PVC's/PAC's for Athletic People???

[oceanminded]

So I've been diagnosed with benign palps. Had echo, nuclear stress test, etc. All okay according to Dr's. My question is now after over 6+ months of living with these I want to start resuming a normal active life. My question is do athletes who get these still continue to resume their activity while there happening. I use to do a lot of surfing, mountain biking, etc. but am afraid to due to these palps. Every time now I start to exercise my palps seem to increase. Should I just continue and let them increase? I'm not sure what to do as these palps make being active very difficult. Also, does anyone on this board do serious training like triathlons while experiencing skipped beats?

Thanks!

[Jerry_NJ]

Given your interest in intense exercise/activities you may want to consider getting an Ablation, a cure to stop your PVC/PAC.   Ablation is normally recommended when an arrhythmia has a major impact on one's quality of live, this sounds like your case.

From what I've read, Ablation has only a moderate risk and a high success rate for PVC/PAC.  

[stutterheart]

Hi Oceanminded. I am a 28 yr old male who played D1 sports and had been very active until 2 years ago when I started to get very chaotic rythms. I had an ablation and I'm not sure it worked...I still get PAC/PVCs all the time and some exercize induced episodes that are pretty scary. I play light tennis now but that's about it...still can't get the traumatic experiences out of my head even though the doc says I'm fine. I know the chances of it being fatal are slim but I just can't get over it...had a non biological uncle who died at 22 in peak shape.
Just wanted to share my experience. If you get your doc to cross off enlarged heart, type 3 blocks or other structural problems, then studies show that you are no more likely to die of sudden cardiac death than the next guy (about like going down in a plane crash). It becomes a psychological challenge though.

[oceanminded]

Ya, I guess its all psychological. I'm just still concerned though why/how exercise can increase the palps. I do however  get the palps when I'm not exercising as well but its more of a random event. I do though notice an increase though when I am active. It may have something to do with adrenaline or an increase in my heart rate. Not quite sure?

[awlright10]

I have had PVCs for many many years and consequently I've researched them and talked to many cardiologists. You can not predict an arrhythmia. The real problem, if you're going to have a problem, is when PVCs come in a serious. It is then that you may develop symtoms that will prevent you from doing intensive sports. No doctor can tell you when or if that's going to happen. Keep in mind that "it is not always phychological." Arrhythmias can occur without structural heart problems and they can be serious. Cardiologist do not understand them very well, which is probably why we have Electrophysiologist who specialize in the electrical rhythms of the heart. Having said that 90% of PVCs are benign. Just make sure you're in that 90%. If working out brings them on or makes them worse, try a sport that is not so intense. When they stop, and the often do, increase the intensity of your workout and see what happens. Listen to you body and work with it. Don't push your way through PVCs if you're having more than 20 per minute. Above all else check all this out with your doctor.  All the best

[Brian77]

I'm three months in with the PVCs and, having been told by my doc and a cardiologist, that it's just a nuisance and I'm fine, I've just gone ahead a resumed my physical activity. I run a couple miles four times a week and play basketball. Fortunately, my skips seem to smooth out when I exercise. In my case also, I know anxiety played a big factor in worsening them (granted, anxiety is NOT the cause). Once I said "screw it, if I die then I die, I'm going about my life in spite of these skips", the frequency seemed to decrease and it hasn't slowed me down. Maybe this will come back and bite me, but I've stopped caring.

[RNRita]

When I ran to the doc a lot with these wonderful palps, he used to use the example of another patient he had.  Apparently, SHE was a runner who lived in bigeminy, and never even felt them.  So, he told me, I was free to do anything I wanted, but I will confess, exercising can bring mine on as well, and it always makes me stop. As for an ablation for PVCs, I have requested one numerous times from the best EP around here, and he told me that, since they stem from the left side of the heart, he wouldn't do the procedure as the risks outweighed the benefits.  Hmmmmmm.