Ablation and PVCs >????? PLZ Help ! :(

[LucasLucasLucas21]

Hi I'm a 21 year old guy suffering from frequent PVCs , and  Benign  RVOT Ectopic beats every single Day !

I have had this  extra beats since I was a teenager but back then I had no idea how could this annoying PVCs change and ruin everything in my life !
First time I found about them was five years ago When I was just 16  ,  Holter showed 7 500 Pvcs a day and my Cardiologist did not think it was anything serious and she told me to eat more food rich is potassium !
almost four and a half year later about 8 - 9 months ago they came back ,  went to the ER  complaining about my fluttering and heart palpitations !  

since then  I have had all the test and they all came back normal .  five times ultrasound of my heart , dozens of holter test , the last showed 2500 pvcs while on Anti arrythmetic drug Propafenone 150 mg and Isoptin SR 240 mg .
before I would have up to  12 000 - 14 000 a day . beta blockers did not work .

I also had stress test and my Pvcs go away when execising  , Heart MRI test showed nothing wrong  .

Now they are saying that my Ectopic beats are benign idiopathic PVCs, RVOT .
some of my Docs say that I should just learn how to live with them . some of them take to take medicine for them such as Propafenone and then they are others who say taking Propafenone is dangerous for me at this age  ?
and some of them say I should go for ablation but they say you would have to have more PVCs and ablation is not always successful .

I am SOOOOOO confused !!!  I just want to enjoy and live my Life  :((  I don't know what I should do , is there anyone out there who can relate to this  ? suffering from PVCs ?
can I still live as long as I would live without them  ?  am I at the high risk of cardiac arrest or atrial fibrillition or some other serious things  ?  can I just ignore this and is it really all my anxiety making them worse and worse  ?
please some one out there help me . thanks /

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

If he won't get you a monitor go to Er they will. Hook you up there for at least 8-10 hours and watch them, that might make you feel better

[susan8888]

Mine are just horrible ...have had them for years ...but they aren't going away this time ....I think now ...I basically have some sort of arthymia even though the dr gave me an echogram and it came back normal.  I feel I want another holter now while I'm having them because I feel this just isn't normal.  I can't seem to convince my dr that they have gotten 10 times worse and are making me dizzy ...until I pass out ....they dont' do anything.  I'm on a blood pressure medicine that also slows my heart down ...he said its good for this but i'm thinking its making me worse.

[marlinspike]

Hi Lucas. Like the above posters I have hundreds sometimes thousands of pvcs a day. I went to the ER with 30 a minute (bigeminy) and still the cardiologist there was not concerned. However, they cause me huge anxiety and panic. I am miserable at the moment because they have been worse the last few days. You have had a lot of tests - any serious heart defect would have come to light. I have read a lot about pvcs and everything I read says that they are benign in a structurally normal heart, which yours surely is. Drs don't even count them as frequent unless you are having 10k plus a day. The drugs they give you, like beta blockers, are more to alleviate the worrying sensations than stop the palpitations. It is a shame the Heart Expert forums are not being answered by the Cleveland docs anymore as I am sure they would say what we are saying. Look on the All Experts Cardiology forum - Prof Dr David Richardson gives some very reassuring advice about pvcs. He says that they are harmless in a normal heart, even thousands a day.

[pvctom]

also, just to let you know, all of my cardiologists have also labeled mine benign, and say thing like "random phenomena" etc. My EP said to me once, and he was a lovely person, to try to "IGNORE THE IRREGULAR CADENCE". pretty hard to do sometimes. but as long as you have been checked out, you will be ok. take care

[pvctom]

hello,

I also have suffered from these for 38 years. Like many here have stated, they come and go, sometimes mine last everyday in the hundreds, thousands, some are very annoying, scary, and even disturb me when I am lying down, trying to sleep. Then, they can just disappear sometimes for weeks, months with only a very few in between. They are capricious. there are correleations between GI problems and PVCs, and I have been told even depression, not to mention anxiety, can and does make them worse.
I wish you well, and try to stay calm, not that I can when I am in what I like to refer to my "vicious cycle".

[LucasLucasLucas21]

Thank you guys , thanks for replying !

I met another Cardiologist today and he told me the same thing as others have . he thinks taking Propafenone for my PVCs even tho it makes them go away is dangerous for me at this age ?  he thinks this drug is more harmful for my heart than my PVCs  ?   shall I stop taking it even tho it controls my PVCs  ? and beta blockers did not work for me  ?  many thanks .

[Iva_87]

So true. Im 32, young, blonde, mum of two.
I dont have your condition, but even my SVT gets worse with upset stomach. I sometimes eat soda bicarbona to calm down the acid and it helps.

Actually Im learning to try to relax myself, too, and live with it. Last week I spent shaking, trembling and being desperate. Now my heart is calm and Im trying to find myself and find peace, even if it comes back.

Stay strong and if you feel like talking, dont hesitate to send a private message or write here.
As first comment mentioned, reading others post helps to find peace. Really!

[MichelleP_3811]

As far as the medical community is concerned your load is not considered a health risk.  It is only when one nears 20,000 or more a day then they start to get concerned.  I would say try and add more potassium as the doctor stated.  Potassium helps the muscles and the heart is a big muscle.  If you drink a lot of energy drinks or colas with caffeine this will deplete you of potassium and could be part of the problem.  Stress is another big factor because it irritates the heart and an irritated heart will throw off more ectopic beats.  Finally try and watch and/or address any stomach issues.  Things like acid reflux will cause the heart to act up.  The more you can ignore what your heart is doing the better you will feel.  At this point your heart is healthy and can handle what is going on.  If you get more troubling symptoms then do consult with the cardiologist again but try some lifestyle changes now and see if that helps.  Best of luck getting a handle on the extra beats.  They can be very annoying and distracting but do your best to push through and have a life.  Take care and stay strong.

[Elli126]

I have had PVCs, PACs and PSVT for about 30 years. I have had thousands and thousands of PVC per day on and off all that time.  As you will read by many others on here they come and go sometimes I can have months without any or maybe just a few and sometimes they will come constantly for a few months. For years, I found them very difficult to deal with, and used to get panic attacks from them. I do take beta blockers, but sometimes they have no effect whatsoever. It took years but I have learned to live with them. Reading other's posts on here has helped tremendously. If your heart is structurally normal and otherwise healthy they are no consequence. As far as any study shows they do not lead to any higher rate of cardiac arrest than any other normal person. I know it's easier said than done, but try to relax, anxiety over them only makes them worse. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon. And please pardon any typos I am doing this from my phone LOL.