Feeling lonely and isolated PVC's and SVT

 hi, sounds like you are having quite the time, it is truly a bummer when you cannot get deinitive answers to what is going on. i am not a doctor or a therapist, but i can tell you are really stressed out, as anyone would be, no crime there, but try to stay calm(even though that sounds like it doesn't help)  anxiety can elelvate your numbers but not to the levels you talked about.  my sister has a high pulse, in the ninetys all the time too,  noone seems concerned with her eithr. her blood pressure is high so they have put her on a beta blocker too, which one are you on? she is on atenolol, and has not had any problems with it, but it has not lowered her pulse. are you a relatively new mother? take care, i will check postings tomorrow to see how you are. bye for now

Hi! I'm sorry you are having such a difficul time. I have had these premature heart beats for over 5 1/2 years and I understand what you are going through. They told you it was a few skipped beats and that means it could be PAC's or PVC's. PAC's originate in the upper chamber and PVC's originate in the lower chamber. Both are benign in a structurally normal heart. It is not uncommon to feel them more at night or when resting because you don't have other things to distract you. Some people say they feel it start up right after eating a large meal. I notice it can also occur if I get too hungry. For some bending over or twisting will fire one off. I believe it all has to do with the vagus nerve that runs through the center of your body. If it gets aggravated, the ectopic beats occur.You are fortunate to only get "a few". I have read about people who have over 10,000 a day. I suggest you go to www.medhelp.org and check out the heart forum. You will be surprised and probably relieved by reading some of the questions answered by cardiologists at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center and the posts given by people just like you and me. I read it regularly and it helps me alot.

When I first started having my 'problems', my daughter was young and my husband worked out of town most nights. I had a great fear of dying in my sleep and my daughter being left alone unable to unlock the door or know how to call for help with my husband gone for two days. I know what FEAR is and how it grows and consumes and feeds on itself. I taught my daughter to use the phone, programmed in numbers for her easy use to grandma's, talked about when to use 911 and made sure she learned to unlock the deadbolt. Also I made a deal with my mom to call at a certain time in the morning if she had not heard from me. All simply to give me peace of mind and feel more empowered about the situation.

At first, I could not accept that this was 'normal' or that it would not kill me. Reading other peoples' reaction to this has made me realise it is a common belief for people who are beginning to experience these things. It is hard to accept. The above website helped there too. It can answer so many questions and misunderstandings.

I also understand SVT. It is probaly PSVT meaning it comes and goes-paroxsymal. I've had that also. Its onset is abrupt and its ending is abrupt. My cardiologist never could catch one on a monitor but he is quite sure that is what I have experienced on and off. Have you tried wearing a monitor for a month where you can push the button to catch these episodes? However anxiety can cause what you are experiecing or can make the episodes worse. I read somewhere that if the heart gradually increases over a few minutes to the fast heart rate and then gradually decreases at the end of the episode, then it is probably a panic attack. However if it has an abrupt onset and ending, then it is SVT. I am not sure if that is correct and you might want to check with your doctor. Mine was always very abrupt. I use to have them for 2-6hrs but I did not want to go on a beta blocker. So I went to a psychologist and learned biofeedback. If I have an episode now, it lasts for no more than 10-20 minutes. It is usually now just a couple of minutes. What I learned from the psychologist is that an episode would start and I would get anxious because I did not understand what was happening and thought I was going to die. That is what KEPT the episode going for me. It started as PSVT and ended up as an anxiety attack. I AM NOT SAYING that this is what everyone with this condition experiences-ONLY ME! It is what was happening to me!

Also I learned from the psychologist that you don't have to feel anxious for a panic attack to happen. Panic Attacks occur because of the parasympathetic nervous system. You may not be aware of it. If your system suddenly dumps adrenaline into your body and you are prone to or your body is conditioned to experience panic attacks, then you are off to the races! My point is that there are things you can do to help with all this no matter what it is! Knowledge is key and support which you can find here. Medication might help or some counseling or learning techniques like biofeedback. You are not alone in what you are feeling. Even after 5 1/2yrs there are times I feel afraid or I don't want to go somewhere or I just want someone to tell me they experience it too.The good news is I don't live in that state anymore and most days are good.

Thankyou everyone for taking the time to reply to me.

Hopes I cried my eyes out reading about your daughter, it was like reading my own mind on paper. Its really good to know that Im not the only one to think that way - you have no idea what a comfort that has been. It makes sence, what you said about the panic attacks, and when I had one of these episodes last year, although the onset came out of nowhere Im sure it ended much sooner than I thought, but turned into a panic attack, because although to begin with my rate was about 190bpm, when the paramedic arrived, it went down in minutes to about 110bpm. I had a quick look at info about biofeedback, it looks really interesting, I will def be asking around about that locally. I also certainly have an increase in the skips when Im hungry, and most def when I bend from the middle, or raise my arms above my head suddenly.

Dream girl - the meds they presibed are called solotol I think. Like you sis my rate usually runs high. My little boy is four now, so Im not a new Mum. Thanks for your kind words.

dm - intersting about the gas theory, I guess it could be? Just feels like its in my veins (if that makes sence!) I hope the yucky investigations go well!

Thanks for your prayers Delta, that is the best thing anyone can do for me at the moment. Thanks

 Im new and was told yesterday that I was thowinig alot of pvcs with massive amounts of shortness of breath,I see the cardioligist wed .Please how can I get the pounding and flip flopping in my chest to slow down till then.

Hi Genice,  I just wanted to welcome you to Healing Well forum.  We are glad to have you but really sorry it is under these circumstances.  I am not sure that there is a treatment for PVC's.  But as capesidedreamin stated in her post try to avoid caffeine and overly rich foods.  Also there are several threads dedicated here just for PVC's if you haven't checked them out already.  Please let us know how your appointment goes and keep posting we would love to hear more from you.  Take care..

I seem to have gotten rid of my PVCs through my doctor's tests (only about the heart- nothing found) and internet research- partly from this forum.

My problem seems to stem from my stomach and how well it functions. The magnesium connection is a good one, though I wouldn't recommend this as a supplement. So what did I do?

I drink yogurt twice a day to improve stomach function. I also take a standard adult multivitamin + minerals tablet, because as well as magnesium, there are probably other things missing from my diet. Balance.

I started eating a variety of nuts, mainly for their good HDL cholesterol content, and later found they were an excellent source of magnesium (almonds and cashews).

These diet additions (as well as a glass a day of red wine) changed my daytime symptoms greatly. That left the dreaded nighttime episodes.

I used to eat quite a lot of fruit before I went to sleep. No problem with the fruit, just the time of eating it. Now I follow the rule of not eating anything for the three hours before bed. Amazingly, this has allowed me to sleep without those strange flopping events, and the "fizzy" thing is much reduced.

As "Hopes" posted above:

"For some, bending over or twisting will fire one off. I believe it all has to do with the vagus nerve that runs through the center of your body."

For me, this was the key information- supporting the nervous system. My PVCs would fire if I bent over, squatted, lay down, ate a meal (evenings) and on the wind down from exercising.

The nighttime tip came through reading about the "Enteric Nervous System" which are the nerves in the gut which deal with digestion. Allowing this to sleep with the rest of my body ended my troublesome nights.

Hope this helps others who are struggling with these unexpected symptoms.

Hi Chrissmithx,  I wanted to welcome you to Healing Well forum altho it is a little late.... .  Thank you for posting the things you have learned that have helped you in dealing with your symptoms of PVC's and SVT's.  I am sure it will be valuable information to many.  I hope that you continue to post here...looking forward to hearing more from you...take care

Thanks for the welcome, elisha (?)

I do have a question for anyone who has the experience to answer. Although my PVBs are down to one or two a day, and are much less noticable now that my nervous system is functioning better, my stress test did produce some results.

Done on a treadmill, there were three stages of the test. The first was a medium paced walk on the flat. The second was the same pace up an incline, and the third was a brisk walk up the same incline. Each stage ran for three minutes with my blood pressure being checked at each transition point. By the time I reached the third stage, my heartbeat was stable at 160 beats per min. The nurse in charch told me that the rate wasn't high enough, and the goal was 180 bpm, so they cranked up the pace to a fast jog (?) up the same incline. After about three more minutes, I reached the target while discussing my symptoms with the nurse.

The question- my performance while building up the pace was noted as very good and very exercise tolerant, but while warming down, I started to get a series of events that showed up clearly on the monitor (about 7 or 8). So why do these events show themselves when the "stress" element of the test is over? I was taken down carefully from the peak.

Thanks for any responses,

Chris

To onewaypockets....

if it's ok to ask, how much do you weigh? I'm just asking this because I thought that one's weight might affect how much of a vitamin or supplement they should take. I'm trying desperately to find something that will slow down or put an end to the pac's and pvc's I get (have been getting for 8 months, ever since my first "panic attack"), and currently have been taking magnesium oxide 250 mg twice a day for a little over a week now but have not noticed a great reduction in the skipping. I've heard that this form of magnesium isn't the best since it's not as absorbable, and I also don't know if I'm taking enough or not. I don't want to take too much though, as I'm scared that taking too much could make it worse too. I had a very bad day, the worst I can remember as far as the skipping is concerned, this past week....on that particular day, I had them on and off all day long, and had taken 1 and a half of the magnesium supplements twice on that day. I was told by a cardiologist that the supplement didn't have anything to do with having that many on that particular day, so I guess I need to believe her on that. But at the same time part of me is still scared to take too much of anything. These stupid things bother me so much that I have to take medication to fall asleep, otherwise I don't sleep because of my fear of them and the constant state of anxiety they keep me in. I'm scared all the time, wondering when the next one will be. Oh, I had one more question for you, did you have both pac's and pvc's? I was actually diagnosed as having both of them....bad enough to have either one, but to have both kinds just made it worse! Anyway, I figure that if you can alleviate your skipping with the supplements you take, then maybe it'd work for me too. I just needed to know if you get both kinds of skips and what your weight is. I'm very small, I just recently gained some weight as I really needed to put on a little more (went from around 103 at 5' 7", to 118 currently) and am a 29 year old female. Please help, share anything you think will help!! I've tried fish oil and vitamin C, although I may not have taken enough of either one to make a difference, but I've heard even more about magnesium helping. Please share!!

April

Finally a site that I could have used some time ago. I have been diagnosed with SVT just this past October. I have been having these episodes since I was 13 years old. The doctor said I was most likely born with this condition.They were scary then and even more so now. My October attack was the worst yet as they have become more severe as I have gotten older. I am now almost 54. The attack in October lasted about 3 1/2 hours and my heart rate was at times up to 240 per min. The only good thing about this is that it lasted long enough and was caught on the ekg by my GP and by the EMT's. Then they had me go through the stress and echogram tests and wearing of the monitor for 30 days. The monitor did pick up on some things that have proved of benifit. I will be having surgery this Monday,April 8th to hopefully correct this problem. It has ben a long road over the years with never feeling well and always being tired and then becoming depressed because the doctors and even your relatives tell you it is all in your head.Thank God I changed doctors a year ago because I felt the old ones did not give a hoot. I think God was directing me.  I now have a wonderful  doctor who takes the time to really listen to me and I also have a very compassionate group of cardio specialist. I just pray that after Monday all I have to do is recoop and get back to real life. My heart goes out to anyone with this condition. God bless you all.

Had the ablation on Monday 4/ 9/ 07 . Was awake for the 3 plus hours but did not feel a thing. A little sore from the caths right now and chest is sore from the induced increase in heartbeat. Also very tired. They put me back to 25 mg toprol 2x a day. Suppose to go back to work on 16th but not so sure about that at this point since I am a building engineer and my job requires a lot of lifting and standing. Any response or guidelines on returning to work?