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Frequent PVCs or PACs

I am a 39 year old male, and I have had infrequent PVCs or PACs (not sure which) since I can remember. They never seem to get caught on an EKG, and I have had several. For the past month or so, I have had terrible episodes of PVCs/PACs. I went to my GP, and he performed an EKG...all normal. He sent me to a cardiologist, and he performed another EKG...all normal. I had an echo about 3 years ago as I had a 12 hour bout with AFib after taking a decongestant, and my cardiologist said that he didn't feel that it was necessary to repeat the test performed during that time. He sent me home, and said not to worry. Especially at rest, I count about 5 PVC's/PAC's per minute. They are really getting under my skin. They disappear when I exercise. Also, they may disappear for a couple of days at a time only to randomly return. Anybody out there with a similar story?

Thanks!
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Avatar universal
Hi, the same here. Male, 39. PVC's adrenaline triggered. Have had them for a while now. Had to stop with sports cause I developed a phobia. So, from max adrenaline i went to zero, which is bad because I'm more sensitive due to treshold lowering. Heart is structurally fine but somehow i cannot settle that fact in my head. It's always "what if" this or that. Tried with the shrink which worked great but then a death of a friend brought me back a lot of steps. I was really active, travelled a lot so this whole situation is driving me mad; I'm afraid of walk in the park. But, a shrink helped a lot, I'm not a man i was before the therapy, so i recommend a good therapist who will deal with you without meds if possible. Aforementioned death was a shock but I know I can make it work again if I work hard. And you need to work hard. I had some nasty episodes of PVC attacks but I'm still here, you all guys are still here...Remember: relax, love, excercise, don't smoke and you'll feel better. PVCs will never leave, they're here to stay, as soon as we embrace that fact we will all feel good.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Thanks for your response. I think you are spot on.
Avatar universal
I am in a similar situation, so yes.  I'm 43 and have had increasingly worse PVCs from the time I turned 13.  30 years of this and I hate it.  So often that my chest hurts from it at times.  I am on a Bata Blocker that was suppose to help, which it did for a few years.  I've had probably 20 to 25 since I started typing this.  I've all but given up.  I've had all the workup and even a MRI.  All is structurally sound.  I've looked for triggers, some of which, like stress, are impossible to eliminate.  Early in life, exercise or increasing my heat rate would stop heavy or prolonged incidents.  Now, this can actually cause deeper, harder PVCs to occur, causing me to quickly STOP what I am doing.  I find my posture effects my PVCs.  Recliners are my enemy.  While in this position, I am in a near constant episode.  I don't have much hope for normal anymore, but relief for a few days would be great.  Pretty dismal, right?  I could go on and on, but it's not productive.  I hope you find a solution or relief, it is a miserable thing to live with.
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2 Comments
Thanks. It sure is miserable. Difficult for me to understand how the frequency could shoot through the roof seemingly overnight. Tough to believe it could all be anxiety. I don't really feel anxious, but that's what everyone keeps telling me. It seems like maybe the episodes cause anxiety and create a vicious cycle. I'm exhausted from it and desperate for relief.
You are exactly right.  The event causes the anxiety.  People who don't know what you're living with love, LOVE to tell you it's this or that.
Avatar universal
You sound exactly like me.   Google "sleep apnea pvcs"

I tried everything under the sun from magnesium to taurine to eating so many bananas I turned into a gorilla.

What finally fixed me was being diagnose with sleep apnea and starting cpap therapy.

I'm 45...non smoker...very frequent mma practicioner/trainer

It worked for me...worth a shot or at least a discussion with ur doc and some googling
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Avatar universal
It seems like there is great deal of non-information in these forums. When you go to your primary care provider and have blood drawn for labs, one thing that is not commonly checked is your magnesium status. Now its perfectly true that ectopic beats can have a variety of etiologies (causes) ranging from overt heart disease such has CAD, congenital heart defects, valvular heart dieases, etc, sometimes it can be due to lifestyle and dietary factors as well.

You may very well be deficient in magnesium. This is common in people that experience frequent ectopy (funky heart rhythms) and its a mineral that has very important roles to play in the orchestra of nerve impulses that control the rhythm of the heart. Magnesium sulfate is given through an IV in an arrythmia such has Torsades de Pointes which in almost invariably leads to cardiac arrest if not terminated and it is effective in stopping it. Its why its in a jump bag with EMS, and kept in an ER on a crash cart.
When your mag gets too low as it can, and yet you're probably never aware of this, it will cause the heart to get much more irritable. And when the heart gets irritable, a bunch of potential pacemaker cells tend to get antsy too, and they end up firing - hence, PVC's. Or PAC'S. Or both. Get stressed, they get worse. Why? Catecholamines - stress hormones. You have an already irritable heart due possible low magnesium, so the "threshold" for it to get overwhelmed per se, is greatly reduced. So it begins throwing out impulses from different regions, causing the rhythm to become abnormal. You perceive this as palpitations, the thuds, flip-flops, somersaults, thumps, flutters and so forth...Get your mag up, and the heart will come down. Could also be lower than normal potassium too. The lower your potassium, the more irritable the heart muscle gets. This is why in cardiac ICU's, the patients being managed there must be ensured to have a sufficient potassium level, otherwise, the risk of malignant arrythmias increase.
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Avatar universal
I have thanatopobia brought on by PVC's. It has been a problem since I first felt them around 15 years ago. A "flutter" or "skip" as they say. I have been through at least 50 EKG's (never sees them), I wore a holtor monitor for 30 days in November 2019 and I pressed the button every time I felt one - the odd thing is that they said I was not experiencing a PAC or PVC at the time? Then other times when I pressed the button - they say they saw it but my rhythm was normal. I have had NUCLEAR stress tests done twice since 2016, one last year in November 2019 as well. Nothing.

I get really bad news (death of friend, family member, even a celebrity I have followed for years) and or I have a adrenaline rush and bingo, they begin again. I have the reduce caffeine, exercise MORE (which we all know is hard and most people with PVC's become terrified to almost move) and vagal nerve response, and this, and that, and nothing. I am trying to RUN AWAY from something inside me.

My Apple Watch has the EKG and I try to capture it, but never do. I get them seemingly right before or right after I can.

I am now 50 years old and it has pretty much ruined my life since I was 35. I have gained weight, not exercised as much as I should, stopped jogging (hell, I ran the 2006 NYC 1/2 marathon in 2 hours), and life has pretty much felt like a prison some days.

Physical symptoms: Heart racing, shoots from 65 to 12o for no reason, then back....not often but it does, then I get the sweaty hands, the chest tightness, the fear of death rises again and again. I take TOPROL XL which has helped, not lying, but there are many days, like today, wherein I feel like the next one is my last one.

Never show up much in testing - but in my head they are terrible.
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