Managing and Living With PACs and PVCs

If you are in the midst of menopause or menopause was recent, maybe things will calm down. They did for me.

I have had PACs for years as well and finally flipped into Atrial Tachycardia (SVT) and had an ablation. Unfortunately, they returned a year and a half later and my burden was 18-26% depending in the day. They tried another ablation but was unsuccessful, so I also began the med path. Everything so far has caused side effects. Have you tried Propranolol? That was okay for me but it doesn't work for me any more. Flecainide was horrible. I am about to try Norpace. I did finally meet with a Naturopath and she had me take Magnesium, and Heart Health. She checked my cortisol. Nothing really helped significantly. There is some evidence that Arginine and Taurine can help, but I had no luck with that either. If you haven't, ask about Propranolol (it also helps with anxiety) and if not better, see if they would consider an EP study/ablation for quality of life.

Hello,
I have been on the roller-coaster of PVC's for the last year. I have had two ablations and trialed several beta blockers. I am currently on 100mg of Flecainide twice daily. The side effects for me is fatigue and it governs my HR to 150, no where near it needs to be for the cycling I love so much. I have questioned the hormone connection and will be going for a consultation with the menopause women's clinic in November. I also get extreme headaches and neck pressure on the left side only when they hit frequently. They have said PVC's won't cause that unless there is possibly a narrowing so neurologist consult is in Sept. Unfortunately, my condition increased with each ablation and I don't tolerate the medications well. Good luck with your treatment. 🙏

So sorry to hear this. I am a 58 yr old female and have been experiencing some of the same things for years. I have PAC’ and PVC’s. I don’t have them every day but when my HR gets out of rhythm I feel absolutely exhausted, when it’s out of rhythm with long pauses in between and my HR slows to around 40, I feel horrible. Sometimes it’s out of rhythm and my HR will go up to 150 and it makes me feel anxious. I’ve been on so many meds and the side effects are as bad as the rhythm problems. I’ve had one failed ablation and the Dr just wants to keep trying different meds, which aren’t cheap and I can usually only tolerate them for a few days before my BP crashes and headaches start. I did all the right things by choosing a top notch Dr at Vanderbilt but I feel like she doesn’t take me seriously. She said only about five percent of people have the extreme problems I do from PAC/PVC’s. So since she doesn’t see this problem regularly, she doesn’t even consider I may very well be in the five percent 🤦🏼‍♀️.
I’m currently looking for another Dr.
I hope you find some answers.

I take 50 mg of flecanide twice a day and also 2.5 mg once a day of bisprolol. No afib since starting the flecanide. A little tired at times but over all doing ok on flecanide..

Hello. Actually I am a male. Sorry I should have specified that.
Thank you,

Hello
I have tried Propranolol and it did nothing but lower my heart rate to the point where I had to stop taking it. My resting heart rate is about and propranolol brought it below 50.
Thank you!

Hi @robynn300, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You found a good discussion discuss having both PAC and PVCs with members like @rr1967, @megansims, and @dnk1kinney already discussing how they manage.

@robynn300, it sounds like you are not satisfied with your current provider and are seeking a second opinion. How is your search going to see if you can find someone more responsive to your experiences?

For all of you who have experienced difficulty with PVCs and PACs, I have been able to relate to your experiences. I have had PVCs, and PACs, off and on since I was 20 yrs old. Sometimes the episodes would be very bad. About 3 years ago I developed Afib. Tried a couple of meds which work for a while, also had an ablation that failed. Ended up going on dofetilide, which controlled the Afib, but my PVCs and PACs were out of control and I could barely function (I think that previously the flecainide had helped to control them). I found that deep breathing and meditation helped my anxiety and worked a little with the PVCs and PACs. The doctors had me try three different beta blockers and I reacted terribly to all of them. Then they had me try Acebutolol (a beta blocker that works in a different way than most of them). It is time released, so I reluctantly took the chance and tried 200 mg a day (very low dose). It has worked really well to keep the number and intensity of PVCs and PACs under control and with very few side effects compared to the other beta blockers. For any of you who have not tried Acebutolol, you may want to talk to your cardiologist about it. Good luck. I understand your misery!!!

Hello
Thank you for your post. My cardio has stated that I do not have Afib and that my PACs will not lead to Afib or anything else. According to my Cardio and EP, they really cannot do much else more besides try new meds. I am retrying Diltiazem and I guess it takes some time to work..even if it does. A former cardiologist of mine stated to never try Flecianide especially if you do not have Afib as it can cause even more problem.
I can ask about the Acebutolol and see if that works, but I cannot have it reduce my heart rate.

I know my PACs will never go away...I get it. I just want them to reduce in number and impact. If I could do that, my life and daily outlook would be brighter and I would not feel so hopeless.
Thank you!