Anybody have premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) or abnormal heartbeat?

[LarkspurCO]

Anyone out there suffer from PVCs/PACs or know of any new research on their cause or their treatment? I mean new like in the past 10 years or so?

I have long suffered from premature ventricular contractions which at times can be extremely nerve-wracking. The last time I consulted a cardiologist I did a 24-hour Holter monitor test and recorded >10,000 PVCs. I was told there's nothing really to be done, that the arrhythias are harmless, etc.

I recall discussing a medication that had some risks and the doctor didn't recommend it. I tried Taurine and it didn't change a thing.

Over the past nine months or so I have been taking 1,000 mg MSM twice a day, for my joints. During this time I have noticed a dramatic decline in the frequency of my PVCs. I have noticed that when I forget the MSM for a few days my heart starts galloping again. I wonder if there is a correlation and, if so, why?

I've noticed over the years when I have traveled to another part of the country (Washington DC, for example) that often within a couple of days my PVCs had nearly stopped. A soon as I returned home they would kick back in again.

The only thing I can think of that was really different was the drinking water and the altitude. Colorado water is extremely hard, and I drink a lot of it. As I recall, water in DC was a lot softer. Could excess calcium in the water here have something to do with it? Doesn't MSM affect calcium uptake?

[deltawave]

I have about a 30 minute speech I give at least 3-4 times a week to patients w/this problem. Yes they're benign BUT if you're having more than 10k a day they can indeed occasionally cause more than just gross symptoms. You might ask your cardiologist if he knows a good electrophysiologist who could evaluate you for a possible ablation. PM me if you want to talk more--I'm working this weekend anyhow. ;)

[Susan P]

I've always had palpatations and now I get really wierd irregular beats which one doctor said was still called palpatations so he told me to get and EKG and I wonder if that's really going to show anything. It's not like they are constant or everyday. My heart gets wierd when it's really cold and I'm carrying heavy buckets of water and walking, walking faster is worse. Working around the barn or stress increases the strange beats and sometimes it just does the wierdest things. I can't even Polka anymore! :eek:

[deltawave]

Palpitations is just tje word used as shorthand to describe these kind of symptoms--the actual rhythm may be many things but what we say a patient is feeling is "palpitations" even if the patient calls it skipping or fluttering or whatever. Sort of like a common label everyone can understand. :)

[Susan P]

Do you think an EKG will show anything? I hate going to doctors and getting tests, etc. I'm supposed to get a chest xray too because my asthma has been a problem, I really enjoy breathing and regular heart beats, the other stuff, hard to breath and wierd heart beats are not fun at all. Interesting until it gets out of control. If I can't get the breathing normalized or the heart to beat normal by relaxing then it's a little upsetting, and I'm wondering if my heart will just stop or my breathing will become more trouble that I can handle. I really hated going to the ER at 3 am but it was getting so hard to breath.



Palpitations is just tje word used as shorthand to describe these kind of symptoms--the actual rhythm may be many things but what we say a patient is feeling is "palpitations" even if the patient calls it skipping or fluttering or whatever. Sort of like a common label everyone can understand. :)

[Calvincrowe]

I have atrial fibrillation. It sucks. Mine occurs only a few times a year (maybe 2?), lasts anywhere from an hour to 36 hours in duration, and scares the bejeezus out of me every single time. Mine is "triggered"? by stress--internal stress, emotional stress. Flying is a HUGE trigger, as I hate it. (I'm a control freak--if only they'd let me fly the plane!)

My lovely cardiologist tells me it won't kill me (well, not in and of itself, it's those darn clots...). I'm not on meds to control it, nor on an anti-clotting one, thank goodness.

[slc2]

I've got it. The doc had me stop all caffeine and it pretty much went away.

[FatPalomino]

I'm so amazed, I'd be freaking out if I was monitoring a dog under anesthesia and they had VPC's or A fib!!!

And the fact that your A fib breaks on it's own= wow! I've seen a dog cardioinverted to try to break it (didn't work). I was going to do it on my dane with cardiomyopathy in A fib, but I asked the cardiologist to wait just one day, ad he had it before and we could break it. He is one of the nation's top (DVM) cardiologists and said it'll never happen on its own. The next morning he called and said, you're right, it broke, but he thinks the dog was going between A fib and A flutter, and we got it broke out of the flutter. Either way, scary!!!!

[LarkspurCO]

I have about a 30 minute speech I give at least 3-4 times a week to patients w/this problem. Yes they're benign BUT if you're having more than 10k a day they can indeed occasionally cause more than just gross symptoms. You might ask your cardiologist if he knows a good electrophysiologist who could evaluate you for a possible ablation. PM me if you want to talk more--I'm working this weekend anyhow. ;)

Very nice of you to offer - will do. Is your speech on You Tube?:D

[Frank B]

I've had them for the past 40+ years. The Docs say it's something you die with, not from.

They are annoying at times, and occasionally difficult to ignore.

If it's been some time since you talked with a Doctor, another visit might be in order, if for nothing but your peace of mind. And new medications are being continually developed.

[deltawave]

Do you think an EKG will show anything?Only if your heart rhythm obligingly does something weird during the 12 seconds it takes to record the EKG. :) Otherwise, not usually. But there are all kinds of ways to monitor the heart, including some really slick new auto-triggered event monitors that will pick things up on their own and send a tracing via cell phone right to the doctor's office. Wicked cool, especially for picking up things that the patient might not even be feeling.

I'm wondering if my heart will just stop It will, someday, but hopefully not before its time and certainly not from benign palpitations. :)

And the fact that your A fib breaks on it's own= wow!

Lone a-fib (young person, normal heart, sort of a rogue rhythm without any other stuff making it happen) comes and goes on its own all the time. Many people are not even aware of it, and it virtually always self-corrects.

The thing with all of these rhythm abnormalities is, it IS the heart doing something, and it freaks people out. Like any other part of the body, and maybe even more so, you just can't ignore strange behavior when it's your heart. But even the heart has a whole list of innocent weird behaviors; it's not just a ticking time bomb in there waiting to "blow". :)

[Calvincrowe]

Yeah, my A-fib comes with a "'normal speed" pulse--64 bpm, just shuddery and skippy. I feel crappy, my neck/throat feel "full" (best I can describe it), and I cannot exert myself beyond normal walking. It was very frightening the first time--rushed to doctor, multiple EKGs actually caught it in progress.

There are millions of Americans who have this, and it doesn't kill you. Unless it all that blood pooling in your heart starts to throw off clots...but that's another worry I try not to internalize;)

My brother, on the other hand, has the very bad, will kill you kind of A-fib. His heart rate climbs into the 200's and shudders around. Good times.

I figure if I keep myself healthy, monitor my internal workings, visit my cardi regularly then I'll be good for at least 40 more years.

[MunchkinsMom]

I don't know what the medical term for mine is, all the doctors call it is an occasional "extra" heartbeat? Feels more like I missed one, or something. They tried to explain it, but at the time I was too worried about it to fully comprehend what they were saying.

Mine didn't start til menopause kicked in. The doctor's say it is nothing to worry about really, at least in my case.

Weeding through tons of information on the internet didn't help me much either.

[deltawave]

No, the internet doesn't "sift" very well. If you read a lot of websites on the topic of palpitations/PVCs/skipped heart beats, etc. (the terminology really is confusing) you'll find an enormous pile of BAD information. :no:

We all have extra or premature beats. The heart has its own rhythm, and it's prone to the hiccups, just like our diaphragms are. In fact, hiccups and premature heartbeats have a LOT in common: nuisance, harmless in 99.999% of cases, usually no particular cause although there are some common triggers in many people, annoying as heck, come and go as they please, etc.

Some people feel them, some don't. But we ALL have them. What we feel, actually, is the beat AFTER the "extra" or premature beat, when the heart has had a few hundred extra milliseconds to get extra full and goes WHOOOMP with the next beat because there's been a little pause. The fuller the heart, the harder it squeezes. And the pause after an early beat gives the heart more time to get extra-full. FLOOMP. That's what you feel.

[MunchkinsMom]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I've probably had it all my life for all I know, and only recently noticed it perhaps?

[Susan P]

This was the most enlightening and informative post ever, and I wish I could have gotten this much info from my doctors instead of giving me a quick answer leaving me wondering what the heck am I dealing with.

I have a friend who gets them in cold weather too. We just don't know what it is and how it effects us ...till now, thank you Deltawave!

[minnie]

It sure can be pretty scary when it feels your heart is just going to explode out of your chest and you can feel the pulse in all your major pulse points. My heart can have a premature heartbeat (along with the corresponding next beat THUD) every other beat. And yeah, no one seems any too concerned about it except me. Sure do get out of breath easy, though. Like just walking down to the barn!

[Bluey]

My heart never skipped a beat that I know of.
Then I had a heart attack almost five years ago and the cardiologist said I had "palpitations" left over from that heart event, but I have never felt any different.:confused:

At that time, they found a heart defect I was born with and that is what was causing problems.

As for the heart arrythmia, they put me on an extremely low dose of a beta blocker and that seems to keep everything running fine.

I would not be afraid to try whatever medication the Dr may recommend.