PVC's during sexual activity

[Michaelccc]

Someone please help me with this i feel like i can't function anymore

i'm 34 male white.  5'5 160 pounds. smoke pack and half for 15 years. don't drink don't do drugs. i suffer from panic attacks for over a decade. never felt pvcs until about 3 months ago. my aunt died of cancer and from the grieving i felt pvcs . although in the past i felt a pvc like maybe once  a year. now i feel them daily. i did a thalium stress test, echo, holter and blood work. holter showed isolated pvcs. i had 2 holters. first 24 hours showed 8 pvcs. second one for 48 hours showed 33 pvcs and some pacs. even though the second one was 48 hours that is still more pvcs. now im planning to have another holter because the pvcs seem to be increasing even more. i'm not sure whethers its my anxiety of them them makes them increase but either way i'm scared to death. i read about sudden cardiac death and my life has been at a stand still. i quit my job. i can't smile or even go outside without fear of every symtom. i may have sleep apnea although not confirmed by doctor yet. in any case my pvcs sometimes happen when i lean forward. when i suddenly move, when i eat a heavy meal, or simply have a bad thought. but here is my biggest concern. most of my pvcs happen during sex or masturbation. when i do either one of those i hold my breath. is there any connection to holding breath and sexual activity and does having pvcs mostly during sexual activity put me at risk for sudden cardiac death does it increase my chances for a cardiac event? the cardio i saw didnt seem concerned , chalked it up to anxiety. once and for all are these pvcs dangerous in a person of my health background? should i stop having sex if the pvcs keep coming? if i don't stop will the pvcs get worse and maybe lead to a serious arrythmia? also i should mention one ER doc pointed to my earlier holter and put down possible wolf parkinson white syndrome. the cardio didnt make anything of that though. please help i feel like i'm paralized from fear of this stuff

[anacyde]

When I was getting exclusively activity-related palpitations my cardiologist assured me I was fine.  The scary stats you're concerned about are typically about people with heart failure, coronary artery disease or some structural abnormality.  In a normal healthy heart, PVCs at activity or rest are not significant.  I know it's hard to believe (and REALLY annoying during sex) but it won't hurt you.

[SillyHeart]

Please do NOT hold your breath during sexual activity.  That can absolutely cause PVCs.  Try very hard to keep breathing normally and evenly.

PVCs have not been shown to be a sign of increased risk of mortality.  You're not going to die from them.  Please do consider giving up smoking though.  To put it in perspective, nobody dies from PVCs but 50% of smokers will die from smoking.

[va_tony]

The sympathetic nervous system is involved in both exercise and sex (and PVCs). During exercise, it causes the heart rate to increase as needed. During sex,  the sympathetic system is responsible for the physiological phenomenon of orgasm and/or ejaculation, The sympathetic nervous also can trigger PVCs.  Frankly I think the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and vagal nervous systems) goes ballistic during intercourse, so it doesn't surpirse me that the heart skips occasional beats (PVCs).

I googled around and found this statement in a paper describing a study of those with implantable ICDs (i.e., those susceptable to VT and Vfib): "Occurrence of life threatening arrhythmias and sudden death during or following sexual activity is infrequent." So, if death is rare in those susceptible to Vfib, I think it's safe to assume that if you have an otherwise normal heart you don't have to worry about dropping dead during intercourse.

Tony

[frs87]

Yeah, with a normal heart you shouldn't be worrying at all. I can't answer why you don't have any during exercises but some while having sex, but it's irrelevant anyway, since they're harmless. Sometimes it has something to do with the position or something.

There are not known damage caused by PVCs in normal structured heart, so having them doesn't mean you'll have arrhythmia.

Ps.: I ALWAYS get PACs when I lean forward. Always.

[tickertock]

If in doubt,Seek a second opinion, I should have wrote.

[tickertock]

I can't speak for you specifically but when I had my last dreaded episode of PVCs, sex would be a severe trigger, I consulted with my cardio who assured me it would pass and it was of no concern , just all the excitement and adrenaline rush during a bad episode only triggering more.Don't hold your breath you need oxygen during an activity such as this, sounds as though anxiety might have taken over, DON"T let this happen to you.If in doubt seek a seek opinion , also I'm not an MD, only speaking of my personal experiences.