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Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 4 hours ago | Replies (928)Comment receiving replies
Sorry to hear of your problems. This is rarely a medical condition with a quick fix. PVCs can often be thought of in oversimplifjed terms as an electrical signal bouncing off a zone of bad tissue. The signal can often be rerouted by destroying the related path, but only if a specific location giving rise to the pvc can be observed. This is often done by observing the number and types of pvcs recorded on a 24 hour test, or when mapping during a study when an ablation is to be attempted.
Then there are meds
Doctors will almost always start with safe medicines that might not be as strong. They can often rotate through medicines, or combinations, to see which work and what you can tolerate. It’s always about balancing the risk of the PVCs vs the side effects of the meds. In some cases they will not start a new med unless you are in the hospital hooked up so that you can be observed
Replies to "Sorry to hear of your problems. This is rarely a medical condition with a quick fix...."
@johnpny
You are of course correct about the information. I had beed victim to PVCs for a very long time and have the resultant damage they cause. Various tests, including 2 of those stress inducing tests done with chemicals as I could not run a tread mill prior to my bypass and then the increase from 10/minute(2013) to 20/minute(2015). While I was in hospital for 3 days prior to and then 4 days following the bypass the monitors were able to give a very clear picture to the M.D.s so they were able to basically spot the exact location to ablate.
Had not realized until now that those days of monitoring were what were needed to pinpoint the exact location of the nerve that was misfiring. I still get them, but not more than 3/minute and then only under great stressful conditions. My cardiologist told me that having the Bradycardia (as low as 36BPM while sleeping) can allow the stray PVC, but they happen while my BPM is often higher, and not while I'm sleeping.
To monitor the PVCs I own a portable ECG device that slaps on the back of an iPOD or could go on an iPhone. It is from Kardia. I do not feel the PVCs as they are not as strongly felt, but that could be due to the damage initially done to my heart by the excessive PVCs.
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@lalton , @johnpny thank you both. I seem to have lucked into a string of experienced cardiologists with good credentials. The PVCs were dramatic enough (number, effect) for them to skip quickly to ablation before more damage to the muscle occurs. I only wish I could blame it on being a high end athlete but I am not that rigorous. The docs did the monitor and are pretty sure of the general location of the aberrant cells so I’m hopeful. Thanks again.