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PVC attack and anxiety

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Posted 4/18/2006 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I have been going like a month without any PVC's at all.  Over the last couple of days I have had them every once in awhile.  Just come and go but nothing major.  Well today out of nowhere I had like 3 or 4 in a row like not one after another but 3 or 4 in like a minute.  So then I started worrying and they started happening like over and over again. The more I worried the more they happened until I was literally starting to panic thinking that maybe I was having defib or something.  My pulse was racing and it seemed like they were happening everytime I inhaled, but then I held my breath for a few seconds and they were still happening. At this point I realized it had nothing to do with my breathing.  They just kept coming on though one after another, and I tried to calm down, but they just wouldn't stop.

Well finally after like maybe 10 - 20 mins it started to die down and stopped happening as much.  Then I started just worrying they would start back, but it seems to have stopped for now.  I have never had an attack like that.  Not since that one night I realized my heart stopped beating.

So anyway my question is this.  Is this something I should be worried about? Is this abnormal or is it common for them to come on out of nowhere like that?  Was the panic and anxiety aggravating it so that it was getting worse? Should I mention this attack to the doctor before my appt on the 6th of may? I know that's a lot of questions but I am really unnerved by this whole thing.

I know that I never got light headed. I didn't get short of breath at least aside from the panic, and I didn't have any chest pain nausea or anything else like that.  The doctor told me I was fine, and had nothing to worry about. I don't know but I would love to get some input on this.  I am still new to this whole MVP/PVC thing so I am not sure if this is the kinda attacks I have been told about when it comes to this or what. 

Thanks for listening and look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Posted 4/18/2006 11:39 PM (GMT 0)

Hi !  I am a new member, but  I completely understand what you are talking about.  Whenever I have one of my "episodes" , I focus on my heart .  The more you think its "not beating right" , the more its going to race because you have just created a bunch of adrenaline with no where for it to go.  It really sounds like a panic attack, mine normally last about 15 minutes as well.  Especially since it stopped on its own, without you needing to go the ER to get the medicine to stop SVT. (adenocard) (I work in a ER!!)

Have you tried taking anything when the attack starts? I take 0.5 mg of xanax and it helps me alot.  you can also take a small dosage of a beta blocker, but i was on beta blockers my whole life until I had my ablation and so I really didnt want to go back on them... if its not medically necessary. 

I hope you start feeling better, sometimes when I start feeling panicky, my legs get tingly and my stomach feels like its dropping like im on a rollar coaster.  Then my heart starts pounding.  I just take my xanax and wait for it to pass.  Since you arent having longer runs of it, no chest pain, no nausea, it really sounds like it could be panic attacks.  Let me know how you are doing, I'll be thinking about you!!
Oh I forgot to ask, do you have mitral valve prolapse?

Bria

Posted 4/18/2006 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
Yes the doctor diagnosed me with a murmur and he thinks it's MVP. I have not had an echo to see for sure, because he was pretty sure that is what it was. He said they cause heart arrhythmias, and they were benign that I just needed to take antibiotics before I go to the dentist or have any type of surgery. He told me it was benign and they went away almost 2 days later. Then like I said the past couple of days I have been feeling them off and on but only one or two.

Until today and yes I am sure that it was panic related because the more I worried the worse it got, but it started out like I said 3 or 4 in a min or two. and that scared me. Then my stomach got that sinking fluttery feeling and then my panic started and the worse the skipped beats got. The more I had them the more I worried and so on and so on. It was like a vicious cycle. I don't know what caused it but it scared the hell out of me pardon my language.

Anyway I hope that was just the case. I don't know if these things come in waves or if they are just off and on. I don't know I am not very familiar with them. Anyway I have a appt on the 6th to have bloodwork done to check my Thyroid and my cholestorol etc. etc. Plus I am doing the BP thing weekly to check to see if I need to get on BP meds. Which the doctor said would more then likely be Beta Blockers. All I know is that it scared me and the worse it got the more scared I got. I just hope it's nothing to worry about. I worry enough.
Posted 4/19/2006 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi bandit, I wanted to tell you that my mom has Mitral Valve Prolapse and a heart murmur that she has had since birth.  The MVP she has had for about 11 yrs now.  Hers is severe enough that she has to have her valves replaced (all 4).  A cardiac cath is pretty much the only way that a cardiologist will be able to assess the extent to which it has progressed.  Yes they can hear it listening through a stethoscope and it can be picked up on an echo and stress test but these are not always accurate.  She has chest pains and fluid build up in her hands and legs and feet.  She also coughs a lot.  But what you described does sound like it could be a panic or anxiety attack.  Perhaps what you need to try to do is so relaxation techniques and maybe talk to your doctor about an anti anxiety medication as Bria has suggested and also the folks over on the A/P board did too.  Please do keep us informed of how your doing and how your appointments go....take care.
Posted 4/21/2006 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
I have had a murmor since I was born and it's never affected me. I don't know what kind YOU have but I can tell you whatever it is that I have does not bother my lifestyle one bit - worrying about it will only make it worse ;)
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