PVCs now getting worse with a higher heart rate

Posted by jjs165 @jjs165, Sep 5 10:58pm

My PVCs are driving me nuts but here’s the new twist they used to go away when my heart rate went up now they’re actually getting worse. My doctor keeps telling me all your tests are perfect. Everything is fine. The burden’s only been at about 4% so they don’t really wanna do anything. I’m kind of apprehensive about antiarrhythmics, anybody else have more PVCs when their heart rate goes up and have been told all their tests are perfect.

Sometimes when they really get to rolling, I find it takes my breath away with just the minimal amount of exercise. I’m 70 years old. I’ve had a clean bill of health. My blood work comes back perfect every time all of my heart tests have been spot on it’s just this stupid Heartbeat weirdness I wish I could figure out a way to make it go away.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart Rhythm Conditions Support Group.

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042434
The study is a few years old now, but still recent enough that you can get the gist of your circumstances as far as the authors saw it at the time. A burden of between 6-10% is a good time to stave off enlargement of the vessels or valvular problems, but also ejection fraction. The preferred treatment continues to be catheter ablation, just as it is for atrial fibrillation.
It seems that, unless you can find a more sympathetic electrophysiologist, or develop worse symptoms that make your life a living hell, you have two options: lump it or take an anti-arrhythmic drug. The citation above covers drugs.

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@jjs165
It is good your cardiologist are not finding anything. Bad that your PVCS are worse. Did you have a holter monitor test? If not talke to your cardiologist about it. Are you seeing a electrophysiologist (EP)? If not and you are really having stress with this suggest you get an appointment with one or asked your cardiologist to refer you to one. They are experts on the electrical funcion of your herat.

From my experience stress and anxiety will cause more PVCs that was confirmed by my EP. So you are under more stress now with more PVCs. More PVCS cause more stress, and more stress causes mor PVCs. See where this can be a problem espeically worry.

How is your diet? Eating anything that raises your feeling of PVCs going up? What about what you drink? Do you consume caffeine? A known and common cause of PVCs.

Has your doctor talked about OTC supplements like Magnesium to help with PVCs?

How is your lifestyle? Do you have an exercise you like to do? Do you have a hobby you like to do? These are stress reducers.

My PCP and EP went over the flight or fight issue with stress. When under stress your body picks up adrenaline which can cause (per my PCP and EP) increase in PVCs and even if continues can cause anxiety/panic attacks. The body can only take so much adrenaline and not flight or fight to work it off. Thus my mentioned of exercise and hobbies.

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Try magnesium and potassium.

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Had the same issue, with the same normal test results. After more than 5 years, and more Holtor Monitor tests than I care to remember, the cardiologist had me wear a Holtor monitor for 3 weeks. They finally caught me in atrial fibrillation bursts, which were preceded by a large increase of PVC’s, fatigue and dizziness. Once started on Flecainide the issue significantly decreased.

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This is not backed up medical advice but I too have had PVCs, recently a ZIO monitor and Calcium Test Score. The doctor wanted me to start a-medication that, after reading side effects, I felt would kill me before helping me at 77. During this process I did notice that they seemed to be more present when I had indulged in YASSO greek yogurt frozen bars and frozen yogurt & occasional cereal with cinnamon. I believe the problem manifests from “sugar.”. I may be wrong but I hope you will try to eliminate products with sugar for a couple weeks and see if it stops your palpitations, PVCs and whatever else you are feeling like these scary rhythms. Document your diet to keep you on track. Let us know if it makes a difference. Also, on one blood test, I am low on Magnesium & Potassium. 4 weeks later I’m not. Based on a response comment before mine, it very well could be an imbalance of Magnesium & Potassium but I haven’t been able to get my doctors to agree on which type of Magnesium & dosage so I haven’t tried that yet.

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Profile picture for nmc7 @nmc7

This is not backed up medical advice but I too have had PVCs, recently a ZIO monitor and Calcium Test Score. The doctor wanted me to start a-medication that, after reading side effects, I felt would kill me before helping me at 77. During this process I did notice that they seemed to be more present when I had indulged in YASSO greek yogurt frozen bars and frozen yogurt & occasional cereal with cinnamon. I believe the problem manifests from “sugar.”. I may be wrong but I hope you will try to eliminate products with sugar for a couple weeks and see if it stops your palpitations, PVCs and whatever else you are feeling like these scary rhythms. Document your diet to keep you on track. Let us know if it makes a difference. Also, on one blood test, I am low on Magnesium & Potassium. 4 weeks later I’m not. Based on a response comment before mine, it very well could be an imbalance of Magnesium & Potassium but I haven’t been able to get my doctors to agree on which type of Magnesium & dosage so I haven’t tried that yet.

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You should have no problem with 200 mg/day. I know a person who, as a scientist, has been highly methodical about controlling his own Mg intake. He says he's a 'mg dumper'. He goes through magnesium like we do water, and pees it out copiously. So, he literally mixes a liter of magnesium water and drinks it each day. Sounds bizarre, too bad to be true, but I know him and he's a regular over at afibbers.org forum. Highly credible. So, how much does he ingest daily? Over 1000 mg!
That's magnesium. I have not researched a safe daily dose of potassium. You should.....SHOULD...get enough in your diet (beets, figs, pistachios, potatoes, oranges, kiwi, etc), but if you aren't, a few mg supplementation with shake-the-bottle potassium chloride salt (your grocers should have it) will suffice. Adults need about 3.5 gm a day...a lot!

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Profile picture for gloaming @gloaming

You should have no problem with 200 mg/day. I know a person who, as a scientist, has been highly methodical about controlling his own Mg intake. He says he's a 'mg dumper'. He goes through magnesium like we do water, and pees it out copiously. So, he literally mixes a liter of magnesium water and drinks it each day. Sounds bizarre, too bad to be true, but I know him and he's a regular over at afibbers.org forum. Highly credible. So, how much does he ingest daily? Over 1000 mg!
That's magnesium. I have not researched a safe daily dose of potassium. You should.....SHOULD...get enough in your diet (beets, figs, pistachios, potatoes, oranges, kiwi, etc), but if you aren't, a few mg supplementation with shake-the-bottle potassium chloride salt (your grocers should have it) will suffice. Adults need about 3.5 gm a day...a lot!

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Gloaming, thank you. Do you know the type of magnesium to take: citrate, oxide, glycanate, chloride, etc.?

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Profile picture for nmc7 @nmc7

Gloaming, thank you. Do you know the type of magnesium to take: citrate, oxide, glycanate, chloride, etc.?

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Citrate is the least costly generally, widely available, and is the mostly easily taken up in the gut. However, that last quality also helps it to promote high motility in the gut....meaning if you overdo it, you'll be reacquainting yourself with your toilet several times more than usual. Again, 200 mg daily should not put you over the top (healthy kidneys are meant to dispose of excesses of all elements anyway).
There is some, not huge, not particularly strong or compelling, evidence that the other salt formulae are more suited for other requirements. I have not studied them in great detail and don't feel particularly knowledgeable about them. I have personally taken the citrate (doing that for the second time in three years), malate, and bis-glycinate formulae. None of them appeared to affect me unduly, and I can't say they did my any good. I take them mostly just 'cuz. Well, that and I do have atrial fibrillation and want to be sure I'm not working against the successful ablation I had two years ago. So, I take it as a prophylaxis.

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Profile picture for nmc7 @nmc7

Gloaming, thank you. Do you know the type of magnesium to take: citrate, oxide, glycanate, chloride, etc.?

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Potassium: Be careful on taking potassium supplements. I had read posts on MCC about how well potassium works with PVCs. I checked my EP. He came back with your recent blood test showing you are at the high end of normal on potassium. We do not recommend taking a supplement. I would suggest having a blood test if going to take a potassium supplement.

Magnesium: My EP did recommend me taking magnesium for PVCs. He recommended 400 mg. I came back with question of which formula as there were so many.

EP said he recommends Citrate formula as it is highly absorbable. It is also the most recommended for digestive help also based on the absorbability factor too. EP said his second choice would be Glycimate.

My EP is the Director of Pace Clinic and Electrophysiology at Mayo Jacksonville.

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Curious, I have them also, did you get covid vaccine?

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