Can anxiety cause lots of PVCs?

[trus75]

Hello everyone, here's one more question:
As I said before, I'm experiencing a new pattern of PVCs: a sudden "PVC attack" which occurs when my HR goes a little higher (maybe 130-140), or just after that.  But these PVCs are different, they appear in "calm" days, when I'm feeling very few PVCs during the rest of the day.
Yesterday I had two episodes of these "attacks" - In the first one, I counted 5 PVCs in a minute, then 4 in the second minute, then 1 in third minute, then they stopped when I calmed down.

I must admit that I'm extremely anxious about it. I start feeling anxious as soon as I need to do something that will increase my HR to those levels.  And when I start the activity, I feel some panic. Nothing like a panic attack, but a very weird feeling like something bad is going to happen. I can say that I almost feel the PVCs coming. I can't explain how, but that's some scary feeling.

My question is: can this anticipatory anxiety / panic cause those PVC "attacks"? I've always had PVCs during my life, but only when I'm resting. This new kind of "exercise" PVC is making me crazy.  Last year I had EKG, echo, stress test and this year I had a 24H Holter, all normal, but on the other hand I didn't have any of those "attacks" when I was using the Holter or during the stress test.  

Can you help me with this?
Thanks

[trus75]

anxious4ever I know exactly how you feel. When I had isolated PVCs I was already anxious about them and they made my life bad. But I never had a big amount of PVCs when I exercise or get in "panic mode", but now I do get them in those situations, in a new pattern (bigeminy).

So, not only I'm anxious but also avoiding normal activities which can trigger them. I'm "lucky" that I work for myself and can take some days off, otherwise I wouldn't go to work these days. It's awful and I decided that I can't let these things ruin my life everyday with the constant feeling that I will drop dead. I decided to look for help, today I'm going to search for the best psychiatrist around, because I can't deny that I have a problem. My heart is probably completely fine  (I've had stress tests, Ekgs, echo, Holters, blood tests, I have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, I don't smoke, I drink very little, I eat healthy food) so in theory I have no risk factors at all, except being a little sedentary.  I think my main problem is in my head and Michelle simply told me the truth in one of her posts. Sometimes we need someone to tell us things that we don't want to hear.  And after reading your description, I  think you're exactly like me.   So I can only advise you to look for help to beat the anxiety. Your heart is just fine, I'm almost sure, but even if is not, what is the advantage of being in constant fear?  I know that feeling, I can see myself in your words, so I hope you will look for help asap.   Good luck for you too ;)

[Anxious4ever]

I been crying on and off for a week now, I so extremely afraid of death that everyone of these PVC/PAC set me into panic.

Its emotionally draining and scary IMO.

I want them to go away and never come back, I thought I was rid of them 7 months ago.

I also have no idea how anyone could handle having 20,000 in a day.
I know the heart beats around a hundred thousand per day depending on your heart rate but that is a lot of stress to the mind.

[MichelleP_3811]

You aren't weak, you just have stronger than normal emotions and people who have brains that operate like that have a more difficult time with emotions overwhelming them.  But you took a really good first step in deciding you don't want to live this way anymore.  That really is the biggest most important step.  I wish you the best getting past this but i have no doubt that you can and will do it.  I'm here if you need to talk and you may want to check out the anxiety community on this site.  Talking with others may help you find ways to support each other.  Take care.

[trus75]

Michelle thank you very much. You are completely right. I had one of the worst days of my life yesterday, after 3 scary episodes of bigeminy, I ended up dizzy at 4am because I ate almost nothing and was nervous all the time. It's an horrible  feeling. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm just a weak person and I need to get up and exercise to test my limits, but then the fear is stronger than me. The anxiety is something very hard to control. Sometimes I find myself almost paralyzed (physically)  and unable do to a few simple things. And if I force myself do to it, the result is not pretty..

Anyway, I'm a little better today. Still anxious but nothing like yesterday. I will follow your advice and find a good psychologist / psychiatrist to treat my anxiety. Yesterday I decided that I can't live with this feeling anymore, I've had too much.
Once again thank you

[MichelleP_3811]

This is to both of you.  There is no way to know with absolute certainty what your heart is going to do ten years down the line or even the next beat. Even a doctor can't predict that.  Fearing what may or very likely may not happen only robs you of a life.  It serves no purpose.  But if you both have had your hearts evaluated to be structurally in good health then the ectopic activity isn't a danger to you.  It is generally a danger when there is a reentry issue going on from being born with extra heart muscle tissue or from scaring from heart disease.  If those factors are not present the odds of falling into a dangerous rhythm that your heart can't get out of are slim.  That is what most cardiologists would tell you so it really is a matter of accepting that your heart isn't perfect.  No ones really is, but yours is obviously jumpy and sensitive but trusting that it knows what it is doing and can handle the extra beats without issue.  It is the fear of the situation that is really holding you back.  So try to work on that and odds are the ectopic activity will slow down, could go away or you will simply stop noticing it as much.  Stay strong you two.  You can get past the fear it just takes time to break the habit and learn a new way to respond.  

[MichelleP_3811]

That is correct.  You can't live your life in a vacuum completely insulate from every danger in the world.  Continuing to live the way you are will only serve to isolate you more from the world.  Working on the fear will empower you.  It's worth a shot anyways.  You have nothing to lose.

[trus75]

Thank you once again. I think I'm going to look for some help for the anxiety / panic problems. Even if I have some kind of heart problem, it's impossible for me to deal with that right now. I'm starting to avoid even simple activities because of this thing and I need to do something about it asap or I will end up depressed or crazy, or both.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

Question I to am having lots pacs not use to having them 7 days in a row, had echo last year and stress test , had one caught on EKG it was a pacs last week, but still so scary not know what caused them, but after having 7 days if something was wrong would they have turned bad already would I not have had other things by now

[MichelleP_3811]

Ectopic beats have a mind of their own. They come and go and patterns come and go.  This said, your best bet is to work on the panic attacks and your ectopic beat issue will likely resolve.  Professional help may be in order since it sounds like you have a lifetime of this issue and it is not resolving on its own.  I am not sure how easy it would be to overcome on its own anyways so take some time to think about it or at least buy some books on the subject to try and sort your fears out and learn how to process and walk though it all.  Best of luck getting your life back.  You deserve some peace from all of this.

[trus75]

Michelle yes the 180 heart rate was just panic related. I often have panic attacks with HR near 200,its a relatively common thing to me. Them it drops gradually.

[trus75]

Is_something_wrong that's not the case. I accept that I will have the occasional pvcs for the rest of my life, they come and go and make my life more or less stressful. But I'm used to that. I'm even used to have a few panic attacks and I can control them much better now. But after decades of pvcs, this new symptom (quadrigeminy / bigeminy) is too scary. Even if all tests that I had last year and this year were perfectly fine..

I don't know, maybe I need some psychological help, but why did I start with this bigeminy pattern out of nowhere? Do people simply start having this at some time of their lifes?

[trus75]

Thank you for your comments, I try to stay calm but this is just to scary, this evening I had another episode.. Panic then quadrigeminy for few minutes, then it became bigeminy, then HR dropped gradually and it went away after 5 mins or so..
I'm used to panic attacks and all kinds of pvcs but this feeling that I'm going to enter bigeminy mode if my HR goes up is horrible. I will try my best to think about other stuff, but it's not easy. It's 4am and I just can't fall asleep.

[is_something_wrong]

The problem is that you (and most others on this board) sort of want to never have PVCs / PACs again. It's interesting, and I have thought about it a lot. If a PVC or PAC is just as normal and benign as a sinus heart beat, what's the problem with having them? They don't cause any extreme pain, just a little flip in the chest.

Which all boils down to anxiety. The problem is anxiety. You are afraid of PVCs because they cause anxiety. Fear of fear.

You will have lots of PVCs in your life but that itself is not problematic. Everyone do. So the only thing you need to do is to treat the anxiety and break the link between PVCs and anxiety.

[MichelleP_3811]

Yes, even quadrigeminy for 5 minutes in a healthy heart is not too concerning for cardiologists.  If you got it a lot and it continued on all day long then that might be a concern.  Try coughing to break it up sooner.  The 180 heart rate is pretty high but if you were panicking that could be the reason for both the quadrigeminy and high heart rate.  the fact the heart rate dropped gradually means it likely wasn't caused by a reentry circuit so the less you panic about all of this the less symptoms you will have. So may try to do some yoga or meditation, learn ways to process and walk through stress anxiety and panic.  Your heart may not act perfectly but the more you can trust that it will keep beating the better your quality of life will be.  Take care and stay strong.  

[trus75]

thanks a lot michelle, what about the quadrigeminy that I had today for about 5 minutes? I've never experienced anything like that. It was a kind of panic attack, but my normal panic attacks only trigger some isolated PVTs. This quadrigeminy stuff was more scary than ever, especially because I had a HR of about 180bpm during all the episode. Then the HR droped gradually and the PVCs went away...   And then, in 5 hours, I didn't feel a single PVC..

[MichelleP_3811]

That should have read where they become considered unsafe is 20,000.

[MichelleP_3811]

Isolated pvcs, even patterns of them are not a danger in an otherwise healthy heart.  The amount you are having are not a concern for a doctor.  5 in a minute isn't really all that many if you aren't having them 24 hours straight.  Even still that isn't considered the threshold of what is considered safe by cardiologists, which is 20,000 a day.  Where they become and issue is if they get caught in a reentry circuit and they are unable to stop.  This usually will only happen in damaged hearts from heart attacks or birth defects.  Your heart has been evaluated to be healthy so they are likely adrenaline based from exercise and/or stress anxiety.  Anxiety will cause them or make them worse.  The best thing you can do is try to work on your stress.  Drink lots of water and try to do a cool down from your exercise and see if that helps.  As well address any stomach issues as that could contribute as well.  I know that ectopics are scary but try to look at them as simple extra beats.  If you are caught in a pattern try to cough and shake them loose.  And simply do your best to try and ignore them.  I know easier said than done but the more you obsess about them the more of them you will feel and generate.  Stay strong.  Your heart may not be perfect but it seems according to the doctors you aren't in any sort of a place to be concerned. Take care.

[trus75]

Well today I had another episode, but this time I had fast HR and quadrigeminy  for about 5 minutes...

beat beat beat - PVC - beat  beat beat - PVC - ...

Then quadrimeminy stopped and I had random PVCs for about 3 minutes more.

I don't know what to think, this thing is really making me scary :(