PAC's and PVC's

[weakestlink]

Is it honestly true that everyone has PVC's and PAC's every day?  I suffer needlessly I am sure with these horrible things.  I am a 51 year old female and had these flips and flops since I was in my 20's.  I have gone for so much testing on my heart I don't think they can do anything else.  I made my doctor send me to numerous cardiologists j just because I didn't believe the ones I was going to that nothing was wrong with me. They keep on telling me that I have a normal heart and everyone gets these and I am just sensitive to them.  I have no idea what-so-ever how everyone would get these and not feel them.  I get probably 10 to 20 times a day where my heart either does a double beat a couple of times or a huge pause and whamo.....a huge thump.  I will sometimes not any in a day but those days are few and far between.  There are also some days which are few and far between that I will get a skip every couple of minutes for a while and then they just disappear.

1.  Do all people get these and they just don't feel them??  Why do I feel each and every one?
2.  How many of these would be on the normal scale per day?
3.  Is it worse to have them one after another than just random ones throughout the day?
4.  Why are so many different sensations with them?  Sometimes I feel like an eletric zap, something a flutter and a pause and a huge bang.
5.  Shall I just actually believe all of the cardios I have been to that tell me not to worry and move on???  I have such a hard time with these!

[Joeypacman]

Thank you all. I'm 31 and have had pvcs and pacs for years. I went from one doctors tests to the next because I was sure the prior didn't see something... I get hundreds or thousands everyday. I feal them all. I work out a lot. Im a runner and lift weights. Sometimes when running a half hour in I'll get a huge one that feals like it will floor me but i keep running. I guess i just have to accept that the doctors told me I'm healthy. It's hard at times you all know what I'm talking about.

[anacyde]

Hi!  Yes, most people have them, but most people do not feel them.  For those of us who do feel them, it can be a struggle.

1. I don't know why you feel each and every one, but I can, too.  In fact, I can distinguish between a PAC and a PVC.  My doctor didn't believe it until he saw it for himself while I was on a monitor lol

2. Some people have one or two a day, and some people have thousands.

3. Unless there is significant heart disease present, it shouldn't matter.

4. Good question!  One I've seen asked here before, and no one has answers to this.  What they feel like doesn't determine anything other than how crazy it will make us worrying about it ;)

5. Yes!  Believe the cardiologists.  Rest your mind.  And read here more.  There are so many people going through the very same thing, and we do understand!

[ireneo]

I'm not sure what to say to help you feel better about this. You've been tested different times and the doctors say your heart is healthy even if the beat is a bit off now and then. You've lived for 30 years with them and not passed out or dropped dead. That's pretty encouraging in itself.

Yes, there are some people that don't feel the premature beat for whatever reason. Some have fewer than you, others have thousands more than you each day. In my case I do have PACs and PVCs every day. Some I feel quite strongly, others I don't feel at all because I'm busy. I also have PSVT where my heart decides to jump into high gear (150-198 bpm) for no particular reason. Then it drops to normal just as easily. These are always a surprise for me but I'm patient and they do eventually kick back to slow speed again. My usual premature beats run 1-5 per minute throughout the day. The worse I've had were 15-25 a minute without breaks. That went on for several months. I was irritated but they did finally ease off to my norm.

So you see, each person is so very different. You've done well physically all these years. All you need to work on now is accepting them as being annoying but harmless, like the hiccups.

I can say "move on" but that's up to you to find a way to accept the funky beats as dolphin calls them. That's all they are and you will be fine.

[dolphin8808]

HI there! You sound JUST like me! I stareted with mine a few years ago (I am now 33 soon to be 34). Mine started out of the blue and have been with me ever since. Very rarely do I go a day without them, on average I have 20-50 per day but have some bad days between. I also get a fluttering feeling sometimes that I don't know what it is. Scary though! I have had lots of tests and just recently wore a 24 hour monitor. I asked my EP to do a Cardiac MRI just for my own peace of mind and I will be doing that soon.

My EP told me that he does lots of Holter Monitors etc and it is very rare to see the results not have ANY PVCs or PACs on it. He said it is very common. From what I understand some people are just more sensative to them then others. It can also be your position, if you lay on your left side or bending over, it can bring your heart closer to your chest wall. I feel every single one of mine so how someone could go and NOT feel these?  I have NO idea. They are lucky if you ask me.

I have heard that most docs feel under a few hundred a day are not of concern... that under 500 or so is still considered rather rare.

You may have times when you have a normal beat between your PVCs, many people get short clusters like that and it does not mean anything. Some even get couplets etc.

It can all depend on the timing of the PVC and how much blood has filled into the heart. The more blood, the harder the BAM of the beat reset. I get the same thing, different sensations, sometimes very forceful, other times, very gentle. Other times, a flutter.

Yes you should just move on. All of my cardios and EPs have said the same, have a nice life. My most recent EP said that I can come back yearly, just to talk and make sure nothing has changed. We will do a new echo every 3-4 years just to make sure things are moving alone nicely and nothing new has come about but other then that... They just say to take care of our hearts and bodies, work out when we can, watch what we eat but don't deprive our bodies and live life.

Its hard I know, I already had anxiety and this took me over the edge. I am still working on getting myself back, I have bad moments where I really struggle but I do try to just live and stop and smell the roses. Life is precious and if all I have is a benign funky beat, then I will take that. In a way we are very blessed.

Big hugz I really do understand your fear!