PVC's and related arrhythmias

[billy d]

I am a 49 year old male who since early child hood have had episodes of premature beats which are easily felt because I am thin. Past EKG's have usually shown normal sinus rhythms with occaisional pvcs.
Also on exercise I would have runs of rapid 120-140bpm (after) that sometimes went on for hours but kind of outgrew them. Some doctors hear a click or slight murmur. Recently have had more frequent bouts of premature beats that sometimes are accompanied by a spasm like sensation which can be felt with finger tips under the left breast. They only last afew seconds but also create a flush or rush sensation. I recently had a stress test, EKG, and a doppler echo. Stress test was normal and echo was also except for mild regurgitation of the tricuspid and slight of the mitral.
Through the years some doctors have said that I also have MVP but this has not been proven on the echo. I am currently wearing an event recorder and have had 30 events in two weeks which the doc says are benign. However, am scared about the shuddering sensations and incresing frequency of other symptoms. I don't smoke, drink, and have cut out all caffeine. I want to think that I am doing all that I can to ensure my kids have a dad to grow up with. However, the increasing frequency of the symptoms are robbing me of sleep and making me paranoid about travelling etc. They seem to come out of nowhere and last for varying lengths of time. Any suggetions would be most appreciated.
PS have never fainted with these symptoms but have felt faint occaisionally with them.

[Alan to Penny]

Thankyou for your reply, I would like to point out that I don`t seem to get this heart thudding during exercise but I did get it for 24 hours after which was a shame because it has stopped me from  going to the gym again,which to be honest I had only just started an I did very little cardiovascular exercise. Do you or anybody out there know exactly what my ecg reading meant? It said I had minimal voltage criteria for lvh and something about pre-eptopic complexes and my ecg was borderline, on the info I have given does this sound like something I should be very concerned about or am I just getting a warning sign, because I think that it is years of drinking every night that has caused this outcome and my h.b.p. is another warning sign to slow down , or does anybody think I should realistically give up all smoking and drinking, and will my heart return to normal(ish!!). I would greatly appreciate any info as all this has come on me very suddenly and is causing great anxiety. Please respond either to this excellent site or E-MAIL me at alan.***@****. THANKS

[Alan to Penny]

Thankyou for your reply, I would like to point out that I don`t seem to get this heart thudding during exercise but I did get it for 24 hours after which was a shame because it has stopped me from  going to the gym again,which to be honest I had only just started an I did very little cardiovascular exercise. Do you or anybody out there know exactly what my ecg reading meant? It said I had minimal voltage criteria for lvh and something about pre-eptopic complexes and my ecg was borderline, on the info I have given does this sound like something I should be very concerned about or am I just getting a warning sign, because I think that it is years of drinking every night that has caused this outcome and my h.b.p. is another warning sign to slow down , or does anybody think I should realistically give up all smoking and drinking, and will my heart return to normal(ish!!). I would greatly appreciate any info as all this has come on me very suddenly and is causing great anxiety. Please respond either to this excellent site or E-MAIL me at alan.***@****. THANKS

[to penny]

I have never heard of PVC's turning into A-fib before, I was always told that if you get seven or more in a row, it was considered V-Tach, not a good thing to have happen and worse is V-Fib depending on where the PVC occurs in the heartbeat it can set of V-Fib.  PVC's are from the Ventricles so it can disturb the normal beat.  Atrium beats are not as serious and the Ventricle ones, PAC's I believe can go into the A-Fib, A-Flutter, or A-Tach.  I also get PVC's when I excercise, much less most of the time, as well as PAC's.  It is very common and it is very rare for it to turn into the V-Fib.  I don't do much excercise because the faster my heart goes the more I get.  Has anyone else heard about the PVC's turning into A-fib?

[Penny to Alan]

I am a healthy 28 year old and also suffer from multiple PVCs whilst exercising which can be a little disconcerting, so I take it slowly these days-walking for 1 hour a day instead of aerobics and swimming.  One thing that my cardiologist did warn me of, he said that if I continue to exercise during the PVCs there is a chance that they may degenerate into A-fib and I don't want, the PVCs are enough thanks very much.  So please take care, don't push yourself too hard during exercise and good luck with your echo.

[Alan Cooper]

Well i have been surprised by reading everyones messages as to how common PVCs are and maybe the doctors are right about not worrying too much about them or else we wouldn`t all be here reading this!! I am 30 and have recently been placed on Atenolol 50mg daily for high blood pressure 155/95 and believe you me once you realise you have a health problem things start to go downhill for you for instance my h.b.p caused me to become very anxious which in turn caused me to have more PVCs (or was it just because I was now aware of them?), then you get strange twinges , or sweating like a pig when you never had any of these things before. I am to have an echo next month so hopefully all will be fairly well which will then in turn release some of that anxiety and so on and so forth, but I think people need to be positive and don`t be afraid to seek help (I know doctors can be hard work sometimes due to their workload), for instance I was told all I had was anxiety until I put my foot down and requested an ECG and then it was found I had some LVH ,but better to know than not know and so be able to do somethig about it, although I must confess it was a little scary getting constant PVCs for 24 hours after joining a gym to get myself fit. Has anyone else noticed this heart thudding after exercise. Still like I say one must think positive as believe you me in almost every case i`ve read about it seems people have become anxious as a result of their PVCs as I know they are not pleasant but once you understand that as a rule they are not life threatening and can be had by the fittest of people then one may get some peace at last!!

[to melissa from melissa]

WOW, you described what I have been feeling for a while...  I say it is a weird feeling in my lower throat... I say like combustion air meeting air... or something like that...  It is really weird and freaky... My Cardiologist says it is PVC's....  If you want to e-mail me my address is ***@****