Hi dude! I to have the exact same problem and it’s also ruining my life, I’m on propranolol beta blockers and they seem to help a little bit. Having palpitations makes you feel really horrible and I’ve had enough, masturbation also triggers them for me too. It’s making me feel so depressed and down I have a ekg on the 20th but I have had a number of these also and they have been normal, I suffer with bad anxiety's
Update guys :
I went to the US and now I'm back to home country. I did there many tests ( ECG/EKG 4 days holter + MRI + Echocardio + Stress test
Findings :
I have
- PVCs ( Bigeminy, Trigeminy ) and in couplets and triplets ~ 1200-1500 / day
- PACs ~ 400-600 / day
- Atrial Tach / SVT ~ 1000 / day
Doctor gave me Betablocker which did not help at all.
Echo result was excellent
Stress test is OK
I quit smoking 2 months ago and still cold turkey ~ that did change nothing.
MRI results turned to be a bit concerning but doctor wasn't : They found one micro-aneurysm in the Right Ventricular Outflow Tract but everything else is normal ( no ARVC/D )
He said this might be triggering the arrhythmia but it's not life threatening.
- Flecainide did not help. Isoptin did not help . Indreal/Nebilet did not help.
Now for the worst part... I am not a cather ablation cadidate. Why ? because doctor said that my PVCs and PCAs are multifocal. They are not from the same place and don't have a dominant pattern or morphology.
So what now ? I'm doomed ? seriously I'd rather die than live with this horrible nightmare that destroyed 4 relationships in my life and made me unable to travel to pursue my career
Yes I did that and I had ulcer and it was treated but nothing more.
Did you ever had a gastroscopy? If the docters find your heart healty than they must look further. Maybe you got a hernia? I am actually Afrikaans and lives in South Africa. Trying my best to explain in english
My docter put me on Serdep 50mg and increase it to 100mg after a month. Also taking Purata 30mg at night to help me sleep. Also Ativan 1mg to put under tongue if I am having a panic attack. Got a appointment with cardio. Just to make sure my heart is ok.
Snus is not a cigarette, its a form of chew from Sweden.
It will help you quit.
What are you taking for your panic attacks ? We share many things in common. I used to take Xanax and it helped a bit but side effects are what made me quit.
Coffee,chocolate,smoking,spicy foods can cause palpations. I was diagnosed with GERD and anxiety/panickattack. I am having palpations every day. Constant heartburn. Docter prescribed Nexium. Making everything worse!!! They explained to me because of the reflux and anxiety,' it affects my vegus nerve system' and that can triggers palpations .and the adrenaline also when i am having a panic. Also got chestpain. Went to ER, they did tests,everything normal. Since i am on meds for anxiety,i am feeling bit better. The panickattacks is less...
Actually mint cigarettes trigger palpitations like crazy. I even get shortness of breath when I smoke these not to mention the awful heartburn i get along.
Have you ever considered using Snus instead of smoking, I know its still tobacco but its not as harmful.
That might help you out in the long run...
Its called General Snus and mint and mini mint are excellent.
When you said you jog and box, I had assumed that smoking wasn't part of your life style. That's is a modifiable risk factor that you will need to control yourself. Especially since you have PVCs. The reason for going to a top center is that they are not limited in scope as to what they will ablate once they get the catheter into your heart. If they see PVCs beyond RVOT, they will hunt for them by mapping and will go after them. Same for the PACs, since they have to pass those chambers to get to your ventricle(s). But first things, first. Stopping smoking would be my top priority if I was in your position.
Thanks! actually I am not living a healthy life due to lots of work and interrupted sleeps. Also I'm a heavy smoker. I know I should stop but smoking less or stopping seem to make my heart palpitation worse for some reason.
Btw, before going to the ablation procedure, doc told me clearly that even if the procedure is successful and RVOT is treated, they won't be able to get rid of the PVCs and PACs as these can't be ablated and I will have to live with them.
@Pix101 : yes I had heartburn when I was young and it comes and go but it's mild. Was on Nexium and it helped but as much as I want to believe that my stomach is causing me all this as there seem to be a link, my doctor didn't agree.
Did you ever had a gastroscopy? Do u get allot of heartburn? Burning in chest? Feeling like something stuck in your throat?
You are welcome. Because you have had PVCs for so long now, I doubt medication will stop it and it sounds like you live healthily so you are really left with ablation. The risk to progression to heart failure (years down the road, not acute risk) is significantly higher for anybody that has 700 pvc's per day according to the UCSF study recently published. If I was in your position, I would seek out an ablation center that do a decent volume of VT ablations and get the issue resolved now instead of waiting another 15 years or when you get to 20,000 PVCs. Why wait? 15 years with a better quality of life is worth the risk and success rates at top centers for RVOT is high. Because you travel all over and a lot, you probably have far better choices than Lebanon. I would suggest France (U. of Bordeaux), Germany (U of Hamburg), Netherlands (Thoraxcenter), etc.. Lots of choices out there. Let me know your travel destinations and I can help with researching your choices.
Thanks for the reply.
I live in Lebanon ( American hospital )
My doctor was from Cleveland with specialty in
Abnormal Heart Rhythms, Long QT Syndrome, Atrial Fibrillation, Supraventricular Tachycardia, Ventricular Tachycardia, Biventricular Pacemaker, Catheter Ablation, Lead Extraction, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, Pacemaker Implant, Pulmonary Vein Isolation Ablation..
That was few years ago unfortunately he left and went back to the states.
Answers to my previous questions is also appreciated.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Ablation technology has improved a lot since 2008 so you may want to consider another attempt. Although RVOT is one of the easier VT procedures (because of easy access to right ventricle), you still want it done at a tertiary referral center that do at least 50 VT ablations a year. The risk of tamponade is significant so going to a high volume center improves your odds for success with lower complication risks. In the USA, only around 30 centers would make that cutoff the last time I checked.
You mentioned your first ablation cost $31k which is relatively cheap in comparison to USA cost. Where is home for you and which hospital provided the RF ablation the first time?