Among the many different types of irregular heart beats, few have created as much confusion and frustration among both doctors and patients as premature ventricular comtractions (PVCs). In various doctors’ offices, and at various points in history, PVCs have been regarded as either precursor of impending death, or as completely benign phenomena that require no attention whatsoever.Patients who feel entirely well tend to think their doctors are a little nuts when they recommend aggressive measures in response to finding PVCs on a routine ECG. Patients who are plagued by PVC-induced palpitations regard their doctors as being cruel and heartless when they refuse to entertain therapy for such a benign condition. What's a patient to do?
I started having PVC's almost 3 months ago. They showed up out of nowhere and have yet to go away. What happens when a PVC's hits? Your heart skips a beat. With me, I can tell when they are going to start. Its hard to explain but I have a strange sensation in my chest. Almost like a pressure. Then, its like a very strong palpitation. Almost like you had too much caffeine. When you feel your pulse, you can tell when your heart stops and starts again. Its pretty scary. My EKG was normal and the holter monitor showed PVC's but I already knew that. What did my doctor do about it? She told me to drink plenty of water (I drink 6 to 8 glasses a day), get lots of rest (I sleep 7 to 8 hours a night), and cut down on the caffeine (I only have 1 cup of coffee a day). I dont know how a person that was normal 3 months ago can suddenly be plagued with such a scary, irritating, and confusing condition.
There are many people out there going thru the same thing that I am. How do I make them stop forever? When they aren't happening, I'm normal and have no other issues. When they happen, I'm waiting for my heart to stop forever. The cardiologists weren't concerned enough to see me after my holter monitor. They referred me back to my primary physician. I don't understand. How can they say there is nothing to be concerned about when your heart stops and restarts itself? That cant be normal. The only thing this has made me think about is making a living trust so that if something happens, my family will know my wishes. I'm only 42 years old. I recently lost 55 pounds. I exercise on a regular basis. Why did this happen? True, I have a high stress level but that is a part of every day life. I feel hopeless. I recently ordered a book to help me deal with this problem as it appears to be here for good. If it helps, I will give you a full review. Until then, if anyone has any suggestions or experience with PVC's, please share what you know.
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Hi, I am David. I too have pvc's and first ur heart does not stop...these are what is know as a extra beat...the skip beat your feeling is the heart resting an adictional split second..My cardiolisist says that I can go to Dallas Texas and have the spot where the (as its know) eptopic beat comes from..I can have it cartarized..burned for lack of better words...but I ask him if this would help...he said that ithere was always a risk of heart attack or stroke but there was a 50/50 chance...well I have had this problem for more than 20 years...mine starts when I am under alot of stress..although caffine, electrolite embalance, smoking, hypertension, and heart disease, are the know facters, Some can feel the (skipped beat) feeling and others cannot...I am one that does feel them and I have also been whats known as atrial fiberalation 5 times...*not fun* when mine start I feel like I have not slepped or rested in days...I hope this sheds some light on ur question...I can be reached at hailstone5859@yahoo.com
By the way...too much water consumption can be as bad as too little...
I was watching the news one night and they were doing a story on Flaxseed oil, which I was taking every day with my vitamins. It appears it can cause an irregular heart beat. I was elminating things from my daily routine to see if it was something I was doing or taking. When I heard the story, I decided to stop taking the Flaxseed and see if it may have been the cause. Its been almost 2 months now without a PVC. Considering I was having them every day, Im confident in saying that this was the cause of my PVC's. It make's me mad that physicians dont take this condition seriously. For the person that is going thru it, it is scary as hell. I hope I will continue to live PVC free. Only time will tell. Thanks for your feed back David:)
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