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Avatar universal

What do your PVCs feel like?

Hello everyone,

Sometimes I get PVCs and they don't always feel the same, but I can usually feel them. I just had one that felt like I just took a bullet in the chest (on the middle-right side). It was a huge thump that took my breath away (I really tried to breathe but I couldn't). It was so bad that I felt like it was going to kill me or make me pass out. So scary...

What do your PVCs feel like?
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10894761 tn?1413637884
I feel mine on my throat, like I have knocking from the inside. Sometimes it's harder, sometimes it's just like a little "spasm", but I can feel all my PVCs very well (at least I think I can).  
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Avatar universal
I have had them for years and I suppose they've went through phases.  I have felt them before when they felt like the original poster mentions where they are very hard and take the breath away for a split second.  I've still never been given a reason by anyone as to why they can take your breath away for a split second.

Nowadays, I do not have them as frequently but when I do they're more subtle.  Just kind of like soft bump inside the chest is about all I feel when I have them now.  If not for my previous experience w/ PACs and PVCs, I'm not certain I would even know what I'm experiencing now was heart related.

They can feel very different to different people.  I've been told that worrying about them, regardless of what they feel like, is the worst thing you can do.  They are not dangerous and of no concern to a doc unless you are having in the thousands per day.
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995271 tn?1463924259
The feeling varies depending on the timing.  The heart has an upper and lower part.  The upper is the Atrium, and the lower is the Ventricle.

The upper chambers move blood only to the ventricles.    The Atria do not pump blood through veins or arteries.  Because of this, it doesn't require much muscle strength.  

The lower chambers pump blood into arteries, lungs, and throughout the entire body.  

You can live without your Atria pumping, as there are many folks who live with A-Fib.  Not so with your ventricles.  Because the ventricles have much more work to do, they are much more muscular.

When this is beating in synch it's a wonderful efficient machine.  The atria are squeezing blood into the ventricles while they are expanding (not contracting), and fill them with blood.  When the ventricles contract, the atria are expanding and not contracting to receive blood from veins.


So envision this.   When a PVC occurs, the very muscular ventricles are  squeezing at the same time the atria are.  The valves connecting the ventricles and atria slam shut. In the pump world, this is called a "Hydrolic Shock".  It can cause all sorts of sensations.

PVCs have a mind of their own.  They can happen at any time during this cycle.  SO the feeling vary with the timing.  So don't worry about the feelings.  How they feel is meaningless in evaluating what it might mean.
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995271 tn?1463924259
I forgot to add, that the feeling will vary with the location of the cells in the ventricles that caused the PVC too!!  The normal signal to the ventricles creates a coordinated contraction of both the right and left ventricle at the same time.  When a PVC triggers, the signal doesn't travel through the  normal route and the ventricles beat out of synch, meaning one side will lag behind the other by a short interval.  This can add to the sensations, and will vary.  Again, if everything has checked out OK, there's no use in trying to read into the feelings.
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Avatar universal
Well said, itdood!

If your heart has been thoroughly checked out, if your family history is good, if your risk factors are low, it is really, really REALLY important not to fixate on the fine points--sensation-wise--of your PVCs.

If your PVCs have been declared benign, get on with your life, ignoring the silly details in the same way you would if you had an eyelid twitch (and understood that that also was meaningless).

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Avatar universal
Hi Jenn1302,

Mine sometimes feel intense, sometimes they actually hurt somewhat.
Sometimes they flip, thud, roll, all kinds of weird sensations. Other times they feel less intense. I hope this helps. you seem to be going through
some bad PVC cycle. I go through it, And I dont always react well to them.
My best to you, just hang in there. I have had them for 40 years.
I am still here. My poor Cardiologist who was younger than me, is not.
Try not to worry.

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Avatar universal
Thanks for your wonderful informative reply. Very interesting.
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995271 tn?1463924259
Thanks for the feedback!

I always tell the story of my grandmother.  She had wicked PVCs her whole life.  She always ended up the ER because she didn't understand the issues.  I figure I inherited it from her.  

She did die, when she was 96, and it wasn't her heart that got her (dementia).  
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Avatar universal
Thank you all for your responses and support.
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