20 PVCs in a row

[gb36]

after wearing the halter monitor the doctor was telling me at one point i had 20 pvcs in a row.. for about 12 seconds.  i guess this is what he is most concerned about.  reading online says over 3 is potentially dangerous.

i'm not really sure if this means i can drop at any minute??  i'm having some anxiety tonight thinking about it (he just told me today).  i don't have any history of heart problems, but was reading these can come out of nowhere

[Mom2four85]

Oh my; if chocolate chips are going to make mine worse, then Ill have to live with them :P may as well be happy while we're here.

I tried process of elimination; when I first found out just to be safe. The only thing I find that make me feel worse is if I get really angry (adrenaline maybe?) Luckily that doesn't happen often, because when it does wow; I get cold & sweaty at the same time, weak with a flushing through my body feeling and then I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack (squeezing crushing sternum pains for hours)

Whats wrong with me and my heart's electrical system they have no clue yet, the ep didn't think to seem it was "environmental" more my brain/heart system so I have to have a tilt table test done to see if there's a connection.

I'm there with you guys on the BB; I can live with the pvc's I have but can't stand the way meds make me feel.  I'm going to be very leery with taking anything if they ask me to after surgery.

But just to make you feel better about them - my father in law has taken Toprol for years and no problems other than feeling sleepy;  my sister in law had to have an ablation 9 years ago (forgot what she has but her HR goes to 250; HBP stuff like that but not very often) and doesn't have any symptoms from it; but it doesn't stop all of her attacks.

[snowfire]

I also have these fluttering episodes and it scares me half to death even though the cardiologist told me they were not particularly dangerous. Like you, sometimes I have them when I bend over or turn over in bed and other times they will hit when I'm just sitting and reading a book. Go figure! I've had echo and ekg which shows no structural damage to the heart at all. After a prolonged episode (my first where it would not stop) in Feb and a trip to th ER, the cardiologist put me on BB (25mg/day) and 25mg of Lisinopril/day to help control my BP (running in the 140'/80's) and slow my heart rate down a liitle. I still have these flutters and they still scare me to death. The BB has slowed my heart rate somen but I don't like the way it makes my heart seem to 'pound.' Is there anyone else out there who has this feeling with BB's? Thanks for listening and for any input anyone has...it really does help.

[gb36]

The Nuclear Stress test was easy but time consuming.  you basically get an injection of low dose radioactive material and take pictures of your heart at rest.  then they wait a bit and put you on an treadmill to get your heart up to a certain rate.  once you hit it you can stop and they inject you again so they can take pictures of your heart stressed.

i too like caffeine but now frighten to have any.  I freaked out when the ice cream i was having had chocolate chips!  lol

the longest NSVT was at 11:15 at night.

I'm very doubtful caffeine caused this because I had stopped drinking and was still feeling flutters days later.

I'm just not sure what to do next.

Also I'm beginning to think the beta blocker is starting to make me feel a bit light headed.  i've just started to notice it last two days.

[Mom2four85]

That's wonderful news though, at least you have some answers now, having that many in a row can't be to deal with.  Did they tell you what times it happened? Maybe check those times to see if you can relate them to something?

I'm not sure I could not have caffeine more than 24 hours though, no one would be able to live with me...I had to do it for my tests and it was horrible.  Luckily I only drink coffee in the morning and water the rest of the day.

What's the nuclear stress test like? My second EP suggested I have one, but I'm not sure why - but she didn't suggest a tilt table test like my first EP did.

[Wisconsin2007]

That's a good starting point, and it's a good thing that they caught the worst your heart has to offer, so they know what they're dealing with.

Keep us updated.

[gb36]

I just came back from cardiologist.  He reconfirmed all was well with Nuclear Stress test.  He just wants be to continue on beta blocker and see how I feel for a month.  He said the next step is an EP which is invasive procedure and with some risks, so he rather wait to see if I have more episodes.  

I asked what exactly showed in 24 hr holter monitor.  He said I had 9 NSVT's.. with some around 4,5, and 7 irregular beats.. and the one that went for 20.  he said the heart rate for these were 136.

He told me no caffeine, chocolate and alcohol.   It seems strange this started two weeks ago and now seems to be abating.

I'm not sure what to think.  I don't think i was drinking much caffeine or alcohol when this started.  He is hoping that's what caused it.

I'm not sure if second opinion is in order.