forum here! I am 30 and I started having PVC's last March, and I just cannot get rid of them. I can completely relate with those of you who describe it as taking over your life and driving you insane! I feel them every time they happen and there are times when it is just over and over again for what feels like days at a time....I am also a Registered Nurse, so of course I imagine the worst, and I get so stressed out over them. I have been to the ER, been to my primary Dr. about this several times...labs are fine, holter is fine, chest xrays fine, etc...they all tell me it is a benign arrhythmia and that I am fine. But I don't FEEL fine!! I am in decent shape otherwise and have no trouble exercising....but these PVC's just make me worry that I have some underlying condition, or that I am going to flip into a serious arrhythmia and die! I am just glad to know that I am not the only one who has these! I just always wonder why did I just start getting them one day, out of the blue? Also, nothing seems to actually cause them that I can find...I have tried to see if it is related to caffeine, alcohol, exercise, etc, but they seem to just occur with no rhyme or reason!
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1 Comments
Are you still having them or did you find anything that helps?
Avatar universal
I got a virus 6 weeks ago and ever since then I have non-stop heart palpitations. I'm a veteran and so I use the VA Hospital for my health care and they can't figure out what is wrong. I did a 24 hour heart monitor and I had almost 11,000 PACs and PVCs. They keep telling me I have anxiety but all I know is that I never had this in my life and when I got sick with this virus this all started. Anyone have any similar history of this happen to them? I had mono as a kid and I have a history of Graves' disease but they say my thyroid testing is normal. My life has totally changed, flipped upside down. Any thoughts on if this could have been triggered by this virus? I find it hard to belive it is a coincidence, like they are telling me. I just keep getting the brush off. Very frustrating.  
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Avatar universal
I had mine since early last year.. It all started when I tried strenuous exercise with a group of friends that really beat me up. It all feels normal until 3 days after, progressingly I had my heart pounding quickly, even at rest I register 90bpm. I can feel every thump my heart made. My BP is around 138/80 (normal 117/70). I took Q10 as you all know it.  That episode ends about 1 week after. Not long after that, my heart started to skip a beat, once a day. About a month later, I got around 15 to 20 per day. Towards the end of the year, I have 3 to 4 skipped beats in a row, each session can last almost a day regardless of what I am doing..at rest, driving, walking. It really drive me nuts. Went to cardiologist, stress test, EKG, ECG, CT scan, Holter.. The cardiologist said it is common and nothing to worry about. The only thing that is harmful is your worries might affect your heart in the long run he said.

My arrhythmia trigger is coffee and I stopped it altogether. I stopped worrying so much about it too. I admit it still freak me out some time, but I just try to brush away those doomed feeling.
I still have them now and then, but on a rare basis. Even if it occurs, it'll be a short period say, 1 hour.

I just lie down, breath slowly and try to be as relaxed as possible whenever my PVC occur. It really help at least for me.

To add a note, Q10 didn't  really help me with my arrythmia. But stopping my coffee did slow it down.
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Avatar universal
Terat , Oh oh., I take the Qunol brand of Uniquinol. I was going to up dose to 2 times.

I was recenlty diagnosed with PVC's, and just had stress test with echocardiogram. Other than PVC's nothing abnormal. Waiting on resuls of 48 hour Holter monitor.

Cardio want to review for NSVT ( non sustained ventricular tachycardia) and review PVC burden before suggesting observation versus ablatoin procedure!

ALso read that levothyroxine might cause PVC's, I've benn on that for over 10 years for hypothyroidism.

Funny thing is, I dont have a lot of symptoms, other than some twinges near my chest, and sometimes feel a little flutter. Oh, and sometimes feel light headed, but have never fainted.

This is all new to me, and rather scary. Doc even told me not to go to the gym, or play softball, until he reviews est, (and maybe orders more tests).

Not sure if I should be worried, or not?

So many ideas here regrading causes, some I need to try. .
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1 Comments
Reading these posts made me curious, how many of you are using Splenda/Sucralose? Long proving story, but I confirmed that stuff was giving me nutty heartbeats.When I quit the splenda, the weird heartbeats quit.
Avatar universal
CoQ10 worked for getting my PVC's to go away too!! And mine were often like big bams!
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Avatar universal
I have found that the Quinol (Qunol) form of CoQ10 causes severe levels of PVC's while the Quinolone form does none of this.  The Quinol form also seems to cause pronounced Bradycardia.  I am at a total loss to explain this as the only difference is supposed to be that one form is oxidized and the other reduced.  Has anyone else observed this.  My observation needs study as this suggests dangers with the Quinol form and it is starting to replace the Quinolone form and many more persons might be affected.  Beware!!!
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Avatar universal
I started getting problems with my heart when I was 6 months pregnant. My heart would go very fast and the only thing that would help was the air conditioner cranked or cold water. After I had my daughter the fast heart rate slowed down but I started to get pvcs. I would get one single one ever couple days.. Then one day I got like 4 in a row, I grabbed my chest tried coughing it out as usual but it continued.. At that moment I thought I was going to die even looking over at my boyfriend telling him I loved him... The pvc continued that long , when it did stop my heart started to race probably out of anxiety as well. Ever since then I've had that particular thing happen only twice but I worry every second when it's going to happen again and I live with pvcs daily.. I've tried magnesium it helps a little. I've even had a minor heart attack 3 years ago. Can anyone help with some advice? I'm so shocked at how many people are going through the same thing.
Thanks for listening tami
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Avatar universal
Calcium deposits in the arteries already proves that your body does the wrong thing with calcium.  Stop it immediately.  No male needs extra calcium. The magnesium is fine...
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2 Comments
It really does work,and it work's for mytral valve prolapse and angina and an overall pain or soreness in the heart area,I've used it now and then since 1996
That comment was intended for the  co-enzyme Q-10 section,i dont know how or why it ended up on the calcium post
1872133 tn?1320287789
Good post. I believe that there is a link between HFCS and cardiac arrhythmias. I have tried all kinds of things to avoid my PVC/PACs, and sometimes they just keep on coming no matter what. I have had them for 40+ years now, and they seem to come in bouts. Coffee ad chocolate seem to be the most prevalent triggers and I avoid them. As I have gotten older they seem to have gotten worse. I have worn a Holter Monitor several times. They used to be huge and slung over an arm, now they are tiny and the size of a small cell phone. I have had different heart specialists do full exhaustive analyses at age 20, 40 ad 57 and every time they come up with the diagnosis that my PVC/PACs are benign, and any drugs to prevent them (like beta blockers) would be worse than the skipped beats. So I live with them.

As for exercise, that does not affect me one way or the other. I am in good physical muscular shape, and I can out work people half my age and still not be out of breath. It seems more to do with electrolytes and minerals and neurotransmitters, and/or a combination of them. I get cramps and migraines, so I take potassium and magnesium supplements daily (and have for years). CoQ10 does not seem to affect me one way or the other. I have tried that as CoQ10 as Hawthorn and 5-HTP and other supplements. PVC/PACs seem to be more the result of my diet and what is in food that I need to avoid, rather than adding more supplements to my diet. With exception of potassium and magnesium that is, as I cannot seem to get enough of either in my diet for various reasons.  

I have had problems with SIBO lately, and that seems to be associated with the arrhythmia. SIBO is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine and it leads to bloating, gas and feeling like crap. It can also trigger vertigo and what have been diagnosed as anxiety or panic attacks, but they are physical and not mental. My GI specialist diagnosed me with SIBO and I got an Rx for antibiotics which helped for about 6 months. Then it returned. Then I went on a naturopathic antibiotic and that also helped, but the SIBO kept returning over time. So I looked at my diet, which was high fiber under advice from my GI doctor, and that was leading to more SIBO. High fiber usually means a high carb diet, and high carb diets lead to higher amounts of bacteria in your small intestine, where they do not belong. So I have since flipped back to a high protein lower fiber diet and the SIBO is under control. SIBO is often times mis-diagnosed as all kinds of things like GERD, gluten intolerance, etc. I was tested fro gluten intolerance and I am fine with eating wheat.

Recently SIBO has become better understood and accepted by the medical community as a growing issue. It seems to be associated with the high intake of sugars, HFCS, as well as sugars that you cannot absorb or digest, like maltodextrin. Maltodextrin winds up being passed through your small intestine and gobbled up by bacteria in the wrong place, and that leads to gas and bloating. Eating too much sugar and simple carbs can do the same thing, and leads to SIBO. SIBO then causes other symptoms, because when your small intestine bloats from gas, there is no where for it to expand in your abdominal cavity. That exerts intense pressure on your abdomen, and causes symptoms like arrhythmias, gas attacks, bloating and disorientation, and whatever else.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth here. HFCS seems to bring on PVCs for me. It may be directly causing them by interfering with minerals and electrolytes in the heart (as described by many people online) or indirectly causing them through the effects of SIBO. Coffee and chocolate also trigger them for me, as does anxiety and stress. I can get hundreds or even thousands of PVCs and PACs a day. They counted 350 in one afternoon on one Holter test a few months ago. They come and go; good days with none, and bad days with endless arrhythmias. I have cut out HFCS as much as I can from my diet and that seems to help. It would certainly account for the randomness of the symptoms that I have had lately. Processed food products change ingredients constantly. Recently MSG, HFCS, sucralose, and maltodextrin have worked their way into the food processing business to such an extent that they are in just about everything now. Sadly. Anything to make a buck by making it taste sweeter and tastier. Read labels, look at what you are eating, write down what you eat in a food diary and how you feel afterword. You may find out what is causing your symptoms for PVCs, and probably many other things.
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Avatar universal
Be careful if you are taking Plavix or it's generic.  I take the generic Clopidegrel and my Doctor advised me against Co Q 10.  Fortunately I only have a Random PVC issue but with CAD it's a concern.

Good health everybody.
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Avatar universal
PVC's are funny, kind of a running joke.

Until you have a serious heart issue and learn that your heart really will kill you if you don't pay attention.

Then they turn into an endless nightmare, a constant reminder of that base fear we all suffer from.

Sad part is that laughing Doctor isn't smart enough to see the relation and respect it. And that's more frightening then the PVCs.
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Avatar universal
I am a 68 year old male, artificial aortic valve 9 years ago, exercise = 46 minutes walking and 45 minutes Aquafit five days a week.

Three years ago PVCs started and got worse all the time = 15+ per minute. After reading these forums two weeks ago I started taking one 150mg Q10 a day, one multiple vitamin in the morning and one at night, eat two bananas a day and drinking a glass of water every time I pee.

10 days ago my PVCs stopped completely :) :) :) !!!! Keeping my fingers crossed!!!
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Avatar universal
i had it since i was a kid till around mid 30, it stop for around 10 years( i quit something, not smoke, not coffee, not alcohol), lately it is back, my wife got me this soda machine at home, it happen every time i drink soda(i did not add any sugar, it just plain soda), i never notice it got something to do with carbonators until my mid 40. Hope this info will help.
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Avatar universal
I switched to Losartan for 3 days.....PVC's went completely out of control.....100 per min. at one point! Twos threes....for hours.  Took 25 mg. Atenolol and stayed quiet in a chair.  Stopped completely within 30 min.  None since after going to 25 mg Atenolol twice a day.
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Avatar universal
Understand completely your remark about feeling cheated. I feel exactly the same. I know people who drink, smoke and take drugs and abuse their bodies and don't get skipped beats. Me, I lived a clean life and this happens to me and is driving me out of my mind. It just doesn't seem fair.
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1289580 tn?1271980668
Hey i had them for over 37 years and I am stll here , and I pray everyday that God will take them away I do not know why we get them or what cause them but I just want a normaly life ....Hazel
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Avatar universal
I am glad that I found this forum. I too, am an RN, 63 years young, still working and very active. Have been having PVC, for a number of years now. It has been getting considerably worsened since my thyroidectomy in 2008. My TSH, runs amok every six weeks, widely disproportionate to the amount of synthroid that is prescribed. I m currently using a loop recorder, as the symptoms are wretched. It is putting a crimp in my lifestyle. Waking up at night, etc I am certain that it is due to my post thyroid status. My endocrinologist just keeps changing my dosage, and the cardiologist says I am fine!
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Avatar universal
For some strange reason people take comfort in knowing that they are not the only one experiencing something, I commonly come on online a read other's similar situation's and for whatever reason it give's me comfort and courage. I like all of you suffer from an abnormal heartbeat. Skipped beat's..hard beats..Sloooww beats..Missed beats. Weird Chest pain's. PANIC!! attacks. All the fun stuff that most people have the privilege of not having too experience :)

I was born with a disease called Wolf parkinsons white. Commonly known as WPW (go figures) I have been dealing with this everyday for 6 year's.I had an ablation and after it started getting all the above symptom's. And REALLY bad panic attack's soon after. Like you after a million ER visit's I am told the same thing. They are harmless and I am fine Seee yaaaa!! "Really Dr.DGAF"  " I sure don't feel fine" The Dr replies "Nope your cool man.Everyone gets them it's no biggie"... Not a good time. Its scarier that a priest in kindergarten  I know!!. And it never seems like anyone can help. I think that these are one of those condition's that there is no simple cure too. Everyone body is different and something that works for someone else. might not work for you. We all deal with it in differently emotionally and physically. And some of us just don't have a choice but too bite on a stick and suffer thru it.

I personally deal with this with a few conventional way's and a few controversial. It really is a balancing act that I still have not perfected..But make's my life bearable. I take metoprolol. I try try to stay hydrated. And I try to eat regularly..I don't watch my diet. I just make sure I eat meals 3 times a day. Those are my preventive steps. Now for the fun stuff when I start getting crazy heart. I drink a few drinks. And when I say a few, I mean 2-4 drinks. Alcohol thin's your blood and is a depressant. When they start getting bad I take painkiller's (Vicodin or Percocet) Opiate's lower your blood pressure and eliminate stress. Xanax when it get's really bad. Slow's your cardio system and eliminate's stress. I am sure some of you don't agree with this system. But trust me I went a year completely natural..Eating a super balanced diet. Daily workout schedule.. a perfect lifestyle considered by many and that didn't work buy any mean's My finger's have been glued to my neck taking my pulse for 6 years. And this has worked for me. At least 90% of my life has been normal since I have been on the rock star diet. I don't want any of you to take this and take this to the extreme. I DO NOT mix these and drink crazy and or take anything in excess. I do the bare minimum to just get the effect of the drug's. As with the listed medication you should not have more than 2 drinks MAX when taking these. Acetaminophen WILL shut down your liver with too much alcohol. And as with anything ask your doctor first. A doctor will not put you on this mixture BTW for heart problems. But I did tell mine and I told him it was the only thing that has worked and I was going to do it whether he wanted me too or not. He told me as he could not recommend it legally. But he told me the limitation's on doing it. Generally I start with about 10 mg of codeine and take 25mg of metoprolol. If it continues I drink a beer or 2 and take .25mg of xanex. My Heart beats 70bpm. And my blood pressure goes to a perfect 120/80. And most importantly  PVC's stop.

I completely feel what you  guys are going thru, Worst thing is to panic. It will make the PVC's worse. I feel better being on the phone or around someone that know's of my condition that can take action if something does go wrong. But like everyone else here. I have been sure I was dying at time's and I am still here. I have talked to people that have been dealing with this for 50 years!! And they are still ok.  They have felt like they were dying 50 years ago and they are in good heath even. Remember that!!  Enjoy all and I wish you all the best and good heath.
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Avatar universal
look at the titel
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Avatar universal
Has anyone tried exercising?? I heard it helps...
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1651010 tn?1301608451
I'm so happy to have read your post. I kept telling my sister that every time I experience a skipped beat, I feel gassy. Its not always related, but has been after McDonalds or some other junk food. I thought I was going insane relating the 2 incidents. I started getting tachycardia bouts when I was 15 years old, they'd come once every few years. Then after having a baby, I'd notice I'd have a tachy spell lasting up to 30 minutes. A few years ago I had a Super Ventricular Tachycardia which sent me to the ER as I was having symptoms of a heart attack. The EMT clocked my heart rate at 222, injected me intravenously, stopped my heart and then injected me again to restart my heart. Since that day, I've had skipped beats, tachycardia, but have slowed down since. I started mental noting what I ate or drank when i had these episodes and they all had the same common denominators, High Fructose Corn Syrup. I told my cardiologist about my find and he didn't seem to find my validity in what I was saying. Trust me when I tell you HFCS has EVERYTHING to do with how your heart functions. Some companies have now replaced HFCS with Aspartame which is 50 times worse for you, but for anyone in general. Its pure poison for your body. I have since written to every company that uses it and believe me, it is in EVERYTHING!! I have written the FDA and the General Surgeon asking it be removed. Oddly enough, I have come to notice that many companies are in fact removing the substance. Most places have turned to using pure cane sugar, or just plain sugar. Corn syrup doesn't affect me, but HFCS which is processed, does in a major way. I have written to that commercial that portrays HFCS to simply be made from corn. Yes, while it very well may START out as corn, its then severally processed. Whatever they do with it, bugs my heart out. Thank the Lord that I've not had any SVTS in years (knock on wood), but the PVCs/PACs are still here on a constant basis. I notice if I don't hydrate enough or eat, I will have them more frequent. I also get this weirdness as someone mentioned above, that if they move or lay a certain way or wear tight clothes, they will get worsened symptoms. This happens to me as well as puts me into a tachycardia episode. I, like many on here, live everyday in fear to where its almost debilitating. I have worked from home for years now, and also attend college from home because, I'm petrified to be out in public and have an episode. I try to over come this fear and I'm getting better with it, but its the scariest thing I've ever had to go through. I notice that when I have a skipped beat, I instantaneously hold my breath. Don't even ask me why! I'm wondering if carbs, sugars, processed foods cause them, they seem to and I'm wondering what Gerd or gas has to do with them, they seem to go hand in hand. I also wonder if my body cannot breakdown sugars anymore and that's why I get them so often as well. Not to say I'm glad I'm not the only one, because I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I'm happy I'm not alone, even under these circumstances.
Good luck with the heart issues, everyone. I pray they go away! SLP
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967168 tn?1477584489
Here's our heart rhythm forum where almost everyone is going through some type of arrhythmia - feel free to join us there also =)

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Heart-Rhythm/show/92
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Avatar universal
I am so grateful that all of you have taken the time and are willing to share your stories. I started having panic attacks post partum 27 years ago. Since then the anxiety has taken many forms including pvc's and  esophageal spasms and GERD. I have had many months free of symptoms, sometimes while taking meds like nexium or xanax sometimes just because things are going well in my life and my stress is reduced. For me the anxiety that leads to the dreadful PVC, spasms and panic becomes heightened in times of severe prolonged stress. I too just 'live' with it all.  After many different heart tests, GI exams, psychologists, I can say that what seems to make a difference in reducing pvc's is reducing stress and stress reaction and making sure that I have enough potassium and magnesium as well as eating apples for GERD. Years of ruined vacations, a career derailed, relationship problems, weight gain from fear of exercise have left me wondering if this will EVER go away.  I have not given up. When I have bouts of pvc's I live through them and keep hoping they will be the last.  Knowing that I am not alone in this is s great comfort. I believe that if I met any of you I would break down and cry because I understand the way you feel. Thank you for sharing on this forum.
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Avatar universal
I have found magnesium supplements and also St John's Wort are effective at stopping them or keeping my PAC's to a minimum
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