Anyone experience occasional palpitations or premature ventricular contractions?

I had PVC's before heart surgery in 2011. In 2008 I was doing a stress test and they stopped it after 5 minutes because they were coming in strings of 3. I still had them after surgery and grew used to them. In around 2015 my doc put me on small doses of Losartan and Amlodipine to bring my blood pressure down a bit. I noticed at a point that I had a lot less PVC's and still today have very few compared to before taking the new meds. Not sure if worth talking to doc about the meds to reduce PVC's if they bother you enough.

Hi guys -

So I’m 3.5 years postop, and the dang PVCs / PACs are back. (Posted here 6 months ago about them)

It’s Day 16 of them.

Six months ago I went to my PCP, the ER AND two different cardiologists. No one took me seriously. (They didn’t even tell me how to use their Holter monitor correctly, so when I went in for the results they just brushed me off, saying, ‘They’re not really that frequent, and you only self-noted one episode, so...’ (The nurse had told me NOT to ever push the button, but I did anyway.. once)).

The thing is, I’m aware of them all the dang time, because it feels very differently from usual.

They’re double and triple beats, that happen every 3 - 6 beats or so; but even the ‘normal’ beats are pounding much harder than usual and feel unstable, not a smooth rhythm; my heart feels weak and like something bad is happening in there, lol - not sure how else to describe it.

I’ve tried deep breathing, even Buteyko breathing, meditation, but it is not an anxiety or stress thing, and unfortunately I don’t notice any change no matter what I do. (Taking supplements or not, drinking more water or not, exercising vs resting)

It’s just relentless and exhausting and I’m sometimes short of breath from them - I wouldn’t say severely short of breath for long periods of time... but it is still scary and I wanted to ask if anyone has any ideas.

It’s not sustained tachycardia, so I don’t think going back on Metoprolol is in order; my BP isn’t high.

If you have any idea at all or similar experiences, please let me know! (I need sleep.) Thank you!

Have you seen or talked to cardiology about this 16 day episode? I know you feel like they blew you off last time but this might be a different issue?

Another thing you might look into could be a Kardia. This was helpful for me because the cardiac nurses and cardiologists both said “well those are pretty accurate” and it helped them believe my afib reporting. Whereas when they asked “how do you know you are having afib?” and I said “I can easily feel it just taking my pulse that it’s irregularly irregular and 150+ BPM and I become short of breath” wasn’t as reliable. They liked the Kardia. I also have a pulse oximeter that “beeps” with each beat and was able to play that over the phone so they could hear how fast and irregular it was. That is how I got recommended for ER visit the first time I had afib with RVR.

Not sleeping is no good so I guess you need to try to get someone’s attention again. It’s very frustrating but hopefully you can get either a definitive treatment or something to at least help you sleep.

I'm 3 years post op and I'm currently going through the same. I seem to go through a cycle of a few weeks where they ramp up and eventually subside away again for 9 or 10 months and pop back up again. I hate them too. I had this happen last year at this exact same time.

I've had some PVCs off and on for the past years, and also have had hours/days of Afib. Even had an ER visit because I was worried it was something more. .... But after going on 25mg ER Metoprolol Succ (daily) for the past 2 years, the Afib and PVCs are under control finally.

dornole said:

Another thing you might look into could be a Kardia.

Click to expand...

Looking into this, it seems it might only be good for afib sufferers. People say it doesn’t register HRs below 50 bpm, and that it doesn’t catch bigeminy or trigeminy.

Also - - Is it true with the 6-lead version you absolutely have to sign up for their monthly service? Is it true you can’t take a screenshot, or get the report sent to you as a pdf?

AZATADINE said:

I'm 3 years post op and I'm currently going through the same. I seem to go through a cycle of a few weeks where they ramp up and eventually subside away again for 9 or 10 months and pop back up again. I hate them too. I had this happen last year at this exact same time.

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Have you noticed any correlation between supplements you take and the arrhythmias? Like maybe remembering to take magnesium setting them off?

I keep trying to figure out what causes this... so far I can only guess caffeine from eating a snack that was covered in chocolate (after not having caffeine or chocolate in a year or so) or overdoing it mowing and raking. Or maybe a supplement (magnesium, D, E, or coq10?) I don’t know what to do other than stop all supplements for a while, and rest.... except resting makes the arrhythmia worse, while exercise makes it better. The problem is that at some point I have to stop to sleep, lol.

Amy said:

Have you noticed any correlation between supplements you take and the arrhythmias? Like maybe remembering to take magnesium setting them off?

I keep trying to figure out what causes this... so far I can only guess caffeine from eating a snack that was covered in chocolate (after not having caffeine or chocolate in a year or so) or overdoing it mowing and raking. Or maybe a supplement (magnesium, D, E, or coq10?) I don’t know what to do other than stop all supplements for a while, and rest.... except resting makes the arrhythmia worse, while exercise makes it better. The problem is that at some point I have to stop to sleep, lol.

Click to expand...

I my case, I wasn't on any supplements to start with. I just take 75mg aspirin.

I think I noticed mine start up about an hour or so after strenuous running last week where I pushed myself to my limit. I don't notice them under normal exercise though. Could just be that I noticed them and then tuned in.....

The last time I suffered from a bout was this time last year and I started gobbling magnesium and also coenzyme Q10 but they actually seemed to get worse until I threw the whole lot of them away to see what would happen. They resolved in a few days after that.

My cardiologist said that I will likely always have them come and go but that they are not any harm. I hate them.

Amy said:

Looking into this, it seems it might only be good for afib sufferers. People say it doesn’t register HRs below 50 bpm, and that it doesn’t catch bigeminy or trigeminy.

Also - - Is it true with the 6-lead version you absolutely have to sign up for their monthly service? Is it true you can’t take a screenshot, or get the report sent to you as a pdf?

Click to expand...

A Kardiamobile 6L monitor has helped me study my PVC problem. I am also working on with my electrophysiologist and cardiologist on this issue.

I've been using a Kardiamobile 6L monitor for the last year. The advanced features such as detecting PVCs requires a yearly fee. Note: There are cheaper Kardia monitors that do not have these features, so look carefully at the monitor you are buying.

When I use my monitor it shows some information immediately on my phone app. However, to see the PVC count I need to download an EKG pdf file to my phone; this pdf has more information, including the PVC count for the 30 second reading I just took. I can then save these pdf files, and I also can email these pdf files to someone.

If during a 30 second recording I have several PVCs in a row, it does record all of them.

There are some limitations. I need to sit quietly while I operate the monitor, so I must wait a few minutes after exercising to avoid an EKG that is just useless noise.

I'm happy to further discuss PVCs if you have more questions.

I was able to pick up the small amount of bigeminy I had with my beeping pulse oximeter. It was like a phase in coming out of afib, it would sometimes convert bigeminy and then sinus.

My Apple Watch does pick up high and low heart rates and alert me within parameters I set. Of course now I have a pacemaker so no more low HR. It has a one lead ecg also but that’s only for afib.

Amy said:

Have you noticed any correlation between supplements you take and the arrhythmias? Like maybe remembering to take magnesium setting them off?

I keep trying to figure out what causes this... so far I can only guess caffeine from eating a snack that was covered in chocolate (after not having caffeine or chocolate in a year or so) or overdoing it mowing and raking. Or maybe a supplement (magnesium, D, E, or coq10?) I don’t know what to do other than stop all supplements for a while, and rest.... except resting makes the arrhythmia worse, while exercise makes it better. The problem is that at some point I have to stop to sleep, lol.

Click to expand...

At one point, I had convinced myself my episodes were related to dehydration. Not too sure about that now. I also may have imagined that I can cause a PVC with irregular breathing on purpose. Also just a weird indication with no real confirmation.
I am quite sure that when I'm doing heavy exercise - multi-day intense hiking, e.g. , I have never had any issues.

Vitamin d supplements and omega 3 trigger some pacs and pvcs for me (per cardio after holter monitor measurements, not dangerous). I no longer take omega 3 supplements after cardio told me there's an association with AFib, am getting omega 3 from food now, but trying to take low dose vit d supplements 900 IU a day to keep vit d levels normal (mine can dip to low historically).

Woke up this morning to the room spinning, and nausea along with the dizziness. I’m tempted to think it could just be the eight NUUN electrolyte tablets I drank yesterday (the package says to only take three a day, but I thought since these are extenuating circumstances...) but I’m not sure.

It’s day 19 of the pvcs / pacs too.

Anyone have a good cardiologist or PCP within a couple hours of Cleveland? I’ve already burned through a dozen or so bad ones.

What … are you doing taking excess electrolytes when you have a heart problem?

Are you not on a low sodium diet?

Amy said:

Woke up this morning to the room spinning, and nausea along with the dizziness. I’m tempted to think it could just be the eight NUUN electrolyte tablets I drank yesterday (the package says to only take three a day,

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I worry that you've overdosed on these electrolytes. Please read:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-many-electrolytes
They say:
Having too much of a particular electrolyte element in your system can lead to symptoms like:

• Confusion and irritability.
• Irregular heart rate (arrhythmia).
• Breathing difficulties.
• Fatigue.
• Headaches.
• Muscle cramps or weakness.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Nausea and vomiting.

No good cardiologists at the Cleveland Clinic?

(Why would I be on a low sodium diet? Don’t even have high blood pressure. )

I don’t have good doctors to rely on for advice or help here. I’ve tried about twenty of them and it’s a waste of time.

All I can do is try to learn what to try by myself from books or online, and hope it goes away; or hopefully you guys have some helpful insights.

The NIH lists low levels of electrolytes as a trigger for arrhythmia. Doesn’t say anything about high levels. In addition I drink RO water and hadn’t been taking my magnesium; but maybe finally remembering to take some is what set it off; I don’t know.

dornole said:

What … are you doing taking excess electrolytes when you have a heart problem?

Are you not on a low sodium diet?

Click to expand...

3mm said:

I worry that you've overdosed on these electrolytes. Please read:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-many-electrolytes
They say:
Having too much of a particular electrolyte element in your system can lead to symptoms like:

• Confusion and irritability.
• Irregular heart rate (arrhythmia).
• Breathing difficulties.
• Fatigue.
• Headaches.
• Muscle cramps or weakness.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Nausea and vomiting.

Click to expand...

To be clear, I don’t drink caffeine. And I never take electrolytes,(or any kind of sports drinks,) except for a magnesium supplement once in a while, like once a week maybe; I thought maybe it helped very brief, occasional arrhythmia I got right after surgery, but after two or three years I stopped taking it regularly.

1. If it were you, on day 20 of constant (every third-fifth beat or so) PVCs/PACs, would you try taking more magnesium?

2. Do those of you who take magnesium also take calcium to balance it out? (I don’t eat or drink dairy)

3. What do you rely on personally to help stop palpitations?

4. What triggers have you found personally, for arrhythmias, other than caffeine?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I thought this meant that you took electrolytes:

"it could just be the eight NUUN electrolyte tablets I drank yesterday (the package says to only take three a day"

I have / had afib, not PACs / PVCs like you have, so disregard if general arrhythmia experience doesn't help. But stress and anxiety were DEFINITELY big triggers, especially medical anxiety about getting the tests I needed and waiting for appts and results. I had paroxysmal afib with RVR about a dozen times for 4-20 hours in duration per episode, from last March to last August. I had one cardioversion but afib returned in 3 days. I found that just keeping busy and distracted with light housework and podcasts seemed to help the episodes resolve more quickly more than resting and ruminating about the arrhythmia. A metoprolol prescription definitely helped.

On Oct 16 I had a Maze procedure (at the same time as MVR and tricuspid repair) to address the afib. It's a form of ablation where they make a maze of scars in the heart tissue to "trap" aberrant signals. I also got a dual pacemaker a couple days after surgery because I developed heart block. Since discharge from the hopsital, I think I have only have a couple 1-minute afib episodes, and they didn't have the RVR which was what made them debilitating (HR of 150+ with strong palpitations and fatigue). Sure hope they don't come back.

From reading people's comments above it seems like a common solution for PVCs is metoprolol - are you currently prescribed it? You mentioned taking 6 mg just one time in your April post? I take 50 mg every day. I definitely think it helps.

@dornole

I took NUUN tablets for the first time ever in case the cause was low electrolytes.

I don’t have an issue with high heart rate, so Metoprolol would only bring down my heart rate, which makes the bigeminy and trigeminy skipped beats worse.