1. < Heart & Blood Health

Premature atrial contractions: Anyone have any helpful info on this?

Posted by lolly906 @lolly906, Aug 17, 2018

I was now just recently told I have Premature Atrial Contractions, or P.A.C, after being on a holter monitor for 48 hrs. I was told this after my higher then normal calcium score, and was told p.a.c. is benign., but im still worried. I was put on monitor after I felt my heart pounding hard in my left neck area. Im wondering if anyone has any helpful info on this? Im really worried acutally, even cancelled my colonoscopy due to the laxative saying it could cause irregular heartbeat. it seems I can feel my heart skip beats at times or speed up! very scary to me. Im wondering if anyone else has this? I am 58 yrs old and am on lovastatin for high cholesterol thanks

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lioness | @lioness | Oct 29, 2018
In reply to @hopeful33250 "@lioness, you are undoubtedly right about that." + (show)
@hopeful33250

@lioness, you are undoubtedly right about that.

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@hopeful33250 I dont like anything that takes me out of my comfort zone ,sometimes I think the Dr@pharmacy are using us for guinea pigs .

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1 reply
scardycat | @scardycat | Oct 29, 2018
In reply to @lioness "@hopeful33250 I dont like anything that takes me out of my comfort zone ,sometimes I think..." + (show)
@lioness

@hopeful33250 I dont like anything that takes me out of my comfort zone ,sometimes I think the Dr@pharmacy are using us for guinea pigs .

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Very true but each body’s chemistry is different they have no idea so it is a guessing game but usually they find something that works thank God🙏🏻

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scardycat | @scardycat | Oct 29, 2018
In reply to @keithl56 "I wouldn't worry about it, I was at work about 12 years ag ad could feel..." + (show)
@keithl56

I wouldn't worry about it, I was at work about 12 years ag ad could feel my heart apparently skipping beats. I asked my secretary to take my pulse and she immediately told me to go to the doctor. I wore a monitor for 24 hours confirming PAC's. Doctor said not to be concerned. My cholesterol is under control with Crestor and Zetia although due to my calcium score of 2014 is probably going to cause me to start using Repatha also this month, They want my LDL down to 20 from 50! I only notice the PAC's now when under stress. Retiring 2 years ago has greatly reduced my PAC's.

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We recently downsized and within a few weeks my husband had his hip replaced and boy you talk about stress went into bad speed of PACs my Cardio thinks stress related but put on low dose,25 mg to help, I’m a nervous nellie😊glad your doing better🙏🏻

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scardycat | @scardycat | Oct 30, 2018
In reply to @hopeful33250 "Hello @scardycat and welcome to Mayo Connect, You certainly have had a lot of changes in..." + (show)
@hopeful33250

Hello @scardycat and welcome to Mayo Connect,

You certainly have had a lot of changes in your life and stress is understandable in your situation.

You ask about taking antidepressants to deal with stress and that might be a good thing to talk with your doctor about. However, beta blockers help slow the heart rate and I don't think you should eliminate (or replace it) without talking to your cardiologist.

How long have you been taking metoprolol? Is this med causing you any problems? There are other alternative beta blockers that you could discuss with your doctor. I was not able to take metoprolol, but my doctor switched me to Atenolol (also a beta blocker) but without the side effects that I experienced with metoprolol. You might give a call to your doctor's office and see if you could either change your dose of metoprolol or switch to another beta blocker.

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No I’m not really having issues with it been a week tomorrow, since I have anxiety I was wanting to know if SSRIs would help versus a beta blocker. I go back in 2 weeks for them to see how I am doing I will ask.

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kathleentischer | @kathleentischer | Nov 3, 2018
In reply to @jddart "Yes, I'm one of those people, a "highly sensitive person," who can feel every heartbeat, especially..." + (show)
@jddart

Yes, I'm one of those people, a "highly sensitive person," who can feel every heartbeat, especially the wrong beats. Having come out of years of episodes of A-Fib, these strings of PACs and PVCs that last for hours feel too much like A-Fib. I also get SVT mixed in as well, so the whole combination feels like I'm having an episode of A-Fib, even though I know I'm not. It's at the very least annoying, but at worst uncomfortable and unsettling, because it brings back the memory and associated emotions I experienced with A-Fib episodes. My question here is, what can be done about it? I have trouble believing that there's nothing that can change the pattern. Do I need to get more sleep, do I need to stop eating some specific thing, do I need to change my routine, since the patterns seems to be linked to the time of day and the activity I'm doing? Has anyone successfully reduced the frequency of heart rhythm anomalies by changing their lifestyle? That's my question.

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Research Magnesium supplements. I did, and it helped me a lot.

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2 replies
scardycat | @scardycat | Nov 3, 2018
In reply to @kathleentischer "Research Magnesium supplements. I did, and it helped me a lot." + (show)
@kathleentischer

Research Magnesium supplements. I did, and it helped me a lot.

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How many milligrams do you take 400?

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2 replies
trink | @trink | Nov 3, 2018
In reply to @scardycat "How many milligrams do you take 400?" + (show)
@scardycat

How many milligrams do you take 400?

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Yes, I would like to know as well.

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trink | @trink | Nov 3, 2018
In reply to @kathleentischer "Research Magnesium supplements. I did, and it helped me a lot." + (show)
@kathleentischer

Research Magnesium supplements. I did, and it helped me a lot.

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Thanks. Do you know how many milligrams are recommended?

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lioness | @lioness | Nov 3, 2018

@scardycat. Yes our bodies need all the minerals especially magnesium For my fibromyalgia I take 500mg but you need to ask Dr ,have him do a blood test it will tell you if your lacking

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jddart | @jddart | Nov 3, 2018

My understanding is that you need about 500 MG per day but you get magnesium from various sources in a healthy diet so you can start with 250 mg and go from there. I've been on 250 per day for a few weeks now and where I used to have literally hundreds of PACs and PVCs each day (previous post) now I'm down to a few dozen maybe and some days none at all. I wish Iknew about it years ago. Overdosing on magnesium can cause diarrhea.

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