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23000 pvc's in 24 hours. How bad is this exactly?
Hello,
I am new to the forum here so I will explain myself. About three weeks ago I started notice my heart racing and fluttering at night. Eventually it started to carry on into the days. It came to head when I was at work one day and my heart started to race and flutter, I got dizzy, and vomited. I went to the E.R. and they said my potassium was a little low and I definitely had pvc's. They gave me potassium told me to follow up with my doctor. I visited my dr the following Monday and he ordered a holter monitor for me. Fast forward to today my doctor called me with the results and he informed me that I had 23000 pvc's the 24 hour period. He put me on Zebata. He also mentioned if the medication did not work there is a possibility I would have to be referred to a cardiologist that specialized in this area. He informed me there was a possibility if the medicine didn't work I may need some sort of surgery. I was at work when he called so I didn't ask him to explain it to me. So I have a couple questions if anyone is willing to take the time to help me out with a couple questions?
Is this an abnormal amount?
What types of procedures are performed to correct this?
What are the risks that go along with high pvc count?
I am 32 year old women is good health. Average weight. Active.
I am new to the forum here so I will explain myself. About three weeks ago I started notice my heart racing and fluttering at night. Eventually it started to carry on into the days. It came to head when I was at work one day and my heart started to race and flutter, I got dizzy, and vomited. I went to the E.R. and they said my potassium was a little low and I definitely had pvc's. They gave me potassium told me to follow up with my doctor. I visited my dr the following Monday and he ordered a holter monitor for me. Fast forward to today my doctor called me with the results and he informed me that I had 23000 pvc's the 24 hour period. He put me on Zebata. He also mentioned if the medication did not work there is a possibility I would have to be referred to a cardiologist that specialized in this area. He informed me there was a possibility if the medicine didn't work I may need some sort of surgery. I was at work when he called so I didn't ask him to explain it to me. So I have a couple questions if anyone is willing to take the time to help me out with a couple questions?
Is this an abnormal amount?
What types of procedures are performed to correct this?
What are the risks that go along with high pvc count?
I am 32 year old women is good health. Average weight. Active.
Best Answer
23,000 a day is a high load. The threshold is about 20,000. If you have that many pvcs everyday then it could compromise your cardiac output and put strain on the heart. Beta blockers is usually the first line of defense against this sort of thing. Also things to pay attention to are stay away from caffeine and diets high in carbohydrates and sugar. Address and stomach issues especially acid reflux and gerd and irritable bowel. And manage stress and anxiety which are big triggers. If all of these fairly common triggers have been addressed and there is still a high load of pvcs a special cardiologist called an EP may do a procedure called an ablation. They do not consider it surgery because they don't actually cut into you. They go in through and artery and try to isolate the spot in your heart that is acting up and throwing all the extra beats. Unfortunately pvc ablations do not have as high a success rate as people who have other heart rhythm issues like tachycardia in the atria. There is a higher complication rate and a higher chance of reoccurrence but even still there is a good chance you can be cured of the pvcs. I think typically most people still experience a smaller amount but in general if they can stop the high load your heart will have a chance to recover and heal from and wear and tear the high load of pvcs put on it. Best of luck getting a handle on this. Keep us posted on how you are doing. Take care.
Please see the new thread I posted today regarding pvc's. I wasn't aware of the new data regarding pvc frequency until someone pointed me to the recently published JACC article. It is the first long term study relating PVC frequency to heart disease years later. It appears 20,000 pvc/day is way too high a threshold. 700 pvc/day is predictive of HF 15 years later. This is a huge change from prior guidelines.
I had an svt my whole life but before my ablation I was getting it quite a bit and I started to have a lot of daily ectopic activity, pacs and pvcs. After my ablation I still had quite a few and it took a good year for them to start to calm down. During that time I found that I was prone to sudden urges to sigh or take deep breaths. I don't know for sure but kind of think it is just the heart readjusting to operating in a new way. You may want to discuss this with your doctor just to be sure but it is probably nothing to be concerned about. Do you know what your pulse is? It could also be a response from the meds. If they are too strong you can maybe try a lighter dose but from what I understand there is an adjustment period for bp meds that resolves after a while. Well it is great news that you have seen an improvement. Even if they aren't totally gone lessening the amount you were having is a big plus. Best of luck moving forward that things keep improving.
On a side note. Today is a good day! I mean probably not a good day in the typical sense but they cut down a bit. I have had so many for so long that when I don't have them it makes me feel uneasy. I've been so aware of my heart beating for so long it feels like the beats are gone when they are normal and I find myself gasping for air. It's such a strange feeling going from one extreme to another.
For anyone who has taken Beta blockers. Are there any noticable side effects? I am going to start taking mine today.
I'm really excited to get back to normal as I haven't went for a run in fear of my heart exploding in weeks ( haha) . It'll be nice to get back out there.
I'm really excited to get back to normal as I haven't went for a run in fear of my heart exploding in weeks ( haha) . It'll be nice to get back out there.
Thank You:) My postassium is now at a normal level. Still have noticable pvc. They really haven't changed. What causes these? I have never had an issue with them in my life? I mean one here or there but not like this?
Michelle nailed it. For really sick patients that have other issues such as heart attacks and diabetes, the success rate of VT/PVC ablation is 50/50 at expereinced centers. At the leading center in the nation (St. David's, Tx) they are getting up to 75-80% for these pretty sick patients. You don't have any other heart and health issues so your chances of having a better outcome than the numbers above are excellent. But you need to go to a top center with good hands and right equipment. There are a few video's about this from describing the procedure and statistics. Hopefully, potassium and meds are all you need. If not, then ablation offers a way out if done by an skilled EP at a handful of top centers. Not something to be done by a local center because they are conveniently located.
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