I have been diagnosed with Premature atrial contractions.....the cardiologist and an internist said nothing to worry about, except the feeling are terrible....

I get a racy feeling in my chest, when I inhale sometimes I get a buzzing/airlessnes like sensation in my chest and my heart sometimes has a funny beats or pauses for maybe 1 sec...feel like I'm going to die
I get very anxious, last night I lasted about 3-4 hrs...the docs say stay away from caffine, chocolate and its probably stree related....the found it on some EKG's.....6 years ago I had a echo, 2 years ago a stress test, over the last 5 months several blood tests a nd EKG's..I also have stomach pain, had a CAT scan of abdomin, ERG, barium enema and a gallbladder test all normal....I've herad the intestinal issue can effect the heart......

bottom line is does the symptoms and dianosis seem reasonable?


thanks so much

I'm 44 yrs ols male, have had to varing degrees this issue for about 20 yrs...with varying episodes lasting from minutes to days.....heart related blood tests were good....

I too have PACs. I'm 38 year old male. They told me not to worry either. I would have what I call "episodes" of PACs that would last from 3-8 hours, with about 4-5 PACs per minute. Drives you nuts. They say everything is ok, but it feels like your heart will stop. Or you think it is going to hurt the heart. Stress management works for this though. Try breathing and relaxing techniques. Good luck!

what kind of breathing techniques...

i too have been dealing with PAC/PVC's for years now, approximately 10 yrs. I'm a 34.5 yr old female. Isnt it funny how the dr's tell you to "not worry about it", "ignore it", "theres nothing wrong","try to relax", etc etc etc? I get the breathlessness feeling like you get. It feels as if I cant take a deep breath sometimes. When I feel the skip/flutter it takes my breath away, also. Sometimes when I first lay down i get a very strong, painful thump in the center of my chest. Again, the dr's say its nothing. Just trust in your dr's, and if it would make you feel better, ask for a 2nd opinion. Its your health we're talking about. And until youre comfortable with the diagnoses and the help from your dr's youre not going to be able to relax. You can also ask for a beta blocker--it will help with the frequency and the intensity of your PAC/PVC's. Good luck and take care.

I have been prescribe toprol-xl...50mg I a little afraid to take it based on what I've read on the net about beta-blockers

Breathing technique I try to use is breath in through nose for a 3 count, hold for 3 count, breathe out through mouth for 3 count, hold for 3 count.

dont be afraid of trying the Toprol XL. If it doesnt help you can always switch to something different. I have been on it since November 2001. The main side effect I have is the tiredness, but its tolerable...good luck :-)