To think the doctor just can't leave me like this?

[beerandwine]

I'm suffering from Pvcs and PACs (premature beats) I've had a Holter Monitor but the time I got that it was a good day.
Now I'm having thousands of these a day.
Sometimes every few beats.
I feel my heart pause then a massive thud.
I've had no sleep last night as they were happening every few minutes.
The doctor says they are benign and won't kill me.
I can't live this way.
Today I'm exhausted and the beats are happening all the time.
The doctor gave me beta blockers but I'm sure that's caused more extra beats.
The doctor won't do nothing else.
I don't know what to do now.
My life is not worth living with these.

VladmirsPoutine I don't think the OP is getting a hard time.

From what I can see, the cause of OP's symptoms is anxiety, she's also said she's under a lot of stress. So she needs to treat the anxiety and stress to reduce the physical symptoms.

But, the anxiety is coming across as severe enough that she's unconvinced and believes something is wrong, despite the tests she's listed.

Taking the supplements and going to the doctor about treatment for the anxiety will all help the symptoms.

OP my late mum was going to the doctor many years ago about chest pains, and after investigation including ECGs it became clear they were physical symptoms from stress. Once the cause of the stress was removed, her pains stopped. (Her actual cause of death was unrelated.)

And I get headaches and stomach aches when I'm stressed, physical symptoms from stress and anxiety is actually quite common.

Just like that had another pvc!

Also after every pvc I get a horrible terrified feeling then butterflies in my stomach.

See. You do recognise it for what it is.

You have also identified why it is happening! You are waiting for it to... almost willing it to so you can stop the waiting, stop the fear of when

My best suggestion to get through the next few hours of waiting would be some exercise, I use my Wii, out of date as the poor thing is and a not quite hot bath, relaxing without raising heart pressure. A good book, music, whatever you find relaxing AND distracting. Anything but being alone with your own thoughts!

I have even been known to drink hot chocolate and eat a croissant at gone midnight, just to relax me

But mostly I got rid of the stressor - teaching - and learned to accept the occasional blip (or twenty!)

I know you said you can't immediately get rid of yours, but you can still reduce your reaction to it!

Maybe some relaxation exercises?

DH rarely goes more than a few minutes without getting them. When I’m cuddled up to him I can feel them.... even when he’s fast asleep.

When he had a 48 hour heart monitor he literally didn’t go more than 2 minutes between the missed/extra beats... the cardiologist said it was unusually bad but absolutely nothing to worry about or do.

Would it help to have some basic facts about your heart?

There are 2 billion cells in your heart.

If your heart beats at an average of 80 beats per minute, it beats 42 million times per year.

So when you feel those extra beats, you can think about the fact that it's just one or two cells that have got overexcited before their time and pushed their way out of the queue, triggering a contraction early.

Then, you can think about what a tiny proportion of the 42 million beats this year those PVCs/PACs are, really, and that you've had millions of normal heartbeats that you've been blissfully unaware of.

It's time to get back in control of them. Just like when I am feeling faint and dizzy at work, I tell myself that I'm absolutely healthy, I'm not going to die from a fast heartbeat, so crack on.

OP, you're going to need help to counter the fear, I think. Maybe a book on meditation or mindfulness might be good initially as I think you need to find a long term way to break the obsession with your heart.

My DD has serious anxiety and has recently been using an app that she listens to for a daily ten minute guided meditation, and reckons it's been really helpful. She says it's just called Calm.

Try watching this heart Dr on YouTube. His name is Sanjay Gupta York cardiology my husband has similar problems and he helped him with understanding his try it and see if it helps..

I really appreciate all your advice and stories.
This morning without being dramatic I felt like my life was over.
I've literally cried all day long today.

I have to admit, beerandwine just posting here has made my mind imagine my heart tensing up. I wouldn't be surprised to have a blip myself.

That's because the underlying culprit is the SA Node, a real thing, an essential thing! If it triggers due to stress then any stress could trigger it. My wedding day was a lot of fluttery fun. 30 years later we are getting a puppy. Guess what? My insistence on being well read, fully researched and prepared caused one. DH and I had to laugh, I refer to it as Puppy Flutters. I know what it is, what causes it. I know it is part of me, my character - I overthink things, worry ideas to death, cannot be spontaneous ever!

Basically I am a worrywort! But having PVCs has meant I have to ignore that side of me, to re-learn my initial response to change, to responsibility, to many normal aspects of life.

Just as I did when I realised I could no longer rationalise away the stresses of teaching. The job had simply changed too much for me to fell comfortable in it!

You can do this again and again and again and again. You just need to remember that you did it before, it hasn't changed, you have! Work on changing back again!

@Bellagio40 which magnesium supplement do you take?

OP

I'm a doctor, though not a cardiologist.

From what you have said, you have had your palpitations thoroughly investigated by your GP. You have had bloods, several ECGs, at least one ambulatory ECG (holter monitor) and what sounds like at least one echocardiogram. You have been given a diagnosis of Premature ventricular complexes and had an explanation of what causes this (by the sounds of it). It is a benign condition and usually does not mean there is a more serious physical cause underlying this. I don't really think that there are any further physical investigations indicated unless your symptoms have changed. Beta-blockers do help some people and it's a shame that they haven't for you.

There are some other treatments that can be tried IF their is impairment to the heart function (which has been ruled out by several normal echo's). In cases where PVCs are very frequent and causing significant symptoms ablation may be considered- but if anxiety is the trigger/worsening factor (and in your case it does sound likely) then this would be less likely to be recommended- very few people have radio-ablation for ectopics because of the risks involved.

I have to say, you do sound very anxious about this and I think it highly likely that this anxiety is worsening your symptoms (and you are hyper-aware of them now). I can understand being worried, but you have had lots of medical input and investigation. You are entitled to seek a second opinion if you really think your Dr has missed something. I suspect you won't find anything else, given that you've had several ambulatory ECG monitors and more than one echocardiogram, with them all showing the same thing. I'm not sure a cardiologist would be able to add anything. And even if you saw one and they also said it was PVC and reassured you it was benign- would you be any more convinced than you are now?

I really think you need to tackle your anxiety and see of that helps your symptoms. Perhaps go and speak to your GP about the anxiety and address that and see if it helps? Alternatively, seek a second opinion if you really don't trust your current GP. Good luck.

I have these. About 10% of my beats are wonky. Not really related to exercise. I tried beta blockers but they made me feel worse.

Mine are worse at night because you don't tend to notice them during the day.

I just live with it now and let people feel my pulse for a bit of entertainment and to freak them out a bit...!

Magnesium Taurate is the one that helps ectopics.

Once again, Dr Gupta of York Cardiology explains.....

@jacks11 my last Holter showed I got my PACs than Pvcs.
I just find it so hard to come to terms with.
I've said for 2 hours fine then all a sudden 3 extra beats in 25 minutes.
It's crazy for me

@Chesntoots beta blockers have made me worse too but I'm scared to stop them incase I have a heart attack

I'm so sorry you're suffering like this OP, but the more you think about them, the worse they are. No movements you make are going to make them worse, in fact exercise can actually stop them. I know it's easier said than done, but you have to try to accept them and know that they are completely benign.

I suffer from anxiety and have had trigeminy (every third) beats on and off for a number of years and last year it became so bad that I was referred for tests. I was assured that they were completely harmless, though very annoying. I'm on betablockers (bisoprolol) which slow everything down and haven't had them since. You may want to ask your GP if you could change your prescription as different ones suit different people.

This will sound ridiculous, but bananas are a help too. They are high in magnesium and I have one on my cereal every morning.

I'm really sorry to hear you are suffering from this. Unfortunately doctors are not miracle workers and cannot solve everything.

The best thing would be to look at alternative methods that have been suggested such as meditation and relaxation exercises which may help you. Make sure you are keeping yourself healthy, resting properly, keep stress down.

Best wishes. xx

My DH is having sudden and irregular racing pulse. Comes and goes. No rhyme or reason, it just happens, then stops.

We trust his cardiologist implicitly. Top man in his field here in the US. He's run just about every test there is as DH has a history of A-fib and Cardiomyopathy. He has told us it's completely unrelated and that it's a benign condition and has given him beta-blockers, but that there's really no 'cure'. It may come and go. It may disappear. It may be here for good. But it is not 'damaging' his heart.

I think at this point, it may be better for you to try to focus on treating your anxiety so that you can learn to live with the condition.

As an aside what are you doing or what other methods are you utilising to treat your underlying anxiety? I cannot speak highly enough of mindfulness and CBT.

I know this might sound odd but do you take Levothyroxine to treat thyroid issues?

You won't have a heart attack, a heart attack is a blockage leading to the supply of blood to your heart being cut off.

Mine is/ was stress and a touch of anaemia. I am better than I was, but I still feel them.

You won't notice them if you keep active. Sitting quietly is when you feel them the most. If you take yourself for a half hour walk at a decent pace, you probably won't feel them at all.

I have a very active and demanding job and the only time I feel them at work is when I am having a rare break.

Honestly, try the walk.

The nomorepanic website is really good. I have followed it for years. I get palpitations and have had them on and off for nearly 30 years. Same as you OP, I’ve had loads of tests and always comes back as everything is fine. I have propanalol and that’s it. But, I read up a lot about the vegus nerve and how any pressure on it (and it’s the biggest nerve in your body) can cause skipped or extra beats. I noticed that my beats changed when I felt a bit bloated and would get better after the trapped wind had moved. I also found that certain food and drink can trigger mine. Anything with red colouring or garlic can set me off.

You say you gave a bad stomach and can feel butterflies and a thud, which is exactly how I feel and it’s the trapped wind moving about.

It’s annoying and uncomfortable but once you get your head round that it’s not a heart problem and it’s not actually harmful, your anxiety should drop and you should hopefully feel a bit better. I know I did. Read up on it and it might put your mind at rest.

This link is quite good at explaining

medium.com/@jancovorstermyafibheart/10-ectopic-heartbeat-vagus-nerve-palpitations-tips-for-you-b8b2acd4dbbe

Oh anxiety is a bitch OP. Why oh why does the human body respond to stress by making you feel like you are about to die - thus making you 100% more stressed out!

I get it too. I have been having CBT from my local mental health service - I was able to self refer - it has been helpful but honestly I am still on the road to believing my palpitations aren’t physical and sinister. Thank you for starting this thread as reading your experience and others is really helping me to believe and to trust my body.

I have been kept awake with them at night too and like you didn’t understand why I was getting them at rest rather than when I was stressed. I can only think it is like a body alarm system. It is trying to tell me ‘hey you are too stressed, do something about it!’ At a quiet opportunity it’s a bitch as I mentioned!

It helps me when I get them to remind myself that they have never done me any harm. I get the sick to my stomach panic feeling too but nothing has ever come of it. I try and remind myself of this. And that I have the option of lying awake listening to them and taking my pulse or trying to shrug them off and neither will make much difference to my outcome but I know which I prefer.

It is tough. But it is so inspiring to hear of others on here who have tackled their anxiety and beaten the funny heart beats.

All the best.

I suffered from these for a few years before I moved to the US. Saw a couple of cardiologists and nephrologists and was told it's related to anxiety, sleep better, cut down on caffeine. It WASN'T!!! I had a real problem and I was only diagnosed when I moved to the US and got pregnant (and the arrhythmia became much worse and the exhaustion was debilitating, but I thought it was related to twin pregnancy)

I was finally diagnosed with RVOT when the anesthesiologist freaked out during my C-section because apparently I had an arrhythmia episode for 12s and he was afraid my heart would stop (I was feeling just fine cause I had gotten used to them!).

After my delivery he transferred me to ICU where I was monitored for 3 days and finally diagnosed. I was put on beta blockers but it didn't get better, so had an ablation, and it was like magic! I now find it so weird that I don't hear my heart beats! And I can exercise like a normal 40y old and not feel like I'm 90!

Like you, my heart was structurally normal, and RVOT is benign and won't "usually" kill you. But it is debilitating! And it is triggered by anxiety, caffeine, alcohol, hormones, lack of sleep... but how can you avoid all these?

It's no way to live. Don't accept that just because your heart is structurally normal and it's benign, that you have to live with it.