Irregular heartbeat PVC and how I fixed them

[aaronsinclair]

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.

[RNRita]

It seems like this is an entire thread dedicated to the dreaded PVCs and, actually, there are probably pretty many other things going on here in the arrhythmia department.  I am an RN with a background in cardiac who has had a ton of weird rhythms for over 30 years.  You guys all make very valid points.  If you ever want to read a ton of information go to the Heart Rhythm forum.  This forum is more for people who have cardiac disease and there are tons of people who get PVCs that do not have disease.  If you ever need info, it is a a good resource.  Also, we all understand what you're going through.

However, if you have symptoms of cardiac disease, then this forum is your best bet.

[cowgirl8]

All doctors say to cut out coffee, but i heard one on a news show say he also suggested it but now has found coffee will stop them. I like coffee so i gave it a try. Who wants to be some drug companies lab rat? And vitamins, what the heck is in those anyway. I started out with just a cup at around 4pm..I've built up a resistance i guess and drink 2 cups now and usually drink one before 6pm. I had them so bad that i would go hours without a normal beat, some nights i would wonder if i would wake up in the morning. But after 20 years of them, i decided that if i were going to die from it i would have already. I tried many things to stop the episodes, sometimes it would work for a day or two. But the coffee has worked since september.

[Jillie830]

I have been reading so long, my vision has gone blurry!  Thanks for all the posts and comments.  I've had PVC's/PAC's for well over five years now.  When they first started, I too thought I was on my way out.  I'm 53 now, and I still worry.  Some days are worse than others.  I'll sometimes have 3 to 5 or more a minute.  Other days I will barely notice them.  But about six months ago, I went into A-fib.  Spent 2 days in the hospital, and drugs got me back to normal.  I too am borderline low-blood pressure, but I did try Toprol (way back when) and then moved on to Cardizem (which I miss!) before the A-fib episode.  Now I'm on the new drug Multaq and an aspirin a day therapy.  But my stomach is bad.  I do have gerd.  Lately, I've been wondering if I have something worse!  It's bad.  So are the PVC's.  A few of you mentioned possible relation between heart and stomach.  I'm going to try liquids for a few days to see if that helps with both.  I'm also going to try the CoQ10 and the AloeVera.  All my doctors tell me not to worry either - that it's just my "weird" system, and it's "normal for me."  After A-fib, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.  Sleep apnea can damage the heart.  I guess I've had sleep apnea for awhile.  Now I use my mask at night and I do sleep much better, and wake up feeling more awake and less groggy.  My cardiologist has told me that sleep apnea is deadly and can cause the a-fib.  It really stresses the heart.  But even after using it for about 4 months now, I still get the PVC's/PAC's, but not the a-fib, which was SCARY.  I'm praying that doesn't happen again.  Since then, I've gained weight.  I'm afraid to exercise.  When I do exercise even a little walk, I feel the PVC's for two days and I get short of breath easily.  It scares me, but I know I should continue walking to help strengthen my heart muscle.  That's what my doc says.  It's just scary.  I used to walk a few miles daily and loved it!  I miss that happy feeling you get from exercise.  Also, I am prone to anxiety - have always been.  So the one posts about anxiety was noteworthy.  I was born anxious and I think I always will be.  I try not to worry, but the littlest thing will set my mind to thinking, and that's not good!  Anyway, I've rambled.  I just wanted to share my experiences with the palps and see if putting out more information could help anyone else. Best wishes to all of you!

[Dtoadie]

One i wanna say thank u to all of u that have posted...i had my first dose of PVC'S about month ago... drove myself to the hospital thinkin i was having a heart attack...thank god everything looked good...but was having these PVC'S that i have never had before...doctors tell u not to worry..how can u not worry when it just doesnt even feel right....its very scary...there r nights i cant even sleep cuz im scared my heart will just stop...Im 40 with 3 kids so i cant afford to kick the bucket just yet ...so i been tryin to cut out all of things...and have just picked up a bottle of the COQ-10 ..so im going to give that a try..as well has the beta blockers..there r days that things r not so noticeable but then there r days it just seems like one after the other and scares me to death...now i must say...with all that being said...i do stress not to much but i have never had these before..so its all new to me...im a happy giggle basket of  laughs and normally i dont let anything get me down..so not sure where all this came from...anyway the whole reason im writing this is to say one..i find all the post very interesting to read..and want to say i will take in count all that post.. Thank u for sharing ur stories!!! prayers sent to all ..thanks

[rready06]

Okay, do you folks ever stop to think that maybe your palpitaion problem could be something small and possibly even mental?! Anxiety is a leading cause for PVC's and PAC's for me. I was born with two holes in my heart and a faulty pulmonary valve (fixed) but left me with left ventricular hypertrophy and a right bundle branch block. Both of these issues can cause palpitations. But for me they don't! Anxiety causes them. The fact that you are all on here looking at this forum stuff is a great indicator that you suffer anxiety. My palpitations scared the hell  out of my when they first came about. After seeing my cardiologist four times in 6 months and bring told i was healthy I finally came to grips  with my problem. I was causing them. I cut of coffee, alcohol, exercise, sex and anything else they could spark my adrenal gland and bring about anxiety and palpitations. I've defeated it my problem by considering what most of you haven't.  Anxiety and stress. Cut it from your life and enjoy things like a nice cup of coffee and a game of touch football. You owe it to yourself and your happiness, take charge of your life and stay out of the dumps about palpitations, heart conditions and etc. You only live once, and unless you physically have a reason to worry than just know it's all mental!!

[condoline]

Stopped statins cold turkey when I found out, via my medical history which I obtained from the clinic I used to go to, that my pulmonary fibrosis was caused by Pravachol. However, this caused statin rebound, which took the form of two bouts of leg cramps about two months later, return of peripheral neuropathy Big Time, and, about a month after I quit the statin, a run of tachycardia which had me calling for an ambulance. There followed a series of odd PVC's and other weird heart behaviors which plagued me off and on for several months.The tachy never again went as high as it did when I was taken to ER and soon disappeared entirely. Doctors at Mayo say the PVC's are harmless and that the tachycardia and other symptoms had their origins in the sinus node of the heart and therefore are something I needn't worry about (they can say that! they should try having them sometime!).

I began taking 1000 mg of CoQ10 when I dropped the statins, and right away my skin became silky and the rough, coarse ring half-way around my heels disappeared finally after all these years of trying one cream after another to no avail. Not only did the  tachycardia disappear within a couple of weeks after it showed up, but the strange heartbeats are less and less frequent, now showing up only when I'm short of oxygen.  
Suspect they are on their way out. And as for the 1000 mg of CoQ10: Parkinson's patients are treated with 1200 mg daily, a cardiologist in Texas treats with between 200-300 mg daily, and nobody has yet found any adverse effects. However, once the statin rebound has gone away (I think I may have a short bit of it left), I do plan to drop down to maybe 100 mg daily - slowly descending to that level, of course, and pausing with each small decrease to see if there is any problem. Note, however, that I am a senior citizen, and seniors tend to be short on CoQ10 anyhow so I will stay on it the rest of my life.