PVC's

Hi Friends,
I had my second PM check today. I'l still having the "feeling like I'm going to pass out" symptoms that got the the PM to begin with. The tech told me I had had over 1.2 million PVC's since my last check in May. Can't seem to get and answer that I understand for why this is happening, but they insist that my HR will never go below 60. I now have a fitbit HR and I know that is not as accurate as it could be, but it OFTEN goes down to the low 50's and even the high 40's. During these times, I would swear that I can actually feel my heart slow down...maybe it's just the PVC"s.

Wish there were more Drs. with PM so they would know what you are describing when you express, "funny" feelings;

You guys are the best source I know. Would love some input.

7 Comments

donr

by jjiggers - 2015-08-18 11:08:06

Thanks for your input, very helpful. When the tech was checking my PM, he said, you are having pvc's now..yup! Pretty much constant. The doc did suggest beta blockers. He described the side affects and they didn't sound that great...I hate adding meds...how do they work for you? That may be my next step.

I think you are right about the fitbit...the pvc's are counting a skipped beats and it's making my HR appear lower than it is...

SO frustrating...Iove being active and I find I feel much better lying on the couch...Don't really feel bad just "weird".

Thanks for your input.

possible low blood pressure

by PM12March2014 - 2015-08-18 12:08:18

I too got PM due to passing out. Prior to each episode, I felt very nauseated, then out. Also, after PM, I periodically felt nauseated & thought I was going to pass out again. Doc raised my low rate from 50 to 60 and told me that if I do pass out again, it may be due to low blood pressure, and a PM won't address low blood pressure. Was told to stay hydrated, increase sodium intake. Other option would be to start meds for low blood pressure. Not what I want to do. My BP has always been on the low side of normal.

Jiggs: Let's talk about....

by donr - 2015-08-18 12:08:45

.....PVC's - & not the plastic pipe that runs water through your house.

1.2 Million since 1 May is a whole bunch of the little suckers! Lessee, now since 1 May, that's 92 days (Let's call it a hundred to keep the math in my head). That's an average of 1.2 X 10**4, or for the non-math notation folks, 12,000 per day. In a 24 hr day, that's 500 per hour. That boils down to about 8 per minute. In Short, A WHOLE bunch of them.

Now PVC's do not distribute themselves evenly. they come randomly & sometimes in "Runs." They can come as alternate beats, every third beat in pattern, or even in successive beats.

My experience w/ them is that any time you reach the situation where you average out to about 25-30% PVC's, you feel like crap. You probably get that kind of frequency often.

Question - did they mention how many "Runs" you had? That would indicate that you could be feeling pretty darned bad.

We all feel different when it occurs - I just wanted to go to sleep; I also felt like my heart was stopping all the time. Now this was BEFORE I got my PM. After I got it, I still had the same feeling when I had PVC's. That's because the PM can do NOTHING about an early event & that's what a PVC is - an early Ventricular contraction.

Let me see if I can guess what you sense.....Your heart is pumping along nicely Thump,. Thump, Thump, Thump....
When suddenly you feel something like this: Thump, Thump, pause, THUMP, Thump..... That pause is a period when the Premature Ventricle Contraction took place. It was so puny that you did not even sense it. Then you felt a HUMONGOUS "THUMP" when the heart pumped out a greater than usual quantity of blood because of the longer wait time after the PVC as the heart got its rhythm back in order. Yes, you would feel your heart slow down.

I doubt if there's a Cardio out there w/o a bunch of PVC's in his/her background who can even begin to imagine what they FEEL like. They know what they LOOK like on an ECG, which is totally different from how they are sensed by the host.

Now - what does the PM report? Probably it counts a PVC as a beat - then records the fact that you had one come early. So the PVC gets a hash mark in two columns of counts.

What about your "Fitbit"? It does NOT have access to all the electrical data that the PM has. It probably does NOT recognize the very wimpy PVC to count it as a beat, so it winds up a beat short in its counting.

I do not know how a "Fitbit" works, but if it is like MOST of those devices, it measures the elapsed time between pulses, divides that into 60 seconds (You, as a teacher, would know how "Gozintos" are done. You are old school, like me & don't understand the New Math.) It probably does it for every beat, so it gives you a continuously varying HR.

Don't worry, the PM is working & keeping you at your 60 BPM because it does the same thing - measures the elapsed time since the last beat & if it exceeds 1 second (for 60 BPM) sends the signal for the ventricles to contract.

Now what can they do about it? For ME - they put in the PM; I take a bunch of Beta Blockers that slow down my heart; also an anti-arrhythmic called Flecainide to kill the PVC's. The PM keeps my HR at 75 as a base, w/ relatively few PVC's.

Hope this helps.

Donr

Jiggs: let's talk about....

by donr - 2015-08-19 04:08:22

.....Beta Blockers.

They are a class of drugs that generally slow your heart down & also reduce BP.

There are a whole bunch of them out there w/most of them ending in ...olol. I take Acebutolol (Sectral).

They vary in their power to affect HR, etc. & have similar side effects some of the side effects are worse than others.

Acebutolol, for instance, causes what I call the "Zombie Effect." (A typical Beta Blocker side effect.) Makes you feel sluggish, kinda washed out & want to do everything at a slow pace. I discovered that when on too heavy a dose (3X200mg per day) that I thought slowly, shuffled along slowly, talked slowly, always wanted to take a nap. I can tolerate 2 X 200mg fine & that seems to be working for me.

I swore that I drooled all the time, but didn't worry about it because it made me level-headed - I drooled out of both sides of my mouth simultaneously. A lousy joke, I know, but it did make me drool on occasions.

The Acebutolol did NOT stop my PVC's - the Flecainide did that.

You might allow your cardio try you on a Beta Blocker - it might help. You start out on a low dose to find out how they affect you. It takes several days to several weeks to truly find out how the side effects get you. Some you accommodate, others just don't go away. The only way to find out is to try them.

Hope this also helps you out.

Donr

PVC's

by jjiggers - 2015-08-20 11:08:31

Think I'm going to give the beta blockers a try...although I don't like the sound of "the zombie" effect. Maybe if I start a really low dose. we'll see.Thanks for all the input. Doc suggested I try them, but I really don't want to be on any more meds...thought that's why I got the PM to begin with.

PVCs triggers

by Luq - 2015-08-23 04:08:27

On top of donr advice, you should also find your triggers. Sometimes pvcs are worsened by caffeine, exrcises etc. I experience more pvcs when I take black tea, a full stomach and when i exercise (more at rest after exercise). Mine have been reduced alot. Am also on low dose of metoprolol.

luq

Jiggs: There are limits...

by donr - 2015-08-23 04:08:53

...as to what the PM can do alone. Sometimes it needs Meds as a adjunct to accomplish its mission.

You have the right idea - start small & see what happens. Sounds like you have a cooperative Dr.

Realize that it takes a while to turn up some side effects; and a longer time to see if you adapt to them. Every Med has its own side effects - especially Cardiac meds - at least according to the experiences of our members.

Twice you've used the expression "...any more Meds." what are you taking now?

Donr

You know you're wired when...

The mortgage on your device is more than your house.

Member Quotes

In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.