PVCS after exercise, is it life threatening?

[david85]

I am 23 year old male and i have noticed that over the past few months after EVERY exercise i get rauns of skips. Usually every other beat or every third beat. I am convinced i get Bigeminy. I have no other health conditions other than Mitral Valve Prolapse. My question is the fact that i ALWAYS get pvc, and usually they happen ever other beat  does this mean i am going to die soon? i read in one of the studies that if you get more than 7 per minute(i know i have more than 7/minute), there is an increased mortality rate, can anyone convince me that i am not going to die?

[marie983]

Hi. I have read some of the posted message to you from some great people. I can understand why you are scared to get PVCs after exerciseing.  I have lived with this for 13 years.  It started when i was 12 in P.E. class.  I am here to tell you I am still alive:).  I passed P.E. alive (with a D) ha ha. I was your age when the doctors final talk me what was going on.  the doctor said you are healthly no high blood pressure there is nothing we can do go home and deal with it. That has not working out to good.  It is starts to gets to you try an anitdess med to help clam down. it does not make them stop but it is a little easy.  stay safe.  it will get better.  

[nervouslady]

Yes, I was told this by a Mayo Clinic cardiologist specializing in heart rhythm issues.  And, like I said, he brought this up on his own because of how common it is, and not because I am experiencing it (though, thinking about it, on occasion I do sometimes get a PVC or two after exercise).  It made sense to me - because any kind of 'stimulant' can aggrivate these - including horomones etc. that are released when exercising, like adrenaline.  While you are working your heart 'shapes up' and PVCs, etc, are less likely to occur, but afterward while you are no longer working but you still have adrenaline coarsing thru your veins you might experience some.  Kind of like how anxiety can aggrivate them - your heart is racing (like after exercise) and you are releasing a lot of adrenaline and cortisol into your blood stream, but you aren't working physically.  Anxiety can bring them on, too.  Sometimes I think if I were a more mellow, type B person I wouldn't get these at all.  Onset of these was when I was studying for grad school entrance exams and staying up all night writing my senior thesis (and stressing out).  
I have been checked out thoroughly, however - EKG, ECG, event monitor, holtor monitor, stress test, bloodwork, cardiac MRI w/contrast dye!  So we are quite certain my heart is in good shape, and that makes PVCs and most other short lived arrhythmias not a concern.

[Wisconsin2007]

@Nervouslady - and that was a Mayo cardio specialist, correct?

Does anyone have a link to that study?  At first, since I get PVC's I didn't want to read, but now I think I do.  And the reason is (and this is directed at you david85):

The people in the study were much older than you (avg age 56, if I recall).
If memory serves, there were 29,000 people in the study and 1,600 of them died over the course of the study (was it 10 years?  I don't recall).
Ordinarily, in a group of 29,000 56 year olds, they would expect 1,000 to die anyway, of every cause there is to die: car crashes, drowning, cancer, etc.  This study showed that this population was more likely to die.

They didn't all die.  Not even most of them.  Not even a lot of them.  

The main reason I want to see the study, is to find out if a large portion of the causes of death was sudden death due to arrhythmia, related to PVC.  Were all 29,000 of these people people who exercised regularly?  They got the PVC's after exercise, but was that a stress test, or did they rely on the reporting of the patients or what?  

Maybe a large portion of these people were greatly overweight.  Maybe they were smokers.  Drinkers.  Maybe a lot of things.  Maybe having >7 PVC's per minute post-exercise is indicative of several things, and one of the other "things" is the more causative factor in those people's deaths.

Also - were these people receiving any kind of treatment?  Were any on anti-arrhythmics?  Did any have pacemakers?  Were a large portion of them heart attack survivors?  

So david85, the thing you've experienced is justifiably causing some worry - a good way to relieve that worry is to go to your doctor and request they do a stress test for starters.  Assuming your heart will perform as it does when you normally exercise, your doctor can then schedule other tests as appropriate, and either calm your fears that your condition is not life threatening, or if you are at substantive increased risk, you can take steps to make sure you live a long, healthy life.  (Like Jerry_NJ said above - let's not guess.)

[nervouslady]

My dr. specifically told me NOT to worry about PVCs that occur after exercise as you are 'cooling down' and your heart rate is coming down.  He said don't be surprised if I get these - it is very very common, and happens because you have adrenaline in your bloodstream from exercising but are no longer moving so they are more likely to happen and should calm down as the adrenaline leaves your body.  I didn't even complain of these and he brought it up on his own because of the frequency of this happening to people.   I hope that helps you, my dr. made it very clear that this is nothing to worry about.

[jondsam]

Well PvC's in the recovery phase after exercise, does indicate a higher risk of your heart going into an un-wanted arrhythmia.  PvC's during exercise is not quite as bad as having them in the recovery stage but still carries a very small increased risk of cardio arrhythmias.  Atleast this is what my cardio doctor told me!  PvC's tend to go away as your heart rate increases.  Have you had a treadmill test?? What other tests have you had??  As far as having a life threating situation from these, only a doctor can determine that.  Yes you are at higher risk than someone without PvC's, but more than likely your condtion is benign and your going to be just fine.  PvC's can be harmless or can be a serious problem so every case is not the same.  Go to the doctor and give us some more information about your case.

Jondsam (RN, BSN)

[Jerry_NJ]

Well the best positive I can give you is the number "23", your age, I think you are not going to die.

That said, you know you have MVP, so I must assume you've been examined one or more times by a cardiologist or other heart specialist.  If not, seems you may want to make an appointment.

Also as you give no other history and no information on the level or history of your exercise that causes the PVCs... here another indication you have had a medical diagnosis, if not, get one, let's not guess.