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Problems with PAC's

Does anyone know why that my pac's start to flair up even with minimal excitement/stress/exertion?  Yesterday we were rushing around downtown to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for Little League Day and just rushing at a brisk pace brings on my PAC's.  It is so uncomfortable and it scares me so much that a fast paced walk can get them going.  This all just started a year ago after having a baby.  Why is it like someone flipped a switch and suddenly my whole world has changed.  My heart never did this before and I could run around like a crazy person.  I could run, jump, do flips, sleep any way that I wanted, eat Taco Bell (MSG), drink soda, and NOTHING HAPPENED.  The docs tell me I am ok and that I am not gonna die from this, but something has changed... something is different.  I feel like a prisoner in my own body.  Very very depressed about this and needing some answers.  Thanks to all.
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Avatar universal
Hi All (my friends)

Okay today is my first day on this website/forum. I have read almost all the comments on PACs and have a few of my own to share with you all, guess someone will benefit from them

I am 54, have had PACs since about 7-8 years. I am a "Lone Firillator" that is I get bouts of Atrial Fibrillation but have no other concurrent heart disease; I get AFib around two , three times a year several years.

I also have GERD problem (Reflux Esophagitis) > Let me start with this. Please know that Reflux Esophagitis DOES GIVE PACs

It is very commonly associated with PACs manytimes patients are not aware of this GERD problem but it is a real trouble maker. And that is why so many times re-organizing your diet, avoiding smoking and alcohol and fatty food and junk food and soda drinks and weight loss help to bring down PACs; because all those things reduce GERD as well.

So please if u have this reflux, keep it under check . (if you burp a lot after food or feel too full even after eating a not so heavy check with your doctor) I take Esomprazole 20 mg every day (and 40 when reflux is bad) since years. It helps my PACs

PACs give me anxiety and anxiety/stress worsens PACs so in times when you have more PACs and more anxiety and stress some mild anxiolytic in small dose helps; I use them off and on as I need , but only in small dose and in periods of days and weeks.

I have been playing Tennis since almost 18 years regularly (4 days a week) but now switching to Golf since a year. have reduced tennis to 1 day a week only. Reason is, I have noticed that intense physical activity was at times giving rise to these stupid PACs while more moderate physical exertion in playing Golf has been more friendly.

I really feel for all of you who have been suffering with this problem and as we are told all the time which is true... it will not kill us. but yes it does make you suffer. You suffer more mentally than anything that is why a mild anxiolytic is very useful, it sure helps.

Many times these PACs, when they were too many, have taken me to bouts of A-Fib so I do whatever I can to stay clear of them.. No alcohol, no smoking, no sodas, early to bed and early to rise, regular sports, generally good food.etc etc. But business stresses I can't avoid !!!







Helpful - 0
1189366 tn?1265219887
Thank you very much for your comments.  It means a lot to me.  I am working to find another Doctor.  Sometimes just hearing that this condition will not kill you really helps.  I have not heard of the elastic band idea but it makes sense. I will give it a try.  Thanks Again.  Have a good night
Helpful - 0
194555 tn?1264286923
Bless u.. Big hugs to you, what an awfull doctor you have, get yourself another cardio, one who will help you, ask on here for recomendations (sp)..

Remember though, these are benign and they will not kill you.. try an elastic band on your wrist, when you feel them flick the elastic band! so your mind is taking off the palps and onto the elastic band.. Easier said than done i know, but this is the advice i was given and when i get my long episodes i will do this!!
Helpful - 0
1189366 tn?1265219887
I am a 42 year old male.  I have had PVC/PAC since I was 18.  They have come and gone over the years depending on lots of different things.   It has been the norm for me to get 15 to 20 per day.  Well, out of the blue starting this Sept I started getting 10 per minute.  If you do the math... that is 14400 in 24 hours and its driving me crazy. I'm currently on an event monitor and it has captured all of them.  I was in bed not wanting to move thinking I'm about to Die.  The Dr called me and I was very glad to hear from him.  But he wasn't really very nice to me.  Treated me more like I was being a pain in his butt.  Told me they were normal and to forget about them.  Easy for him to say.  I'm currently trying Zoloft, Xanax and Bystolic (very low dose).  Nothing seems to work.  Everybody thinks this is a mental issue (including my wife) which really makes me upset.  Not sure if the meds are making it worse or what to do at this point.  For now, I go to work (very hard to get through the day) come home, shower and go to bed.  I have tried exercise, diet, weight loss, relaxation tapes, Stess programs and NOTHING works.  I've tried MagOX as the DR told me and still suffer.  At this point, I have no idea what else to do.  I know how bad this condition is and I can't believe there is nobody in the medical field that can help us.  Tired of guessing what this can be.   All we can do is wait until it goes away and believe that it will not kill us.   Good Luck to everyone and if you are only having a few daily... consider yourself very very lucky.
Helpful - 0
61536 tn?1340698163
I feel you there.  Same exact thing happened to me.  Mine coincided with peripartum cardiomyopathy, but my cardiologist says it is purely coincidental.  My heart is perfectly normal now structurally, but I still have the blasted PACs, in exactly the same manner you describe.  Exertion triggers them, stress triggers them and most notably ovulation triggers them with a nice added supraventricular tachycardia side effect.

Personally, I'm going to see an endocrinologist because, clearly, mine has a huge hormonal connection.  Last summer I got very fit, and stopped having cycles.  I also stopped having PACs.  When my cycles returned, the PACs returned with a vengeance.  Similarly, the PACs began with my first postpartum cycle.  I am hoping the endocrinology appointment yields some answers and a possible solution.  I will definitely post here and let you know, as maybe it might offer you some answers too.  You're the only one I've ever met with the exact same symptoms I have.  I feel for you, but it's a comfort too to know I am not the only one.

I know the "trapped" feeling.  All I can say is FIGHT IT.
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Avatar universal
Have you tried beta blockers?  I know they work well for some people.  If the palps are truly ruining your quality of life, it couldn't hurt to ask your Dr. about it.  

I know exactly how you feel.  I spend nearly every day worrying about my heart.  I try not to but it's so hard.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
PVCs and PACs although in some people are benign still can disrupt and ruin your day/life.......

I have had some success in the supression of them naturally through lifestyle and diet...........and in my case it is essential I do that because I have lone afib and if I experience too many of those irregularities...especially when resting it can put me in afib......

So what do I do?

Live as healthy a lifestyle as you can....first exercise but in moderation.......don't over stress, especially with resistence exercising.

Next........clean up the diet......eat healthy healthy healthy!.......Most people know the right foods to eat and the bad foods/drinks to stay away from.......research the internet on heart healthy foods and make them a staple of your diet.

Add......a good supplement program to your diet.....again the internet is a good place to research that......

Finally....get rid of the vices....smoking, drinking........junk food, snacks and the garage that we put down our throats as much as possible....

Now apply this lifestyle change and give it 3 to 6 months and you heart (as well as the rest of your body) will thank you for it.....

I believe lifestyle changes should be the first line of defense regarding any issues with the heart like you have described............remember its your life.....so take control of those things you can and see if it has an impact.....but don't forget, a natural healthy solution is not a drug....therefore it takes time for the body to incorporate that into its functioning.........

Hope this helps.......
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Avatar universal
I appreciate your comments.  I need to find a way to get my life back.  I used to enjoy things so much and now I only live for today cuz it seems as if I can't count on tomorrow and this is a depressing way to live at 36.  I used to take thousands of pictures of my kids and spend my weekends scrapbooking their photos and putting them in albums just for me to be able to grab and look at whenever I want to.  I find myself not even doing that anymore because I live thinking... what's the use to take all these pics if I won't be here to look back on them when they are older. Basically I live as if there is no future for me anymore.  Can someone please put things into perspective for me.  I'm in a really bad place now.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Me, too!  I used to do ANYTHING I wanted to - drink a huge Starbuck's latte every day, lots of Diet Coke (I used to be a caffeine addict!), I took ephedra supplements when it was legal and ran 6 miles a day.  Then, suddenly on August 20, 2004 my life changed when I got a HUGE PVC at the dinner table that took my breath away.  That was the start of my saga with palpitations.  I have no idea why things decided to change on that day, but they just did.  In a lot of ways, I am healthier now than then because I've given up lots of bad habits but I still miss the old days when I never gave my heart a second thought!

And you know what is really weird?  I can remember feeling heart flutters, thumps, bumps, racing, etc. throughout my entire life.  Sometimes I think back and realize I have had these feelings ALL ALONG but for some reason I just started noticing them on that day back in 2004, and it changed my life forever.  I used to be one of those people totally oblivious to my heart and now it's a big focus of my life and something I think about at least a few times every day.  Strange how our focus can change everything.
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Avatar universal
Yes, I am the same way.  Mine started when my daughter was about 3 years old.  I could drink tons of caffeine and do whatever the heck I pleased then all of a sudden things changed.  I can't even take a small dose of Sudafed otherwise I will get horrible tachycardia and palps.  I also think I am sensitive to chemicals and certain foods.  

The past few months have been almost unbearable with these stupid palps, racing heart and constantly feeling like I am going to collapse.  The doctors can't figure it out and I am at the end of my rope!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Don't knock yourself out worrying about what has changed.The only consistent thing about PAC's/PVC's is their inconsistency. I've had them for 6 years now and have gone through the 'what is different " phase. I've had them in non-stressful times and not the one in extremely stressful times. There is no clear pattern. When you have them, everything makes them worse, when you don't have them, nothing brings them on. Just accept them and know that you will have good days and bad. They may also disappear for days to months to years as well. Worry is unhealthy when you get to the point where you are unable to change a situation. Modern medicine has failed miserably with this condition so for now you must accept what you have. I know it sucks, but the sooner you accept it the better.
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