Having PVCs?
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I am a 59 year old female. About 30 years ago I was diagnosed with PVC's and told not to worry about them. Ever since then, I've had them off and on.
It doesn't seem to matter what I am doing:
- they happen when I am sleeping and they wake me up
- when I am just watching TV relaxing
- while exercising (I have always walked at least 3-4 times/week, sometimes more and I walk fast and work up a good sweat).
The last couple months the PVC's are occurring sometimes up to 30 times during a walk of about 45 minutes, sometimes only a couple times. I mentioned it to my doctor during my physical in March, but she didn't seem too concerned about it.
Are PVC's something not to worry about? When they started, I would get just one big thump, but now I get a couple in a row and wonder if my heart is going to just stop. Should I get some tests done?
Thank you.
Answer:
thanks for visiting the heart blog and asking a question.
I guess the first question in my mind, is, are these really PVCs? We assume they are because you were told that they were 30 years ago. But that is a long time and our bodies do change. Have you had any work-up recently to confirm that they are PVCs?
A PVC is usually thought of as a skipped beat. The electrical conduction starts in the bottom of the heart and works up vs normally when it starts in the atrium or top of the heart and move down to the bottom to give you a normal heart beat.
They can occur in anyone, at any age, but more often in men when they are older. There is usually not a cause, but here is a list of potential causes: (from Wikipedia)
- Ischemia;[3]
- Certain medicines such as digoxin, which increases heart contraction[2]
- Myocarditis;[2]
- Cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic or dilated;[2]
- Myocardial contusion;[2]
- Hypoxia;[2]
- Hypercapnia (CO2 poisoning);[2]
- Mitral valve prolapse;[2]
- Smoking;[3]
- Alcohol;[3]
- Drugs such as cocaine;[2]
- Caffeine;[2]
- Tricyclic antidepressants;[2]
- Magnesium and potassium deficiency;[2]
- Calcium excess;[2]
- Thyroid problems;[4]
- Chemical (electrolyte) problems in the blood;[5]
- Heart attack;[6]
- Adrenaline excess;[6]
- Lack of sleep/exhaustion;[7]
- Stress[7]
If these palpitations are becoming more frequent or are associated with any other symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness etc, I strongly encourage you to be seen by a physician.
Most often these are harmless, but if the PVCs would happen to all occur at once, then this changes into a different heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia. This fast heart beat needs to be evaluated in the emergency department or with a cardiologist.
So, I think it has been quite some time since your PVCs were diagnosed. I think that it should be evaluated to look for any possible heart abnormalities, like a mitral valve prolapse, could be causing the symptom. The valve problem can be heard on physical exam, but you should also have an EKG performed if that has not been done recently. This may only tell you that you are in a normal rhythm at that time, but then a holter monitor that you wear for 24 hours, can try to catch the palpitations and "see" what is really happening when you have that symptom.
Treatment:
Isolated PVCs with beginning characteristics require no treatment. In healthy individuals, PVCs can often be resolved by restoring the balance of magnesium, calcium and potassium within the body. The most effective treatment is the elimination of triggers (particularly the cessation of the use of substances such as caffeine, and illegal drugs.)(Wikipedia)
I would recommend you have them evaluated. It seems that it is occurring often enough that we can determine what is really going on. Please evaluate those causes above and see if there is anything that may be contributing.
Thanks,
Kelly
