new to group, PVCs getting more frequent

Cardiac arrhythmias are a sign that the heart has commenced a path, a progressive path, on a disordered state. The disorder starts in the substrate, below the endothelial lining of all four chambers, usually in one chamber at a time, or in the septum between the chambers where one of the firing nodes is found...the AV node, or atrio-ventricular node that sends impulses down the Bundle of His to the Purkinje fibers that brand out left and right at the bottom of the heart to send signals to the two ventricles.

That's a mouthful, but the takeaway is that it's almost certainly and inevitably progressive for the heavy majority of patients. It tends to get worse. My condition is AF, or atrial fibrillation. The saying for this type of patient is, 'AF begets AF,' so the idea is to control it and to not let it happen. Or, it will accelerate and get worse.

You should consult a cardiologist for a complete blood, kidney, lung, and maybe thyroid workup...if that's what gets ordered....to see if anything is amiss and sending your heart down a path toward worse problems. You so far are in a paroxysmal stage, meaning it starts and then goes away on its own. If you really feel it is becoming more frequent, please see a cardiologist, and you'll probably have to see an electrophysiologist (EP) before long.

Note: I don't know anything about your medical circumstances or your history, and I am NOT qualified medically.

@arflmi33
Yes is my answer. My PVCs increased over time as I aged.

Are you seeing a cardiologist or EP? How many PVCs are you getting? Are they random, several at a time, etc.? Most of the time a cardiologist or EP will order a Holter Monitor test and you will wear a device for several days so they can monitor your electrical functions and pin point where your PVCs are coming from.

At that point they will determine if serious enough for ablation, medications and most likely some lifestyle changes. I found and my EP confirmed that stress and anxiety can cause PVCs and PACs. So you feel them and they cause anxiety and that causes more. Do you consume a lot of caffeine? How is your stress level? How is your weight? All those can contribute to PVCs and PACs.

Thus after medical consultation I found exercise and or a hobby really reduced anxiety and stress. But the PVCs were better then got worse so they put me on medication that really helped. I also was recommended to take magnesium as was shown to help with PVCs and PACs.

But without a Holter monitor test you really don't know if considered serious and then appropriate treatment if needed.

The most important thing for you and your EP to know is the percentage of your heartbeats that is PVC’s. I was at 18% as evidenced by a loop recorder inserted under the skin. (replaces the monitor you wear for a few weeks). 18% is a number high enough to eventually weaken the heart and put you into heart failure-a condition which is usually a slow march toward a heart that can no longer efficiently pump blood. After having an ablation, my PVC’s were reduced to 4% of heartbeats, deemed harmless. Also, your EP will likely want to run many tests to determine the cause of your PVC’s and to access your overall cardiovascular health. Many arrhythmias are found to be idiopathic- no known cause found. Good luck in your journey to get to a place where you and your doctor have done everything possible to protect you from any possible heart damage. That is the goal with PVC’s. Good luck!

Get more exercise, meditate, relaxation, curb stress, take magnesium.

Yes. I add prayer, and elimination of triggers. I eat foods containing magnesium.

@lindy9
Talk to your EP (if you don't have a EP consider getting one). On the magnesium you may need a supplement. Did your EP suggest magnesium. If not discuss with him/her.

What my EP suggested was 400 mg of magnesium citrate and if had digestive issues with it try the glycinate.

Really look at weight, and reducing stress and anxiety through (approved by your doctors) exercises you like to do. Not into exercise, find a hobby you like doing.

Many medications out there to help with PVCs, PACs, anxiety, stress which all can help along with life style changes.

My husband had PVCs sometime after successful ablation and his EP recommended MAG-TAB SR, and these tablets my husband feels have worked.

to jc76 I have no desire to spend my days seeking opinions of EP. I do a few exercises first in morning to stay limber every which way. Legs, arms, spine, neck and feet. I walk to town every day, up two steep hills and then pitter patter in town doing errands etc. I seek info often from people who have lived 90, 100 yrs and up. Over the years, I have received incorrect advice from doctors the few times I went.

I also take tips regarding how to respond instead of react to lifes aggravations which make a decision to avoid some people out of my inner circle. I do not drink coffee made in the US or colas. I minimize triggers. As a result, I take NO meds of any kind and am 77 yrs old.

I have paroxysmal Aflutter/Fib. Ablation in 2017 followed by 3 + yrs with no episodes but then 2-3 hr Aflibber infrequent random occurrences plus an increase in PACs/PVCs. Got to point in 2024 that the PxCs were so numerous (20-30% of beats) that I had AFLIBBER like symptoms including fatigue and shortness of breath. (‘Afib lite’). My EP said I should not be concerned about PxCs because “everyone experiences them”. However he did offer to place me on Multaq if symptoms were bad enough. I had bad experience when taking Multaq previously- sorta like the cure is worse than the ailment. However he did mention that I should keep my Thyroid Stimulatin Hormone (TSH) as high as I could stand as there is a relationship between TSH and arrhythmias. I had cancerous thyroid removed almost 40 yrs ago and have been on synthetic hormone ever since with the idea that low TSH readings would. “suppress” any cancer reoccurrence. When I lowered the dosage my PxCs and infrequent AFLIBBER attacks ceased in 2025. When experimenting with increasing the dosage in summer 2025, the episodes plus PxCs came back. Lowered the Synthroid dose again and no more PxCs or arrhythmias from then til now. I’ve read some papers where a relationship exists between arrythmias/PxCs and hyperthyroidism. Everyone is different but if you haven’t ruled this out i recommend you persue.