Another Bump in the Road - PVC's

[ALCapshaw]

Has anyone else had problems with 'skipped heartbeats', either before or after surgery?

Yesterday afternoon I felt like a washing machine slightly out of balance was bouncing around inside my chest. My pulse felt like every third or fourth beat was missing with an occassional Heavy Beat. This lasted for about and hour and then resolved back to a normal beat. The same thing happened again around 11 pm as I was preparing for bed. One of the Heart Center nurses said this sounded like Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC's) which 'while troubling' are not serious.

I could relate to the TROUBLING part !

I guess this is the turning point where one becomes more afraid NOT to have the surgery than to go ahead and get it over with.

By the way, I DID set up a surgery date for May 21, after the surgeon I interviewed will be back from a couple of out of town trips and my sister will be finished with school for the term and can come help out for a week. NOW I'm thinking of moving up the date. I'm ready to start feeling BETTER.

'AL'

 

[Nancy]

Hi Al-

Sorry you're having those scary episodes. Any arrhythmia is scary and uncomfortable. Did you run it by your cardiologist? Sometimes they put you on a Holter monitor or event monitor for a while to check things out, then there's no guessing about what type of arrhythmia it is.

Let us know what happens.

 

[carbomedic]

AL,
Yes I had a ton of those before surgery. Then had them in week 4 after surgery. I had a fever due to a sinus infection. Cardio ran a resting EKG to make sure I wasn't having artiel (?) fib. I still have them, mainly when I lay down at night. I was told "troubling but not serious" also.
carbo

 

[Mara]

Al-
I used to have a lot of PVC's before my surgery. They used to drive me crazy. My cardio called them PVC's on the trigeminy, a premature beat on every third beat. Any way they used to be annoying sometimes waking me up at night. I did the Holter monitor, event monitor, stress echo and all and the cardio was never really too worried about them. The beta blockers helped some. Since the surgery I have had maybe one ten minute episode of PVC's and that was early on in my recovery.

My experience with them was that they were an annoyance, but not that they were ever any thing to be concerned about. Your cardio may think differently in your situation.

Try to cut down on caffiene. That can make PVC's worse.

-Mara

 

[ALCapshaw]

Thanks for sharing your experiences Carbomedic and Mara.

Had another even more prolonged event Tuesday. When my heart beat became more regular but the chest discomfort continued, I headed to the ER. Saw my former cardiologist who advised that my EKG was showing PAC's (no mention of PVC's which I forgot to emphasize....I'm pretty sure they were the precipitating event). My guess is that I'm having BOTH.

He was afraid to have me increase my Beta Blocker dose because my resting Blood Pressure was getting low. Any lower could be dangerous (i.e. cardiac arrest....I GOT the message).

He also wanted to know why I had not already had surgery. Looks like I'll be talking with the surgeon about moving up the date.

'AL'

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Al

My PAC's, 'premature atrial contractions' came on approximately 3 months post op. Needless to say it scared the heck out of me. As evaluations progressed....we learned that unlike PVC's which can be potentially more serious....the PAC's are considered pesky, but benign.

It took almost two years to stumble upon a med that worked. They put me on Inderal LA for migraines and pouf, my PAC's disappeared. If I am stressed or tired they occasionally return. My cardiologist recently attempted to take me down on the beta blocker. Didn't work. Most importantly, Feeling great!

Wishing you all the best.
Take care

 

[Zazzy]

Hi Al,
I also was experiencing both PACs and PVCs they are a real pain!!! My cardio has decided to just keep an eye on them for the time being... and ordered another echo in May. Problem controlling them because beta blockers will lower the bp (and mine is already low) and my low calcium cuts out calcium channel blockers. My little episodes of my heart doing the rhumba (as I call it) can last anywhere from 10 minutes to three days.... major bummer!!! I just keep an eye on it also.

Take care,
Zazzy

 

[ALCapshaw]

Thanks Gina and Zazzy for contributing your experiences.

Yes, it seems when I 'push myself' I often bring on some cardiac 'events'. I've even cut off Chocolate now to avoid caffein. That's getting drastic!

In the back of my mind, I have a vague recollection of a post about using Magnesium supplements to help suppress PVC's. Does anyone know of any references on this approach?

'AL'

 

[Zazzy]

Al, I also take mag 500 mgs. daily... after a month of taking it, it seems to be working at last!

Take care,
Zazzy