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Managing and Living With PACs and PVCs
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: May 24 11:30am | Replies (243)Comment receiving replies
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!!!
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@janets I know this is an older post but just wanted to chime in.
I’m in my 60s and this past year, have been having all sorts of issues with my heart - which I chalked up to stress. Lots of PVCs/PACs, fast heart, etc. I started with a very low dose of propranolol (20 - 30 mg a day) which I did pretty well with BUT I was out of breath a lot. Propranolol works on other things besides the heart - like the brain for migraines and the lungs. So i decided to switch to Acebutolol based on the fabulous reviews. It does NOT affect anything else but the heart. I just started 6 days ago and so far - so good. I’m on 200 mg a day - but supposed to up it to 400mg. Not sure if I want to do that. No out of breath issues and I can tell my “flutters” are much better. The only negative I’ve seen so far - is the COST. These are double the price of my propranolol. Folks need to check out this beta blocker!
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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!