PVC questions

[bbb]

Hello,
I've been told I have PVC's after wearing a monitor for a month, some months ago. Totally benign, nothing to worry about. Usually brought on by chocolate, caffeine, alcohol. They seem moderate and don't ever really bother me.

This weekend I was skiing (after having lunch and a tiny bit of chocolate) and had an episode in the middle of heavy skiing. It seemed to last about at least 20 minutes. I felt ok, but it was an uncomfortable feeling...started wondering if everything was alright. Felt funny to be skiing with my heart doing pounding hard and irregularly.

Questions -

1. Experiencing a PVC during heavy physical activity, is it ok to just carry on?
2. Do PVCs ever change into anything else, and should you ever have them checked up again if they remain feeling the same?
3. When would there ever be cause for concern?

Thanks everyone! Betsy

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Yep, sounds like you've found the Main Triggers alright

Even ONE bite of Chocolate can trigger them if you become sensitive enough to it.

Have you talked to a Cardiologist?
Beta Blockers such as Toprol (and many others) are good for controlling PAC's / PVC's, often at Less than so-called 'theraputic' levels.

Personally, I would probably NOT 'carry on' with strenuous activity while having PAC's or PVC's. Good Question for your Doc.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Duff Man]

Ya know, I was out snowboarding and had a massive string of PVCs on a really long charlift ride just the other week... and I made an appointment to see my cardiologist soon after. It sure doesn't FEEL ok to carry on, does it? I'll let you know what the doc says... but I have a feeling he'll say I could run a marathon during a PVC storm.

 

[bbb]

When I first had them it was during swimming and doing exercise machines. My cardio told me it was all fine and to keep on going right through the PVC's. You're right, it doesn't feel quite right to keep going! Let me know what your cardio says Duff Man!

Thanks, Betsy

 

[abbanabba]

Hmmm... I always thought PVCs arising during strenuous exercise was one of the things they kept an eye out for. Certainly for myself (and I have a complex congential condition - so this may only be applicable for me) they told me if I WASN'T getting them with exercise it was OK - but DURING exercise was something to keep an eye on. Might be worth arranging an exercise stress test to see if they happen again. Better to err on the side of caution I think.


A : )

 

[Duff Man]

yeah my cardiologist was really evasive about the question. Basically, he says someone with such a strong and healthy heart shouldn't pass out from a tachy-arrhythmia unless it lasts for a 'quite a while' and he acted 100% uninterested... as if I was being trivial. Sorry I couldn't help. lol.

To me, common sense dictates that I chill out until the palpitations subside. Hell, I felt like going home after my bout of pvc's.

 

[bbb]

Thanks for the report, Duff Man. Funny, but my cardiologist said I should definitely just exercise straight through the PVC's like they weren't even there, that they were absolutely nothing to worry about. And the more I exercised, the better chance they might go away. As I mentioned, I wore a monitor for a month and he said the PVC's were benign.

I still wonder if I was tested once and they are nothing to worry about, would I ever have to get tested again if nothing really changed?

Does anyone know anything else about exercising through PVC's and why to stop or not?

Also, I wonder what quite a while is...how long can a benign PVC last without a worry?

Thanks!! Betsy

 

[abbanabba]

Hey Betsy.. I was getting 4,500+ PVCs a day for years and they weren't too worried about them - and interestingly they did seem to lessen while I was doing stress tests (which is why I mentioned about their concern should they INCREASE with exercise - but again, that might just be for me). As long as they weren't going into sustained v-tach - more than 4 PVCs in a row, they didn't seem too worried (and even when over 24hrs I had half a dozen episodes of 4-5 in a row they didn't think it was too much of an issue!).

It seems for most people, they are more of annoyance than anything else and it's really only when they start turning from individual PVCs into more dangerous rhythyms - sustained v-tach or afib - it's a problem (although how it makes us FEEL is another thing altogether, but don't get me started!!). If it worries you, however, it probably wouldn't hurt to get a Holter done every few years just to keep an eye on things, but if you can keep them under control by avoiding or minimising your triggers, you probably don't have too much to worry about.


A : )

 

[Dina]

Does anyone know anything else about exercising through PVC's and why to stop or not?

Also, I wonder what quite a while is...how long can a benign PVC last without a worry?

For myself ,I draw the line at specific symptoms or their intensity. Like if
I become immediately SOB with an increased heart rate,or if their is pain
in the stomach/chest area,or if you experience extreme diaphoresis.
I was having tachycardia when bike riding at times.But I only had the
increased rate(of about125-135)and no other symptoms with it,so my
cardio wasn't too concerned when I asked him about it. He just told
me to rest when it happens,not to push. He did not tell me to stop,but
he knows my cardiac pathology and the dangers that go with it.
So,I would ask your cardio to be sure,Dina

oops- just read you DID ask your cardio, then I would go by what I said initially,
if the symptoms come as a triad; SOB,sweating,pain..or you have an increased
intensity of symptoms.

 

[Duff Man]

I personally would like to know if PVCs are attributable to sudden cardiac death in athletes. There DEFINITELY needs to be more studies done on the subject.

February 5, 2008 — A new study shows that individuals undergoing treadmill testing who had ventricular arrhythmias during the recovery phase had an almost doubling of mortality in the five-year follow-up period, compared with those who had arrhythmias only during exercise [1]. Dr Frederick E Dewey (Stanford University Medical School, Palo Alto, CA) and colleagues report their findings in the January 28, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

 

[bbb]

Does anyone know what the average length of a PVC episode is and how long is considered dangerous? I would say some of my episodes seem to last 20 mins., maybe even 1/2 an hour. But there are never the contractions in a row, always spaced out within that time. They seemed to be shorter when they first occurred, about 6 months after OHS.

Thanks, Betsy

 

[Bina]

If I'm lying down on my back and have an episode of PVCs (skipping) they will continue unless I rollover and change my position.
If I'm up and my BP is not too low, then I take a low dose of my BB med.

 

[Duff Man]

the length of pvc episodes isn't a real good indicator of danger, i think. From what I've read, the real danger is if they're back to back with no normal beat in between. Then it starts to become v-tach. I have very closely grouped PVCs every 3-4 months and that really wigs me out.

 

[abbanabba]

the length of pvc episodes isn't a real good indicator of danger, i think. From what I've read, the real danger is if they're back to back with no normal beat in between.

Absolutely. As long as they're not joining up into lots of 4-5 or more in a row (with no normal beats) they're really not considered a problem. Even isolated episodes of several in a row (non-sustained v-tach) - while perhaps an indicator of something potentially becoming more serious - are not generally considered a huge problem if they're only occuring sporodically. However sustained v-tach is much more serious and that is when 4-5 PVCs in a row turn into many more. Unless you have an underlying heart condition or scarring from surgery causing bundle branch block, sustained v-tach is fairly unlikely (not impossible... but unlikely).

Like I said before, I was having in excess of 4,000 of these beats a day, which pretty much meant they were happening 24/7, but because they were usually no more than 1-3 in a row, they were still considered benign. Even with a congential heart condition and right bundle branch block from numerous heart surgeries my cardios weren't overly concerned - they were just happy to keep an eye on things and act if things progressed from there.


A : )