seaecho

Hi Candace, I also have MVP and it was just diagnosed a year ago. I've had heartbeat irregularities since at least my mid 20s (I'm 50 now), but in the last two years, its been much worse. Like you, I have trouble sleeping at night because my heart is acting up. Not every night, but very frequently, I will wake up with my heart flopping around like a fish out of water. The cardiologist says not to worry (I had an echo and a Halter monitor), but this is easier said than done. I sometimes wonder how much of a role hormones have in this.

I also feel breathless when my heart is throwing PVCs every other beat. Every 4-5 beats, and I don't notice it as much. The main reason I'm posting is that a lot of people don't realize that many people with MVP have panic attacks. My doctor says its easily one out of four. And no one knows why. For some reason, the MVP triggers panic in some people. I am a very emotionally sensitive person, and that could play a role. Have you talked to your doctor about anxiety? This could be what your problem is, since your symptoms sound very similar to mine.

You mentioned your symptoms getting worse after finding out you had a kidney infection. This makes me wonder even more if you might also have health anxiety, and this can easily cause panic attacks. I've had the problem for some time now. There are message boards just for people who have MVP, and after visiting some of them, I find that what my doctor told me is true - people with MVP are super sensitive to their environments and every little sensation in their bodies. They panic easily and often have chronic high levels of stress.

I take Propanolol three times a day, and this helps somewhat with the heartbeat irregularities, although I still have episodes that are pretty severe. I also take Xanax as needed, and this helps to calm me down when I'm having an especially hard time of it. This is why I brought up the idea of you talking to your doctor about anxiety. Sounds as if you might benefit from medication. No one should suffer like that. I know exactly how you feel - when your heart acts up badly you sometimes wonder if you are going to die before it goes back into a normal rhythm. Please keep me updated.

Randi