old odd beats

My medtronic is working great but i continue to feel extra beats. They sneak in around the pacemaker beats; sometimes in between, sometimes after. I don't feel any pain but these pac's or pvc's are really disconcerting. They're especially bad at night when I'm trying to go to sleep. During my working day I hardly feel them at all. Anybody have some suggestions?--I.B.

3 Comments

Extra Beats

by Alma Annie - 2013-08-19 07:08:55

Yes I constantly have ectopic beats or pac's. They are nothing to worry about but are annoying. I feel them more when lying on my left side at night, but also I can feel them anytime.
Someone suggesting eating magnesium rich foods to stop them, but that did not work for me.
I think when one has a pm one feels all sorts of odd things, at least I do, but they are of no concern medically. My opinion is that an artificial pm is not quite the same as the heart's natural pm, but for me is keeping my heart beating as I am 100% paced, so I am happy with it.
How long have you had pm? I think you will eventually become used to the extra beats, and they will just become part of your life.
Alma Annie.

Don could comment better but

by KAG - 2013-08-19 09:08:09

I've seen his posts on PVC's. Your could do a search on them in upper right side of web page. Nothing to worry about and you probably feel them more at night because your mind is not distracted by other things and is focusing on your heart beat.

Did I get that right Don?
Kathy

Kathy nailed it very succinctly

by donr - 2013-08-20 12:08:49

Yes, I've written extensively about PVC's & sensing them.

Below is a copy & paste of my most recent.


Begin paste:
"PVC's for Ron inColo
Comment posted by donr on 2013-07-28 22:24.
Ron: below are two comments I wrote in the last week or so about PVC's. Good Grief, do I ever have them! My heart is the Mother Lode for them.

PM's Cannot help w/ PVC's
Comment posted by donr on 2013-07-24 01:58.
That's why you still sense them.

A PM is like a gas pedal in a car - can make it go faster, but slow it down. That takes a brake pedal. That's one thing a PM is NOT! We have yet to develop things which can accurately predict the future & that's what a PM would have to do to stop PVC's.

Why do you sense them while you are lying down - good question. Most likely because you are still & not thinking about anything else, so up pops a PVC & you sense it. No big deal - they are not dangerous. To quote my Cardio "They won't kill you." They obviously don't because I'm still here & I just had 103,000 of them in 47 days.That's not even 1 per minute, IIRC my math on the episodes. You had 525 in 72 hrs - that is not even 10 per hour - call that 1 every 6 minutes. Piker!!!!!

PVC's are annoying but not dangerous. If you have them long enough, you will get used to them & stop noticing them.


PVC's & sensing them - Royale
Comment posted by donr on 2013-07-24 09:12.
You said it exactly correctly!

PVC's are a royal pain in the neck!

I can recall the first one I ever had, including its time of occurrence: 9:20 PM, 15 March 1975. It was THAT dramatic - I thought my heart had stopped, it scared me that badly.

I had 103,000 PVC's recently during a 47 day period. I did not feel a SINGLE ONE of those 103,000 PVC's - NOT a one. Now - during that same 47 day period, I had 957 RUNS of PVC's & sensed a bunch of them, especially if they occurred late at night while I was sitting here at my computer typing away or playing a game of solitaire before closing down for the night.

Recall that a "Run" is two in a row. So, I may have had a bunch of low count runs that I did not sense. The later night runs were at least a minute long. My response was to say to myself "Hmmmmm. PVC's" & go about my business.

I am no hero or stoic. When I started feeling them all the time some 25 yrs after the first, dramatic PVC, I was a wreck. I heard my Cardio; his head nurse, & finally my EP say "They won't kill you!" enough times that eventually I accepted that fact sub consciously & now do not sense them - unless it's a long run.

BTW: I typically run at an average rate of 3 PVC's every 2 minutes - grind that out over a 30 day period & it is a mind blowing number in the 100,000 range.

Inga once said "We all have them." she meant to include all normal people w/o any electrical malfunctions requiring PM's.

Remember a para or so ago I mentioned it was nearly 25 yrs between my first SENSED PVC & getting a PM? there's your proof that it happens to normal people (I know, who said I was normal?) Yes, Inga meant we as in the general population.

Yes, the wimpy beat is ALWAYS first - it comes early (Premature) so the Ventricles have not filled to their optimum level w/ blood for pumping, masking them wimpy. Inga once sent me an example of an ECG showing a PVC in a string of normal beats. The characteristic "Wimp, heavy, pause " pattern is clearly evident.

Hope this helps!"
End Paste.

Don

You know you're wired when...

You have a maintenance schedule just like your car.

Member Quotes

Yesterday was my first day mountain biking after my implant. I wiped out several times and everything is fine. There are sports after pacemakers!